change in the air, and the moment she saw me thundering toward her she backed away. With the wall at her back, she cowered and turned her face away as I approached. “Please, Enzo!” she begged. “I didn’t know!”
My hand covered her throat, squeezing as her hands came up to claw at my skin. “You didn’t know that distracting a guard would be dangerous?”
“He said he was her ex-boyfriend. He just wanted to talk to her and convince her to take him back,” Vanessa wheezed.
“Patrick’s a fucking dick, but he would never do something like this. It doesn’t add up, Enzo,” Sadie whispered at my side. As much as I hated the little dickhead and his persistence, I knew she was right. He was a cockroach, not a snake.
“Give me his name,” I ordered, clenching my fingers tighter. Sadie looked like she might interfere, but she stilled at the glare I shot her way. Vanessa was breathing.
For now.
I made no promises that she would still be by the time I finished with her.
“He didn’t tell me his name. He came here looking for her the other night.”
“What did he look like?” Sadie asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied Vanessa curiously. Something churned behind those honey eyes, her brain constantly trying to make connections, even if she didn’t have all the information.
“He was maybe thirty-five or forty,” Vanessa said in a hurry. “Dark blond hair, creepy pale grey eyes.” Sadie went still at my side, a mirror of the unending rage I felt.
“And Sadie was the target?” I asked.
“I guess so?” Vanessa asked, tears staining her cheeks. “I didn’t know he wanted to hurt you, I swear,” she said, turning her attention to Sadie. “All I know is that his guy called me to say you were at Tease and asked if I could get him into the back to talk to you. I remembered how you ran out of here when Dom was busy staring at me. I thought it was worth a shot to get rid of you.”
My fingers tightened on her, having all the information I needed, considering what she’d done. I’d killed people for less.
I would continue to kill people for less.
But Sadie’s grip on my arm pulled my hand away from her throat, forgiveness in her gaze as she studied the other woman. “I’m okay. I wasn’t hurt. I think we can show some forgiveness with that in mind,” she whispered as the front door opened and closed behind us.
“Have I missed out on the fun?” Rafael asked, striding across the floor. His odd gaze fell on Sadie briefly and she shrunk away from whatever she saw there, tucking tighter into my side. “Is this the traitor?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as they fell on Vanessa.
I’d thought her too self-absorbed to recognize danger where it lurked, but even she saw Rafe for what he was. “Yes,” I agreed, wrapping an arm around Sadie.
He turned his attention to the bodyguard who trailed after him. “Brand her,” he ordered, and the man nodded before stepping up to Vanessa who screamed as he took her by the arm.
“No!” Sadie protested, her wide honey eyes landing on me and begging me to stop it.
“That’s not how Matteo does things,” I told Rafe. He pursed his lips, looking disappointed for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
“How boring,” he sighed, nodding for his man to release Vanessa.
“You are banished from the city,” I said to Vanessa. “You will not find another job within the limits. You’ll quickly find yourself evicted from your apartment. I suggest you go home and pack what you can and get the fuck out, Vanessa,” I said, leaning into her space to growl. “Know that it is only Sadie’s kindness that has allowed you to walk away from this. If I ever see you again, I’ll feed you to Rafael and Ryker,” I said. She backed away, glancing from Sadie to me with a red face.
Then she turned on her heel and ran. If she’d thought I may show her kindness, she had no such disillusions about Ryker and Rafael.
She was smarter than I gave her credit for.
Sadie nestled into me. “Can I go see my fucking gym now?” I chuckled, touching my lips to the top of her head while Rafael studied us curiously.
Like a man taking notes. I shuddered to think of what he may be filing away for later use with Isa.