Chapter 13 – Gaspare
Some things, once threatened, become sacred.
And after Luca’s kidnapping, that’s what Almeria has become to me.
Sacred.
It’s not just a sense of duty or the fire that’s been building between us since she stepped back into my life. It’s become deeper now. More primal. Permanent.
I can’t lose her.
Not her, not Luca. Not what we’ve just begun to build.
I tap my fingers on my desk as my mind drifts back to three days ago. The night of Luca’s kidnapping.
I remember the call Maria had made to me. She had been crying, scared for the boy and frantic that she’d lose her job. She’s lucky Almeria has a heart of gold. I would have fired her on the spot before going to find the boy.
The warehouse where they kept Luca still smelled like metal and sweat. Blood. Rage.
I can perceive it even in my subconscious.
The boy had been tied to a rusted chair. He was blindfolded and visibly shaking.
It took everything I had not to kill the bastards on sight. I needed names.
I made sure I got them.
One of them cracked after five long minutes with a blade at his ribs.
Lombardi.
That name doesn’t just taste like blood. It tastes like betrayal.
I let the talker live, so he could pass a message. And so he could testify to anyone he knew that I kept my word of letting him live if he gave me a name.
But I’m certain he’s probably not alive right now. The people he gave up must have gotten to him by now.
The Lombardis were never friends of the Spadaforas, and by extension, that makes them enemies of mine now. I should’ve seen this coming the moment I put Almeria’s name next to mine.
Their entourage had been present at our wedding, but not their Don. And now, I know they’d attended out of curiosity, to confirm if truly I was getting married to a Spadafora.
I can’t tell if they are the same ones who’d attacked Almeria and Luca at her shop the first time. I don’t care at this point.
They dared cross my territory to take what belongs to her, and to me by extension. And that’s enough to make them pay for sins that are not theirs.
So now, I sit in the study of my private estate with Sancia and Enzo—my two most trusted allies—watching footage and flipping through every file we have on the Lombardi syndicate.
Sancia clicks her tongue as she swipes through an aerial shot of the warehouse. “You’re lucky that idiot started begging so fast. If he hadn’t dropped the name, we’d still be guessing.”
Enzo leans back, arms folded, watching me closely. “Lombardi’s not stupid, though. You think he’s coming again?”
I nod. “He didn’t kidnap Luca for money. It was a message.”
“To her?” Sancia asks.
“To me,” I say. “He wants to make sure Almeria never forgets who her family used to be. And that I never forget who she is.”
Enzo exhales slowly. “So we hit back.”
“Not yet,” I say. “We track him. Every asset. Every deal. We don’t move until I know exactly where their Don sleeps.”
“Everything might not be about you, Gaspare,” Sancia starts. “What if they took Luca to hurt her?”
I raise my eyes to her without moving my head.
“If they wanted to hurt her, they’d have taken the boy sooner. Months ago.”
“You had her moved to a safe mansion. They had to plan well. And it seems they did. They might have gotten the boy sooner if she were still living in the lousy apartment above her shop...”
“Are we really going to argue about all these right now? My territory was breached!” I snap at her, my temper rising.
There’s a minute of silence in the room.
“I’ll put my team on it,” Sancia says finally, breaking the silence and already typing into her tablet. “We’ll have a location in twenty-four.”
“Make it twelve.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “Someone’s extra grumpy today.”
Enzo chuckles. “That’s because he’s in love.”
I glare at him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he says, smirking. “You’re glowing like a man who’s finally getting laid by someone he doesn’t have to pay.”
“Careful,” I growl. “I could still kill you.”
Sancia snorts. “He’s not wrong, though. I’ve known you how long, boss? You’ve never once looked at a woman like you looked at her when you brought Luca back.”
“She’s different,” I say before I can stop myself.
There’s a pause. A beat of silence that says more than I want it to.
Enzo leans forward, face serious now. “Then don’t let it go.”
“What?”
He folds his arms on the table. “What we do, Gaspare… it’s not built for love. We don’t get to grow old with someone in peace. But if you’ve got a shot at that kind of bond, even a glimpse—you don’t waste it.”
I blink.
It’s rare that Enzo talks like this. Rare that any of us do.
“Don’t be the man who regrets not trying,” he adds.
Sancia rises and slaps her file closed. “Well, this got emotional. Never knew you to be a romantic, Enzo.”
“Shut up,” Enzo snickers, rolling his eyes at her.
“An eye roll. Wow. My men are touchy and all up in their feelings today,” Sancia teases. “Don’t want all that love bug on me now. So I’m going to go interrogate someone until they cry.”
She walks out before Enzo and I can say anything more to her, and I can’t help but smirk.
But Enzo’s words linger.
Don’t be the man who regrets not trying.
***
Back at the mansion, I find Almeria in the garden, Luca playing in front of her with a wooden sword one of the guards must have carved for him. He’s swinging it like a knight, running in circles around the rose bushes.
