Chapter 112

‘Honestly, I can do it, I’m fine. It didn’t hurt.’ I turn towards him to dislodge his arm from around me,
agitated with his efforts, patting him on the chest to let me go with a smile through gritted teeth. He
leans back up, so we are nose to nose and that’s the last thing I see of his face.

Like a flash out of nowhere someone tugs me out of his arm, so that I stumble backwards into a wall
and lose my balance momentarily. Head spinning with the suddenness of it and the black form that
literally dive bombs him with such force it takes him flying back against the hall wall so fast I cannot
really focus on what’s happening right away.

It takes me a moment to realise what the hell is going on, as Alexi pins him by the throat to the inner
hall wall and starts pummelling a fist into the guy’s face. He’s all over him like a fierce animal, wildly
unleashed, punching, holding him up and lifting a knee to the man’s abdomen with successive thrusts
as he flails any attempts to defend himself. Alexi is too fast and too strong and the man’s nose
explodes across his face, covering him in blood.

Alexi has his back to me so I cannot even see his expression, although I know him and the sadistic
unemotional trance he went into that night with Santagato’s man is what I am expecting he is in now—
Fighting form on show, trained killer. He fights like a machine.

‘Alexi, stop it.’ Hysteria comes from nowhere, bubbling out of me with waves of sheer anxiety, and I
launch myself at him impulsively. I grab onto Alexi’s arm to pull him back, but he just physically shakes
me off as though I’m nothing more than a light breeze, while continuing his torrent of hate onto the
man’s now lifeless body. At this angle I can see him side on. He looks completely deranged, eyes so
dark they are almost all pupils and focused intently on annihilation of his victim. It sends a cold icy fear
through my veins gripping my stomach tightly. It’s like the lights are on but none is home.

I try again, hauling at the back of his shirt this time as I try to get behind him, pulling and yanking with
all my might and slapping his shoulders to stop the assault, but he’s relentless. It’s like I’m not even



touching him.

‘He didn’t do anything!’ I scream at the back of him again, pulling and pulling, but he shoves me back
with his body aggressively, to shake me off and I get a fright with the unexpected action. I fall over my
own shoes, which are ridiculously high, as I crash to the floor and sprain my ankle at the same time. I
land in an ungraceful heap and even that doesn’t get him to stop and see if I am okay; Although, I
wouldn’t ever expect him to.

He’s never cared about hurting me before or seeing me helpless on the floor.

I try and clamber to my feet, wincing at the ache in my ankle; and then with utter relief, I catch sight of
Mico and Gino as they both jump over me and fly in to control their enraged boss. Mico hooking him
from behind swiftly, under Alexi’s arms and Gino slides between him and his victim to forcefully push
him back while grabbing him around the back of the head and pushes their foreheads together. I am
guessing this is a tag team, age-old method of controlling his rage as they all move back five feet and
contain the tornado. It’s so effortlessly done it’s almost like a fluid dance. I exhale with a huge sigh of
relief, tears running down my cheeks that seem to have come out of nowhere, and my body starts
trembling like crazy, with fear, shock and adrenaline.

‘Enough, enough … It’s me, Lex … It’s me.’ Gino is in his face, soothing with words and even though
Alexi tries to throw them off at first, he seems to calm instantly. Blinking back to reality as the red mist
lifts and he sees his brother in his face. His body seems to lose its rigidity, and both men look visibly
relieved that the cyclone is not putting up more of a fight. All of them seem to sag in synchronised
movement.

The guy, now slumped on the floor, makes an awful gargling sound with his throat that shudders
through me and lays motionless on the floor a few feet from me. He looks like he has been run over by
a combine harvester. So much blood and mess all over his face and I feel instantly nauseous at the
sight of it.



Tears are still pouring down my face, more than before as I crawl to my knees and get up shakily,
putting weight on my ankle and find it’s not as bad as it first seemed. It aches but I can walk. My focus
is more honed in on the men than the injury.

Gino keeps a hold of Alexi tightly; obviously unconvinced he is truly calm, while Mico slides from behind
and goes to check the guy’s pulse, glaring at his cousin as he scans the mess of his face.

‘What the fuck were you thinking, Lex?’ Mico scolds and bends to pull the man into a sitting position
and leans in to listen to his chest. I can’t look. It’s horrible and stomach churning to look at the pulp left
where a face used to be and I wonder at a human that can do so much damage, fuelled only by anger
and with his bare fists. Alexi is insane.

I think I am in shock, standing trembling and watching them numbly as all emotion and chaos starts to
subside into a deep well of dark inside of me, something churning and bubbling together when sudden
fury hits me hard—Almost like an afterthought. Without hesitation, just pure reaction, I fly at Alexi,
shoving Gino aside like a crazy bitch and start hitting him in the shoulder with a bunched fist as hard
and high as I can muster.

‘He didn’t do anything! He didn’t do a fucking thing!’ I screech at him furiously, blinded by tears and so
overwrought with anger that I don’t care if he reacts to my assault. I want him to hit me. I have so much
venom inside of me right now it would be the cherry on the cake. Hit me, so I can stab him with my
shoe and be done with him forever.

