“I will ask you one last time. What. I am. You. Doing. Here?” “Is that why Andrea disappeared?” Christian insisted. Alessio staggered forward. I tried to push him away, but he was too strong. The men began to struggle. “Alessio, please!” A fierce pain burned my arm and I screamed. Alessio stepped back, his eyes wide as he scrutinized me. Blood dripped from a long shallow cut in my forearm. “You did…” he growled at Christian. “You did it, Alessio. You hurt me with your blind rage,” I lied. I wasn’t sure who had cut me, and it wasn’t that bad, even if it burned fiercely. I grasped the wound with the palm of my hand, trembling.
Alessio took a step back. He looked at his blade, which was smeared with blood. It might as well have been Christian’s. My brother sheathed the knife, but did not take his eyes off my husband when he asked, “Should I take you to the doctor?” Alessio’s jaw stiffened. “No,” I answered firmly. “Leave now.” “Gianna…” “Leave!” Alessio breathed laboredly, nostrils flaring as he watched the blood rushing through my fingers. Christian backed away slowly, without turning his back on Alessio. “I’ll call you in 30 minutes.” I nodded slightly, stunned by what had happened and completely perplexed as to why Alessio had reacted that way.
Before my brother could sneak out, Alessio said in a low voice, “There’s nowhere for you to hide if I find out you betrayed me, Christian. Not even Baltimore will be your safe haven if I want you dead.” “If you hurt Gianna, I will find you and kill you, Alessio.” Alessio gave my brother a grim look. Christian disappeared. Suddenly I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to send him away anymore. Alessio had lost his mind a few minutes earlier for no apparent reason. His wife had died-or been killed-and no one knew anything about it. Our glances crossed and the terrifying fury diminished. What remained was a blatant distrust and a tinge of guilt. He placed the knife back in its sheath and approached. I was tense, unsure of what to expect after what I had witnessed.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he grumbled, his voice steeped in regret. He gently pushed my hand away from my cut and inspected it. I gasped when he prodded the sore area. His eyebrows twitched in concern. “Did I do that?””Does it matter? You were the one who started the fight. You lost control. You told me that I would never have a reason to shirk from you. Today you proved your own words wrong.” “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” “Just Christian.” Alessio gritted his teeth. “Come. I need to treat the wound.” I followed him into the bathroom. Alessio said nothing as he lifted me onto the dressing table and began to clean my wound. “What happened in there?” I whispered.
Alessio put a bandage on my arm and then kissed my palm. When he straightened up, he no longer looked like the caring husband, but the bad cop beginning his interrogation.
“What was Christian doing up here alone with you?” I frowned.
“He came to see me. I haven’t seen him in weeks. I sent Elia home because Christian is able to protect me.” Alessio squeezed my neck.
“Why did you shower before I came home?” Was he serious?
“I didn’t know I had to ask your permission to shower.”
He sounded furious. “Why did you take a shower? Answer me.”
“No. This is ridiculous.”
“If you don’t tell me why, I will have to assume that you had to wash away the evidence of what you did earlier.” I winced, then winced when I realized what he was implying. I pushed against his chest. He did not move.
“Are you really saying what I think you’re saying?” I was so horrified by the very idea, I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. Alessio grabbed my thighs.
“Then answer my question.”
I stared at him. He was very serious.
“Simona threw up on me, that’s why I took a shower. If you don’t believe me, check the washing machine. I haven’t had time to turn it on yet.” He released me and disappeared from sight. I couldn’t believe him. I jumped off the counter and my legs almost gave out. Shock weighed heavily on me. Seeing Alessio lose control like that, over something so ridiculous, had shaken me completely. I went into the bedroom, not sure I wanted to spend the night. When Alessio returned, he had visibly calmed down. I shook my head slowly.
“I can’t believe you thought I had cheated on you with my brother. That’s what you thought, isn’t it?”
His expression was hard. He took off his shirt, something he often did to avoid a response.
“You should trust me, Alessio, but instead of doing so, you are so blinded by jealousy that you even suspect that my brother is having an affair with me. How sick is that? You are always surrounded by beautiful willing women in your clubs, and I never accuse you of sleeping with them, much less sleeping with your sisters for God’s sake!”
“Why would I cheat with one of those women? The only thing I can think of is you.” I froze.
“You think about me?” I had never considered the possibility that he would waste a single thought on me once at work. Alessio looked at me, a battle raging in his eyes.
“Why do you keep rejecting me, then? Why do you hurt me by not trusting me?”
Alessio grabbed the tie, loosening it with a sharp tug. The tension persisted in his body, and if Christian had still been there, he would probably have attacked him again. Alessio seemed to be in control, so it was a shock that he brooded so much unbridled aggression. Of course, it only solidified the fact that I was trying to ignore that side of him. His reputation was there for a reason.
“I don’t reject you. Let’s share a bed and spend time together.”
“We have sex together, we talk about what the boys did, but every time I try to take a look behind your mask, you block me, and now you almost kill my brother in jealousy. Tell me what happened.”