Chapter 33
“Breathe, Baby Boy,” I urge, keeping a firm grip on Emilio’s face, as I lift it to mine.
“I’m going to get Doc,” Hollis whispers beside me, just as Emilio takes a shaky breath.
I relax a little, even as the Boy’s eyes fill with tears and he tries to gasp for air. “Not yet,” I tell Hol. To Lio, I hold him a little tighter. “You’re okay, Baby Boy. It’s okay. Just breathe. Daddy’s got you.”
He gasps and shakes. “Is… It’s true, isn’t it? Master…he’s on suicide watch?”
I grimace, but nod. “He has been, yeah. Since he came around, after Luca had finished with him. Doc’s here. He can give his report, Hol has all the files. We promised to tell you everything you wanted to know.”
“Did I do this?” he asks quietly.
“No, Baby,” Hollis says firmly. “No. You didn’t do this.
You heard Luca, he might have helped strip Allesandro of his protections, but he was broken down long before you, or any of the Boys, could have done something to him.
His mental health is not your fault. Ever.
Just like mine isn’t anyone’s responsibility or fault.
” Hollis gently nudges me to the side so he can take the Boy into his arms. “You have done nothing except what you had to do, Baby. Whatever’s been going on, whatever happens next, it’s not your responsibility. ”
“It is, though. I’m part of the Council, and we have to make the decision…”
“But you’re not alone.” Roman speaks up from across the room. “Whatever decision we come to, it’s not solely on your shoulders.”
Devastated emerald green eyes look up at Hollis and I, and he asks, “Is it true? Did he…does he really love me? Is that why he proposed? Not…not because he wanted to unite the Families?”
“Only he can really answer that, Baby Boy,” I tell him softly, brushing some tears from his cheeks. “But I know what I saw when they first returned. I heard how he stayed by your side while you were in your coma, how he struggled with accepting Hollis in your life…”
Lio sobs. “Oh God… He…he was right to call me a whore…”
“No,” I tell him firmly. Grabbing him by the shoulders, I squeeze them hard, uncaring if I leave bruises behind.
“No.” I gentle my tone a little. “You’re a whore for Hol because he is your Owner and he wants you to be.
You are not a whore because you took what you needed, what Allesandro taught you to want and need.
He showed you how to use your pleasure and pain, so you simply did what you were trained to. ”
“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love!” Emilio tries to pull away, but I don’t let him. The last thing the boy needs is to feel alone right now.
“Neither was I,” Hollis says softly. “I wasn’t supposed to love you, but I do.
You have become vital to me, Emilio. Siete parte del mio universo e senza di voi, sarei distrutto.
What we have isn’t wrong. Does it feel wrong to you?
Now that you know he loves you, truly loves you, does that cheapen what you and I have? ”
Emilio doesn’t answer for a long moment, and I am glad for that, as it means he’s thinking things over, not allowing himself to get swept up by his first instinct. “No,” he finally replies. “You are…my Angel. You’re my Owner, the only thing holding me together, but…”
“No buts, Pup,” Hollis tells him firmly.
“You told Luca you weren’t giving me or Daddy up, and the same is true for us.
We will not give you up. You are ours, full-stop.
Allesandro can have you. I know you want your Master back…
and I am prepared to help you get that, but he cannot keep you to himself, because you belong to us as well now. ”
“I don’t know if he can accept me being with anyone else…” Lio says softly.
“That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get there.” If we get there.
None of us wants to acknowledge that the Council still needs to make their decision.
“I love you,” Lio whispers. “I love him, too. It’s been so hard… So fucking hard feeling as if I’m without a piece of me. I don’t know what to do.”
“You have us, Little Monster,” I tell him softly. “You’re not alone. Hol and I are here for you, Roman is too. Benjamin and Jude, and our entire family, will be here to help you. You don’t have to do this alone.”
He sniffs. “Daddy…”
“I’m here, Baby Boy.” Gathering him in my arms, I hold him tightly. “I’m here.”
Emilio clings to me, sobbing into my shirt, his tears soaking through the fabric and sticking it to my skin—not that I give a shit. After a long while, he pulls away and lifts his chin.
Leaning down, I press a soft kiss to his mouth. “I got you, Baby Boy.”
He nods. “We need to finish this.”
“Take as long as you need,” I urge.
He shakes his head. “Dragging it out will only make it harder. I…he always gave us mercy after a punishment, the slate was wiped clean. I need to do the same.”
