Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
DECLAN
Shimmering amber reflections dance on the hardwood table below my fingers as the bar door swings wide, allowing peaks of the waning sun to shine against the full bottle of Jack Daniels in front of me. The sunshine scatters fragments of light that chase away the shadows around me. A tattooed hand reaches out next to me, snatching the bottle and stealing the glimmering light with it.
My gaze follows the black dove with its wings spread wide, like a beacon of sinister freedom, as Romeo pops the cork from the top of the bottle and pours two healthy shots of potent whiskey into two crystal-clear glasses. His hands flex as he replaces the top and slides the glass toward me, like a polished barkeep.
“Drink, Fratellino ,” he says shortly before bringing his own glass to his lips. His violet eyes watch the door opening and closing as he sips the rich liquor. Heavy footfalls divert my focus from my twin. Ignoring the glass of Jack, my eyes shift to the open door as three men, who look eerily alike, walk into the bar and head directly for the stairs.
Liam and his two brothers, Damon and Oliver, climb the stairs on their way to fetch more boxes from Sofee’s room. I watch their backs disappear before finally reaching for the glass of whiskey and tossing it back. A subtle burn coats my throat and slides down to my stomach before I replace the empty glass on the table and sit back in my chair.
A quiet chuckle to my left has me turning my gaze toward my brother. I watch Rome as he sips at his glass again, never reacting to the burn of the liquor as he swallows a gulp. His dark gaze meets mine.
“You really are a glutton for punishment,” he murmurs. I raise my brows, silently imploring him to explain. He grins as he shakes his head before flicking his chin toward the stairs. “After all you’ve been through, all you've done for her, you're really going to let her leave?” he asks.
I narrow my eyes at my twin, trying to figure out why he’s still here, other than to linger around and get on my last nerve. Although our relationship is on better terms now than when he first showed up on my doorstep, I'm still eager for him to return to his life and allow me to resume mine. Though, I can't help but wonder if maybe he's sticking around to see if I’ll give up the fight and go back to the family with him.
I swallow thickly as the ball of agony that has resided in my gut for the past week flares and aches at the thought of Sofee leaving me. I pull my gaze back toward the stairs as heavy footfalls sound before Oliver appears, holding a box full of what looks like lush green leaves.
“I didn't choose to save her in hopes of her taking me back,” I glance over to my brother, capturing his curious gaze. “I saved her because this world is already dark enough, and it would be truly unbearable if she didn't exist anymore.” Swiveling my head back toward the stairs, I gnash my teeth together and pray for just one more look into her bright eyes. “She’s made her mind up and that's all there is to it,” I mutter as her brother carries her beloved houseplants to the SUV.
It’s been almost two weeks since we took Matteo down. Two weeks since the day Sofee discovered all of us were lying to her. Two weeks since she moved in with her brother, Oliver, and out of my life. Two weeks of obsessing over how she’s doing and knocking on her brother’s door daily just to be turned away each time. Two weeks since the last time I’ve seen her, argued with her, or touched her.
Two of the longest fucking weeks of my life.
I tap my foot against the floor restlessly before forcing myself to stop watching the stairway for little glimpses of her. Every time I do, I have to fight the urge to run up those stairs and gather her in my arms, to find her and hold on to her, to never let her leave me. But I resist the impulse to confine her so she can never escape.
I can’t blame her for wanting to leave this place, this town. Even if we were lying to try to save her, we still lied and betrayed her. Her running off to another state is the best thing she could do. She’d be saving herself in the long run, saving herself from me.
I shake my head and reach for the bottle of Jack. More footsteps echo against the stairs as I pour myself another glass. I try to keep my eyes fixed on the amber swirls reflecting on the table, but I can’t resist stealing another glance at her.
But this time, it's not her I spot as Liam comes down the stairs holding a large box with something black on top. I expect him to ignore me just like the other Santos' have this morning. So, when he meets my gaze and locks eyes with me, I swallow past the lump in my throat and force myself to hold his stare. It's painful to look at him, almost as much as it is to think about his sister leaving me for good.
