Chapter 45 – Gabriella
My sister said that this last week my father had been…civil. I was utterly shocked. I expected to hear of my mother’s death, of Carmela ending up in the hospital, or something equally as horrific. When nothing happened, I drew a long breath. Maybe things would change.
I could leave Boston, run away, and my family would be safe. That was always an ache, a flaw in my plans. The knowledge that I was leaving them in danger. But maybe now I didn’t have to worry about it, which meant there was nothing stopping me from choosing which path to take.
It’s time to plan.
I had to quit avoiding the heartache that came with my decisions.
But I refused to think about it.
Instead, I went to bed with a romance novel.
A lighthearted read about a football player dating a flamingo zookeeper for social media recognition.
Still dressed, because I was waiting for my husband to come home, I fell asleep to fictional problems, avoiding the ones in my real life.
I didn’t want to think about leaving Liam.
Or stay and never know Luca. That was something I could face tomorrow. So, I slept.
And woke to the sound of growling.
Sitting bolt upright, I whipped my gaze around the room. Storm, poised at the foot of the bed, growled at the closed bedroom door. His hackles were raised. Those pointy puppy teeth were bared.
Cold washed through me.
Carefully climbing out of bed, I pulled my gun from the nightstand drawer. As I jacked a bullet into the chamber, I whispered a prayer of thanks that I hadn’t gone to sleep naked as I usually did.
“Stay,” I commanded the pup.
He immediately jumped from the bed and raced to the bedroom door. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the puppy by the collar and, careful of the loaded weapon, dragged the pup to the en suite. Once he was safely there, something he yipped in protest about, I cracked the bedroom door open.
The shadows stretched across the hall. An eager crowd, they waited for the night’s destruction. I crept into their inky embrace. While they offered me cover, they weren’t my friends. They didn’t reveal the threat.
At the top of the stairs, I heard the sound of angry male voices.
Both Irish.
But only one belonged to my monster.
I tiptoed down the steps, pausing every time they creaked. The warning fell on deaf ears, neither male heard my approach.
“You’re so fecking gullible,” Liam scoffed, setting his book down on the coffee table in the library. “Kevin set you up, and you played right into his hand.”
The other male’s voice was tight with anger. He took a step forward, bumping into my couch with his shin. “That sniveling weasel had nothing to do with this! You killed my brother.”
“And now, I’m going to kill you too.”
How could Liam be so calm? The blond giant had a gun drawn and pointed it at my husband.
My heart slammed against my ribs. My unarmed husband.
No, no, NO!
Where were the guards? How had the man who’d cornered me weeks and weeks ago at Don Morelli’s dinner gotten inside the house?
It didn’t matter.
I slid through the shadows, going around the foyer to find a better angle. At least the doorway to the library was large. The pocket door was fully closed, which left the archway open to make a clear shot.
If only my hands would stop freaking trembling.
“You’re not going to be the boss,” Liam asserted. “I’m the king here.”
“Really? You going to stop me?” Johny sneered. “Say your prayers, cousin.”
I aimed the gun, pointing at the broad target, and reminded myself to breathe.
“Why are you fecking smiling?” Johny boomed.
Liam crossed his arms over his chest, assuming a posture of indifference. “Because…my wife’s here.”
Johny spun around, and I squeezed the trigger.
The gun answered with a roar.
In the echo of the shot, silence spread through the house.
Johny reached for his shirt, his own weapon falling uselessly to the floor.
He pulled at the material. His eyes went wide in disbelief as crimson bloomed over the cotton tee.
He lifted the shirt and prodded a careful finger over the small entrance wound leaking life down his front.
A normal person would have felt sick at the sight.
But rage consumed me. Rage and a wicked glee.
No one touched my husband and lived.
I clenched my jaw and squeezed the trigger again. I didn’t release my hold until the clip was empty, only lowered the barrel as Johny fell to the floor.
He twitched once.
Cavolo…that felt good.
Breathing hard, I tucked the weapon in the waistband of my jeans. I didn’t know where to look. I only knew that I’d committed the sin of murder. Again. At least—I drew in a desperate gulp of air—at least this time it was in self-defense.
That had to be why I didn’t have the urge to puke.
Or maybe I was just immune to violence at this point.
“Gabriella,” Liam sang my name softly.
I snapped my gaze to his. The monster prowled closer. His mask was gone and so was his glove. He rounded the coffee table, his large body blocking the mess on the floor.
“I’ll—I’ll get the mop and bleach,” I murmured.
Liam advanced, arms outstretched. “No need, cailín.”
I shook my head, but the fresh woodsy scent hit me a moment later. I rushed into his arms. My fingers tore at his body, probing and checking, as if my mind wasn’t satisfied that he was safe and unharmed.
“You did good, cailín,” he whispered into my hair, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “So fecking good.”
Dropping my cheek against his chest, I let out a long breath. And then listened. Listened to the sound of his heart, thumping in a steady rhythm.
My voice shuddered. “I can’t lose you.”
“You didn’t.”
I lingered, breathing him in and listening to his life flowing through his veins. Steady and strong, it could be the fortress I craved, the salvation I needed.
“I can hear that,” I whispered, tapping my finger in time to his pulse.
Liam’s voice was silk and salvation. “It beats for you, cailín.”
Mine broke at those words.
How.
How was I supposed to let a piece of myself go to stay with this man? Tears flooded my vision, but I squeezed my eyes tight to keep them from falling. The decision I’d been avoiding was going to break me.
Run or stay, I would never survive.
“My brave wife.” Liam kissed the top of my head. “I don’t deserve you, Gabriella. But I will fight to my dying breath for us. Because I want you, cailín. I want all of you—the good and the bad. I’ve claimed it as mine, and I hold it more sacred than any saint’s shrine.”
A sob threatened to choke me, but I swallowed it. I felt the same. Damn me, but I’d fallen hard for my husband.
“There will never be anyone else for me. You’ve filled all the missing pieces in my heart, little bird.”
My grip tightened. I had to tell him. I just…had to. I couldn’t leave without this goodbye, without him knowing how I felt.
I wished we had more time.
“You’re everything I wanted.” I will never forget you, Liam. “You came when I needed you.” And if I could keep you, I would. “You set me free.”
He was silent for a moment. I worried I’d said too much, even though I’d kept the love I felt for him burning unspoken.
“Lass?”
“Mmm?”
He let out a short breath. “Nothing. Let’s get you back to bed, and then I’ll join you after I help the lads sort out this mess.”
Stumbling under the weight of the future, I tucked myself under the protection of his arm and allowed him to lead me back upstairs.
Where Storm had destroyed the bathroom.
Shaking with anxiety, the puppy clawed his front paws down our legs. Barking and snuffling, he spun about before attacking us with kisses of pure affection.
The comic relief of the mess helped to quell the overwhelming sense of the impending loss. I was in love with my husband, and I needed to leave now, or I would forever be captured by that soul-binding feeling. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if my heart was my own to give.