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I looked down and saw that it was a bookend. It was a heavy piece of metal that used to sit on the bookshelf right next to where Aniya stood.

It was that quick. The switch had been flipped. This bitch could have killed Gino. Me. I pushed Gino off me and charged at Aniya. The last year of bullshit she put me through fueled me as I grabbed her wild hair and forced her down to my height as my dominant fist went to work.

I dragged that ho all around that office as she screamed and tried to block my blows.

“Gino! Gino, get this bitch off me!” she screamed.

I heard Gino laugh. I stopped mid-assault and glanced at him with wild eyes. He perched on Aniya’s desk and grinned at me. I cocked my head before I looked back down at Aniya. Blood smeared on her face and mixed with the tears streaming out of her eyes.

When my eyes met Gino’s again, I frowned and let Aniya’s hair go. Her head dropped with a thud. “You weren’t going to stop me?”

I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. My mind barely registered the sharp pain in my knuckles.

“I woulda stopped the shit if she hit you. You only did what I couldn’t, and I’ma eat ya pussy so good tonight for that.”

Now, I had started to catch on that Gino was a bit crazy in the head. What surprised me was how my pussy purred at the mention of him tasting me again after I had just blacked out on my boss. My chest heaved from the workout I just had as I stared at Gino incredulously, but before I could respond, the door to Aniya’s office opened.

I jumped slightly at the sound of the door banging against the wall.

Officers swarmed into the room, and I jumped back against Gino. A second later, his arms circled my waist.

“Aniya Grant?” the officer in front of the sea of men asked.

I pointed at Aniya on the floor. No way would I allow them to mistake me for her, even for a second.

When the officer’s eyes landed on Aniya, his brows furrowed, and I shrank back into Gino’s arms. I realized I could get charged with assault. What if Aniya pressed charges? Panic tried to creep in, but Gino’s soft kiss to my cheek grounded me.

“I got you,” he whispered.

I had no idea how he knew what I needed at every given moment, but I was thankful for his attentiveness.

“G-Gino, what’s going on?” Aniya groaned as an officer helped her stand up before they placed cuffs on her. “N-no. She’s the one who attacked me. Arrest her.”

“Officers, as you’ll see, there’s a hole in the wall behind us because this woman tried to attack us. Whatever happened after that was self-defense,” Gino explained. His tone was cool and calm while my heart seemed like it wanted to beat all the way down my body and drop through my ass.

“We aren’t here for a domestic dispute. Mrs. Grant, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, money laundering, wire fraud, and racketeering related offenses. There are more charges pending.” An officer tried to walk her out of the office.

Aniya’s swollen eyes grew wide as she planted her feet in place. “W-what? N-no! That wasn’t me. None of that was me. Where is your commissioner? He can tell you. H-he knows! You have made a mistake⁠—”

“Ma’am, we’re here on the commissioner’s order. Please stop resisting arrest before we have to add that to your long list of charges.” The officer struggled with Aniya because she had dropped down like dead weight. She definitely wasn’t going down without a fight.

Gino took that opportunity to tap my thigh. I took that as a signal to move from in front of him since he was still pinned against the desk. I stepped aside and watched as he pulled a wad of papers out of his coat pocket, along with a pen.

He stooped, so Aniya looked him in the eye. “Sign these.”

Her eyes watered as she looked up at him. “Why would you do this?”

He scoffed. “I didn’t do this. You did, and you know what you did to land right in this position. Sign these now, and I’ll do all I can to help you get out of this.”

Even I knew that was a lie. The way Gino spoke about Aniya was with so much venom that I knew he wouldn’t help her even if it would benefit him. If they both had to suffer, he gladly would if it meant she didn’t get any slice of comfort. She really had only done this to herself.

“After all the work that I’ve done . . . everything I’ve done to make sure I was taken care of and that you would live life in prison, away from me so I could be free . . .”

“You could have asked for a divorce like a normal person and lived a perfect life,” Gino spat.

“I signed a prenup,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t have gotten anything.”

Gino looked at her for a long time. “After all these years, you don’t know me. I would have been pissed. I would have been hurt. But I would have made sure you were taken care of. Hell, if you had blindsided me with a divorce, I would have paid yo’ stupid ass to leave me the fuck alone so I could heal in peace.”