30. Matteo
Matteo
I woke with a gasp, having rolled onto my injured shoulder in bed. The events of the day before came rushing back, and I immediately reached for Summer. When I came up empty, I sat bolt upright.
The blackout curtains made it impossible to tell if it was the middle of the night or morning, so I grabbed my phone off the nightstand to check the time.
Shifting off the edge of the mattress, I searched for signs of Summer inside the suite before venturing forth to check the rest of the penthouse, praying her absence in bed was due to something simple like needing a glass of water.
But I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her standing by the front door, tear tracks carving a path down her blotchy face, an overnight bag at her feet.
“Summer?” I approached her slowly, like she was an animal about to spook. “What’s going on?”
Her lower lip wobbled, and she croaked out, “You said we were safe.”
“I know.” I hung my head in shame. “I was wrong.”
It was foolish to think the Russians wouldn’t retaliate after I took out their leader.
My actions were responsible for yesterday’s attack on my wife.
They knew she was my weakness and planned to use her to hit me where it hurt the most—my heart.
Something I’d kept guarded until Summer walked into my life.
“And I’m so fucking sorry, dolcezza .” Those words came out on a pained whisper as I lifted my gaze to meet her watery one.
She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “No, I’m sorry.”
“What? Summer, no—” I moved toward her, but she cut me off with a raised hand.
“I thought I could handle it—this life. I thought I was strong enough. But maybe I’m not. I’m not really sure.”
A sob bubbled up from her chest, and barbed wire wrapped around my ribs so that each breath I took caused a million cuts.
All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and promise that what happened yesterday was a one-off and would never happen again. But we’d both know that I would be lying, so I kept my lips sealed shut.
She sniffled. “As much as I love you, I need to take some time away to get my head on straight after all that’s happened.”
There was a hole in my chest from where those words carved my heart out. She’d finally seen the ugliest side of what it meant to be a mafia wife—not just any mafia wife, but that of a don—and that meant I was going to lose her.
I swallowed thickly. “I understand.” Moving closer, I cupped her cheeks, thumbing the moisture away only to have more replace it in an instant.
“Take all the time you need, but know this will always be your home, and I’ll be here waiting.
Forever. Because ti amo , Summer. There will never be anyone else for me. Only you.”
Summer buried her face in my chest as she wept, and I held her tight, knowing it might be the last time. Giving her the space she needed could backfire. She could decide that this life wasn’t what she wanted. That I wasn’t what she wanted.
When she pulled away, she hit me with a smile so sad it tore my soul to shreds.
“Give the girls a hug and a kiss for me and tell them how much I love them. Tell them—” Her voice broke. “Tell them I’m visiting Aunt Gabi, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Of course.” I nodded. “Tino will drive you.”
She winced at the reminder that her former security guard/driver had died protecting her.
“I have to go,” Summer rasped, the words barely audible between hiccups.
There was a beat of hesitation, almost like she wasn’t sure she could make herself leave, and I held my breath, hoping for a miracle.
But then she turned on her heels, grabbed her bag off the floor, and walked through the door, taking my heart with her, as she let it slam shut on its spring-loaded hinges behind her with a deafening crack.
My hands flew to my head, tugging on my hair violently, as I paced; the temperature on the anger I felt toward myself rose with each passing minute. I needed an outlet, a way to release this aggression, this all-consuming rage coursing through my veins before it ate me alive from the inside out.
Stomping through the penthouse, I burst through the closed door to my office, kicking it shut behind me.
Then I went on a rampage, destroying everything in sight.
I must’ve blacked out at some point because when I came to, I was on my ass with my back against the wall, and the room was in shambles.
Broken glass and torn paper littered the floor.
My computer screen had been smashed in with God only knew what.
Hell, even the couch had poly-fil stuffing spilling out from several giant gashes in the leather.
Yet none of it changed the fact that my wife had left me, and there was no one to blame but myself.
“What the fuck happened?” Enzo’s voice had my head snapping up.
Burying my face in my hands, heart twisting, I confessed, “Summer’s gone.”
“Gone?” he asked cautiously as he stepped closer. “Like—”
“Like yesterday was more than she could handle, and she left.”
Enzo blew out a heavy breath. “Shit, man. I’m sorry.”
“I want a team of four men on her around the clock, rotating in eight-hour shifts,” I ordered. “Just because she isn’t under my roof doesn’t mean she stops being a target.”
He pulled out his phone and fired off a text. “Done.”
“And then I want every Russian business in this city—legitimate, illegitimate, all the fucking warehouses—destroyed. I want their entire operation obliterated, nothing left standing. Call up the O’Malleys and see if they can lend any additional manpower.
This war might’ve started because of Gio’s wife, but I’m going to end it in the name of mine. ”
“Understood.” Enzo shoved off the ground, offering me a hand up, which I accepted. Once I was standing, he clapped me on the good shoulder. “She’ll be back. You’ll see.”
I wished I had an ounce of his confidence because, right now, I feared I’d never see my wife again.
“You know, I’m this close to blocking your number if you don’t stop calling,” said the annoyed voice on the other end of the line.
“How is she?” I begged.
Gabi scoffed loudly. “Let’s see. Her bodyguard was killed while protecting her.
She was nearly kidnapped with the intent to rape and murder her.
Then you blew a guy’s head off right in front of her.
And if all that wasn’t enough, let’s not forget her husband was shot, too.
How do you think she’s doing? Not fucking great, Matteo. ”
It had only been twenty-four hours since Summer left, but I’d been obsessively dialing up Gabi every hour on the hour to check on her.
Though this was the first time she’d answered.
And while on some level, I could appreciate her annoyance, it was damn near impossible to stop, not when it felt like I was slowly dying inside without my wife.
“Is she sleeping? Eating?” I pressed.
“Barely on both counts.” My wife’s best friend sighed.
“Do you know how much I hate that I was right? That, when you dragged her into this life, I knew it was going to chew her up and spit her back out? But she wouldn’t listen when I tried to warn her.
And you were going to stop at nothing to make her yours.
It was like watching a fucking train wreck in slow motion.
Now look at the two of you. You’re both a mess, and I’m stuck with the cleanup. ”
“Can you tell me one thing?”
Gabi groaned. “What now?”
“Is she still wearing my ring?”
“Why should I tell you anything more than I already have?”
“Because you’re the only person on this planet who loves her as much as I do. Please, Gabi. I need to know,” I begged.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “Yes, she’s still sporting that obscenely large diamond.”
Hope filled my chest like a balloon. Summer hadn’t broken her promise to never take it off.
Initially, I’d issued that demand because of the tracker placed inside, but now its presence on her finger told me that she hadn’t given up on us.
That, even though she’d left, creating space and distance between us, someday, I might be able to find a way to win her back.
“I need a favor,” I blurted.
Her eye roll was audible. “You’re really pushing it.”
“Trust me, I know I fucked up, but she’s my entire life, Gabi.”
“Ugh. Why do I have a feeling that I’m going to regret this?”
This might be my only chance to remind Summer of all the good that outweighed the bad when it came to attaching her life to mine, and I vowed not to waste it.