13. Cristian
H ollis comes back into the medical suite with finger marks on his chin and kiss-swollen lips.
Great. Just…fucking great. Tennant and I already need to have a conversation about Allesandro and I, and him and Benjamin.
Adding whatever Hollis ends up doing with Il Padrone… Maybe being kidnapped wasn’t so bad.
Jude stops Hollis and lifts his chin, studying the rapidly forming bruises. “I’m fine,” Hollis says.
Jude doesn’t seem to believe him as he presses their lips together in a rather claiming kiss. One that has Roman whining from the bed. “Don’t tease me,” he says.
Jude pulls away from Hollis and makes his way to Roman’s side, though he rounds the foot of the bed to take the chair next to me, rather than sit beside Ignacio. “You’re in no position to be making demands, Giocattolo,” Jude signs. “You’re in so much shit.”
Roman scowls. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.”
Hollis sits at the foot of Roman’s bed, setting his hand on Roman’s good leg. “So much trouble, Giocattolo.”
Roman sighs and looks to Ignacio with big, innocent green eyes. “You’ll dote on me, won’t you?”
The sweet smile Il Padrone’s Chaos gives my son is…slightly disturbing. Not because I don’t think Roman deserves sweetness, but it's who is giving it to him.
An uncomfortable, protective feeling settles over me as I watch Ignacio stare at my son with so much love in his eyes, as if he’ll give the boy the world. “Of course, Little One. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
Roman grins and tries to shift on the bed, but his broken ribs have him grimacing in pain. Ignacio fusses over him, making sure he’s settled.
I try hard to shove the feelings swirling in me to the side, but seeing him so devoted to Roman?
Knowing he already failed one man he supposedly loved?
Someone he was set to marry? I want Roman to have everything he could ever want, and Ignacio…
it’s hard to believe he’s it. Doesn’t matter if Hollis and Ten have given him their stamp of approval.
“I need to go check on Carter, and see how things are going.” I look to Jude as I ask, “Have you had any problems on your end?”
He shakes his head. “Everyone has checked in, and has had good reports. We’ve had to delay the resupply because of all the moving around and shifting, but maybe it’s better if the feds are still keeping a close eye on us. Hopefully, Tennant and Lio will return with updates.”
“We can hope.” Looking back to Roman, I reach out and smooth his dark hair away from his face. “I’ll be back later, okay?”
“I’m an adult, I don’t need my dad to hold my hand through everything.” He tries to scowl, but I can see the lie in his eyes. As much as he says otherwise, we both feel better with me close by.
For the longest time, it was Roman and I against the world. Even with Tennant and his nanny stepping in when I couldn’t; Roman was all I had, and vice versa.
Seeing him hurt will never sit well with me. I don’t care how old he is. I will never be okay with being so powerless. Especially when it comes to the people he loves—or thinks he loves.
“Go check on Dad. I’ll be fine.”
Leaning over, I press a kiss to his forehead. “Ti voglio bene, Figlio Mio.”
“I love you, too.”
One last kiss and I stand, reluctant to leave him, but the Family needs me now more than ever.
Outside the medical suite, I take a moment to catch my breath, switching my thinking from worried father to cold and calculating Boss. Before I can track my husband down, however, the door to the medical suite opens and Ignacio steps out.
He makes sure the door is firmly shut behind him before saying, “May I talk to you?”
I want to say no, that I have better things to do than dealing with him, but…this is just as important as anything else on my plate. Maybe moreso because it has to do with my son.
“Very well.”
“Not here.”
Curious, I allow him to lead me through the house, trying to take in as much as I can. Aside from the one meeting, this isn’t somewhere I ever thought I’d have the pleasure of visiting, and it is…disconcerting.
So much of the mansion reminds me of my childhood home, and how cold and unloved it became after my uncle took over. I worked hard to make it a place where Roman would feel loved growing up, and I hope that’s what I was able to give him. Now, it all seems for nothing.
