Page 28 of Arturo's Temptation

“Oh, come on, man! It was a joke,” came his shocked tone. I couldn’t move.

Arturo closed the distance between them within the blink of an eye. His hands fisted the guy’s shirt.

“You speak like that about Isabella again, and I’ll skin you alive, got it?” He seethed. The veins in his temple rose with each word.

“Geez, A-man,” Mik chuckled, trying to pull Arturo’s arms down. “Like I said, it was a fucking joke. You need to calm down, or get laid.”

And just like that, Arturo saw red. His eyes glazed over with anger as his fist collided with Mik’s face. I let the ice cream bowls slip through my fingers, ignoring when they shattered into a million pieces on the tiles.

“Arturo, stop!” I tried my best to pull them apart, as did another one of Arturo’s men. It was useless, he was like a man possessed. “Arturo! Get off of him!”

“Get back, Isabella,” he said, shoving me back.

“NO! This is my house and I’m telling you to stop right now!” I yelled, hammering my fists against his back—little good it did me. My mind ran in circles. There was no one in the house to help. My parents were at a college event for Andre, Luca was visiting our grandparents, and the other guys were dealing with a shipment. Just as Arturo was about to step back, seemingly obeying my order, Mik swung his fist back aiming for Arturo’s cheek. With a swift head jolt to the right, Arturo left my face wide open to Mik’s fist. Cursing, I dodged but not quickly enough. The action sent my body spinning and stumbling backwards.

“Fuck!” I gasped as a shard of glass slid into my foot.

“Oh shit! Isabella, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Mik cried, dropping his fist.

“Out!” Arturo bellowed.

“Boss, it was an accident, I?—”

“Get the fuck out. We’ll talk about this shit later,” he snapped, rushing to my side and scooping me up into his arms before placing me onto the kitchen island.

“Boss—” Mik stuttered. A grip to his shoulder from the one called Ace stopped him in his tracks. I ducked my head down to catch Arturo’s eye but his was already directed at Mik. All the air left Mik as he scurried from the room—his eyes horrified. One by one, Arturo’s team followed him.

Frustrated, I blew a breath out. As much as Mik had been in the wrong, Arturo’s actions were what had escalated everything. All because of one stupid comment! One that hadn’t bothered me as much as him.

“Stay there and don’t move,” he ordered. “I need to get the glass out of your foot.”

“It’s fine. I can do it myself.” I shimmied a little off the island before his strong, vein-prominent hands forced me right back up.

“Isabella, I’m not in the mood. For once just do as you’re told,” he growled. I sighed as he stalked across the room, yanking the first aid box from the cupboard next to the backdoor. Without looking at me, he dropped it on the counter and rummaged around in search of what he needed.

“You were wrong to do what you did,” I whispered.

“Is that so?”

“He was goading you, and you fell for it.” His eyes homed in on me for a moment, the anger subsiding.

“I know.” His eyes softened. Bewilderment swirled momentarily in their dark depths before he slammed the shutters back down.

“If you knew what he was doing, why did you retaliate?” I asked, curiosity burning a hole through my armour.

“Because of the way he spoke about you,” he said tonelessly.

“Why does it matter? He was just joking.” He huffed at my comment and placed a hand on either side of my thigh, leaning in.

“And you think that’s acceptable, do you?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“I think allowing someone to control your?—”

“Listen to me Isabella, and listen good.” The anger in his voice took me by surprise. “Your father may have protected you this far in this world, but allowing people who work for you to disrespect you like that is the first step of getting yourself killed.”

“Pfft. Come on! My father’s team has said and done worse.” Why was he getting so pissed off about this? I folded my arms, frustrated. After weeks of nothing, this was the first reaction I’d had from Arturo and I didn’t like where this was going.

“Yes, but your father’s team has been by his side for close to thirty years. They’ve bled for the man and proven they’d walk through fire for him. And you know why?” I narrowed my eyes as he leaned in closer. “Because they respect him.”

---