CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: VITO
I knew the second I saw the look on her face that my suspicions were right.
Maximo had gone and fucked her after Gio had made it clear that Winter was off limits.
And though I hadn't asked, I'm pretty sure the rest of my suspicions are correct.
He'd done it without her consent.
By no means does Maximo go around sleeping with women without their permission, they're more than willing to fall at his feet. But I know that he doesn't know how to take no for an answer when he really wants something and I saw the look in his eyes the first day that he came in contact with Winter. I knew when I made him leave her room that it wouldn't be the end of it.
Like an idiot, though, I assumed Gio's warning to him afterwards would make his reckless ass sit down somewhere.
I should have known better.
I’d already seen the security footage of him pulling Winter into the stock room. But there aren’t any cameras in the stock room and I don’t know what actually happened in the room. When I’d confronted him about it, he’d just laughed and walked off. And since I didn’t have any proof of him doing anything to her, I hadn’t brought it up to Giovanni. When it comes to matters of his brother, you better bring him some hard core evidence if you want his attention.
Which is why I made sure I was right this time.
I'd left the shop after I got my answer, making Enzo return to retrieve Winter. I have a feeling he knows as well as I do what went down with Maximo. I've narrowed down when it happened to the night we went to the club and Winter stepped out. She’d come back in a trance like state, not quite aware of her surroundings. It’s the only reason I know Enzo wasn’t actually involved. But Maximo has likely told him since.
I've known the younger Costa brother far longer than Enzo but he is closer to him. He’s his little puppet, caught up in Max's web, a place you'll never escape once you're entwined.
If I don't step in soon, Winter will be caught in the same web and the sparkle of her heart will quickly dim until there's nothing left but a black cold rock. I can already see the toll of what being here is doing to her. And I have a clue of the things Gio is going to put her through over the next few months.
She won’t make it that far if Maximo isn’t caged soon.
I don't bother knocking on Gio's office door, punching my code in and entering. A redhead sits on his desk, her legs spread wide and her dress pushed up around her waist. Gio's eyes move to mine as he continues to thrust into the redhead who's letting out moans loud enough to rival a pornstar's, except hers are real.
"Don't stop," she moans out, her claws digging into Gio's back as he picks up his pace.
Her words are unessecary though because Gio would never stop fucking on my account. I wait patiently for him to finish, my face remaining closed off. He pulls out, tying off the condom and throwing it in the trash. He pulls his pants up and looks at the woman. "Out," he says before plopping back into his desk chair. He lights a cigar before propping his feet on the desk.
The woman opens her mouth to protest.
"And the next time you scratch up my back without my permission, there will be consequences."
Her mouth gapes open like a fish before snapping closed. She hops off the desk, tilting her chin up as if she's trying to hold onto her dignity. I almost laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
The bitch hasn't had dignity since we were kids.
"Vito," she says curtly, her shoulder bumping against mine before she walks out, slamming the door shut behind her.
I turn my gaze to Gio, finding him already watching.
"At least you had the good sense to use a condom, your brother didn't."
His brows pull down slightly before he withdraws the cigar, smoke passing through his lips. "What?"
"Your brother didn't," I repeat before sitting down in the chair across from him. My eyes meet his as I lean forward. "I had to give Winter Chastine a Plan B pill a few days ago."
He mutters a curse under his breath before pulling his feet down off of his desk and scooting closer. He holds the cigar out to me, "Explain."
I take a deep inhale, letting the smoke fill my lungs. Taking another drag, I try to clear my head, to push back any anger that's brimming inside of me. Gio may be my best friend, but he's still the head of the family, the boss, my boss. And I won't disrespect him no matter how much I want to wring his idiot brother's neck at the moment.
I hold the cigar back out to him and he takes it but he doesn't take a pull, raising his brow at me instead.
"The other night at the club. Did you not notice that Winter went missing for a while?"