He walks over to the table I’m sharing with Rome, his face a mask of indifference that I can’t see past. Stepping up to one of the empty tables, Liam sets the heavy box down and grabs the worn-looking leather vest from the top. He clutches it in his hand before pulling out an empty seat at our table and sitting, laying the vest against his thigh before reaching for the bottle and sliding it his way. He says nothing as he brings it to his lips and gulps down a heavy swig.
“ Mmm ,” he hums as he swallows. He nods his head before replacing the bottle and catching my gaze again. He watches me, forcing me to match his stare as if this whole experience isn’t crushing my entire fucking soul. He sniffs and leans back in his chair heavily. “You know she’s going to Florida with Damon, right?” he says, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
I nod, the knot in my throat making it impossible to speak. Is this the moment he tells me I’m no longer welcome in this house? After all, I’m the one who caused all this. I’m the reason Sofee is leaving and never looking back. If I had just kept my hands to myself, if I hadn’t made her feel as though I took advantage of her just to betray her trust, she may never have decided to leave. We all may have kept the truth from her, but I’m the one that crushed her soul. And even if I warned her what would happen, told her that I would be her ruin, it still doesn’t make the blow any less painful for either of us.
Liam purses his lips and nods his head, disappointment rolling off him in suffocating waves. “You’re just going to let her leave then?” he asks.
His question takes me aback, knocking the wind from my lungs and making my pulse spike in my throat. I shake my head. “I don’t?—”
“You know,” he interrupts me as he pulls the old leather vest up from his thigh and sets it on the table between us. I keep my gaze locked onto him even as The Insidious Seven’s fiery skull winks at me from below his clenched fist. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” he says, his jaw tightening as he stares me down. “Well, technically, Tatum kicked my ass until I saw reason.” He smiles.
Blood rushes to my ears as I sit forward, too restless to stay still as he continues with a grin.
“I don’t want to lose my sister and my best friend all because I was too much of a protective asshole to see that you actually care for her. That she wasn’t just one of your conquests.” I shake my head, ready to deny that she was ever just a notch on my bedpost, but Liam cuts me off with a wave of his hand. I clamp my mouth closed, ready to hear what else he has to say to me.
His brows furrow as he puffs a small chuckle. “I think I’ve known how you’ve felt about her since the day of the fire. It just took me this long to actually see it,” he says as his expression turns serious again. “You ran into a burning building because you thought my sister was inside,” he rasps, his jaw tightening as emotion shimmers in his brown eyes. “You put yourself at the mercy of yet another lunatic mafia boss in order to save her.”
“I resent that statement,” Romeo mutters with a grin as he brings his glass back to his lips. I ignore him as I watch my best friend carefully. He leans forward and lowers his voice.
“If that’s not a man worthy of my blessing to be with my only sister, then I don’t know if that man will ever exist,” he says in a low tone, causing my heart to skip a beat and stutter in my chest. A fine tremble starts behind my ribs and radiates outward as I let his words soak in. I quickly close my eyes as emotions threaten to swamp me.
But before I have a chance to tell myself I don’t deserve his blessing, he grips the vest between us and extends it to me. I haven’t worn our colors since the alligator farm, since it was thrown into a pit of nightmares and ruined within the dark depths of Matteo's swampy grave. I all but hold my breath as I tentatively reach for the heavy garment. My fingers curl around it, the soft leather a welcoming feeling.
The feeling of home.
“I know you don’t want to lose my sister either,” Liam says as he lets go of the vest and watches me carefully. “So, this is me, swallowing my pride and apologizing,” he grins his boyish grin before standing from his seat. He smiles down at me before holding his hand out to me. “And asking my best friend to fight for the woman he so obviously loves and make her stay here, where she belongs,” he says before his eyes soften toward me. “Where you both belong.”
The back of my eyes burn like fire before I blink rapidly, banishing the emotion before I embarrass myself. I clear my throat as a joy I’ve never felt before swells in my chest. I grip my new vest before standing from my seat as well. Facing my best friend, my MC brother, I slide the leather on, allowing the warm material to hug me and welcome me back home. Then, I stand tall and slap my hand into Liam’s, pulling him to me.
I slap his back with my open palm and allow myself to finally feel the comfort I’ve been denying myself all this time. “Thank you, brother,” I murmur. Li returns my back slap before we pull away.
