Caught In Her Vengeance - Book 2

61

Chapter 61

Catalina

How the hell did he know that I was here? Unless Lorenzo... No. They hated each other.

"You didn't think your little stunt would go unnoticed, did you?"

I listened to Lorenzo as he posed his question more as a statement, and I knew I was beyond screwed. Pun intended. Hopefully anyway? And to think the night had been going so well up until this point.

Doing what I did best, I nudged myself forward into his other hand, which was now wrapped around the front of my throat, hoping to appear as unaffected as possible to him. "Oops, that was my b," I let out through clenched teeth heavy on the smart-ass tone when his already firm grip on my chin turned painful, "left a little message on the fridge so you all wouldn't worry, though."

Thankfully, I resisted my natural impulse to cower when I felt Enzo's heated glare burning a hole in the side of my face because all I could do was stare into the two sterling gray eyes filled with fury scowling back at me from the doorway.

"You and your little notes," he rasped into my ear, undoubtedly referring to the last time I'd written the letter that had told them that I had left them. His nails cut into my delicate skin as he did, and I tightly pressed my thighs together without even thinking.

"How did you give him the slip anyway?"

These men. I rolled my eyes. I had been against the idea of them following me around like lap dogs from the moment Nic suggested it after our little fast-and-furious incident. What a day that was.

I made no qualms about letting them know how much I was not too fond of being watched like a little child, and yet, I reluctantly agreed after much pushing on their behalf.

Who was I kidding? They hadn't really even given me a choice—even Sal.

It was fine at first... but in recent weeks, things had gone from them watching my every move to them becoming downright overbearing. I felt like I couldn't fucking breathe anymore.

I wasn't a damn idiot. I knew that there were people after me, and it wasn't like I was going to go out with my friends to a bar or something dumb... only to end up putting their lives in danger too. I wasn't that stupid. But the guys had been acting like if one of them didn't have eyes on me at all times, I'd freaking disappear into thin air or get hurt or something.

As though anything could possibly hurt me more than what Reaper had already done to me.

I hated it.

I told them I could handle more freedom, but it was like talking to four incredibly frustrating brick walls. This was what I had them mercilessly training me for... and trust me; I have the fucking bruises to prove it. But so did fucking they.

So the guys had to trust me when I said I could protect myself now. It pissed me off when they didn't.

"What..." I paused and attempted to tilt my head to the side while still very much in Enzo's tauten hold. I wanted to appear unruffled throughout this entire ridiculous ordeal. "Like it was hard?" Despite proving extremely difficult to enunciate through my puckered cheeks, I shrugged a single shoulder—serving them my unaffected self.

Severing the intense connection, my probing gaze finally left Matteo's before I moved to meet Lorenzo's icy one, his sharp fingers bitterly flexing against my burning flesh as I spoke. "Remember? My foster brother was a total nightmare."

Enzo's fingers twitched, and his body tensed at my words. Realization soon washed over his features, and his hand immediately fell from my face as I looked back to Matteo because he'd heard the stories too. I immediately flexed my jaw, lifting a hand to run my fingertips across my sore cheeks in a soothing manner.

"Sneaking out of my loving childhood home became second nature, so ditching him was a piece of cake." The room had fallen eerily quiet as my gaze flickered back and forth between the two men giving me shit.

"Are you really not going to apologize?!"

The door slammed, and mine and Lorenzo's heads snapped in Matteo's direction when his powerfully frigid voice thundered throughout the room, echoing around us.

Oh, someone is BIG mad.

I instinctually fought the urge to recoil at his icy tone when he hissed at me, glaring at us from now inside the neon purple and black room. The only other time I'd ever seen him this angry was the morning he found out about Salvatore and me.

This wasn't that.

So, I did my best to shove away my initial surprise at his unfortunate reaction, then I pushed my hair over my shoulder, kinking a brow, and standing a bit straighter. "I'm sorry, I must have missed that particular memo because I didn't realize you assholes were the authority over my entire life."

Both he and Lorenzo snorted under their breath with apparent matching aggravation at my words. I couldn't help but smirk at the fact that, for once, their irritation for one another had taken a back seat, and their sole focus was on me. I swear if I wasn't so turned on by the thought of them punishing me for being as big of an intolerable pain in the ass as they've been to me. I wouldn't be trying so hard to piss them both off right now.

I wasn't sure what the weirdness was between them. They never wanted to talk to me about it, and fuck, I tried, but I was so damn tired of walking on eggshells about it... about us. If there even was an us. We were too damaged.

And fact of the matter is... if Matteo had been doing a better job keeping an eye on me, I wouldn't be here right now.

"I have nothing to apologize for. I stand by my actions so...."

Sure. I may have been trying to push their buttons because I wanted them to finally unleash on me what they'd been holding back this entire time. But if these two men wanted to act like I was supposed to beg for their forgiveness. They had another thing coming.

I wasn't trying to be unreasonable, but I fucking hated my every choice being scrutinized by the four of them as if I were a freaking juvenile—even if I were acting like it at the moment.

"You stand by your actions, huh?" Lorenzo snorted in what I could tell was utter disbelief, and Matteo's features darkened. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and nervously pivoted my weight from one foot to the other as I shifted my gaze to watch him speak. He took a few steps in my direction and my breathing quickened. "I'm all for testing boundaries. I love walking that fine line of a sharpened edge better than anyone, princess. But you could have gotten yourself hurt and caused a lot of fucking damage. You get that, right?"

Yeah, I got it. They were the ones who didn't.

"Funny how twenty minutes ago you weren't too concerned about how much damage was being caused when you were balls deep inside of my ass," I snapped back at him, earning a genuine laugh, and I could instantly tell that only pissed Matteo off more.

"Look, I did what I needed to do. I won't apologize for standing up for myself and doing what I wanted. I told you I didn't want to be babysat, and I meant it. I mean, it's not my fault you weren't quick enough to catch the slip, huh, Matty?"

"How can you not feel any remorse for your reckless actions?" There went that word again. I wasn't 'reckless'; I was taking charge of my life. Why couldn't he get that? "Or are you just Willfully being stubborn for the hell of it because you refuse to admit that you were wrong."

"I'm not wrong. I made a choice, and as I said before, I'm sticking by it. Plus, I left a freaking note. If you can't accept that, then that's your problem," I told him, holding his hardened gaze, "not mine."

"Oh, the note didn't say where you were going, only that you were leaving and you'd be back."

All facts... Which begged my earlier question: how the hell did Mateo know I was here?

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