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So here I was, making a commitment, knowing that I was going to have to make a choice between her and the life I’d always known.
“If he gets ahold of me…” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m scared, Raf. I’m so damn scared.”
“There’s not a problem,” Lorenzo growled, his own silent warning to everyone in the room heard loud and clear. “Rafael here just has a little crush.” Fuck, I hated how he made that sound, how he mademesound. I may have only been twenty, but I’d lived a life that most people hadn’t. No one in this room knew what it was like to walk a mile in my shoes, yet they all sure as hell judged me without any facts.
Ace laughed, but the tension was still in the room, stifling everyone with all of the threats hanging in the air, just out of reach but there when everyone needed them.
“My sister always had a way with making men lose their minds.” He rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. “Including my best friend.”
“Her ex?” I interrupted, so fuckin’ fuming that I stepped forward, my hands fists at my side. “The one who—”
“You mean herhusband?” Ace interrupted.Husband?“Her husband who has been out of his mind with worry because she up and left in the middle of the night with their two young kids?” He stepped toward me, just enough to tell me that he wasn’t taking anymore shit from me. “Is that who you’re talking about? Her husband…my second-in-command?”
“I…” I frowned, trying to piece everything together, trying to work out what was happening. Peyton had told me just enough to hint at the kind of life she’d lived with her ex—no, her husband. Fuck. She was married? She’d left that little fact out, and now all I could think about was what else she’d left out.
He’d hurt her, right? But…if he had, then why was her big brother so concerned about her? He’d have seen the signs if her husband was abusive, surely? It wasn’t like you could hide all of those bruises. So…maybe Ace was right, and I was wrong?
“And then there’s the fact that she camehere.” He paused, stepping toward me as he tilted his head. “Do you not think there was a reason she chose this area? Choseyou?”
I blinked, trying to deny the words he was speaking but…fuck, they rang true. Had she played me this entire time? Was I that naive?
She’d known who I was from the moment she’d met me and Romeo. She’d told me that herself. So had she sought us out on purpose? Ace was right. She’d weaved me in her web and I’d been helpless to it.
A quick glance at Romeo told me that he was wondering the same thing—coming to the same conclusion.
I rubbed my chest, hating the ache that appeared.
It was like someone had just opened curtains, showing me true daylight for the first time, but it was still too bright for me to see clearly yet. I needed time and space to work it all out. The problem was, I didn’t have either of those luxuries.
“I’ll take you to her,” Romeo said. “It’s about an hour from here.” My gut wanted me to stop him, to not believe what was right in front of me, but…I couldn’t disprove it.
Ace nodded. “I’ll follow you there.”
They both filed out, leaving just me and Lorenzo and Dante in the room. And for a second I wanted to stay here, but then my feet were moving, following them out of the mansion and hopping into my own car. I needed to be there. I needed to know how it was all going to go down, but most of all, I needed answers. Answers that I was sure Peyton wouldn’t want to give.
* * *
PEYTON
I was trying my hardest to not be on edge, but something was swirling in my stomach, a warning that I didn’t understand quite yet. So instead of overthinking it and making it worse, I kept myself busy as I waited for Raf to come back. It was the only way not to let it fester, to not let my anxiety take me over.
It hadn’t mattered how much I’d tried to push him away, he’d still come back. A smile lifted at the corner of my lips as I did the dishes, the happy sounds of the boys playing nicely being my own personal playlist. Even though I knew I was on borrowed time, it still didn’t stop the happiness bubbling up inside me at the idea of me and Raf.
He’d appeared at a time when I’d least expected it. He’d shown me what it was like to have a man in my life who listened to what I said, who paid attention to me, who cared about what I was thinking and feeling. I’d only ever had one other man in my life who had been like him…
The smile turned down, my thoughts taking a turn for the worse, but soft knocks rapping on my door distracted me. My stomach dipped in excitement and I hated to admit how much I wanted Raf around, but it was time I embraced it. Time I listened and believed what he said to me. Every part of my brain wanted to dismiss all of the promises he was making, but the longer he was around, the more I was starting to take notice that what he said weren’t just words. His actions were speaking louder.
I wiped my hands dry and made my way down the hallway, the smile on my face turning into a full-on grin as I pulled the door open and—
“Ace?”
My heart raced in my chest, my hands starting to shake as I stared at my big brother.
“P,” he greeted, his tone gruff. “I’m here to take you home.”
The happiness that had started to bubble up dissipated within seconds, destroying all of the hope I had. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not after finally accepting the happiness I’d been gifted.
“I’m not going back,” I told him, taking a step away from him but leaving the door open, a silent signal that he could come in. What I hadn’t expected was the three men who followed him—men who had been in my brother’s organization for at least five years. “Ace,” I warned.
