Chapter 21
21
D ante
I uncuff her and pull her into my arms. My heart is pumping a mix of emotions—anger, regret, and a warm feeling I don’t want to uncover. Releasing her from the handcuffs complicates things, yet it doesn’t change them. She told me she was in chaos. I should have believed her.
Gia still can’t leave the room, nor should she. It’s not safe for her anywhere but with me.
I can’t trust her without me by her side. Her psycho ex could show up, or Rocco could snitch on me to Massimo and create a problem with dangerous consequences.
So I hug her tight and kiss the top of her head. Her arms are limp at her sides, and a twinge of guilt stabs me. She must be tired—from being in the same position for hours, from the sex, from everything… but mostly from not knowing what happens next.
Damn. If only she could give me any piece of information to help us find Ross Santini… that’d get Rocco off my back. Even Massimo wouldn’t make a big deal.
Then what?
She wants to leave. Start a new life. Without me. Why would she want to include me, with all the complications that come with my family name and occupation? And AJ? Gia’s young—she doesn’t want the responsibilities of a stepdaughter.
I catch myself. Stepdaughter? What’s going on?
Gia is my hostage. Even if I want her to have a new life, like she deserves, being part of it doesn’t make any sense. I never wanted any committed relationship before. Why start now? Why her?
Because Gia is different , a voice inside me says.
She cries in my arms, more quietly now, her face buried in my shoulder. Her tears dampen my skin, and I caress her naked back, hoping to soothe her.
Her husband will get what he deserves—I’ll make sure of it. But death won’t make up for all the pain he put her through.
“You are brave. You killed your stepfather,” I say, running my fingers through her hair. “That takes a lot, especially when you’ve never done it before.”
A long pause stretches between us.
“How do you know?” she asks, breaking the silence.
“I can hear it in your voice,” I say.
She raises her head and looks at me, her face blotched, her eyes reddening, and her hair messy. And she’s still fucking stunning. “I’m sorry I got you and AJ into this mess. She doesn’t deserve it.”
I can’t resist outlining her jaw with my fingers. I’m aware I shouldn’t send her mixed messages, but how can I follow the rules if she makes me feel like breaking all of them? “The mess was already there. You just stirred it a bit.”
She shrugs, and I doubt she believes me. “Who has her?”
“She’s with Massimo and his family. She’s fine.” An uneasy sensation crawls under my skin. I trust my brother to keep my daughter safe, but not enough to share Gia’s true identity.
She sighs, looking away. “I miss her.”
“Me too.” I wish I had comforting words, but I can't lie to her, even as confused as I am.
“Does Massimo know?”
“No. Rocco hasn’t told him yet.”
“Maybe I can talk to your brothers. Explain my side,” she says, her eyes pleading.
“Maybe,” I lie, then shame crosses my chest. The image of her trying to explain her side to my brothers, Massimo especially, sends a shot of anxiety into my veins.
I carefully disengage from her, creating space, and slide off the bed. “But now is not the time. I need to run some errands. I’ll leave you here for a couple of hours. No one is allowed inside.”
I rush to my office and flick on my screen even if I can’t focus enough to read anything. I need to get my head straight. I have weapons shipments coming in a couple of weeks, and money transfers must be made. Contacts need to be activated. Fuck.
I hear footsteps approaching, but I know my security team would never let a stranger inside without checking first. Soon, Rocco pops his head into my office, then walks in and plops on the chair in front of me.
“Any news?” He loosens the collar of his black shirt and shoots me the glance of someone losing patience.
I square my shoulders. “Nope. You?”
He frowns, leaning into the desk. “You mean you talked to her all this time and didn’t extract any information from her?”
I clear my throat. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” He shakes his head. The atmosphere shifts, tension thickening the air. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”
I clear my throat. “That doesn’t have anything to do with our problem.”
He surges to his feet, restless. “It doesn’t? You’ll never kill her. It’s obvious. So what’s happening? Are you using her as bait to reel in her husband? Then we torture him to get to Santini?”
“No,” I growl as I watch him pace in circles in the middle of my office. “Her husband is never getting close to her again.” I know I can’t be with Gia, that our time is ending, but despite all she’s done, I can’t make her face her ex again. I saw the fear in her eyes.
“Then what’s the plan?”
I scratch the back of my neck. “I’m figuring out.”
“I doubt it. I think you’re fucking her silly and not thinking clearly. She has you wrapped around her little finger.”
“That’s a lie. Look, she’s been through a lot,” I say, opting not to share what she told me about her marriage and life after her mom passed. A huge protective instinct kicks in, and I don’t shy away from it.
“Now you feel compassion. Bro, this is worse than I imagined.”
“What do you mean?”
His pacing comes to a halt, and he stands in the center of my office, looking at me. “You fell for the traitor.”
I wave him off. The idea isn’t that outlandish, but I can’t tell because I’ve never fallen in love with a woman. I love my daughter, and I loved my mom. But romantically, I never got to that point—and that was comfortable. I didn’t need to mess up my life.
Yet now it looks like I don’t have a choice in the matter. And opening up to Rocco and exploring these complex feelings isn’t an option. “Give me a fucking break.”
“Did she cry?” he asks, his eyes searching mine.
I slip on an invisible mask of nonchalance. I’ll need it later, too—when I’ll have to tell Gia about what I’m dreading. “Wouldn’t you?”
“What are you going to do with her? You can’t keep her hidden forever. And your daughter can’t stay at Massimo’s indefinitely.”
“I’m not killing Gia. She doesn’t have any information leading to Ross. Her husband is a lowlife who did petty crimes because he didn’t have what was needed to sit at the big kids’ table. I’m assuming anyone with half a brain wouldn’t trust him with important information.”
“What will you do with her? Do you trust her to be your nanny again? You’d be putting AJ in a dangerous spot. To be watched by someone from the other team—even if she’s innocent.”
My variety of solutions narrows to one. My heart thrums in my chest. “I know.”
The best solution is to give her the freedom she’s always wanted, even if that means never seeing her again.