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To lose to me.
A part of me wants to dance around the room then call him up and say something smug. The other part of me wants to wrap him up in my arms, kiss his forehead and tell him everything will be alright.
Tomorrow will definitely be interesting.
8
ENZO
After Gabriella left my place, I needed to go out and get some air. She had me all hot and bothered the way she got so worked up. A small part of me wonders if I should back off on this Holloway deal and let her have it. But, there’s no fun in that so I decide against it.
After a long walk down by the pier, I shove my hands in my pockets and head back to my place. I’m not really feeling any better and I’m not sure what I can do about it. When I reach my building, I immediately notice a car parked at the curb and two men loitering outside my door. As I get closer, I recognize Tommaso and Romeo Bianche, Gabriella’s cousins. What the hell do they want? I wonder.
“Rossi,” Tommaso practically snarls, moving in front of the door, blocking it. “You need to back the fuck off.”
“Excuse me?” I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about and I don’t like being told what to do. And, I especially don’t like to be threatened by this asshole.
“You heard me. Stay away from our cousin.”
Gabriella? How would he know about Gabriella and I? And is he talking about how I swooped in and messed up her business deal? There’s no way he could know we slept together. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I retort, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
“Keep your dirty hands off her,” Romeo snaps. “You’re not good enough to be in a Bianche woman’s bed.”
For a stunned moment, I try to process how these two idiots know that Bri and I slept together. Why would she have told them?
“I think Gabriella is old enough to make her own decisions,” I say coolly. “Especially when it comes to her sex life.”
“You’re scum, Rossi.”
Before I can get another word out, both men advance on me. Their intentions are clear and I get ready to defend myself. Two against one sucks, though, and while Tommaso launches himself at me, Romeo sneaks around behind me and grabs hold of my arms. Tommaso manages to get a couple of punches in—one to my face and another in the gut—and I need to break free before he manages to break my damn nose. His swings are wild, hard and out of control. Just as unpredictable as the man doling them out.
Using Romeo’s hold as leverage, I kick my legs up and slam my feet into Tommaso’s chest, sending him flying backwards. Then I shove an elbow into Romeo’s side and he grunts while I try to twist and shove him off me. Finally yanking myself out of his hold, I spin around, raise my balled fists and prepare for another strike.
They come at me hard and fast, fists flying. I’ve never considered myself much of a fighter, but I do know how to defend myself. My father made sure all of his boys could throw a proper punch. Even our little sister knows some basic self-defense moves. Other than a scuffle I got into when I was fifteen, I’ve never had to actually hit another man. I’m the sophisticated, suit-wearing brother. Miceli is a bit rougher around the edges and has been in the most fights. Vin, eh, not really. He’s more of a peacekeeper. And Angelo would probably run before getting in a physical altercation because he wouldn’t want his pretty face messed up.
So here I am, thirty years old and fighting in the middle of the sidewalk like some kind of punk. It’s ridiculous and being outnumbered isn’t cool. However, I quickly learn that neither of these two idiots has much finesse or actual fighting skills and I manage to outmaneuver them several times.
I just punched Tommaso in the face and Romeo is laying on the ground when I hear a click. Tommaso just flicked a knife open and sunlight reflects off the deadly silver blade.
“C’mon! Let’s go!” Tommaso yells.
Romeo pulls himself up and both of them slowly approach, cornering me. Shit. I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation and avoid getting cut when an engine roars and I glance over to see my youngest brother pull up to the curb. Angelo gets out of his fancy Porsche and steps up onto the curb, crossing his arms.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asks, dark eyes moving from me to the Bianche cousins.
Tommaso closes his knife and pockets it. “I think we’re all done here. Tell your brother to stay away from Gabriella.”
Romeo nods his agreement and they walk over to their car and slip inside.
“What the hell was that all about?” Angelo asks in a low voice. “You okay?”
“Yeah, c’mon inside.” I turn and open the door and we walk up the steps to my place. After unlocking my door, I motion for him to head inside. “Thanks for showing up when you did.”
“I’ve always had excellent timing,” Angelo tells me with a bright-white grin. He’s so charismatic and I can see why the ladies all trip over themselves to be with him. Too bad for them, he doesn’t care all that much and has never tripped over anyone himself. Not yet, at least.
“Yeah, well, that could’ve ended badly.”
“Why the hell were you brawling with those two morons, anyway? Because of Gabriella?”
