CHAPTER 6

Gia

His father and mine were friendly enemies and Matteo was the oldest of his family line. He would be an appropriate spouse and the thought turned my stomach. I didn’t think my urge to vomit could take much more.

His eyes found mine and I saw something I didn’t expect but should have.

Lust.

It flamed hot from his body language with his intense approach. Matteo suddenly stopped cold and stared at something over my shoulder on the opposite side of Maria. A warm voice whispered in my ear.

“What brought the queen bitch to the party?”

I audibly sucked in a breath and still felt as if the oxygen in the room was gone.

Alessandro Brambilla stood so close I could smell the musky bite of his cologne. A thrill ran through me. No, it was stone-cold dread.

“Che palle! Back off,” Maria whispered harshly behind my back and sneered at Alessandro.

My head remained turned to Matteo while my eyes strained sideways in order to catch her look. My chin went up a notch and I met Matteo’s eyes. His read hatred and lust. It wasn’t all for me. Matteo ignored the double hurricanes at my back and slowly moved his gaze down my body. A creepy shiver passed over my skin. Something was not right about him.

His dark eyes returned to the spot behind me.

“I fucked her last night and she wasn’t that good. I told my crew they could take her on tonight for a bit of training.”

Maria gasped and swore beneath her breath. Usually, she would blow a gasket but too much was happening and I, for one, didn’t understand. She was playing this safe because she had no choice. The best I could figure out was we’d landed in the middle of a crew fight.

Why the hell had Matteo said what he said?

A hard, warm hand clamped on to my upper arm and this time I had to turn.

“Did you fuck him?” Alessandro demanded harshly, his hate-filled eyes burning into mine.

“Stop,” Maria protested and tried to step between us.

Alessandro pulled me back and his crew stepped around us, cutting off Maria and Matteo. His hold didn’t loosen. A pulse beat at the base of his throat and his grip would leave bruises.

“What are you doing?” I hissed and tried to jerk away.

I was trapped.

Alessandro was no longer looking at me. What I’d seen in his eyes didn’t compare to this. His gaze read death and they were glued on Matteo. I remembered their rival from freshman year and realized it hadn’t ended. Alessandro’s name was off-limits for Maria’s gossip so if it connected to him, I stayed in the dark and liked it that way. It never occurred to me, Brambilla could hate anyone more than me.

“You want to do this?” Alessandro demanded in his hard, deep voice that sounded like a man’s.

“Your time is coming, Brambilla,” Matteo promised in his higher-toned accent.

“It’s my time right now.” Alessandro didn’t back down.

Of course, he wouldn’t. This was his school. I could already see the lines forming for each of them. The students shifted to either side and made their alliance clear. It appeared even down the middle which surprised me. I had never considered that Alessandro didn’t have his position locked down tight. His last fight was a bloodbath that barely met the academy rule of no killing or maiming. He and his crew were locked down for a month which is the harshest penalty I’d seen at the academy. It was a month of pleasure for me. I didn’t need to avoid certain places on campus and it had been a nice change.

Even Maria couldn’t stop from telling me that she’d spotted Mr. Xavier entering Alessandro’s dorm. He was our consequence when trouble happened on campus and he scared the crap out of me. I’d seen him twice, the second time up close. For an older man, he was hot but his eyes were ice cold. He’d looked at me and I felt he knew all my inner thoughts. I’d frozen in place and I couldn’t allow that now.

Alessandro’s cocky attitude didn’t change nor did he release me. I couldn’t understand why he was doing this. Maria had some explaining to do. I’d always watched my back at the academy. When it came to the Rossi name, the Brambillas wanted us all dead. I should have paid more attention. We’d stayed clear of each other until tonight.

Matteo and his crew slithered into the crowd of students at his back. The pressure on my arm increased and I finally allowed myself to really look at Alessandro. His angelic face, square jaw, and high cheekbones accented deep-brown eyes, a shade lighter than Maria’s, but the lighter tint didn’t soften them. If anything, they caught the reflection of light from above and made you think of a wild tiger ready to pounce. He wore black distressed jeans with a blue long-sleeved designer pullover that accented his muscles that were larger close-up than they had been with the sly peeks I’d taken across campus.

“You’re mine. Stay the fuck away from Romano.”

He’d dipped closer to my ear and his warm breath sent chills across my skin. What the fuck?

The pressure on my arm disappeared along with Alessandro.

“What the fuck?” whispered Maria when she gained my side.

“You stole my line.”