Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Seeing he’s far from calm, I get up, but as I walk toward him, he shakes his head and steps backward.
Enzo’s eyes collide with mine again, and disgust ripples over his features. His lips part, and as he groans, my heart breaks into a million pieces from the wounded sound.
“Last week I hurt a woman,” he admits, his tone hoarse and broken. “A virgin. She didn’t divulge the information, and I hurt a fucking woman against my will.”
Overwhelming regret and guilt pour hot and fast through me. “I’m so sorry.”
He shakes his head. “And today I learned that I fucking beat another woman. I almost killed her and once a-fucking-gain it was because a woman hid the truth from me!” He shouts while his hands fly up, his fingers locking behind his neck as his chest rises and falls fast with harsh breaths.
“None of what happened is your fault,” I say, my tone pleading.
“I almost fucking drowned you last year!” There’s so much rage on his face, fear trickles into my chest. “I always fucking knew I’m too volatile. When I hurt you, it just confirmed it. Then there’s the fucking virgin, and now this body double…” His breaths come even faster, an expression I’ve never seen carving hard lines around his eyes and mouth. “Three times. Three fucking times.” Shaking his head hard, he whispers, “I’m done, Rosie.”
I shake my head. “Don’t, Enzo. You didn’t do any of it intentionally.”
“Three times,” he roars, unable to hear me because he’s too far gone.
His gaze drops to the floor, his teeth bared as he sucks in desperate breaths. “Three fucking times I’ve hurt a woman.”
Tears escape, rolling down my cheeks, as I whisper, “That’s not what happened.”
“It is!” His voice turns hollow. “I threw you into a pool, and you almost drowned. I was way too fucking rough with a virgin because she hid the truth from me. I tortured a woman because I was made to believe she was a man.”
I take a step toward him, but once again, he moves backward.
“Enzo...”
“I don’t care whose fault it was.” He drags a hand over his face. “The end result is the same.” His eyes meet mine again, and the disgust he feels for himself makes a sob burst from me. “Three women got hurt.” I’ve never seen him this upset before. “And I’m the common denominator.”
“You’re not.” My tone is pleading as I shake my head.
For a moment, I think about coming clean with Enzo so he won’t carry this crippling guilt, but something tells me to shut up. It will only make things a hell of a lot worse if he ever finds out I was the virgin, and it will be the end of our friendship.
“I’m so fucking done with everything.” The words come out quiet and broken.
Fear rushes through me, and forgetting about his boundaries, I move closer. “What does that mean?”
“No more women.” Enzo swallows hard before sucking in a rough breath. “No dating. No sex. No putting myself in situations where this can happen again.” His jaw clenches as he looks at me. “The only women I’ll allow close to me are my mother and sisters.”
My fear turns into panic at the thought of losing him. “And me?”
Enzo stares at me long and hard, and with every passing second, I become certain he’s going to push me away and end our friendship.
“You,” he whispers. “You’re the heart of the Cosa Nostra. You handle everything, so we have to work together, but…”
I slowly shake my head, giving him a pleading look. “Please don’t push me away.”
Enzo rubs his palm over his face again. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
The instant he steps in my direction, I dart forward. When I finally get to hold him, sobs burst from me, and I grip him as if my very life depends on it.
“You have to promise me…” he groans, his breaths exploding in my hair. “Promise me that you will never let me hurt you, and if I do, cut all ties with me.”
Never.
“Promise me, Rosie,” he begs.
“I promise I’ll never turn my back on you.”
He shakes his head and pushes me away from him.
Wanting to get through to him, I say, “There is nothing you can do that will make me walk away from you. Our friendship is one of the most important things in my life, and it means sticking together through thick and thin.” There is so much regret in my chest, it feels suffocating because twice I’ve been responsible for hurting Enzo. “You were put in situations against your will. That’s on the women.” On me. “Not on you.”
“And what about you.” His eyes lift to mine again.
God. I never meant for any of this to happen and wish I could turn back time.
My mind races, and I finally latch onto something. “How many times has one of the guys thrown one of the women in the pool at a barbecue or party?” I wave an arm through the air. “Every single one of you has dunked me at some point. I’m the one who inhaled the damn water. That’s not on you.”