“I’m just going to buy canned pie filling from now on,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “Or just not ever try to make a pie.”
“Cake is better anyway,” Cole chimed in. “Right, baby?”
“I like cake.” She nudged him with her elbow, which only lit his eyes. There was definitely no denying his feelings for her. Initially, I thought he was the way he was because he was possessive. Now that I knew him, I knew it was far deeper than that—obsessed and hopelessly in love.
If she were my girl, I was sure I’d be a feral dog around other men, too, when it came to her.
I’d still let her breathe, though. Cole liked to suffocate.
“I made one,” Cole continued.
“It looks terrible,” Ethan called out.
“Man, shut up.” Cole threw a dinner roll at him. Ethan laughed and dodged it.
I smiled at the interaction before catching Rosalie’s eye. Her lips quirked up slightly, making me relax a bit.
Enzo returned to the room and sat again.
“Everything OK?” Cole asked immediately.
Enzo cast a quick look at me before answering.
“Yeah. He was calling to make sure Rosalie was doing OK.”
Cole nodded and didn’t pursue the subject. We continued to eat, silence descending again. Once we were done, I got up,took my plate to the sink, and rinsed it before placing it in the dishwasher.
I turned to find Enzo behind me. Stepping aside, I let him go to the sink.
“I’m going to head out,” I said so only he could hear.
He rinsed his plate and turned to face me. “Why?”
“Uh, six is a crowd, man. I don’t want to impose.”
“It’s not an imposition. I want to talk to you. Come on.” He put his plate in the dishwasher and gestured for me to follow him. I looked around the kitchen quickly, noting no one else was paying attention to me. Cole tried to force-feed Rosalie his lopsided cake, and Ethan was flicking peas at him while Fox laughed.
I didn’t fit in there.
I followed Enzo to the office and sat on the leather sofa while he poured us drinks.
He handed me a glass of scotch before settling into his chair.
Taking a drink, I nodded. He always had good shit.
“I want to thank you for what you did for Rosalie. For us,” he said, staring at me.
“You don’t need to thank me. I’d do it a hundred times over.”
“Just the same, thank you. Having you there…” his voice trailed off, and his Adam’s apple bobbed for a moment before he continued. “Well, it could have ended in an entirely different way.”
I nodded, my throat tight. Even considering the possibilities made the rage boil inside me.
“Tell me. How did you do it?”
“I beat him to death with my hands,” I said, my voice low, the memory still bright in my mind. My only wish was that I could bring him back and do it on repeat.
Enzo nodded and glanced at my still bandaged hand. “Is it broken?”
