Page 78 of Dancing with the Devil

My head snapped to the left as a man I had never met before, stopped at my side. The twins glanced up at him and until Matteo met my eyes.

“Yes, everything is perfectly fine,” Marcus replied.

“Two is always better than one,” Matteo whispered to me—disregarding the man beside me—and I smiled.

“Not when thatonehappens to be Antonio,” I said, stopping a waiter. I grabbed a flute of champagne and smiled up at the twins

“It’s cute how you two need each other to satisfy a woman,” I nodded as I shifted my eyes between the two of them. “At least Antonio is a big boy who doesn’t need help,” I taunted before taking a sip.

“Yeah?” Matteo pressed, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he stepped closer.

Both Cesar—and the stranger—stepped in front of me, blocking Matteo.

I caught a glimpse of the stranger’s eyes and he was not pleased with them. The twins stepped back, stealing one last glance at me before disappearing.

The two men in front of me, smiled, sharing a warm greeting and I gulped down my champagne, handing Cesar the empty glass. “I’m going to kill him,” I rapidly nodded, and Cesar shook his head.

“Trust him.”

“I’m going to wring his neck with my bare hands—and when he asks me to stop, I’m not going to until all the oxygen leaves his lungs,” I said in frustration.

Cesar sighed and put the glass down.

“Nirah, right?” the stranger fought back a smile.

“Yes,” I politely smiled, then glanced over at Cesar but he only gave me a single nod of assurance.

“Lorenzo Conti,” he extended his hand and I only stared back at him in confusion. “I’m a good friend of Antonio’s,” he clarified and I shook his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lorenzo.”

“I know we just met, and I’m in no position to ask for favors,” he began. “But please don’t kill my best friend.”

I broke out in a smile. “I can’t make any promises.”

He mirrored my smile, and eventually we got lost in conversation until our attention was drawn to the ring below us.

The ring announcer walked into the ring, and all eyes were on him. I rushed to the railing, gripping it as I looked down, seeing a huge spotlight on him.

He introduced himself and started talking about tonight’s event. It was the second last round, and I realized that I already missed most of it.

“How come we arrived so late?” I asked Cesar.

“I only followed Mr. Antonio’s instructions,” he explained, rather vaguely. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he shrugged his shoulders at me with an innocent look.

“Mr. Fuentes!” the ring announcer roared, and the crowd erupted into loud cheers.

A tall, muscular man walked out in a silk robe—that’s quite dramatic if you ask me—with both fists in the air. Though, something about him was different. I felt the same energy as when I had met the twins. Something about these men did not seem quite right.

The unfamiliar feelings—a mixture of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty—had stirred inside of me, boiling over.

A man followed alongside him until they both reach the ring. The man stopped as Mr. Fuentes hopped into the ring. The ring announcer spoke to him, and he looked extremely energetic and excited.

“Do you have any idea who you could be up against?” The ring announcer asked, and Mr. Fuentes chuckled.

“No, but I’m ready to win!” he growled, and a few people cheered, clapping their hands.

“They don’t tell you who you’re up against?” I asked Cesar and he only shook his head.