Almeria is barefoot in the grass, her long braid trailing down one shoulder. She wears a light blue sundress that flutters with every breeze. The late afternoon sun turns her skin golden, glowing like something out of a dream I shouldn’t be allowed to have.
She tilts her head back to the sun, eyes closed, a smile softening her face as she listens to Luca giggle.
And she doesn’t see me at first.
For a moment, I just watch.
Taking in the moment.
I don’t breathe. I don’t move.
Because right now, this—this—is everything I’ve spent my life pretending I didn’t need.
Family. Laughter. Peace.
Love.
She opens her eyes and sees me standing there.
Her smile falters. Just a little. But it doesn’t vanish.
She says nothing, but waves me over.
I walk across the grass toward her, hands in my pockets, and Luca immediately runs up to me, sword held high.
“Senor!” he grins. “I’ve slain the red dragon!”
I crouch down. “Did he go down easy?”
Luca laughs heartily. “He begged for mercy!”
I ruffle his hair. “You’re ruthless. I like that.”
He runs off again, sword raised, roaring into the bushes.
Almeria watches him go, then looks at me. “He’s been at it all day.”
“That’s good.”
“He slept last night. Through the whole night. First time in days.”
She doesn’t say it out loud, but I hear it anyway.
I nod toward her. “You look like you finally exhaled.”
She gives a small, tired laugh. “That obvious, huh? I think maybe I did.”
I glance down at her bare feet in the grass. “You always do that?”
“Do what?”
I point at her feet in the dirt.
“When I’m stressed.”
“What, walking around barefoot in the garden has anti-stress elements?”
“Might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But it’s mine. I like to ground myself with nature. Touch something that can’t lie to me,” she says. “Dirt. Leaves. Air. Flowers.”
I nod, watching her. “And me?”
She looks up slowly, lips parting.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
That hits deeper than it should and all thoughts of teasing her further vanish.
I take a breath, stepping closer. “You will.”
She arches a brow. “You’re that confident, aren’t you?”
“No,” I say. “More hope than confidence.”
She watches me a second longer, then looks back at Luca, who is now battling an imaginary army under the apple tree.
“You love him,” she says.
I follow her gaze. “Yeah. I do.”
“You don’t have to,” she murmurs. “He’s not yours.”
I glance at her, unsure what made her say that. “When has that ever mattered, Almeria?”
“Men like you – you don’t love another man’s seed like yours. Never have. Never will.”
“Men like me?” I scoff. “Am I not protecting the boy?”
“To soothe the guilt in your heart from what you caused me,” she says quietly. “And...to secure your position as a Don in the syndicate.”
I bite on my tongue, wondering how to counter the true words she just spoke.
“That was the reason before. But you and I both know that has changed. I’m here every waking hour of the day. I think about you two more than I think about my meals. And I love to eat. I don’t need to do all that to be a Don. But I do it anyway. Because your safety and happiness matter to me. And I’ll pass through hell and high water gladly if it means it’ll put a smile on your face.”
She says nothing.
But she doesn’t look away from me.
She lets me look at her.
And that—more than any vow, more than any kiss—is how I know I’m already too far gone.
Because I don’t just want to protect her anymore.
I want to belong to her.
Later that evening, as she gets ready to step out to the grocery shop—only for a short while—my protectiveness kicks in hard.
“You’re not leaving without security,” I say.
Almeria’s at the door, wearing a light cream blouse and jeans. Her purse already slung over her shoulder. Her expression hardens.
“Gaspare. I’m just going down the street to buy onions. I need some air. I’ve been cooped up in here for days.”
“I don’t care if it’s across the hall. You’re taking two men with you.”
Her eyes flash. “You promised me freedom.”
“I promised you safety.”
“And you think safety is about having two men flanking me while I buy fucking onions?”
My jaw tightens. “I nearly lost you. Him. You want me to be okay with you walking around alone now?”
“You don’t own me,” she says, voice shaking.
“No,” I reply. “But I want to.”
The silence that follows is deafening.
Her chest rises and falls, anger battling something more fragile in her eyes.
I soften my voice. “This isn’t about control. It’s about us. About what I feel for you.”
She swallows. “What do you feel?”
I move toward her, slow and deliberate.
“I feel like I’ve spent my entire life building an empire that means nothing if you and Luca aren’t safe in it.”
She blinks hard, her voice quiet. “You never used to talk like this.”
“I never used to feel like this. Until you.”
I take her hands.
“I’m not just doing this for protection. I’m doing it because I need you. I want you. Body and soul. I’ve loved you longer than I ever admitted, Almeria. Even when I was cruel. Even when I pushed you away.”
Her breath catches.
“I don’t want fake vows anymore,” I whisper. “I want the real thing. I want you.”
She steps closer, her fingers tightening around mine.
We remain silent in each other’s embrace, saying words with our hearts that our mouths can’t voice out yet.
And for the first time since I claimed her, I feel like she’s choosing me back.