Chapter Twenty-Eight Ella
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ella
Fucking hell.
Tiero is here.
How is he here?
The heat beneath my skin finally makes sense.
What doesn’t is the sight of Tiero standing at the edge of the clearing, a gun trained steadily on Lex while his men fan out around the perimeter.
We stand no chance.
“Lex,” Rhia calls, her voice cutting through the clearing before she can stop herself.
She shifts beside me, her body angling forward like she’s about to charge straight down the stairs.
I grab her arm hard.
“Rhia, no.”
My heart slams violently against my ribs, each beat reverberating through my chest, my throat, my ears.
Not even our voices draw their attention. The men don’t so much as blink, their focus locked on each other.
Time stretches thin. Everything narrows to the space between those two men.
The air is heavy in my lungs. My fingers tremble where they’re curled around Rhia’s sleeve, my palms slick with sweat. I try to inhale slowly, evenly, but each breath feels too shallow, like I’m not getting enough oxygen.
Tiero’s face is carved from stone, but I can tell that rage simmers just beneath the surface. I’ve seen what happens when he lets it loose.
Lex stands opposite him, unnervingly calm. His posture is relaxed, his expression unreadable. That composure makes my stomach twist harder than shouting ever could.
Do something. Anything.
I open my mouth to say something to disarm the situation, but no sound comes out.
“You will not take Ella again.” Lex’s voice slices through the silence.
My breath catches painfully in my throat.
Lex is prepared to protect me with his life, all while his girlfriend is watching. How can I live with myself if something happens to him because of me?
Tiero’s grip tightens around the gun, his knuckles whitening as his jaw clenches. The space between them is charged and volatile.
Pressure builds behind my sternum. It’s suffocating. I press my lips together, fighting the dizzy surge that threatens to knock me off my feet.
I have to stop this.
Tiero cannot kill Lex. I won’t let that happen. Rhia would never recover from it.
I shift my weight forward, ready to bolt, when Lex speaks again.
“Why don’t you put down the gun and fight me like a man?”
Rhia sucks in a sharp breath beside me.
Every second drags as Tiero’s expression shifts. Is it surprise I see flicker across his face?
His grip wavers. For a heartbeat, it seems he’s considering it.
It would almost be fair, if not for the armed men watching from all sides.
We are so doomed.
“Are you afraid you might lose?” Lex mocks.
“What is he doing?” Rhia whispers, horrified.
My heart rate spikes. I have no answer; my mind is a blank mess. We wait with bated breath to see what happens next. The silence presses in, even the forest seems to have gone still.
Then, deliberately, Tiero tosses the gun aside.
He shrugs out of his leather jacket and drops it without looking away from Lex. Only now do I notice he isn’t wearing his customary suit. Instead, black jeans and a fitted black Henley make him look even more dangerous… and hot as hell.
God help me.
Without breaking eye contact, he rolls up his sleeves, slow and methodical.
The movement is pure intimidation.
Lex responds with a smug grin, totally unfazed.
Claudette suddenly steps up beside us, our jackets draped over her arm.
“Oh wow,” she murmurs. “That’s… impressive.”
I shoot her a look, but my eyes betray me, drawn back to Tiero as his forearms are revealed. Strong, tattooed, familiar.
Now is not the time.
Claudette hands us jackets and nudges boots toward our feet. We pull them on mechanically, our attention never leaving the clearing.
Tiero and Lex begin to circle each other.
Slow. Measured. Calculated.
Every shift of weight, every flex of muscle is tracked by the other. My skin prickles as if I’m standing too close to an exposed wire.
I wipe my damp palms on my jeans. Heat trickles down my spine, my legs unsteady beneath me.
“This won’t end well,” I whisper to the girls.
Before either can answer, I feel it.
A gaze burning into me.
I turn my head and find Santino leaning against a tree, watching me intently. He inclines his head slightly.
A warning not to run again? Or a promise he’d catch me?
I look back to the clearing, my pulse roaring in my ears.
“Girls,” I whisper. “What do we do?”
Claudette’s lips twitch. “Enjoy the show?”
Rhia shoots her a look.
“If we don’t do something, someone is going to get hurt.” My voice is shaking.
Rhia’s eyes flick between the two men, calculation flashing across her face.
“Faint,” she orders, her voice clipped rather than calm.
“What?”
“Pretend to faint,” she repeats. “It’ll draw attention to you and stop this before it turns bloody.”
It’s reckless. It’s risky. But it’s better than standing here while everything explodes.
“Let’s move closer,” Claudette suggests. “We need to make sure he sees you.”
“I am not an actress,” I hiss as we descend the steps.
Santino straightens, watching us closely.
“Now,” Rhia orders.
My legs wobble as we reach the edge of the clearing. I grab onto a tree, my stomach tightening as I force a shaky moan past my lips.
I clutch my midsection, leaning heavily into Rhia.
“Ella,” she calls, panic sharp in her voice.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and sink to my knees, letting my weight drop.
Both women shout my name as I tip sideways and let myself fall.
A stone jabs painfully into my hip. I grit my teeth and stay still.
Hands flutter over me. Voices blur together. Footsteps rush closer.
Then everything shifts.
Different hands replace Rhia’s.
Larger. Warmer.
Tiero.
I know without opening my eyes. His scent surrounds me, ocean and musk and something that makes my lungs burn as if I’ve forgotten how to breathe.
“Ella,” he says, frantic. “Angel.”
His fingers skim my arms, my shoulders, searching for injuries.
My heart surges violently at the sound of my name on his lips.
“Get away from her,” Rhia shouts.
“Let go of me, you brute.” I hear Claudette yell.
Their protests fade as if they were being dragged away.
Tiero carefully rolls me onto my back. One hand cradles my face, his thumb brushing my cheek.
My body recognizes his touch instantly, craving more, and I fight the urge to lean in closer.
Then his other hand spreads protectively over my abdomen.
Everything inside me freezes.
The heat vanishes. The noise disappears. Even my breath stalls.
That single touch is possessive. Protective.
Oh my god.
Does Tiero know?