Chapter 23

I have seen him snorting lines with his men when the refurbs were full swing and they were kicking
back for the night. ‘’It’s like that? She’s not allowed to fuck me but you won’t touch her, and she’s not
allowed to do a line with us but yet watch us do it right? Sure she’s just your hostess Al? Seem a little
bit possessive of your plaything over there.’’ Gino is goading him and I can’t tell if he’s trying to wind his
brother up or angling for a real fight.

My inner nerves tighten and I sit a little stiffer, caught right up against Alexi as his whole body language
ups an aggressive gear. ‘’It’s like that!’’ Alexi snaps back and I literally freeze with the change in him. I
thought twins were meant to be close but right now they are two subtly hostile bulls going head to head
with a lot of raw static in the atmosphere around us. He mentioned his brother was close to him so I
don’t know if this is all down to substance abuse or not.

‘‘What if I just take her, walk to your room and screw her right now?’’ He seems almost buzzing with
amusement at that statement and I blanch at this seemingly charming man who has now grown two
heads. Guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree and he has Alexi’s prick side too. No angel about it,
these two are mischievous demons alright.

‘‘I think I would have a say, don’t you?’’ I butt in snappily, annoyed with the arrogance that he could just
have me, but Gino dismisses me with a snort and a laugh, and I am wondering if he is as nice a guy as
I thought he was. Bad blood must run in their DNA for Alexi to be the way he is and I’m not so sure
Gino doesn’t contain some of the psycho genes too. I completely misread him, something I seem to do
with these Carrero men.

‘‘Try it.’’ Alexi drops his tone and slides his arm from over my legs, sits back and starts tapping his
thumb on the hand hooked over the couch behind my head. I can do nothing but sit in terrified silence,
watching this unfold, completely aware of the tension around me.



Alexi is poised, despite his visually casual pose and I don’t doubt he would jump to action if Gino
touches me. I wouldn’t touch me if I were Gino. Alexi may be leaving me open to try, but I am breathing
in the waves of hostile testosterone coming from him. He is loaded and ready to spring to his feet in the
glimpse of an eye and I know the boy has some serious fighting skills.

He trains with his boxer cousin two days a week and has competed in amateur fights for charity. I saw
the photos and news clippings in his office. He’s a street fighter by nature.

I take a long slow breath to try to calm my hammering heart, caught like a deer in the headlights. A twin
stand-off. Sizzling atmosphere and I glance between them like a nervous teen contemplating what a
tug of war chew toy looks like after two wolves are done fighting over it—that’s me right now.

I feel sick and my body goes weak with the loss of adrenaline. Gino laughs again and lifts his drink and
raises it in the air in a ‘‘touché’’ gesture and sits back down, much to my utter relief. Obviously knows
which brother contains more violent tendencies and ability to enforce his wishes.

‘’Relax princess, this is what we call marking your territory with a pissing competition. My brother is
drawing a line where you are concerned and it’s a strong one.’’ Gino is smug, Alexi looks scarily blank
and I know it means he’s not impressed. When he closes down to a deadpan demeanour, he’s usually
hovering over the abyss of rage.

‘‘Mine. Whether I am fucking her or not. Don’t ever cross this line again.’’ He warns him and I just
swallow hard, on edge about the cray-cray tendencies Alexi has over this possession thing. I wonder
how hard it’s going to be to cut loose when I no longer have his debt holding me here and shiver
inwardly with the realisation that cutting Carrero loose when all is done and dusted might not be an
easy thing. He has issues.

‘‘Just fuck her and get over it, you know holding out only makes it more intense. Give in to it, get her
out of your system and then let me play with her.’’ Gino is smiling at me and I swear to God I feel like I



may throw up or throat punch him with the way he’s talking as though I am not even here.

He’s not Mr American nice guy, he’s unhinged and twisted and reminds me of so many men in my past.
I’m practically pissing myself, he has me so wound up and nervous.

‘’Go back to Alessandra Gino, you’re high and being a dick. You’re scaring her.’’ Alexi moves and sits
forward sliding his arm away from me to give me a little breathing space to exhale. Motioning to the
bottle in the centre of the table as his brother leans forward and pushes it to him amicably. Despite all
the weird whatever this is, they are still passing each other booze and acting like they’re merely having
a sibling squabble over which cartoon to watch. Meanwhile, I am having an emotional break and my
hands are shaking with the intensity of what just went down.

‘‘I’m being serious. Alessandra and I have an open relationship and I want to sample Red's flavour.
Hell, Alessandra would get in on the action if I asked her too. How about it Red? Do you want me to
fuck you?’‘ Gino grins like an idiot and cocks his head to one side as he looks me over once more and I
just glare at him this time.

He doesn’t know when to stop, clearly likes living on the edge. I jump in fright as Alexi smashes the
bottle on the floor between his feet. Throwing it down and he jumps up swiftly, glaring at his brother and
says not one word. Just this terrifying silent mass of man looking like he wants to rip heads off as he
breathes heavily and penetrates Gino’s skull with that colourless gaze. Gino continues grinning like a
lunatic as my heart pounds through my chest. I swear I think I just had a heart attack. I sit stone still,
afraid to move.

Alexi never loses his cool—EVER. Not like this; he has way more control than that.

Gino seems intent on pushing his buttons to the core and I have no idea why someone would be that
stupid. Clearly sadism and masochism run in the family. That or a lack of IQ. You would have to be all
kinds of stupid to play this game of cat and mouse.



