CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
STEFANO
There she was, standing at the edge of the ring.
Sienna.
My Sienna.
She stood across the ring, dressed in all black, her arms folded over her chest, her glare directed at me with an intensity that would have made lesser men crumble.
My Sienna was here, in this place, surrounded by people who would tear her apart if they knew who she really was, if they knew there was a bounty on her.
My jaw tightened as I stared at her, trying to convince myself this was some fucked-up trick my mind was playing on me. It had to be. But she didn’t disappear. Didn’t fade. She stood there, real as fuck, staring right back at me.
A slow, sinister grin spread across her face as she placed her finger to her neck and slid it across her throat.
Off with his head.
“The next fight,” the announcer’s voice boomed through the room, cutting through the noise of the crowd.
“Will be between our reigning champ, The Silent Beast, and our new challenger… The Silencer!” the announcer roared.
“I never thought we’d see this rematch. Had I known, I would’ve taken up a bet on who would win this time. ”
The roar that followed was deafening. The crowd was going wild. My gaze never strayed from Sienna. It was really her. She was really here. She stepped forward, making her way toward me, her movements slow, confident, dangerous.
Every step she took felt like a challenge, like she was daring me to stop her. Daring me to say something. To do something. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I just watched her come closer, my thoughts drifting from disbelief to something darker.
How the fuck had she made it past the security team and come here? What the hell was I paying Dante and the others for if they couldn’t even keep her at home? She stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could see the fire in her eyes.
My gaze roamed over her, drinking in the sight of her. Damn, I loved this woman. Even now, with rage rolling off her in waves, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I swallowed the lump in my throat, fighting the urge to pull her into my arms and beg her forgiveness.
“You left me,” she whispered, her voice so low that I could barely hear it over the noise of the crowd, despite her being so close to me.
My eyes widened. I shook my head.
“I...”
Wait. I had left, hadn’t I? I’d walked away instead of staying to fix things. I’d run like a coward, leaving her alone in our house.
“Cecca sent me a picture,” she said, her eyes never leaving mine.
My brows pulled together slightly as I stared down at her. What picture? What the hell had Cecca done now?
“A picture of you,” she continued, an edge creeping into her tone, a dangerous undercurrent that I recognized all too well. “A pic of you sitting at the bar with some big-breasted blonde all over you.”
The crowd noise faded into the background, replaced by the pounding of my own pulse.
Damn you, Cecca.
“Did you come here to fight, fuck, and forget?” she snarled.
I cocked my head slightly, studying her face, still not fully trusting what I was seeing. Part of me wondered if I’d finally lost it completely, if this was just a hallucination brought on by grief, guilt, and fear.
“Are you real?” I asked.
“Does this feel real?” she snapped, her fist coming at me fast.
I moved without thinking, dodging her strike as my hand shot out to catch her wrist mid-swing. Her skin was warm under my fingers. She was real. She was here. And she was pissed.
She jerked her arm free from my grip, stepping back to put space between us as she raised her fists again. The crowd went wild, sensing the start of the fight they’d been waiting for.
“Who was that woman, Stefano DeLuca?” she demanded. “I will not ask you again.”
My jaw tightened as I stared at her. Her being here was a problem. She was out in the open. Unprotected. Exposed to every threat I’d been trying to shield her from. This was precisely why I was done compromising with her ass.
This is why I was done trying to do things her way. Her way always led to her being somewhere unsafe. She lunged at me again, faster this time, putting her whole body into the attack.
I could have dodged again, could have engaged her in the fight she clearly wanted. But that wasn’t what we needed. What we needed was to get the hell out of here and have a real conversation somewhere private, somewhere safe.
I ducked, bending slightly as I hooked an arm around her thighs and lifted her clean off her feet, throwing her over my shoulder in one smooth motion.
“What the fuck, Stefano!” she snapped, her fists immediately coming down against my back, each hit punctuated by a curse as she demanded I put her down.
I ignored her fists and her threats. I ignored the way she struggled, the way she cursed at me, the way the crowd around us erupted at the unexpected turn of events. They thought it was part of the show. They thought this was entertainment. Let them. This wasn’t about them.
