Page 55 of Dangerous Games of Trust

My heart races inpanic. His fucking parents! That’s the last thing I expected him to say. And I see the same look in both the boys’ eyes. Enzo is the last person any of us want to see. Ricky and I both scramble out of bed in a rush. I run into the ensuite and throw on my discarded clothes. Catching sight of my reflection in the mirror, I look a mess, but for once it’s in the best way possible. Freshly fucked by two men I adore.

“Maddox, stay here,” Alessandro demands when he sees his brother is trying to get out of bed.

Maddox ignores him and throws on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. “We do this together.”

Alessandro claps him on the shoulder, a silent message passing between them, and I wonder what this is. “Not while you’re injured. Enzo doesn’t know what happened the other night after the fight, and I would prefer to keep it that way. The less he knows about what we’re up to, the better for all of us.”

“I’m fine. He won’t have to know.”

Alessandro throws him a look. “You look like death, Brother. Ricky and I have this. Besides, someone needs to watch Harley.”

“They get to have all the fun.” I huff with an eyeroll for Maddox’s benefit. I’m not stoked I need babysitting again, but I’m quite happy to avoid seeing his parents.

“I’m sure you will find a way to kill the time, baby doll.” Ricky’s full lips twitch up into a cheeky smile that sends a thrill through me. And I get what he’s implying, but something tells me Maddox’s poor body wouldn’t be able to handle any more excitement for today. And since I’m trying my best to take care of him, I will refrain from being the temptress he thinks I am.

Ricky heads out of the room, followed by Alessandro. There is a buzz of energy between them I don’t understand. A look they give each other that holds a challenge, and Alessandro seems excited for some reason. I wonder what’s going on.

When the door is closed, Maddox assesses me thoughtfully.

“What’s that all about?” I ask, hoping he will fill me in.

He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “Family stuff,” he mutters under his breath as he climbs back into bed, sitting up this time with his head resting against the headboard. He looks so weary. Alessandro is right, he’s still not in a good way.

I nod, understanding that’s all he would be allowed to tell me, but I don’t like it. I don’t like knowing Enzo and Valentina are in this house. Carlo may not be a threat anymore, but that doesn’t mean they will be happy to hear I’m back here with the boys. His parents are overcontrolling and manipulative, and they hate me. And I feel like when it comes to them, there is a ticking time bomb just waiting to blow up in my face.

“In Ricky’s room should be a laptop, go get it. Let’s check out this flash drive while they’re distracted.” He grins slyly at me, and I just know he’s dying to get back to work in any way he can.

I smirk back at him, very pleased with his brilliant idea. “Done.”

I sneak out into the hallway and tiptoe to Ricky’s room. I’m not really sure why I’m creeping around, but I feel like I’m doing the wrong thing, so I keep quiet just in case one of them is lurking around a corner waiting to catch me out. I slowly open Ricky’s door to find his room meticulously organized, his bed made, and not a thing out of place. A laptop rests on a velvet armchair in the corner of the room. I scoop it up and hurry back to Maddox. Since I found this flash drive the other morning, I have been dying to know what’s on it. But without my office computer set up yet, I’ve had no way of looking at it myself.

I sit up in bed next to him, crossing my legs as I open the computer. “Need a password.”

“Give it here.” He takes the device and types in a code then slides it back to me. I grab the flash drive and plug it in, a nervous flutter in my stomach.

A video pops up on the screen, and I press the play button. Words come up on the screen in a speech-to-text format:Geovani’s not the only one with eyes on you. Better watch your step, girlie, your days are numbered.The video looks like a TikTok reel, but instead of it flicking up images of a story, they’re of me. Snippets of conversations I’ve had with the guys. The worst one is an image of me and Geovani the night he took me to open my papa’s safety deposit box. How on earth did someone see us? There was no one around, and I know for a fact no one was following us, the streets were empty.

Nausea washes over me, and I’m not sure if I’m about to pass out or puke. One last typed message comes up.You took something of mine and now I want it back. Are you ready to play this dangerous game? I know I am.

My scared eyes meet Maddox’s. “What did you do?” he asks with a tremble in his deep voice.

“Who… This… Carlo didn’t know the other night. This can’t be from him,” I stutter out, trying to make sense of what Ijust saw. My skin prickles with fear as I race through all the possibilities in my head. There are only a handful of people who even know about the safety deposit box. My papa who is dead. Carlo who is also dead. Marco, Dani, Geovani, and me. The only other explanation is Carlo was using this as a trading tool to get Enzo on his side. And when he couldn’t come through with the goods, Enzo turned on him. That would explain why he was so desperate the other night that he ambushed us in the street. He was running out of time. That has to be it.

I feel Maddox’s eyes on me, but I can’t stop watching the video, trying to catch a clue. The shot of Geovani forcing my hand toward the safety deposit box looks like it’s from up high, like there was a security camera attached to the building looking right at us. “What is it, Harley?”

I swallow the lump in my throat as my eyes rise to meet his. “Enzo, it has to be. He had the cameras on you boys, and I’m sure he could have worked out how to track me somehow as well. Or he’s paid someone off to give him this footage. That could be a thing, right?” After what Dani told me about whoever killed my ma, paying off police to change the report, I’m going to assume he’s paying off people all around this city to give him whatever the fuck he wants.

“Enzo holds a lot of power in this town. If he wants something like a security tape, all he has to do is ask,” Maddox confirms my suspicions.

“But how did he get this to me? Where the fuck did it come from?”

“You said you found it in your pants after the fight? Maybe that fight was more than an attack on us from Carlo. We know he was working with Enzo, so maybe he was sent with a message for you.”

“And what, Enzo knew it would be a suicide mission? There is no way Carlo would sign up for that shit.”

“Knowing Enzo the way I do, Carlo would have had no idea what he was signing up for. Hell, Carlo was so cocky he probably went in there thinking he was going to kill the lot of us and come away with you.”

I stand in a rush, adrenaline pumping through my veins so hard I can hear it whooshing through my ears. I reach under Maddox’s bed and pull out the gun I know he has hidden there. Then I run from the room.

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