MasukNico POVBut my little brother had already made up his mind. He launched at me, and I yelled over my shoulder, “lila, run!”With a hard shove I pushed her out the door and ducked just in time as Damon fist came flying toward my face.With a punch to Damon gut, I jerked up straight and flung my other fist toward his face, my knuckles connecting against his cheekbone. Bone cracked, grunts and roars of anger echoed.Damon spun from the force and collapsed on the ground. For a second I wanted to kick him while he was down.I wanted to beat him to a fucking pulp for threatening lila, for whipping her, and for every ounce of hate he had directed at her.But lila was out there running through a house she didn’t know, guaranteed to find a threat around every damn corner. I had to go find her.I rushed out the door and down the hall. There was only one place in this house she knew how to get to my bedroom.So I rushed in the direction of my room, praying that she didn’t chance it by running an
Nico POVI had to come back.Thank God I came back.I was on my way to my bedroom when I accidentally dropped the sheets of paper that burned my fucking hand.The anger and rage that buzzed through my body was so strong, it surpassed the fury I felt when I found out that my brother had been murdered.And I knew why. I knew why I was so consumed with intense indignation…because my jealousy was fueling it.When those sheets scattered around me, one of them caught my eye the one that lila was now clutching in her hand.Her very last drawing was one of me, with my scar.’That was the moment I realized that there was no decision to be made. There never was. I had no fucking choice but to protect her, no questions asked.I rushed back to her room only to find rex on top of her, his cock in his hand, seconds away from claiming what was mine.I reacted.With nothing but red clouding my vision, I took out my gun, aimed…and pulled the fucking trigger. And God forgive me, but when rex lifeless b
Nico POVI screamed, but this time his fist came down hitting the side of my face. Stars exploded as pain blasted through my skull. For a second my mind went hazy and registered nothing other than pain and fire. My head throbbed, every bone in my face aching like it had been cracked in half.I opened my eyes, my vision blurry, my mind disorientated. Rex was on top of me, but I couldn’t do anything. It’s like my mind had completely shut off, unable to tell my body to fight back.I watched in horror through teary eyes as he loosened his pants, pulling out his disgusting cock, and no matter how hard I willed my body to fight, I couldn’t.“Please don’t,” I begged, trying to move, desperate to stop him.“Oh I’m going to, and you’re going to fucking love it.” He jerked my legs apart, hands and fingers invading me, touching me, probing me. Warm tears burned my skin, and I bit into my tongue, the metallic taste bursting through my mouth.Everything about this man, the way he smelled, the way
Lila POVThe second he closed that door, I knew my fate was sealed. The man that left my room was no longer the man out for blood, but rather a man who had been hurt by me.I knew something shifted between us during the last few hours, I just didn’t know what it was.But whatever it was, it had to be big. For nico to act so…so hurt by my drawings, he had to have felt something…for me. I just didn’t know how that was even possible.Yet something definitely changed. He was different, and I no longer saw hate when he stared at me. His touch, the way he held me in his arms felt good, like he wanted me there.And I wanted to be there. I wanted him to hold me, to take me, make me his and protect me.How’s that for irony?I wanted the one man out to harm me to protect me. I was such a fool.Did I think that nico, the man who spent the last few months plotting and planning my demise would actually change his mind? And why because he cared for me?Stupid, naive little lila.I slipped down the
Nico POVI saw the reluctance in every step she took, the fear and doubt that plagued her. If there was a way for me to be able to relieve her of that burden just a little, I would have done it.Goddammit, this was all too surreal going from a man who wanted to punish her, to a man who wanted to spare her any kind of torment.We walked in silence down the dark halls. There was nothing we could say nothing I could say. For months I felt powerful as the Boss of this family, and now for the first time I felt completely helpless.Every step we took toward her room felt like we were both on fucking death row, and too soon we stopped in front of the security door that led to her prison. The heaviness that fell over us as I punched in the code was downright toxic.I opened the last door and let her walk through first.A kidnapper with manners.I leaned against the wall and admired how she looked in my white T-shirt. Her perfectly curved legs teased me. Her toned thighs taunted me.And the wa
Nico POV“My God, lila.” I let out a breath as I stalked toward her.She smiled, she actually fucking smiled. “Did you think I ran?”I stopped two steps behind her. “Yeah. I kind of did.”“And where do you think I’d run to?” She turned back to look out the window and I couldn’t stop myself from taking those last two steps to close the distance between us.She sucked in a breath when I pushed my body against hers, the electricity of our attraction buzzing between us.“Away from me,” I whispered as I nuzzled my nose into her golden blonde hair, loving her sweet scent.She leaned her head back against my shoulder. “Maybe I don’t want to run away from you.”“You should.”“Maybe. But where to?” She turned to face me. “After what I just experienced with you, where would I run? I’ll never have what we just shared with anyone else ever again.So tell me, nico, where could I go that would actually be worth running away from you?”Her sapphire eyes twinkled with an ocean of unshed tears, and I







