Chapter 7 Enzo
“Nova…” The little shit sneaks into Raf’s office like a puppy who’s been caught pissing on the carpet. “What did you do?” I drawl as she huffs, throwing herself onto the couch.
My brother peeks up from reviewing some documents, in the process of making slight adjustments to our long-established contract with the Writesmith family.
Boy genius does this often, altering contracts in the most miniscule way.
Initially, nothing much changes but over years of doing it, power sways from our father to us and the stupid fuck doesn’t even realize he’s signing his empire away.
Nope, he blindly trusts his golden child, usually only glancing at the paperwork before scrawling his signature on the line.
Bada bing, bada boom…what once belonged to Dante Alessi now belongs to Angel Incorporated, i.e. us.
Dumb fuck.
“Who does she even think she is?” Nova pouts.
“Who?” Rafael glances back down at the contract, already ninety percent checked out of this conversation.
“The doctor. I…might have pissed her off.”
“Might have?” I say as my brother pauses whatever he was scribbling on a piece of paper. At the mention of our dark-haired doc, he’s checked back into the conversation, his full attention on Nova.
“Nova, you were meant to gain her trust, allow her to open up and confide in you.” He sighs, exasperated and on the verge of a breakdown. No doubt he’ll be in the gym this evening, pounding leather and drowning himself in sweat.
But no matter how disappointed he may be, Nova’s like a little sister to us.
He’d never reprimand her. She’s been our little spy for a little over a year now.
When she first started at Cloud Nine, she drew the attention of many and Dante quickly made her an Angel, then brought her into the house to be at his beck and call.
We caught her sneaking about one night and quickly discovered she has a knack for manipulation, using those sweet eyes and perfect set of tits to get out of just about anything.
After Raf and I gained her trust, we brought her into our little family of rebels and now we have a woman who can bend Dante to her will and get him to squeal all his secrets like a pig.
We of course gave her a choice, leave Cloud Nine under our protection or help us take our father down. She never hesitated.
“Well first I thought she was being nice.” She bites on her cuticles, and I swat her hand from her mouth.
Which earns me one of her signature deadly glares before she continues, “You know, concerned for my safety and all that noble shit, but then she asked me if the money I make was worth selling my body, like I’m some cheap whore. ”
Rafael sits frozen as the ice king he is, fingers steepled under his chin. I heave out a long sigh, putting my big bro pants on, ready to console our emotional little sis. “Awh, Nova Baby, you’re not a cheap whore.”
“Thank you!” She throws her arms up, sticking out a pouty lip.
My finger boops her on the nose. “You’re a fucking expensive one.”
She slaps my pec as I chuckle. “You’re an asshole!”
“Nova, what happened after?” Rafael steers the conversation back to something productive as I continue to smile down at her. She reminds me of a vicious little chihuahua snarling up at a doberman.
“I asked her if the money she was making was worth it. She has no problem taking his money, so why is she making me feel like shit for doing the same? Except, I’m actually doing something good with my time.” Her chest heaves, as she catches her breath.
“Damn girl, you’re supposed to breathe between sentences.” My arm wraps around her shoulders, and I pull her close for a sideways hug.
“You smell like fungus infested socks.” She pushes away but I keep her close, refusing to let her go and for extra measure, I cradle her head in my hand, only to shove her nose into my armpit. “Ew! E!” Her fist slams into my abs and I grunt, letting her go. “You’re repulsive!”
“Absolute children,” Rafael mumbles, flipping another page and continuing his revisions.
Nova and I glare at him, but he doesn’t notice before continuing, “Nova, do not worry yourself over the words of someone who does not know you. Your value does not fluctuate based on the opinions of others. Let her think what she likes.”
“Do I still need to make friends with her?”
“Not if it makes you uncomfortable, but whatever secrets you could learn from her would be beneficial,” Rafael reminds her then resumes his work. “Enzo, see to it our doctor made it back safely to her room.”
“My pleasure, big bro.” I hop up from the couch and give him a salute he doesn’t acknowledge.
The hallways darken with the setting sun, my favorite time to roam the mansion. At this time, everyone has settled in for the night and there’s a unique quietness, life lingering like a ghost.
And speaking of ghosts, I envision two little boys sneaking about the house around this time, seeing how many guards we could evade while also playing the ultimate game of cat and mouse with one another. Back then, it was an innocent game, now it’s our life.
A never-ending cycle of catch or be caught, winner takes all. But this time, it’s not Raf and I against each other, but us against the world.
My feet lead me to the kitchen first, as they typically do, but it’s empty. The lingering scent of Giovanni’s chicken marsala haunts the space. My stomach growls but I push past the grumbling and move on to search the remainder of the main level.
