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I shook my head, my legs coming up from the relaxed position I’d been lying in, but it wasn’t so easy to move with my bump the way it was now. Before I’d even sat up, he was darting across the room, his hand landing on my thigh to stop me.
The sharp sting had me whistling air through my teeth, wincing at what I was sure would be a red handprint left behind.
“Ow, Trav, why did you do that?”
He climbed on top of me, his heavy boots on his feet scraping against the soft flesh of my legs. But it was his one hand gripping my wrists and thrashing them above my head that hurt the most. The stretch was almost too much to bear, but I kept my lips glued shut, knowing I’d talked way too damn much already.
Why did I never know when to just stay quiet? I should have learned over the last five years how to act and react when he was in a mood like this—which, if I was being honest, was more often than not these days.
His job was hard though, especially being my big brother’s number two. It was stressful, but…that didn’t mean I had to bear the brunt of it when he came home, right?
“You never fuckin’ learn, do you?” He tutted in disappointment, his head dipping down so it was only centimeters from my face. “How many times do I have to teach you about this big, fat mouth and when to keep it shut?”
I blinked, my lips parting, about to tell him that he didn’t need to tell me, I’d just made a mistake, but that move had his eyes flaring to life, his grip hardening as he jerked down so fast I didn’t have time to think—time to process what was happening.
All I felt was pain unlike any other, my lips burning, a liquid all of a sudden flowing, and then wetness trailing over my cheeks and down my chin.
I thrashed, the agony so intense that I was sure I was going to pass out.
He’d bit me. He’d captured both of my lips between his teeth and bit down as hard as he could.
He didn’t let go, not when I managed to get one hand free from his grip and slap his back, and not when I wailed, trying to beg him to stop.
The room was spinning, the edges of my vision going black, and then he let go.
It was almost worse now that his teeth were gone, and even though I wanted to reach up and feel what he’d done, I couldn’t. I was paralyzed as I stared up at him, my blood coating his lips and chin, a satisfied smirk spreading across his own lips.
“That will teach you to keep your fuckin’ mouth shut.”
I hated him. In that moment, I hated him more than he would ever know.
“Mama.” His whispered voice in my ear had my body freezing, my eyes still closed as my brain caught up with what was around me—where I was and who I was with. “Mama.”
My muscles tried to relax at the sound of Raf’s voice but they were still on alert, my dream fresh in my mind, my memories haunting me, just like they would until the day I died.
He’ll kill me one day. He’ll take the breath from my body and leave me to rot.
I couldn’t let the intrusive thoughts win, but the problem was, they rang true. They were a warning that Ihadto adhere to.
My body tensed, my eyes opening as the room came into view. There was a little light coming through the curtains, but not enough to signal full morning yet. We were in the same position we were when he’d laid me on the bed and cocooned me, making me feel the safest I’d ever been.
But staying like this wasn’t an option, not for me.
“I have to get out of here,” I told Raf, not willing to look at him.
“No you don’t.” He held on to me tightly, just like he had all night. The complete contrast to the night before, yet, it somehow felt all the more intimate. “You’ve got me now.”
I didn’t answer. Didn’t say a word. Didn’t make a move. Because the reality was, I was leaving, whether he wanted me to or not. The only difference this time was that I wanted what I would be leaving behind. But for the sake of my sons, I had to give it up. I had to sacrifice, because the alternative didn’t bear thinking about.
So for that moment, I relished in the hold Raf had on me, the way his body contoured to mine like two jigsaw pieces fitting together perfectly. Because it was only a matter of time until it was gone—until I was gone.
* * *
RAFAEL
I entered the Beretta mansion, immediately feeling at home. I’d spent so much time here as a kid, growing up in the thick of the action. But as I strolled in, something felt…off. Something wasn’t right. But then, the message that I’d gotten off Romeo was a little strange too. But I never second-guessed it when it came to my brother because his mood swings were all over the damn place.
Heading toward the voices, I halted in front of Lorenzo’s office. Had I been thinking logically and not worrying about the fact that Peyton was on her own for the first time since Saturday night when I’d taken her car back, then I would have stayed and listened before knocking.
