My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 78

But seeing Ciro sitting there, the man who brought her here, made that fire roar.

I walked toward him. I didn't say a word until I was standing right over him, my shadow swallowing him whole.

"I... I just wanted to hang out with her," Ciro whispered, he wiped a smear of blood from his lip. "I swear. I didn't know she was that important. I thought she was just... your dad's new kid. I didn't think it was a big deal."

I dropped down, grabbing him by the front of his ruined shirt and slamming him back against the wall. I got so close to his face that I could see the tiny red veins in his eyes.

"Not a big deal?" I hissed.

"Boss, please—"

"What were you doing with her, Ciro?" I barked, the question exploding out of me. I shook him so hard his head snapped back against the wall once more, "What were you doing? Tell me. Do you want to fuck her? Is that it? You look at her and see something you can just take?"

I felt a sick, hot knot of anger tighten in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Do you want her?" I leaned in even closer, my teeth bared. "You want to be her boyfriend? You want to hold her hand and take her to movies while she's under our roof? Is that the dream, Ciro?"

"No! No, I swear, it wasn't like that!"

I let out a dark laugh that didn't feel like mine. I pointed a shaking finger at Gianna. She was still laying there, her head tilted back, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if she were watching a different world.

"She looked like easy prey to you, didn't she?" I snarled, "You saw a girl who was lonely, a girl who didn't know the rules, and you thought you could be the one to show her around? You thought you could be the big man?"

Ciro nodded frantically and I turned my back on him, my eyes falling on Gianna.

"Get up," I ordered.

Ciro scrambled to his feet, and wiped his bloody nose with the back of his hand, looking at me with pleading eyes. He was waiting for a bullet. He was waiting for the end.

"You aren't patrolling the mansion anymore," I told him, "You aren't going to be a guard. You aren't going to wear a suit. You aren't going to be anywhere near this house, and you sure as hell aren't going to be anywhere near my family.”

I continued looking at her as I said the words.

"You’re going to the docks," I hissed, "The south side. The fish packing plant. You’re going to spend your days knee-deep in guts and salt. You’re going to haul crates until your back breaks and scrub the floors until your hands bleed. You are the lowest man in this family now."