Burned to the ground by our unseen enemy… The place I brought my son home to when he was born, where I asked Carter to marry me—for the second time… Where my son found his own happiness.
Gone. All of it. The material items can be replaced, but the memories will eventually fade, and the sentimental value will wash away with time.
Roman ending up hurt is the final nail in the coffin of my failure to protect him.
Everything I am as a Boss, and a father, has slipped through my fingers, turned to ash in the wind…
Ignacio leads me to a training room/gym area, and I’m not surprised this is where he feels most comfortable.
For a moment, we stand in silence. He fidgets under the weight of my stare, looking everywhere except at me.
If he thinks I’ll be the first to break the silence though, he has a lot to learn.
Roman didn’t get his impatience from me.
“I love your son, Cristian,” he finally says, looking at me head on, his dark eyes filled with intent. “I didn’t mean to fall for him, but it happened, and here we are.”
“Yes, here you are,” I muse. “Tell me, if you didn’t mean to fall in love with him, what were you doing with Roman then?”
He grimaces. “You know how the Martellis do things.”
I nod slowly. “I do. But I want to hear it, in your own words.”
He scowls. “I won’t disrespect Roman by discussing his sex life with you.”
I laugh a little. “I know what Hollis and Tennant get up to. Who do you think helped Hollis kidnap Ten the first time? And yes, it was Hollis who made the first move. Tennant and I don’t hide things from each other, so I’ve known all along what Roman gets up to with his lovers.
You though? You’re an anomaly. I don’t know you at all.
Only what I’ve heard, and all rumors have a hint of truth to them, don’t they?
At least, the best and long-lasting ones do. ”
“It was never just sex between us, and that’s all I’ll say. I never expected to fall for him as I have, but from the moment I touched him, it wasn’t just sex.”
Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I study him.
He’s attractive in a dangerous way, if you’re into that.
Not as pretty as Tennant, but he has the same air of “Danger. Back off” about him that Ten does.
With dark hair and eyes, and his body a work of art with his many tattoos and muscles, I can see why Roman fell head over heels.
“What are you saying exactly, Chaos?” I ask quietly.
He squares his shoulders and looks at me head on, his feet shifting a little so he can either fight me off, or run away if I decide to go after him. Smart. Not that it’ll save him. I grew up with Tennant, after all. I only survived this long because I know how to ensure I’m the last one standing.
“I’m saying I love your son, whether you like it or not.”
I raise a brow. “If that’s how you plan on pleading your case so I can give you my blessing…”
He swallows and tries to adjust his body so he seems more approachable, but it doesn’t quite work. “Roman isn’t the type who needs permission to do anything.”
I incline my head. “You’re right. He doesn’t.
That doesn’t mean it’s not in your best interests to get on my good side.
He is more than just my son, more than just someone who happens to be part of another Family.
He is my heir. He was acting Boss when I was gone.
What does that say about you, that you cannot do right by him and ask for his hand? ”
“I find it hard to believe Tennant and Hollis asked for the right to be with him.”
“They fucked up and slept with him before coming to me, and Tennant has a scar to show off because of that. But, it was never them I was upset with. Knowing Ten as I do, I know most of that falls on Roman’s shoulders. This is different. He’s not just my heir, he was Boss when you touched him.”
Ignacio seems to deflate, and the loyalty and respect for authority that Il Padrone has instilled into all of his Boys comes out.
“You’re right. I touched him when I shouldn’t have.
I won’t apologize because I am not sorry, but touching him as I did wasn’t planned.
Nothing that’s happened was planned. I don’t regret it though. ”
Taking a few steps toward him, I can’t help but smile at the way he tenses. “You already broke one heart, how can I trust you with my son’s?”
“What happened between Benjamin and I will never happen with Roman. For one, it is not the same thing. Benjamin and I…we broke each other. We let our relationship crumble because we were unwilling to trust each other and talk. I will never do that to Roman. He’s different.”
