Chapter 9
ALEX
After Luca forced me to kneel at lunch, Damian and Bastian clung to my sides. They followed me to every class and sat beside me. I had to pee in the middle of my study period, and they waited outside the bathroom and wouldn’t let anyone inside.
I loved the attention.
People stared at us wherever we went. Everyone wanted to know what made me so special, why I deserved the attention of the Salvatore brothers.
At my old school, I was invisible. The only time anyone noticed me was to call me names or make fun of my worn clothing. Or to tell me I looked like a strung-out junkie because of my weight. Girls called me a crack whore. Boys called me a skinny slut.
At least the girls at Astor Prep kept their mouths shut. They spoke with their hands over their mouths, side-eyeing me. But they were looking at my marriage options, not me.
They are mine, bitches.
I wanted to yell that at every girl who stared at Damian or Bastian. Guys who looked like them wouldn’t have spoken to me at my last school. They would have run the other way. Yet, these two paraded me around like a prize, proud to show me off.
By the end of the day, I couldn’t wait to go home. I needed time alone to process all the attention.
Aiden stood beside my locker, his jaw ticking as we approached. He inspected my face, tilting my head to the side as if searching for bruises. “Did they hurt you?”
I shook my head. “No, they walked me to class. I’m fine, Aid.”
“I heard what Luca did at lunch.” Aiden gritted his teeth, his blue eyes wild and intense. “Everyone is talking about you.”
“I’m okay. It was just humiliating.”
Aiden entered the combination into my locker because there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t know about me. He grabbed my stuff and slammed the door shut, hooking his arm through mine. “Let’s go, Lexie.”
Damian stepped in his way.
Bastian moved beside him.
“Get the fuck out of my face,” Aiden snapped. “I won’t think twice about whooping both of your asses. I don’t give a shit who your daddy is or how much money you have.”
Damian reached into his jacket and produced a hunting knife. My eyes widened as the blade gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
“The carotid artery is about an inch beneath your skin. You would bleed out within seconds.” Damian rubbed the blade against his palm, licking his red lips. “If I had the time, that’s where I’d cut you. But you’re a feisty fucker. So, I’d go for your jugular. Make it quick and easy for me.”
His voice.
Silky, deep, and smooth.
I loved that sound.
It was the first time I’d heard Damian speak, and it was to get my brother away from me. He saw anyone who got in his way of me as a threat.
Aiden snickered and stepped toward him. “Do it then. I fucking dare you.”
“Aid, stop it.” I yanked his jacket. “Let’s go home.”
I felt the anger vibrate through his body. My brother had a short fuse from years of fighting and clawing to survive, years of dealing with our shitty parents and the mean kids at school.
“Damian, please,” I said, begging him with my eyes. “Don’t.”
He stared at my face, his expression vacant. Damian was so hard to read.
“Please,” I said again. “We’re going to be family someday.”
Bastian grabbed the knife from Damian’s hand and tipped his head to the left. “Go, Cherry. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What did he call you?” Aiden hissed as I dragged him down the hallway.
“Nothing.”
“Cherry?” Aiden shook his head. “Do you know why he’s calling you that, Lexie?”
“No, Aiden. I don’t.”
As we exited the school, he groaned. “Did you tell those assholes you’re a virgin?”
“No.”
We had no boundaries.
I knew everything about his sex life. All the boys and girls he kissed and fucked in bathrooms and even under the bleachers during a football game. And he knew about my lack of experience.
Aiden cut across the side of the school and headed toward the student parking lot. He removed a can of spray paint from his backpack and shook it.
I leaned against the brick wall and sighed. “Are you trying to get us kicked out?”
“Pops won’t let that happen.”
He shook the can again and flipped off the cap. There was no use talking to Aiden when he was mad. Like me, art was his therapy.
“I’ll kill him,” Aiden growled.
“It’s not a big deal, Aid.” I closed the distance between us, hands on my hips. “I stood up to Luca. That’s all I can do.”
“The Salvatore brothers don’t own you. You are not their fucking property.” He bent down to match my height. “We’re all we have now. It’s just you and me. I can’t lose you.”
Aiden was fiercely protective. Without him, I would have given up years ago. He was my reason to keep fighting when my life spiraled out of control.
I wrapped my arms around him, and he sank into me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I love you, Lexie. You know I would do anything for you, right?”
I bobbed my head. “I know.”
To my left, I heard two footsteps and snapped my head toward the sound.
Marcello Salvatore and Sonny Cormac strolled toward us.
Instead of the Astor Prep uniform, they wore track pants and hoodies with the football team’s logo, slinging athletic bags over their shoulders, their hair wet from the shower.
Marcello cleared his throat.
Aiden dropped the spray paint on the ground, his mouth twisted in anger. “Get the fuck away from her!”
Marcello held up his hands. “Look, Aiden, I’m not like my brothers. I won’t hurt Alex. So back off and chill the fuck out.”
“Then what are you doing here? Spying on us?”
Marcello shook his head. “I don’t like your attitude. And I don’t appreciate being accused of shit I haven’t done.”
“You’re confusing Cello with the Big Swinging Dick Trio,” Sonny told Aiden. “He doesn’t even like his brothers. They’ve never gotten along. So maybe pump the brakes on the crazy train, and let’s all get along.”
Aiden held his gaze and even licked his lips, liking what he saw. “Yeah, alright.”
He took a few steps back and ran his fingers through his curly blond hair. It was short now, but it looked worse than mine if he let it grow. I could never contain my locks. They were all over the place unless I tamed them with gel.
Sonny offered his hand to Aiden. “Are we good?”
Aiden shook his hand. “Yeah, we’re good. As long as no one fucks with my sister.”
“I can’t control Luca and my brothers,” Marcello said. “But whenever I’m around, you have my word. They won’t touch her.”