My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 70

I looked up at him, my vision blurry with tears. The red light made the tattoos on his chest look like they were bleeding.

"Who put this on you?" he hissed as he reached out and grabbed the pink ribbon around my neck. He didn't pull it; he just held it between two fingers like it was filth, "Who gave you this color, Gianna? Answer me!"

"The... the girls at the party," I sobbed. I tried to pull away, but he pinned my shoulders to the mud. He wasn't hurting me, but he wasn't letting me go either.

He was holding me like I was his most prized possession and someone had tried to steal it.

"How did you get here?" he asked, his voice was shaking with anger, "How did you get out of that house? Who brought you to this place?"

I tried to speak, but my throat felt like it was full of sand, "C-Ciro," I whispered, "He said... he said it was just a party. I was bored. I didn't know about... this. I didn't know about the ribbons or anything, I swear."

Raphael’s face went white. His jaw tightened so hard I thought his teeth might crack. He looked toward the mansion, his eyes turning into cold, hard stones.

"Ciro," he repeated.

The name sounded like a death sentence.

He reached down and grabbed the pink ribbon around my neck. He didn't pull it, but his fingers brushed against my skin, and they were ice cold. With one quick tug, he ripped the silk away. He balled it up in his fist and threw it into the red mist like it was trash.

"You are not a prey," he snarled, "Do you understand? You belong to the Capones. No one touches you. No one looks at you. No one hunts you."

My breath broke. A sob tore out of me before I could stop it. Everything hit at once.

I just shook my head, burying my face in his neck.

Suddenly, he reached down and scooped me up. He didn't ask. He just slid one arm under my knees and the other behind my back, lifting me off the ground like I weighed nothing. I let out a small cry as my bloody feet dangled in the air.

He pulled me tight against his chest. His leather jacket was cold against my skin, but his body was burning hot.

He started walking back toward the mansion. He held me so close I could feel the fast, angry thud of his heart against my shoulder.

"If anyone else had found you in that ribbon," he said, "they wouldn't be walking you back to the house. Do you understand how lucky you are that I am the one who caught you?"

I pulled my face away from his neck and looked up at him with tears clinging to my lashes. He looked down at me as he walked through the red mist. I was terrified of him in that moment, but in this screaming forest, he was the only thing keeping the other monsters away.