And now I'm the one blinking, staring at him in shock.
Is he fucking bipolar?
"Like I was saying, you get your wits about you now and decide to push through, to endure the rest of your stay here. Or you continue to be a baby. Just know that anything but the first choice will end with you likely being crushed by Giovanni. He may have said you'd make it to the end of the year, but I've known him long enough to know he'll break a promise if he needs to." He turns his back on me. "Now come on."
I only stare after him in shock, trying to figure out how in the hell out conversation just completely flipped itself on its head before going in a different direction. When he gets to the bottom of the steps, Enzo turns to look at me and he raises a brow. The cool, calm, and stoic bodyguard is back, showing no remnants of the fiery and definitely crazy man that just got done threatening me.
Monsters, Winter, that's what they all are, and you need to stop forgetting that.
My feet move on their own accord as I keep an eye on Enzo. He doesn't say anything, leading me to the dinning hall when I finally make it to the bottom of the stairs.
He pushes the door open and my eyes automatically shoot to the newest threat in the vicinity. Only to find three.
Somehow, while arguing with Enzo, I'd forgotten it'd started because I don't want to go anywhere near Maximo. And now I can only blink as he stares at me from the dining table, which his feet are propped up on. Next to him, Giovanni has one hand wrapped around a clear glass and another tapping away at his phone. He doesn't even bother to look up.
And lastly, Vito sits next to Giovanni. He's sitting back in his chair, the sleeves of his dress shirt pushed up to his elbows and revealing dark ink along his forearms. His stubble has grown out a bit more and his hair falls to the side with a slight curl. His green-flecked eyes peer at me before a smile crosses his lips.
My heart skips a beat.
Pressing my lips together, I remind myself that Vito may be gorgeous, they all are, but they're all batshit crazy.
Vito is the only one who hasn't directly done anything to me, but that doesn't mean I can trust him either. Enzo, who isn't as stable as I thought, even warned me about Vito and the fact that he will fix me if I become a problem. Hell, Vito even said the words himself.
"Sit, Winter, we don't have all day to keep waiting on you," Giovanni says dryly without looking up from his phone.
I bite down on the inside of my jaw, but keep my lips shut as I make my way over to the table. I glance at the seat that I usually sit, next to Gio. It's directly across from Maximo who watches me with a smirk on his face.
I stop walking.
"Is there a problem?" Giovanni's full attention is on me now and the irritation across his sharp features is clear as he stares at me.
I glance back at Maximo before looking at my seat again.
The sound of a chair scooting across the ground meets my ears and I look up to find Vito getting up. He leaves his vacant seat pulled out before gesturing to it. "How about Winter sits between the two of us," he says, scooting over a seat and plopping down. He points at me before pointing at the now empty seat.
I quickly look at Giovanni. His lips are pulled into a frown and he looks at Vito for a moment, "Fine," he finally says.
I quickly plop down into the seat, not wanting to wait too long in case Giovanni changes his mind.
Maximo doesn't look happy about the swap but he doesn't say anything.
"Good morning," Vito says and I switch my gaze to him.
He's still smiling though there seems to be something lingering behind his eyes as he watches me.
"Good morning." My voice is barely above a whisper and I hate myself for it.
He lets out a soft laugh before I feel a feather light graze against my cheek. I turn to look at him, watching as he pushes a curl behind my ear. His eyes meet mine. "So tell me-"
"What's for breakfast," Maximo's voice cuts in, stopping Vito from whatever he was about to say.
A flicker of irritation passes through Vito's eyes so quickly that I almost think I made it up until his shoulders tense and he turns around, raising a brow at Maximo. "Nothing for you," he says shortly. "Considering you weren't invited."
Maximo lets out a dark chuckle and the tension in the room becomes clear.
"Yes, but seeing as I'm my brother's second, his right hand, and you're nothing but the fixer he keeps in his back pocket, we know who's more important here."
Silence cuts through the room.