“Okay.” I swipe more tears from his cheeks and kiss him again.
Holding my Boy close to me, I turn with him in my arms, leaning against the wall.
He doesn’t protest, or try to stand on his own two feet, even though he’s the Boss.
Knowing he trusts me this much…that he’s secure enough to be the Boss he needs to be while leaning on me… it’s a heady fucking feeling.
The whole Daddy thing might still be new, but I will be here in whatever capacity he needs me to be.
“Shall I get Doc?” Hollis asks. “I have all his and Dr. Ranlen’s reports, but it may be better hearing it from him.”
“Please,” Carter says.
Hollis inclines his head and leaves the room for a moment, returning with the doctor. It hasn’t been long since we last saw each other, but he looks as if he’s aged five years in that time.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Doc says, uncertainty in his voice, which is hard to hear as the arrogant shit is never uncertain.
“What’s your professional opinion on Allesandro?” Emilio asks, moving out of my arms to stand tall in front of Doc.
“Dr. Ranlen and I are in agreement on his treatment. We’ve started him on medication for his mental health, as after he came around from his time with Luca, he was in an extremely depressive and dissociative state.
He is more alert now, but still doesn’t interact unless someone reaches out to him first.” Doc hesitates, but lets out a heavy breath and says, “We’ve had him on suicide watch this entire time, as he seems to be…
waiting to die. In my professional opinion?
He needs help, therapy… I know a few great therapists who would be willing to give the extensive care he needs to help shift through the trauma he’s suffered.
“Though I’m not so sure putting him down wouldn’t be a kindness, that is not my decision. I, along with my staff, and Dr. Ranlen, will help in any way we can, should the Council decide to let him live. He has a long road ahead of him, but he is not alone in that journey.”
“Thank you, Doc.” Emilio’s voice doesn’t waver.
Doc gives a short bow, none of his sass or flair showing through, which is a testament to how dire the situation is.
When Doc is gone, Lio turns to his fellow Council members. “Should we discuss?”
“Wait,” I say.
Stepping forward, I move to stand level with Lio. “Luca got to plead his case for Allesandro, it is only fair I say something for Cristian.”
“Ten…” Roman says.
I shake my head. “I need to do this, Little Prince.”
Hollis drags his hand along my side as he moves back to his seat. Emilio gives me a lingering look before going to sit next to Roman. The boys grasp each other’s hands, and I’m happy to see Carter reach for Keegan.
“Hearing Allesandro’s story…it reminded me too much of Cristian’s.
I’m sure you all know his parents died when he was eleven.
We suspect it was his uncle. Sergio Amato…
was not a nice man. I suspect that had my father—Sergio’s most trusted guard and confidant—not gifted me to Cris, his uncle would have killed him eventually. He came close more than a few times.”
“I don't have to like you in order to want to see your abuser bleed.” Eleven-year-old Tennant was…as brave as he was stupid. But he meant what he said, and that promise has carried us all this time.
“There are some things I can’t tell you, that we agreed not to speak about.
They have to do with my hospitalization, and what led up to it, but…
know that Allesandro’s history isn’t too dissimilar to Cristian’s own.
He was abused and beaten down to nothing by his uncle.
Told that to care was to be weak, and that the only thing he ever did right was have an heir.
We killed Sergio before he realized that Roman was more than Cristian securing the Amato Family’s next generation.
“Your father does love you, Roman. I know that for certain. He always wanted a family. He just…didn’t know how to have one, not after growing up the way we did.
We only ever had each other, and we protected one another from his uncle.
Without Cristian, I would have never gotten out once Sergio had me thrown in the hospital.
After all, I was a danger to myself and others.
” I look at Carter. “He saved you when he shouldn’t have.
Not after learning your true family history.
I didn’t agree with his decisions, but…that was him, once again, fighting against his uncle’s teachings.
He never would have been able to kill you, not after loving you the way he did. And I truly believe he did love you.”
“Just not the right way,” Carter says softly.
“No,” I agree. “Not the right way.”
“I didn’t come out of that encounter unscathed.” Carter gestures to his scarred face. “But I forgave him for that a long time ago. What I can’t forgive this time is the way he tried to destroy me.”
“And you shouldn't. He was out of line. Anyone who spends time in your company knows how much you love your son. I still don’t understand how he was able to say those things to you without breaking, knowing that being a better parent than what we had meant the world to him.”