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Oh, so we’re doing this now? Game on, asshole.

I turn to face him, crossing my arms. “Excuse me?”

Alonzo’s lip curls, his eyes burning with something mean and ugly. “He’s made it clear I’m not supposed to go near you. Said to show you courtesy,” he sneers, practically gagging on the word as he throws up air quotes like it’s something filthy. “Like you deserve anything but a fucking hole in the ground.”

I raise an eyebrow, tilting my head. “And yet, here you are,” I say, gesturing at him. “Breaking the one rule he gave you. Didn’t you just barge in without knocking?” I let my eyes drag up and down him, slow and unimpressed. “So brave.”

That does it. Alonzo’s face twists,and his eyes go wild like he’s filled with pure rage.

WHAM.

His palm cracks across my face, the slap landing with a white-hot sting that snaps my head sideways. Pain bursts across my cheek, the skin searing like it’s being set on fire. The room tilts, my vision swims, but I don’t get a second to catch my breath. He’s on me, digging his nails in my shoulders before both hands shove me hard, and my back slams into the wall with a force so brutal it feels like my spine has been shoved up between my tits.

I let out a sharp gasp, but every ounce of air rushes from my lungs, leaving me choking on nothing. My chest heaves, but the panic clawing inside me is worse. Or maybe it is puke because his hand is rearing back again for round two.

Oh, shit.

Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them spill. I won’t let him see me cry.

His hand swings down.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Alonzo?” Kota sounds almost as deadly as Alessio.

Alonzo freezes, looking over his shoulder, then back at me. His hand drops, but the fury in his eyes stays, burning through me. He leans in, his breath hot and souron my face. “You tell Alessio about this,” he snarls, “and you’ll fucking pay.”

“Get the hell out,” Kota orders in a murderous growl.

Alonzo throws me one last lethal glare before he stomps out, slamming the door so hard the walls tremble.

I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until Kota steps closer. “You alright?”

I force myself to nod. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie, like it’s no big deal that some oversized goon just pummeled me like a UFC fight. I’m just glad Kota got here before that dick-wad could hit me again.

Kota doesn’t look convinced. “You sure?”

I push out a fake smile. “Totally. Nothing I can’t handle.” Another lie. Because the second I’m alone, I know I’ll break.

He doesn’t buy it. I can see it written all over his face. But he doesn’t push. Instead, he watches me in this awkward stare-down for what feels like forever. Finally, he lets out a heavy sigh, his shoulders dropping, and turns for the door.

The second the door clicks shut, I lock it behindhim. And that’s when it hits.

My face throbs, hot and pulsing from the slap. My chest heaves, every breath feels shaky, and the tears fall. Damn it.

I cry for a while, long enough to loosen the tight knot in my chest and let the shaking settle.

My hands press against my knees as I bend forward, forcing myself to breathe, and shove the panic back down where it belongs. I’m not breaking over some bruised ego and a bruised cheek.

Wiping the tears from my face, I drag in a deep breath and straighten up.

No time for a pity party, I can’t let them see me weak.

I throw myself into organizing the room, grabbing clothes and hanging them up. The simple rhythm of sorting and folding calms me. The neat little piles bring order back into my chaotic day. I move on to the things that belong in drawers, carefully folding and stacking.

A smirk tugs at my lips when I reach the packages from earlier. I tear one open and immediatelysnort. Floggers, whips, and enough sex toys to stock a damn dungeon.

I shake my head, already knowing exactly who’s behind this. Paola. So much for the human warm hug. That woman is a walking kink.

And now that I think about it… Yeah, she definitely knows about Alessio’s room of sin. This was on purpose, it had to be.