“Why? He just got hurt—badly. You’re telling me you won’t hurt or try to smother him as you did to Benjamin once he’s healed?
You won’t try to temper the fight in him?
” I grin at the surprise that crosses his face, the way he slightly shifts his stance at his uncomfortableness.
“Yes, I know what occurred between the two of you. No secrets between Ten and I, remember? He is…not a fan of yours. I’m not sure how I feel about his relationship with Benjamin yet, but I know the story as he told it to me. ”
Ignacio scowls again. His eyes are like dark flames of pain. “We both fucked up, and we own that. But what I have with Roman is different on so many levels.”
“How can I trust you?”
He spreads his arms. “Punish me. I’ve already taken one, I can take another, and another, as many as you and Il Padrone need for me to prove I mean what I say.”
I hum and move in, so we’re in touching distance. It’s a dangerous place to be with a man like Chaos, but I’m not worried. For one, we both know Il Padrone won’t be happy should he touch me, and for another… My family will probably draw straws on who gets to kill him.
“I’m not Il Padrone. I don’t do things the way he does,” I say quietly.
“I don’t know what you want from me, then. I love your son, and I respect that you’re his father and love him, and only want him safe, but as far as I know, he makes his own choices.”
“He does. He’s reckless, arrogant, and impulsive. But when he falls, he falls hard. The fact he fell for you so quickly means he saw something in you worth keeping.”
“I won’t break his heart, Cristian. I’d rather kill myself than hurt him.”
Setting a hand on his chest, I enjoy the racing of his heart. “You should have at least talked to Carter about this. He was here, even if I wasn’t.”
He grimaces. “You’ve met the Family. We don’t exactly take much stock in blood relations.”
I smile a little. “But Roman does. And he’ll disagree with me, but he was raised right. Think about it this way: How would you feel if it was your child?”
A flash of what can only be regret and understanding crosses Ignacio’s face, before it smoothes out once more.
“I’m here now, talking to you. Promising to do whatever he needs me to in order to keep him.”
“Even marry him?” I ask quietly. “He’ll need either a child or a husband, sooner than later. I chose the heir route because I wasn’t ready for marriage. Roman? He’s the type you marry first before you give him children.”
Ignacio swallows. “That’s not my decision… Il Padrone is already disappointed that I went against the grace he gave me with Benjamin.”
“If you truly loved my son, you’d figure it out.”
“I do! But you and I both know Il Padrone’s word is law. Roman…he has to understand that, too.”
“He understands respect, and Family loyalty. He also understands what it means to be loved unconditionally. So, if he asks it of you, if Hollis chooses you above Jude…you better hope you can explain without breaking his heart.”
“I’ll do my best. Il Padrone…he’s hard to move once he’s made up his mind.”
I smile a little, knowing he’s not wrong, but…I refuse to let him off the hook for this. He wants to be with Roman? He must accept all that comes with it.
Fisting his shirt, I yank him closer, brushing my lips against his.
His guard doesn’t relax—and I wouldn’t respect him if it did—but it does make it easier to pull my knife and stab him, sinking it in just below his kidney.
Pulling back a miniscule amount, I whisper, “I am not Il Padrone. I’m far worse—I’m a father. ”
Looking into his dark eyes as I slide the knife out, I say, “If you survive, maybe I’ll plead your case with Il Padrone…”
Stabbing him again, I yank the knife sideways, slicing him open along his side toward his stomach, gutting him open like a fish.
Ignacio gasps for breath, and I watch his face as I lower him to the ground, uncaring that his blood is getting everywhere. This won’t kill him, at least not instantly. There’s hope if the medical team can get to him in time…
As his eyes close and his blood soaks into the mats beneath my feet, I sigh and pull out my phone. As soon as the call is picked up, I say, “Come to the gym. Hurry, it’s an emergency.”
Doc curses, even as he drops the call. Hoping Roman and Allesandro forgive me for almost killing Chaos, I shrug out of my jacket and use it to staunch the bleeding.
I am way too soft sometimes…