Caught In Her Vengeance - Book 2

43

Chapter 43

Domenico

"Christ, Catalina."

In a panic, I snatched the glass door open, steam hitting me in the face as I frantically turned off the water.

She was sitting in the center of the tile floor of the shower with her knees pressed to her chest. Her tan skin was bright fucking red, and that's when I realized the cold water hadn't even been turned on.

"Shit," I stepped into the shower and knelt, soaking the knee of my pants. I shook my head and cradled her small, fragile face inside both of my large palms, swallowing her up with my hands.

"Hey, Cat, look at me," I uttered softly so as not to frighten her.

It felt like shit seeing her like this after what I'd already put her through today. Leaving her with that job was meant to teach her a lesson for being reckless. Not break her down. Not like this.

You did that.

She wasn't ready. And I pushed her.

With my free hand, she let me brush away the hair stuck to her flushed cheeks as I tilted her head back. I wanted to get a better look at her. My chest tightened when her bloodshot eyes met mine.

She'd been crying—or was still crying.

I couldn't be certain because her face was covered in tiny water droplets. But I was betting on the latter.

Oh, baby, I'm so sorry.

While the others went to follow up on a few leads, I had come to check on her after we took care of Massimo's body.

I stood, knocking and jiggling the locked doorknob for thirty minutes, give or take.

"You better open this damn door right now, or you'll be sorry goddamnit!" I shouted.

And when I still didn't get a response, I decided to break it down. I was worried she might've hurt herself, but it seemed as though she was battling with the same demons we'd all individually had to conquer.

"Nic," she croaked out, big hazel eyes fluttering with the realization that she was no longer in the bathroom alone.

Her arched brows tugged together, and her shaky hands came up to pull my wrist into a death grip. It was like she needed to feel something real.

And I'd let her hold onto me for as long as she needed.

"Yes, baby, it's me."

"Reaper and Victor are coming for me," she told me just above a whisper. "And I don't think we will be able to stop them."

"Yes, we will," I tried to reassure her, but she continued to shake her head no in my hands. It was clear that killing those men wasn't what had her worried. It was knowing that the men who tore her world apart were working together—and coming after her.

"I-I don't want to die."

Her shaky words cut through me like a jagged blade. I was bleeding internally, understanding her fear. I knew she was scared.

Fuck. I was terrified. These men not only wanted to hurt us, but they wanted to make our girl suffer.

That's right; she was ours.

Whether we were all ready to admit it or not, I saw the way those three other lumps reacted when Massimo said those vile things to her. They were just as keen to tear him apart as I was.

And again, I saw their faces when she walked out of the shed after killing him.

They loved her and would kill for her. And that was precisely what she needed.

"Listen to me," I hugged her wet naked body to mine, not caring that I was soaking my clothes in the process. "You are not gonna die."

"You don't know that," she snapped back at me, intent on arguing about something that was never going to fucking happen. Not while I was still fucking breathing.

Pressing my forehead to hers, I snarled and wrapped my whole self around her small frame. "You are not leaving me again."

She yelped in surprise when I scooped her up off the tile floor and into my arms, bridal style. I placed her down on top of a towel that had been folded over on the counter.

"Cold." Her teeth chattered, and she wrapped her arms around herself. I quickly grabbed another one from the shower side shelf to wrap her in. "Thank you."

I wordlessly nodded and took her hand into mine, kissing her knuckles before drying her off.

The bathroom found a peaceful silence as I took my time moving the downey towel  across her shivering tan body and then her long chocolate brown hair. She hissed in pain when I moved down past her slender shoulders, making me pause.

"Sorry," I apologized and, after carefully surveying the seared flesh on her upper right arm from the bullet that grazed her. I looked down at her with my brows pulled together, and rightfully so, I chose to forgo the lecture. I'd save it for another day.

"Don't move," I told her instead, and she agreed.

I returned to the bathroom with a first aid kit and found Catalina exactly where I'd left her and without me having to say a word, she shrugged off her towel.

I swallowed hard, doing my best to ignore the way her mouthwatering brown nipples pebbled against the cold air. I damn near salivated at the memory of them between my lips—and my teeth as she cried out for me.

As though she were reading my mind. Her lustful hazel gaze met mine, and I cleared my throat, averting my eyes back to her arm. So I could adequately clean and dress her fresh wound.

"Good as new."

Once I was done. All the heat between us had dissipated into thin air, and I was thankful. My dick wasn't what she needed right now. I pulled the towel back over her shoulders, putting some much-needed distance between me and her perfect tits.

