Just My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires by Esther Pen novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316

ARIA’S POV

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The car moved slowly down the quiet street as Antonio spoke. The words coming out of his mouth did not make sense to me at first. I sat back in my seat, staring at the side of his head in complete shock.

“Gabriel was in love with Boss’s first wife,” Antonio said, his voice flat and steady.

I blinked, trying to process what he had just said. “What did you say?”

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“You heard me, Miss Aria,” Antonio said, looking in the side mirror before turning the steering wheel. “Boss knew about it too. But he still trusted Gabriel enough to make him her personal guard. She knew how Gabriel felt, but Gabriel never crossed the line. He stayed in his place while she was alive.”

My mind raced back to everything I knew about that terrible day years ago. The car crash that took my parents away from me was the very same crash that killed Brandon’s first wife.

It was the night our lives had crossed in the dark, long before we even knew each other.

“When she died,” Antonio continued softly, “Gabriel blamed Boss. He said Boss did not try hard enough to protect her. That was when Boss lost his mind for a while. He went into full mafia mode. He was drowning in guilt every single day.”

“Did they fight back then?” I asked, leaning forward so I could hear him better over the hum of the engine.

“They did,” Antonio nodded. “They fought for a long time. But after a while, they seemed to settle their differences. They put the anger away because they had a common enemy. Boss was looking for intel on the people who planned that crash. He wanted to know who gave the order.”

“Did he find them?”

“We got a lead,” Antonio said, his eyes scanning the street ahead. “There was an assignment. Boss was supposed to go in as the Phantom Don to meet a contact in an old building. But Gabriel realized it was a trap before we even moved. Gabriel told Boss that he would go inside instead.”

“Why would Gabriel do that if he hated him?” I asked, confused.

“Because the plan was simple,” Antonio explained. “Gabriel said he would go in, make the man talk, and then Boss would come in to clean up the rest. Boss had a massive target on his back at that time. Everyone wanted to kill him. We could not risk putting him out in the open.”

I swallowed hard, listening closely. “So Brandon stayed outside?”

“Yes,” Antonio said. “Me and Marcus stayed outside the perimeter to guard Boss. But Dominic went inside the building with Gabriel and a few of our men. What we did not know was that the trap was much bigger than we thought.”

“What happened inside?”

“Dominic saw a suspicious man slipping out the back door,” Antonio said. “Dominic followed him outside to

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My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires

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check it out. That split second saved Dominic’s life. The moment Dominic stepped clear of the back wall, th entire building exploded. There was a massive bomb planted inside, meant specifically for Boss.”

I covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh no.”

“Boss tried to run inside to save Gabriel,” Antonio said, his voice dropping low. “He tried so hard, Miss Aria. Marcus and I had to physically drag Boss back because the fire was too hot and the walls were coming down In the end, we had to leave the place burning.”

“Is that why Gabriel hates him so much?” I asked. “Because Brandon left him in that fire?”

Antonio shook his head slowly. “That is what Gabriel wants people to think. But the truth is much worse, Mi Aria. Gabriel was already working with Boss’s enemies back then. He was helping them behind our backs because he wanted to take Boss down and take his wife for himself.”

“What?” I gasped, my stomach turning cold.

“When she died in that crash, Gabriel completely lost his mind,” Antonio said grimly. “He stayed with us and pretended to be loyal, but he was plotting. It was only after Gabriel vanished into thin air after that explosion that Boss dug deep into the old logs and uncovered the truth. Gabriel was a traitor long before the fire.”

I sat in silence for a long moment, watching the trees pass by outside the window. Everything made sense

now.

The sharp panic in Brandon’s eyes, the way he double–checked every lock, the way he held me like I might disappear into thin air.

He was not just trying to be a controlling boyfriend. He was living with the ghost of a man who had tried to tear his whole life apart from the inside out.

“I understand now,” I said softly, looking at Antonio in the mirror. “I see why Brandon is being so paranoid. But Antonio, it still does not change how I feel. I still feel suffocated when there are eight guns surrounding me just to cross the street.”

Antonio gave a small, solemn nod. “I know, Miss Aria. But you have to see what I see. There has been a car watching your corporate building and watching the estate gates for three days now. We have to be very careful right now. The truth is, no one outside our tiny circle can be trusted.”

“Not even our own security detail?” I asked, my heart beating faster.

“Right now? No,” Antonio said plainly. “Gabriel has deep roots. Who knows if some of our men are taking his money? And who knows if Julian is already working with him right now? Julian is desperate, and desperate men do foolish things.”

“What do you think Gabriel wants, Antonio?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What is his real plan?”

“He came back for revenge,” Antonio said, his tone dead serious. “He will never rest until he makes Boss lose everything he loves. He wants to take Boss’s life, his business, and his family.”

I nodded slowly, letting those dark words settle in my chest.

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Antonio pulled the sedan up to the curb in front of the small corner ice cream shop. He stepped out fir: checked the quiet sidewalk, and then opened the door for me. We walked inside together, bought a sma of fresh strawberry ice cream, and walked right back out to the car.

Five minutes later, Antonio pulled up to the front gate of St. Jude’s Academy.

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