I’ve spent my entire life searching for my place in this world. Never able to envision a future with my actual family, I sought a family I would be proud to call my own. A family with brothers who would stand by me, willing to sacrifice for each other given the chance. Although I believed I had found that family years ago, it's only now that it truly feels genuine. I'm now certain that regardless of my actions, they will support me unconditionally. This time, it feels enduring.
Liam pulls away and grabs the heavy box in front of him. He holds it against his belly as he meets my gaze again. “Don’t thank me yet. You still have to win over the most stubborn one of us all,” he says as he glances over his shoulder toward the stairs as if he can see the five-foot-nothing, curvy spitfire from all the way down here.
He cringes as he faces me again. “I nearly had to get down on my knees to beg for her forgiveness. And I’m not even exaggerating a bit,” he says, widening his eyes. “She stared at a place on the floor for half of my apology, like she was carving my name into the wood with her eyes.” He shivers before glancing back to me with a small smirk. “I'd hate to see what you’ll have to do.”
I nod as he faces me again. “I know I have no right to ask, but…” I swallow thickly, gathering my courage to do something I’ve never done before. Ask for help. “I don’t know if I can get her to see me.”
Liam nods as the sound of heavy footfalls reverberates down the stairwell. We all glance back just in time to see the oldest Santos appear at the base of the stairs. The one who is going to take Sofee away from here, permanently this time.
I can’t allow that to happen.
“You let me handle that part, you just be ready to grovel,” Li says as he smiles at me. Then he turns and faces his older brother. Damon narrows his eyes at me in a way that has my blood cooling in my veins. I may be accepted by Liam, but Damon will be another dance with death altogether. One I’ll gladly tango with if the end result is keeping Sofee with me until the day they put me in the ground.
Hearing the screech of a chair being slid back draws my attention to Romeo standing from his seat. His lips are drawn tight, but I can still see the fondness shimmering in his eyes as he watches me. I meet his stare, saying nothing as he retrieves a cigarette package from his shirt pocket and taps it against his palm.
“So, I guess this means you won’t be joining me back in New York?” he asks as he places an unlit cigarette between his lips. I shake my head as he digs in his pocket for his small box of matches.
“You and I both know I would’ve never been able to come back with you,” I say softly as he lights his coffin nail and takes a long drag from it. My place by his side in the hierarchy has been vacant for too long; I would never be able to return as if I never left. The ghosts of my past may not haunt me as they used to, but they still reside in New York. I couldn’t be a Morelli anymore, even if I wanted to. That part of me is dead and buried with Alana. And it’s time we all let them rest in peace.
“Yeah,” he says as he blows out a heavy cloud of smoke. He grins as he plays with the lit fag between his fingers. “Wishful thinking I guess,” he says somberly, the tone tugging at something deep within my soul.
He lifts his cigarette to his lips and pulls a deep drag from it. His lips curl up in a small grin as he speaks again, genuine warmth radiating from him. “We should do this again sometime, little brother. I haven’t had this much fun in years.” Smoke fills the space between us before he grabs the bottle of whiskey and saunters toward the door. Just as he places his hand against the handle to push it open, I find my voice.
“Rome,” I say quickly. He pushes the door open, allowing the slowly sinking sunlight to fill the bar and shine brightly on his obsidian-colored hair. Then he stops and turns his twin gaze to mine.
“What will you do now?” I ask, unwittingly delaying his exit.
Romeo inhales his foul-smelling smoke before flashing me a broad smile. A thick cloud of smoke escapes from behind his teeth, making him appear even more like a sinister nightmare than he did the first night he walked into this bar and reentered my life.
“You’ve slain the dragon for me, Fratellino ,” he breathes, his smile widening as he winks at me. “It’s time for me to go home and claim my princess.”
His words bounce around my skull, giving me pause before he pushes open the door and disappears outside. The only clue that he was ever here at all is the murky smoke left behind. I knew he had ulterior motives, but now all the pieces of his plan have finally settled neatly in front of me. I huff a humorless laugh, as if his endgame wasn’t clear from the start of all this.
I’m sure that whatever happens to New York after the return of Romeo Morelli will end in bloodshed. But for the life of me, I couldn’t care less. His dark fairytale is a story for another time. And as I step away from the table, my leather helping me gain my confidence once again, I realize it’s finally time to seek my own happy ending.