Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

well. We’d talk later.
Taking a deep breath, I checked my clothes for blood then changed my shirt
before I went downstairs. On the way, I texted Faro that he needed to come over
with a doctor who could treat Gaia. I ignored his following questions.
Daniele hovered in the center of the living room, the tablet still in his hand.
His small face showed confusion. I smiled despite the darkness swirling in my
insides. “You were right. Your mom and Uncle Andrea were playing.”
“I heard screaming.”
I chuckled, even as my throat tightened. “Yeah. They were chasing each
other and Mom got startled.”
Heading to his side, I stroked his head. “I’m going to take you to bed now.
You can keep playing if you want.”
He nodded. I lifted Daniele and carried him upstairs, relishing the feel of his
warm body. He called to the good part of me, a part Andrea wouldn’t get to see
today. After I put Daniele in bed, I left and locked his door.
I returned to Gaia’s bedroom. Before I dealt with Andrea, I checked on Gaia
again. She still lay where I’d left her. Her eyes begged me to spare Andrea—the
man she’d been fucking behind my back for eight years.
I turned my back on her, not able to bear the look in her eyes, and went to
Andrea. After unfastening the handcuffs, I grabbed him by one wrist and
dragged him after me, enjoying the sound of his muffled cries. He struggled like
a madman. I pulled him down the staircase, when Faro entered the lobby with
his keys, our most-trustworthy doctor behind him.
Faro’s eyes dipped to Andrea’s bleeding form, widened, then shot back up to
meet my gaze. The doctor’s face remained unmoving—he knew the rules. None
of what he saw would ever leave this house.
“Gaia’s upstairs,” I said. “Treat her, make sure she and the child are all right.
And don’t leave her out of sight for a fucking second. She threatened to hurt the
baby.”
I didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, I wrenched Andrea toward the basement
door and shoved him down the stairs. The sound of his fall ended with his
muffled cry when he landed at the base. I followed after him. Steps rang out
behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know it was Faro.
Andrea lay in a crumpled heap at the base of the steps, groaning. I grabbed
him again and dragged him toward a soundproof room where I hoisted him onto
a chair.
Faro regarded me cautiously. “Is he a rat?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But he’s a man who fucks his sister.”
Faro’s eyes shot open wide as he scanned Andrea’s naked body. “Cassio—”
“Don’t,” I growled. I didn’t want compassion. It was worth less than the dirt
under my shoes. Compassion was for the weak and stupid. Maybe I was the
second, but definitely not the first.
“Fuck,” Faro said, shaking his head. He knew what would have to happen,
what I needed—wanted to do.