“I don’t have much choice right now,Piccola. It helps that Rafe’s dealing with emails and paperwork from bed, but he can’t cover any of the meetings and I don’t want him anywhere near any family negotiations until he’s stronger. It all falls on me in his absence.”
“Maybe I could help? I’m good with computers and I’m a fast learner with most things. Maybe I could at least help with research or data or something?” I offered, desperate to lighten his load.
“You have your hands full enough just trying to keep your bull-headed brother in bed, where he needs to be,” Dio huffed. “How is he this morning? I haven’t had chance to check in on him yet.”
“I went up there when I got up, but he was still fast asleep. The doctor said he’s doing remarkably well when she was here yesterday, but that he needs to continue resting and taking things very easy. She suggested he stay in bed for at least another week to give his lung time to continue healing. Rafe wasnothappy,” I explained.
“I’ll bet. He’s going insane up there. He’s not used to inactivity. He’s had a million different responsibilities to take care of since he was in his teens. It’s all he knows.”
“I’ll try to keep him busy today. At least if he’s distracted humouring me, he’s not trying to get out of bed,” I laughed.
“He’s not humouring you, Cara. He loves spending time with you. I think it’s the only thing he likes about not being able to work. It’s given him time with you. To be honest, I’m jealous. I’m tempted to get myself shot just so I can get more time with you,” he teased. I gasped and hit out at him, landing a slap to his bicep and likely hurting myself more than him.
“Don’t say that! Don’t even put it out there in the universe!” I hissed at him.
“I’m not sure that’s exactly how things work,” he chuckled as he caught my hand and pulled me closer.
“Just don’t get yourself shot. You come home whole every bloody day, you hear me?” I demanded.
“I hear you,” he nodded, then he pulled me closer until my front was pressed against his. One of his hands landed against my butt, pulling me up until my core met with his thigh, then he leaned down and kissed me again. I reached up to loop my arms over his shoulders, and became lost in the moment. He kissed like he made love – controlled, intense, and skilled.
I was so wrapped up in him and in the lust flooding my system that I didn’t hear the office door open. Dio mustn’t have either because one minute we were entangled in a moment of utter heaven, and the next hands grabbed my hips and I was ripped backwards.
I cried out and instinctively turned to attack whoever had hands on me, but I pulled back the hit I had planned when I realised it was Rafe.
“Rafe?” I gasped, but he’d already set me down a few feet from Dio, and he was storming for the man himself now.
“Rafe, just calm down. We need to…”
The sound of Rafe’s first blow was sickening. A loud crack followed by blood. Dio stumbled back, raising his hand in defence of himself.
“RAFE!” I screamed. I ran around him and placed myself before Dio, standing strong as I stared my brother down, telling him with every inch of tension in my face he had to go through me before he touched Dio again. “Just stop!” I snapped. “What are you doing up?”
He was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, just like he was ready to go to work, but now blood splattered his pale blue shirt. His fists were clenched at his sides, his chest heaving with how hard he was breathing, his teeth gritted. He looked feral and I had to admit, it scared me, but not for me, for Dio.
“Rafe. We were going to tell you,” Dio said. I glanced behind me and saw him wiping blood from under his nose with the back of his hand.
“You piece of shit. I trusted you!” Rafe growled. He went to lunge forward and I moved, anticipating it and held out my hands to stop him.
“Baby, no!” Dio yelled. I turned to look at him and Rafe knocked me off balance as he charged past me. As I stumbled to the ground, Rafe threw himself at Dio and started hitting him repeatedly.
“NO! RAFE! STOP!” I screamed as loud as I could.
I scrambled back to my feet and surged forward, jumping at Rafe in an attempt to get on his back, confident he would stop if him carrying on risked hurting me, but it was badly timed and I caught one of Rafe’s elbows to the right side of my face as he and Dio fought and struggled.
I stumbled back from the hard hit, right into waiting arms that wrapped around me and pulled me into a warm chest.
“It’s just me,” Cal told me as he picked me up enough to move me away from the fight and over near the door.
“ENOUGH!” Arran’s booming voice roared and when I looked over he was in the midst of it all, trying to pull Rafe away. “Rafe, ye’ve just hit yer sister in the fuckin’ face, ye eejit!” Arran growled.
That seemed to give Rafe pause and as soon as he stopped hitting, Dio rolled from beneath him and surged to his feet, backing away. He hadn’t been fighting back and as a result his face was a bloody mess. Arran ripped Rafe to his feet by the top of his arm and shoved him back until he collapsed on the sofa in there. There wasn’t a mark on Rafe, but his shirt was ripped and he could barely breathe.
“Cara?” Dio looked at me with panic.
“I’m okay,” I lied. I was cradling my throbbing cheek, tears falling down my face at the disaster unfolding before me. Was this the moment I would be forced to choose between the men I loved and my brother?
“She’s not okay. She’s shaking like a leaf and she took a really hard elbow to the face!” Cal barked, sounding so uncharacteristically angry.
