41. Marcus
“ O f course, I’m coming with you, Lio.” Benjamin’s announcement doesn’t take anyone by surprise.
“Thank you.” Lio exhales and loses some of the tension in his shoulders.
“Someone has to keep watch of everyone medically. Roman and Ignacio still need to recover, and if anything else were to happen… As Doc said, we’ll have help setting things up, and I’ll take point in that area.
And yes, we will be bringing Ignacio. I don’t trust him with Cristian or Allesandro.
” Dr. Ranlen’s voice is calm, but she leans into Doc.
I know how hard this must be for her. Il Padrone saved her life, and to walk away is hard…but it’s the right thing to do, and when—because I have to believe it’s when—Il Padrone gets his ass out of his head, he’ll be thankful she went with Lio.
I exchange a glance with Keegan, because we talked about this extensively last night. I shift uncomfortably and brace myself for this to go wrong. “Keegan, Cole, and I will also leave. But we’d like permission to join as De Lucas. If Carter will have us.”
Carter’s eyes brighten as he stares at us. “Of course. It would be an honor to have War and Mayhem. And you know I already consider Cole mine.”
“We know,” Keegan’s deep voice rumbles. “That’s partially why we want to be with you. That, and you deserve to be followed. We will be loyal to you.”
Carter manages a nod, but nothing else. The emotion is seemingly too thick for him to respond verbally.
I switch my attention to Lio, whose eyes have tightened, and there’s a slight downturn of his lips, but he inclines his head in acknowledgment.
I know this hurts him, and I hate to do it, but Carter needs us.
He doesn’t have a solid team. We will provide that for him.
“I…I’ll go. But I don’t want to be away from Jude,” Antonio’s soft voice breaks the strained silence. “I remain committed to the Family, but right now, that’s you, Lio.”
“We will all be at the O’Connel Mansion,” Roman responds, sweat beginning to dot his forehead from exertion. “You don’t have to choose between him and Lio.”
Exhaling, Antonio snuggles even closer to Jude, which I didn’t think was possible. “Then I, and the twins, will follow you, Lio.”
“Thank you. I know that’s hard,” Lio says gently, his fingers twitching as he struggles to stay still. “Just…thank you all.”
“We do need to hurry. They may be drugged, but that will only last for so long,” Dr. Ranlen cuts in, before sending a warning look to Doc. “And giving them more isn’t an option.”
“Even if it would keep them under control…” Doc mutters quietly, and it breaks the rest of the lingering pressure as some chuckle. Fuck knows I do.
The assholes deserve to be drugged. This isn’t the Il Padrone I know. I do wish Doc luck in dealing with them. Getting out is the best fucking option.
There’s a flurry of action, and I grab Keegan’s hand, standing. Carter puts a hand on our chests, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Are you sure?”
“With you? Yes. We believe in you, and have your back.” I have no doubt we’re doing the right thing, even if it feels slightly wrong.
He’s a good man, one worthy of being a leader.
I’ll forever be grateful to the old Il Padrone, the one who rescued me from my family when I was almost dead, who helped shape me into War.
But he’s no longer there, and while I respect Lio…
It’s Carter who needs us—and we need him, even if we aren’t sure why yet.
“Alright. I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“You don’t have to, Boss. You lead, and we’ll follow. Always.”
Carter straightens and sheds his last bit of helplessness.
It’s beautiful to see that switch into him being a Boss, and reassures me that we made the right decision.
Even if it hurt Lio. We’ll still be with everyone, so if we’re needed, I’m sure we can all come together.
But for now, we’ll put our focus on the De Lucas, and on our new Boss.
I know he’ll do great things, and I want to be there for it.
Cristian can get fucked for taking Carter for granted. We won’t ever do that.
“Let’s go, Tease.” Keegan nudges me in the side. “We need to get our son all set to go. I don’t want to run into problems with Padrone waking up before we’re gone.”
“Alright. Did you see Lio, though? I wanted to touch base with him first.” My gaze roams the emptying study, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
Keegan shakes his head. “No. But I’m sure he has plenty of shit to do. We can talk at the O’Connel house.”
Giving up, I shrug one shoulder and let myself be pulled along.
This is going to be frantic, but thankfully, we excel under pressure.
Escaping hell? No problem. It’s time to start a new life, with a new Boss, and admittedly…
I’m way more excited over that than I thought I would be.
Too bad Il Padrone is such an asshole, or maybe I’d thank him for this shit.
My biggest fear? What happens when those two Bosses get their shit together?
I can’t see us merging all that easily, because if this proves anything, it’s that once you have a taste of power, there’s no going back.
Maybe that’s why Il Padrone and Cristian were trying to hold onto everyone so tightly, or maybe their minds were simply too warped from the kidnapping.
Fuck if I know. And at this point? I don’t give a shit.
While they cling to the embers of the past, life moves on—without them.