When I don’t find her, I make my way upstairs, the lights are off in both her office and Father’s office, doors locked, so I move toward her room, thinking she already made it until a dim light at the end of the hall catches my attention. Mamma’s library.
After her death, Father wanted to burn all her journals and books, but Rafael boxed them up and moved them to a secure location until our own home and library was built.
Rafael received quite the verbal lashing for disobeying Father’s orders but still never told him where he hid the books.
Eventually Father gave up, I guess feeling like his heir learned his lesson and realized nothing important could come from the written thoughts of his wife.
When I near the door, I don’t hear her soft music or smell her sandalwood candles and my heart clenches. Gritting my teeth, I nudge past the pain and push open the door, where I find the pretty little doc standing in front of the window, holding a picture frame.
I know the photo she’s admiring, the one of Raf and I with Mamma on her birthday, the year before she died.
Lucy doesn’t seem to notice me as I approach. “She was beautiful.”
My fingers wrap around hers, a spark traveling up my arm and a little gasp leaves her lips as I yank the photo from her grasp and place it back on the windowsill. “You have no business in here, Doctor.”
Despite my hardened tone, her glare narrows in defiance instead of fear and my dick jumps in my slacks. Not now, boy.
“The door was open. I was just exploring,” she argues, turning her back on me yet-a-fucking-gain and walking toward the fireplace. Her arms cross, but not in a sassy way, more like she’s protecting herself from the cold despite the warmth of the room.
“You know what happened to the curious cat, don’t you?”
I encroach upon her once again. God, those fiery embers flickering in her irises, those full lips…
It’s really fucking hard to remember why I was upset with her in the first place.
Even though there’s no fire blazing through the room, the glare she levels me with has me burning with need.
The need to kill her or fuck her is yet to be determined.
“I’ve still got a few lives left.” She faces me when I’m mere inches from her. Defiant little shit, does this woman have no sense of self-preservation?
“I’m taking you back to your room.” I go to grab her arm, but she takes a step back.
“Wait, I think I might have upset Nova earlier. Is she around so I can apologize?”
My eyes roll and the pinch of a fucking headache throbs against my temples. “Nova can be a bit emotional about her position in the house. She’ll get over it. Let’s go.”
My grip tightens over her bicep, and I pull her along, but she keeps talking. I hate being in this room, too many memories to suffocate me with. “Is it true she’s here by choice? Are the other girls? Why does Nova speak as if Rafael is in charge around here?”
I pull us to an abrupt halt in the hallway. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”
“It was only three.”
“Three too many,” I say snidely, pulling her along again. “Now, back to your room before you get the both of us in trouble.”
She rips her arm from my grasp, huffing and puffing like a mad little demon. “I can walk on my own, you know.”
“Sure, but you clearly can’t fucking listen on your own.”
I step by her, taking three strides down the hall and laying my fingers on the keypad of her door.
The light shines green and I swing the door open, ushering her inside.
Her big brown eyes blow wide, and she storms up to me, poking her painted red fingernail into my sternum. “You’re not supposed to have access!”
I simply smirk and shove her inside. She stumbles a little before righting herself and fixing her askew glasses. The murderous scowl she pins me with makes all the blood in my head rush to my other head… He has an unhealthy attachment to angry women. We are working on it…
But fuck, she’s sexy when she wants to flay me from dick to nose. I’ll have to play with the idea a bit more, but not right now. Now she’s pissed me right the fuck off.
“I want your access, and anyone else’s, removed.”
Who the hell does she think she’s talking to?
I take a deep, cleansing inhale, releasing it to the count of three like Rafael taught me and reach in, grasping the door handle to shut it.
“Enzo! I’m talking to you! Are you deaf as well as dumb?”
Well, I tried to be nice.
My steps thunder through the room as I stalk toward her.
She retreats, her breath halting and I wonder if it’s from fear or excitement…
maybe both. The backs of her knees hit the bed, and she falls back, her dark hair fanning behind her but I don’t stop.
Planting one knee between her thighs, I cage her in with my forearms.
Her amaretto scent fills my nostrils, and I breathe it in deep, letting it dig itself into every crevice of my being.
“Who is it you think you’re talking to? You seem to have mistaken me for someone you can make demands of, Little Doc.
” Leaning in, I run my nose up the column of her neck, saturating myself in her, stopping with my lips pressed against the velvet soft skin below her ear. “Let me be clear. Do not fuck with me.”
Her tiny fists come up to my chest, pounding with all her might. “Cute.” I chuckle and she growls.
God, she’s fucking insane. Even after I did what I did, she still wants to push me.
“Get off me!” she shrieks, and I back off, for now.
It takes every ounce of self-control I possess to turn my back on her, slamming the door on the way out. She doesn’t have a clue who she’s mouthing off to, but fuck, I can’t wait to show her the consequences.