Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

He'd leave in a body bag if I had it my way.

23

Sadie

Patrick had lost his damn mind if he thought he could march in here and demand my attention like this. It wasn't my gym. It wasn't a place where I felt obligated to hear him out because when all was said and done, he was still a client.

Here he wasn't. Here he was a creepy ex-boyfriend who wouldn't take no for an answer, for some reason that was totally lost on me. I rarely struggled to get rid of men when the relationship ended. Yet here he was in Enzo's territory, and while I might tolerate a certain level of annoyance in my part of the world, I wouldn't let it slide when it was a thorough insult to Enzo himself.

"You need to go," Sandro said, glancing over Scar's way. He was too distracted with Ivory and Irina dancing to notice the troubles I faced. But it also wasn't a security issue. Just an annoyance.

"I'm not fucking going anywhere until she talks to me," Patrick said, acting like a complete idiot. I'd heard stories of Matteo chasing him off when he went on his date with Ivory, but it didn't seem like it had been enough to motivate him to use his brain.

"Do you really think this is a good idea? Do you remember when Matteo looked at you and you turned tail and ran? What do you think Enzo will do if he finds you in my space, again?" My voice showed how exasperated I felt. When we’d dated, Patrick never wanted to go to clubs. Apparently he thought it was a better use of his time to spend it with other women while I went dancing, but it would be just my luck that he’d come to Indulgence on the same night as me.

"Why the hell do you think I'm here? It isn't like you to let yourself be controlled like this. I'm worried about you," Patrick shouted over the music.

"Fuck's sake, Patrick. You can't be concerned about me when you've spent all of two seconds around us. I'm not sure where you get off thinking I'm being controlled, but Enzo is protecting me. Someone broke into my apartment while I was sleeping. Can we just move on already?" I asked as my anger raised. The ignorance of judging my situation without knowing it grated on my nerves until all I wanted to do was go home. My happy mood and the free feeling dancing filled me with faded in the face of his stupidity.

"I would weigh your answer carefully before you open your damn mouth again," Enzo's voice said as he stepped up behind me.

Shit.

Stepping back into his space, I tried to use my body as a physical barrier between the two men. Patrick was a stupid fuck boy, but he didn't deserve Enzo's wrath. Just as Enzo didn't deserve to risk everything for him. "It's fine. Patrick was just leaving," I told him.

"Like hell I am. I want to have a conversation with you without him looming over us like a creep," Patrick argued.

"Carina, do I hurt you?" Enzo asked in that deep, lethal voice that left little doubt to just how close he was to losing his carefully controlled cool. Ryker stood off to the side, watching the show with Sandro and grinning like a crazy person. I raised an eyebrow at him, mouthing for him to do something.

He shook his head, raising his hands to say he wouldn't get involved. The meatball probably thought it was some rite of passage that Enzo needed to beat the shit out of my ex.

I hated men. I really, really did.

"No, Enzo. You don't hurt me, " I reassured him, keeping my eyes on Patrick and imploring him one last time to use his sense of reason and run while he could.

"Good. You heard her. Now get the fuck lost," Enzo ordered. When Patrick didn't respond but continued to hold his ground, I moved forward to give him the physical push he needed. I never expected him to grab hold of my arm and try to drag me out with him. Enough was enough. Reaching up to punch him in the mouth, I watched in satisfaction as his lip split beneath the force of my knuckles.

Nobody put their hands on me if I didn't want them to.

"Fucking idiot," Ryker announced, snatching me up as Enzo grabbed Patrick by the back of his shirt and physically dragged him to the front doors.

"Let me go!" I yelled, stomping on Ryker's foot. He grunted but made no move to release me. "This isn't him. He doesn't like to fight like this."

"Trust me, Short Stuff. I don't think Enzo minds fighting your ex one bit. He'll probably be revving and ready to go when he takes you home, so prepare yourself for that instead of worrying over Patrick. It will only piss Enzo off more." He grinned, looking like the serial killer I knew he was.

Until the moment Calla barreled into his side, making him move to catch her so she wouldn't fall. He had to release me to do it, and I sprinted for the door. "Damn it, Sunshine," he grunted, and the sound of his heavy footfalls came behind me. The dance floor was just crowded enough to hinder his progress, but I slipped through people with more ease, finding the small gaps and squeezing through them.

Shoving the exit doors open with all my weight, I left Ryker in my dust as the cold air bit at my skin. Enzo and Patrick hadn't gone far for their confrontation. Patrick knelt on the ground in front of Enzo, cradling his face in his hands. Blood stained them, dripping down over his forearms. "What the hell did you do?" I asked Enzo, moving up to his side to inspect him. Without a mark on him, the only sign that he'd even been involved in the brief fight was the blood staining his knuckles.

"Worried about him, Baby Girl?" Enzo asked, his voice just as dangerous as Ryker warned me it might be.

"No! I'm worried about you. You don't like violence for no reason."

"Killing people is very different than beating up a pushy man who needs to learn the meaning of the word no," Enzo scoffed.

“Broke my goddamn nose,” Patrick said, his voice muffled by his hand holding it delicately. “Fucking not worth all this shit. She’s a great lay, but a complete pain in the ass.”

Enzo growled as my body went still. I worked to keep my face neutral, but the words found their mark. Wounding the part of me that had always known they were true.