Page 143 of Sinclair Duet
Opening the door wider, I said, “Fucking get in here and quit making a scene.”
“A scene. You think this is a scene?” As Darius’s gaze fell on Ella, his volume lowered. “Oh, Gabriella. Has my brother told you that he’s a cheating piece of shit? Has he told you about your marriage?”
“Ella knows everything,” I answered.
Darius took a step toward her. “Maybe you and I should find comfort in one another.”
Ella’s arms were crossed over her breasts. “Darius, I think you should go home.”
“Home?” he questioned as he looked around Ella’s front rooms. “I don’t have a home. My wife is married. I’ve been cut off from my father. And my plan to secure my rightful place in” —his volume tripled— “my father’s companyis going up in fucking smoke.” He took another step toward Ella. “But I bet you could make me forget my problems. I’d make you forget yours too.”
The actual fuck.
I grabbed Darius’s shoulder and spun him toward me. “Leave Ella the fuck alone.”
“She’s not your wife. Just like Amber isn’t mine.”
Fisting the front of my brother’s shirt, I stepped closer, my warm breath hitting his bruised face. “I beat the shit out of you once, I’ll do it again.”
“Fucking hit me. This time, I’ll have your ass in jail.”
Letting go of his shirt, I pushed him away.
Darius stumbled before catching his footing. “I’m the oldest. Dad wanted me to run Sinclair.”
My voice was finding its steady volume, timbre, and tone. “He gave you the chance. You failed. That’s on you.”
“This isn’t done.” Darius pointed his finger at me. “You don’t get to win. Not again. Fucking Marsha will kick me to the curb if Dad dies. I can’t land on the curb if I’m Sinclair’s CEO.”
“You’re delirious.”
“No, brother,” he said. “I’m warning you. I’m taking your position and your wife.” He turned toward Ella. “I might even take your mistress, too.”
“Fuck you, Darius,” Ella said.
The asshole grinned. “Sure, sweetheart, we can work that out.”
Fuck the damn police.
Once again, I grabbed his shirt. “Get the fuck out of here, or I’ll gladly sit in a jail cell, knowing you’re in the hospital.” With my free hand, I opened the front door. “Don’t come back.” I shoved him to the top step and slammed the door.
As soon as it was closed, Ella came my way. She wrapped her arms around my torso with her body shaking.
“I’m so fucking sorry.”
She looked up. “Don’t go.”
Gabriella
My body trembled. My nerves were shot. This was the elevator scene at the hotel on steroids.
Damien’s arms protectively came around me as Darius’s words played on a loop in my mind. I clung tightly to his torso, the sound of his heart beating in my ear. Soothingly, he rubbed a circle on my back.
I looked up. “What if he would have come and you were gone?”
“He’s mostly talk.”
“Damien,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t even know which way is up right now. I do need to think. I also know I don’t want you to leave.”