"I doubt it," she muttered with a hint of sarcasm but I chose to ignore her.

With my help, she climbed down from the counter and tossed the towel she was sitting on into the dirty clothes hamper. When she turned around, I noticed her wince in pain as she brought her hands around her lower abdomen.

Had she gotten more hurt in the chase than she let on and not told anyone?

Because I pushed her.

"Hey, what is it? Is there something else?" I marched up to her and began frantically examining her body for other possible injuries.

Catalina smiled when I ran my open palm over the flat of her stomach. "No, it's just...."

"Just what?" I urged.

"Cramps," she groaned overdramatically, and I was still lost. "I got my period this afternoon, and I'm pretty sure I'm dying."

"Oh, yeah," I said, completely dumbfounded.

Okay, yes, I was fully aware women got their periods. I just wasn't aware she was on hers, which made me feel like a bigger asshole for putting that job on her—alone.

"Yeah," she said, shrugging off her towel and grabbing the robe from the back of the bathroom door. "So you can add Aunt Flo to the list along with Reaper and Victor for all the people trying to kill me today."

I knew what she was trying to do, and I wouldn't let her.

"Catalina."

"What?" she shrugged with an unamused laugh. "It's true. Car chases, shootouts, bullet wounds, car accidents." She emphasized referring to the incident in Spain last year. "And it turns out that mother nature is going to be the one to take me out. That's gotta be one for the record books."

"Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes, deciding not to comment on her grim sense of humor. Though I was glad, she wasn't wallowing over current events anymore.

I kinked a brow and narrowed my eyes curiously, watching her pull something from under the sink. "Could you ah...give me a minute. Still bleeding here ya' know," she quipped, holding up a tampon as she turned to face me.

I swear my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Shit! Uh-Yeah."

I wasn't sure why I put a hand over my eyes as I turned around. But I slammed into the wall hard enough to make a loud Thud. Then I heard the most glorious sound.

Her giggling.

And she laughed—like really laughed. It made looking like a complete ass in front of her entirely worth it.

Keeping my eyes covered, I made a second attempt with her help this time. "To your right," she giggled.

I bit my lip, step-stepping and smiling as I exited the bathroom. I closed the door behind me.

When I made it into the kitchen, I was thankful Matteo just so happened to be sitting down to eat. "Hey."

"Hi." He pulled his brows together, eyeing me suspiciously—as he should've. I went back and forth with myself, debating on whether to ask him before the words came spilling out of my mouth.

"Catalina's on her period. She's a bit out of it, and I want to make her feel better," I shrugged nonchalantly.

After the things we all heard Massimo say out there about her. I hoped he understood and wouldn't give me too much shit.

Grinning down at his plate of food, he peered back up at me through his long dark lashes. "And why are you telling me this?"

I took a deep breath and narrowed my eyes at him. Asking for help was never something I enjoyed doing.

Even less when I was asking for it from the man that made my girl fall for him.

But he wasn't just some guy she fell in love with. They were friends first. And that was somewhere she and I never made it to.

I'm hoping to get there now.

Sucking up my pride, I slowly exhaled through my nose. Periods were nothing new to me. I just never cared about another woman enough even to bother.

Lola had her nannies, and I never had a serious girlfriend.

"I'm asking you for help, okay," I muttered so that only the two of us could hear.

"I know," he smirked up at me, his silverish gaze lighting up with enthusiasm, and it eased the tension I had been feeling. "I just wanted to hear it come from you."

This was new for us...well new-ish. I mean, we were real friends...once. A long time ago.

Yes, I worked with him and his brother for years—after growing up with them. But the older we got the more private about our personal lives we all became. Which created a riff in the friendship. So everything we did was solely work related. Until her.

And yes, I've lived under the same roof with them for six months while she was away. But it was still work. Us trying to get her back, left no time for us to become buddy-buddy again.

But now that she was here...

After he supplied me with extra strength pain reliever, her favorite junk food, and sugary drinks, Matteo gave me a complete list of all her favorite rainy day movies. He also placed an order for an extra large cheese pizza, and because they don't deliver all the way out here, he offered to pick it up for me.

It made sense why she needed him too. He was extremely useful.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one," I told him genuinely before attempting to leave the kitchen. I was in a hurry to get back to Catalina.

"Oh, and Nic orgasms." I whipped around so fast that all the snacks in my full hands nearly toppled over. "Orgasms work wonders for the pain."

He winked with another laugh, and I opened my mouth to question him. Just then, I heard Catalina groan in pain from her room, and I left it up in the air.

Orgasms, huh?

ツ hope you enjoyed it.

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