This was about Sienna and me, and I wasn’t about to let our relationship fall apart in front of an audience of strangers. I adjusted my grip on her legs, locking her in place as I turned and started toward the exit, my focus locked on one thing.
Getting her home.
“Put me down!” she yelled, hitting me again. “You came out to fight. Let’s fight.”
I didn’t respond. Didn’t slow down. Didn’t even look back. Fighting her wasn’t up for discussion. I was taking her home whether she wanted to go or not. I didn’t slow down as I carried her toward the exit of the building.
I ignored the way she fought against me, the way her fists kept connecting with my back as she cursed me out in front of everyone. People were staring, whispering. Fuck them. Let them look. I didn’t care what they thought. I only cared about getting Sienna out of here.
“Put me the fuck down, Stefano!” she snapped, twisting in my hold, trying to break free.
“No,” I said flatly, tightening my grip on her legs as I pushed through the doors and into the night air.
The noise from inside faded behind us, replaced by the cool, quiet outside, but the tension between us didn’t ease. Her body was rigid against mine, anger radiating off her in waves I could almost feel.
I reached my car, rustling through my pocket with my free hand, finding my keys. It shows how far gone I was tonight. I hadn’t bothered changing for the fight or even locking my keys up. I’d kept them in my pockets.
What the hell was wrong with me?
After opening the passenger door, I lowered her into the seat. I was careful not to bump her head. She immediately tried to swing her legs out and get out of the car. But I stepped in close, blocking her before she could get anywhere, trapping her between my body and the seat.
“Don’t,” she started, fury flashing in her eyes.
I didn’t let her finish. I grabbed the seatbelt and pulled it across her body, clicking it into place before she could stop me.
“Stop trying to lock me down. Let’s fight, Stefano DeLuca. Let me show your insane ass just how savage I can be,” she snapped, trying to unbuckle it.
I leaned in before she could finish, one hand braced against the door, the other gripping the top of the car as I brought my face close to hers.
“Do not test me tonight, Sienna,” I snarled. “I’m already about to lose my fucking mind. Can’t you see I’m spiraling here?” I snarled.
She froze, her gaze meeting mine. For a second, neither of us moved. I stared into her beautiful face, wishing I could rewind time. Wishing I could go back to when my grandmother was alive.
If I could, I’d leave her behind, leave the DeLucas behind, and go search for Sienna. I’d rescue her from her dark past. And together, we’d learn how to be normal. Learn how to love without this fear that clawed at my insides day and night.
But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t save us from our past. I couldn’t even save us from our present. I moved away from her, slamming the door hard enough to make the entire car shake. I rounded the front without looking back, my jaw tight, teeth clenched so hard they might crack.
“Sir,” someone called out.
I spun around. There stood Dante.
“Just wanted to let you know we’ll be following you back. So you won’t be alarmed if you see us trailing you.”
I sighed. She hadn’t come here alone. The guards had followed her.
“Thanks, Dante,” I said.
He nodded, then walked away. I didn’t even know where he was parked. He headed toward the woods. Disappearing like the shadow he was supposed to be. I got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
The car roared to life, the sound filling the silence between us. I pulled out without saying a word. Didn’t look at her. Didn’t ask if she was okay. Because if I did and she said something crazy, like stating she wanted to break up, I might lose what little control I had left.
The drive was silent. I kept my eyes on the road, my mind running through everything that had just happened. No matter how upset she was over a photo, she shouldn’t have come here.
Did she have any idea how many people in that place would sell her out without a second thought?
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
She sat stiff in the passenger seat, her arms crossed, her gaze fixed out the window like she didn’t want to look at me. Like she was just as pissed as I was.
Our car rides used to be filled with laughter, with music, and her singing off-key. Now, they’d been reduced to silence and side-eyes. I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. When I stepped out, I moved around the front of the car, preparing to open her door for her.
But she was already out and halfway to the house, her back rigid, shoulders squared. She didn’t slow down. Didn’t look back. She entered the house before me, slamming the door shut behind her.
I sighed. I knew the guards were somewhere having a good laugh at me. They were probably happy to see that I struggled to keep up with her just as much as they did. I don’t think there was anyone alive who could keep up with Sienna Keys.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t spend my life trying to.