CHAPTER 2

WINTER'S POV

I made it to my room and locked the door behind me.

My bags were already inside even though Dante said they'd bring them up after dinner. Of course they were. These men didn't ask permission for anything.

I pulled out my phone with shaking hands. Fifteen messages from Marcus. I didn't read them. I never did anymore but I saw the last one and my blood turned to ice.

I know you're in the Moretti mansion. Pretty place. Big gates. Three stepbrothers. Does Mommy know you're fucking her new stepsons yet? Or are you waiting for them to force you like you always wanted?

My phone slipped from my hands and hit the floor.

He was watching the house. He knew where I was. He knew about Dante, Kai, and Luca.

A knock on my door made me jump.

"Winter? It's Luca. Can I come in?"

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"You left your sweater downstairs. I brought it up for you."

I didn't leave a sweater anywhere but I opened the door anyway because saying no would make him ask more questions. Luca stood there with his soft smile and warm eyes holding a gray sweater I'd never seen before.

"That's not mine."

"Oh." He looked down at it then back at me. "Must be my mistake. But since I'm here, can I come in? Just for a minute?"

Every part of me screamed to say no but Luca looked so harmless standing there that I stepped back and let him inside, which was my biggest mistake.

He walked past me and looked around my room like he was memorizing everything. Where my bed was, bags and where window led. Then his eyes landed on my phone on the floor.

"You dropped this." He picked it up and I saw Marcus's message still on the screen. Luca's expression didn't change but something cold flashed in his eyes. "Who's Marcus?"

"Nobody. Just some spam."

"Spam doesn't usually say things like this." He looked at me and his warm smile was gone. "Is someone threatening you, Winter?"

"It's nothing. Just some ex who won't let go."

"An ex who knows you're here. Who knows about us." Luca stepped closer and I backed up until I hit the wall. "Does this ex have a habit of hurting you?"

"I can handle it."

"That's not what I asked." He was right in front of me now, close enough that I could smell his cologne. His hand came up and touched my cheek so gently I almost believed he was safe. "Does he hurt you?"

I couldn't answer. My throat closed up with two years of fear and pain I'd never told anyone about.

Luca's jaw got tight. "I need to show Dante and Kai this."

"No." I grabbed his arm. "Please don't. I don't want them involved. I don't want anyone involved."

"Too late, Winter. You're part of this family now and we protect what's ours." He said it so sweetly like it was romantic instead of possessive and terrifying.

"I'm not yours."

"Not yet." His thumb brushed across my bottom lip and my breath stopped. "But you will be. All three of us see it even if you don't."

Before I could respond, my door opened without knocking. Dante walked in like he owned the place because he did.

"Luca, what are you doing in Winter's room with the door closed?"

"We have a problem." Luca handed him my phone.

I watched Dante read Marcus's messages and his face turned to stone. The temperature in the room dropped. When he looked up at me, his gray eyes were pure ice and rage.

"How long has he been threatening you?"

"It's not important."

"How.... Long." He stretched out the words.

"Two years." The words came out small and broken. "I left him two years ago and he won't stop."

"He put his hands on you." It wasn't a question,dante could see it in my face.

I didn't answer but I didn't have to.

Dante crossed the room in two steps and his hand wrapped around my throat, not squeezing but claiming. "Listen to me very carefully, Winter. This man will never touch you again. Do you understand?"

"You can't just—"

"I can and I will." His grip got a tiny bit tighter. "You're under this roof now under my protection. That means what's mine stays safe."

"I'm not yours."

His thumb pressed against my pulse and he felt how fast my heart was beating. "Your body disagrees."

The door opened again and Kai walked in without knocking either. He took one look at Dante's hand on my throat and Luca holding my phone and his eyes went dark.

"What did I miss?"

"Read this." Dante handed him my phone.

I watched Kai's face change as he read Marcus's messages. His jaw clenched and something violent flashed in his eyes. When he looked at me, I saw a predator ready to kill.

"Who the fuck is Marcus Shaw?"

"Her ex," Luca said quietly. "The one who's been threatening her for two years."

Kai walked toward me and I pressed harder against the wall. "So we kill him. Problem solved."

"Kai." Dante's voice carried a warning.

"What? You read what he wrote. He's watching our house and threatening our girl." Kai stopped right in front of me, so close I could feel the heat from his body. "Nobody threatens what's ours and lives."

"I'm not yours," I whispered but even I could hear how my voice shook.

Kai leaned in until his lips almost touched my ear. "Keep telling yourself that, baby but we all know the truth."

My phone buzzed in Dante's hand and it was another message from Marcus.

I'm coming for you soon. Sleep tight.

Kai smiled and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. "Let him come. I could use the entertainment.”