‘‘Stay off the coke Gino. I hate when you get like this. Last time I almost killed you, don’t push me to do
that again.’’ The air crackles and Gino slowly stands up, matching his height and build and just seems
completely unfazed, pushing his brother in the shoulder and throwing me a dazzling smile. Just as
though he hasn’t sent his brother to the edge of Nutjob so effortlessly.

‘‘I fucked his last possession … right over his bed. Woke up in intensive care three weeks later. Some
fucking brother, huh?’’

He is a complete and utter headcase and Alexi looks fit to completely lose his shit. I blink nervously as I
absorb what he just said, yet I stay completely still and calm as though I don’t care. Inside I am a
trembling mess and I can barely breathe. I’m shivering but not from cold, although my body has shut
down in fear and I do feel like I’m losing all ounces of body heat.

‘‘Go home.’’ Alexi warns him again and this time there is that slow tone of veiled danger. Gino takes
note finally, obviously knowing his brothers signals way better than I do and it’s not wise to keep this
up. He might not be as lucky as seeing intensive care if he does.

That tone is like the calm before the storm and it signals Alexi is about to lose his grip on humanity and
turn into a weapon of mass destruction. ‘‘You’re right; been on one all day. Too much coke and booze
and not enough sex. I’m heading off … enjoy opening night. See you around Red, it was my absolute
pleasure.’’ Gino moves away from Alexi and skirts the table to head for the door, walking lazily and
throwing back a smile at his brother that doesn’t dampen the atmosphere at all.

‘’Don’t call me for a few days,’’ Alexi warns and I wonder if this is standard cooling off time between two
clearly unstable boys. Gino just throws a wave and a chuckle and pulls his silver box of fun out as he
opens the door. Obviously not done getting wasted yet.

I slide to my feet and put my glass down edging to get past one very wound up Carrero, who’s oozing a
lot of aggressive energy as he watches his brother leave and jump when he catches me by the arm



and hauls me to him furiously. So fast and with so much strength I almost bump noses with him and I
yelp, banging into his torso as Gino disappears out of the door completely, no backwards glance and it
slides shut with a thud.

‘’You’re mine. Understand? No matter what goes on, whether I fuck you or not. You’re mine! You stay
the hell away from Gino, or any man for that matter.’’ He seems deranged, a biting tone and nasty
edge, losing that cool and his eyes are dark grey and terrifyingly wide. The warning in his statement is
loud and clear, nothing veiled about it. He’s obviously had a lot of coke himself and I nod mutely.
Trembling with the way he’s being and seeing a glimpse of his unhinged side finally coming out to play.

‘’I’m not interested in your brother. Not my type.’’ I whisper it hoarsely, breathing hard, genuinely afraid
of him right now. I’m not mad enough to play with that kind of fire. Alexi is a control freak and I am his
current toy … I wouldn’t put myself in harm’s way by pushing his boundaries while I owe him my life.

I tremble in his hold, don’t fight or move but stay locked to that hard stare, going limp in his biting grip
and close to tears.

‘’Keep it that way. He’s made an art form of trying to take from me his whole life … I’ll snap your neck if
you betray me. I won’t feel any remorse either.’’

Shit!

I swallow hard and literally cannot find the words as cold fear sweeps my body. I don’t like this version
of him at all and I wish he was just his normal bastard self right now, instead of this terrifying ranting
psycho who says he will murder me for touching another man. He doesn’t want me but no one else can
have me and I completely believe every word. He looks insane.

Carreros are all unhinged!



I make a move to get away from him, my fear taking control and my run away button pushed, but he
catches me around the throat and hauls me back, holding tight but not hurting me the way Demagio
did. It’s more the shock of how he grabs me and pulls my face to his, so we’re literally nose to nose and
that enables his control over me. Touching so briefly he is breathing against my mouth and my body
sweeps with a new wave of cold fear and becomes completely obedient and still. He looks vacant and
my eyes start to bite with moisture as deep-rooted terror turns to tears. He looks like every other evil
monster who ever defiled me right now and I feel like the man I have been getting to know and
marginally trust is a million miles away.

‘’I will kill anyone you touch that isn’t me.’’ He sounds venomous, voice low and husky and just glares
deep into my soul, making a very real statement that I know he is capable of carrying out. A moment of
intense tension before letting me go and dropping me on my arse, back on the couch in an ungraceful
heap. I can’t breathe, literally clawing for air and curl up instinctively into a ball when he steps towards
me. Scared this is going to escalate, but he just brushes past and stalks out of the sitting area and
heads for his bedroom without a backwards glance.

I take a deep hysterical breath, trying to pull air into my starved lungs painfully and let out a huge sigh
of relief as I hit the body consuming shakes. I try to get my legs to work but they feel like Jelly. I don’t
know how to react at all and I know this isn’t normal Alexi conduct. I have been around him enough to
know this is drug-fuelled and sibling pushed rage, and he’s showing the side to me that he’s famed for
in the underworld. If I ever doubted Carrero was a complete psychopath, then I just witnessed a tiny
glimpse of it.

I wipe a solitary tear from my cheek with the back of my hand and try hard to regain my composure,
shaking like a leaf. All the past weeks of settling in here, finding my place with him, it’s all been a sham.
I just got a massive reality check. He’s not some romance hero that will sweep me into a better life.
He’s controlling, borderline abusively so and this is fast becoming a toxic environment.



If this is the mask lifting to show a little of his true colours, then I know it won’t be long before more of
that side comes into play.

The sooner I break free from this the better and if I can’t work off my debts fast enough then I will run
far enough away that he can never find me. Alexi Carrero is not my happy ever after in any kind of way.

 


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