Alexi shoves me back angrily halting my blows, glaring at me furiously but I won’t back down. I fly right
back at him, slapping at his chest and hating him with everything I have in me. All that pent-up anger,
hurt, heartbreak I harbour, and grudge for the past weeks coming together in one overly emotional blow
out and aim all my loathing I have for this man in hitting him.

‘You’re a complete fucking psycho … Jealous fucking arsehole! This man did nothing to me!!’



Gino intervenes, pushing his arm between us to hold me back while Alexi bustles up to slam back at
me a second time, icy glare and body poised to fight once more, but I do not give a shit. No fear, no
intimidation at his stance or glares. I want to tear his god damn head off. I am not scared of him
anymore!

‘Didn’t look like that from where I was standing!’ Alexi roars at me, craning over his brother’s arm as he
leans in at me and I aim a slap at his face.

‘Then you’re a fucking moron … who’s fucking blind!’ I snap right at him, teeth clenched.

Gino’s faster, catches my wrists and pulls me away, trying to be referee between us, but I resort to feet
instead, struggling to get free and aim any kick I can at him. I am determined to wound him in any
physical way I can.

‘I tripped, he picked me up you fucking psychopath. That didn’t warrant beating him to death! You’re
completely unhinged, you know that?’ I scream at him through tears and rage and Alexi doesn’t even
flinch when one connects with his thigh.

‘Bullshit. Knocked me back and found yourself another mug to fleece right? Flirting all night and then
took great delight in a knock back. Once a whore always a whore! I should have known it was all an
act.’ He spits it at me venomously. Rage and hatred thick between us once more, and I forget
everything nice I might have thought about him tonight. It was all fake. He has a cheek accusing me of
acting.

There he is, that sadistic bastard prick I fucking hate. I knew it was too good to be true that he was
being docile and reasonable these past weeks.

All of it was the game I thought it was, and he has just confirmed it. Alexi isn’t anything like he pretends
to be, this is the real face of that utter arsehole. He cannot hide his true self for long—Devil fucking
incarnate.



This time Gino isn’t fast enough and I slap Alexi in the face hard. Palm stinging with the shooting,
burning pain as the noise echoes like a thwack in the unusual quiet out here. He doesn’t even react,
even though it had to have hurt him as much as it did me. He just glares harder.

‘Go fuck yourself. I fucking hate you.’ I bite cruelly.

‘Feeling’s mutual, baby cakes; can’t believe I ever thought it could be any different between us.’ Alexi’s
sadistic tone, full on icy and nasty and it’s like a welcome friend. I know where I stand with this man,
this arsehole, this cold, evil and cruel piece of shit who would as soon shoot me in the face as look at
me. It’s nice to know right here is some real honesty between us.

‘Bite me! You’re never going to change.’ It’s equally cold and direct and the lack of emotion in my voice
gives me a little of my pride back. I can do him nowadays it seems—learning from the master himself.

‘Enough!’ Gino is pushing us apart and this time Alexi shoves his arms away aggressively and turns
away from me with that inhuman indifference I have come to expect.

‘Keep her … She’s nothing to me. I’m done with this bullshit and her.’ He pushes both of us to one side
with an easy sweep, expelling some of his aggression, and storms down the hallway back to the exit.
Jackson and his other cousin Marcus walk in, both turning behind him and follow him straight back out
obediently silent. A flurry of men and then he is gone.

‘Jesus Fucking Christ!’ Mico, a man of few words, gets up and pulls out his phone. I almost forgot he
was here for a moment and just let my eyes land on him as everything topples in on me. I start trying to
get free to leave too but Gino keeps a grip on me, turning to grab me around the shoulder.

‘Go block the door; I need to get this shit cleaned up. Take her out to the car; she’s leaving and so is
he.’ Mico barks at Gino bossily, and he obeys, pulling me with him despite my fighting and wriggling to
get free and half drags me towards the door ungracefully.



‘Don’t fight me. We have major damage control to do and you need to shut up and behave.’ Gino snaps
at me, sounding strangely like his brother in this second and I pipe down immediately. Sense coming
back that something major just went down here, and we could all be in a lot of trouble. It’s as sobering
as a bucket of ice being thrown over me, and I fall mute and submissive in an instant. The realisation
that this is serious and now we could all be up shit creek if this man is dead. I would be an accessory to
murder, not just a witness. I mean, I am here as they talk about cleaning it up!

Holy shit!

I stay silent and start allowing him to move me.

As we get outside he hands me over to Jackson, who is still standing here, into his warm welcoming
grasp. It looks like he was standing watch. I get the strong vibe I should play ball as I don’t want to
become someone who goes from ‘valued’ to ‘on the disposal list’. That thought alone sends my
stomach into a skittish mess of lurches and flips.

‘I’ll stay here, call the car and get her in it. You need to wait for us getting Alexi out of here.’ Gino says
to him gruffly. Fatigue hits me hard as reality drives home and I start to shake again, head unravelling
now I am being passed about like a fragile piece of china.

‘Okay. I’ll take care of Miss Camilla, don’t you worry.’ Jackson nods and takes a proper two-handed
hold of me, manhandling me with him and ushers me along a side hall that cuts through a part of the
club to the cloakrooms instead of going via the main floor.

 


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