Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Present Day
“Finn. Finn, wake up.”
Alessio’s deep voice pulled me from darkness as he gripped my jaw and gently shook me awake.
Pain exploded everywhere. My ribs. The back of my head.
Behind my eyes. I forced my eyes open and mumbled groggily as Alessio pulled me into a sitting position so I could lean back against something soft.
A chair? I looked around, squinting at the luxurious cream interior of Alessio’s private plane. How had I got here?
“What happened?”
“You were beaten pretty badly. We gave you some sedatives to ease the pain and help you heal,” he said calmly.
I tried to think back to the last thing I remembered…
“Nerina! They had Neri!” My voice didn’t sound like my own as I tried to scramble to my feet, but Alessio’s firm hands on my shoulders kept me seated.
“She’s fine. She’s safe. Fabi’s got her. They handed her back, and she had no idea she was in danger.”
“And Enzo.” Panic and fear doubled, overlapped, and pressed against every inhale.
“Where’s Enzo?” I twisted in the chair, scanning the faces of solemn soldiers until my gaze landed on one who shouldn’t have been there.
On the other side of the plane sat Frankie’s teenage son, Atlas.
He stared at me with a blank expression.
The silence was deafening. My eyes met Alessio’s, and I saw it. Sympathy. Pain. Regret. He gave a small shake of his head, and with that simple gesture, my world imploded. I fractured into two broken parts; inconsolable heartbreak and pure fucking rage.
“No!” I shouted, leaping from the chair. “We have to go back! We can’t leave him!”
Men shot to their feet as I stormed down the aisle towards the emergency exit, ignoring the fact that only blue sky and white clouds were visible through the windows.
My whole body was vibrating, my head pounded, and the crippling ache in my chest was the only thing keeping me from believing this was a nightmare I’d wake from.
“Finn! Stop. It’s too late,” Alessio shouted over the blood pounding in my ears, gripping me and twisting me back to him.
“No!” I shoved his chest, stumbling when the plane tilted. Or was it my legs that were giving way? “Where is he? Where’s Enzo?”
Alessio grabbed my face, his hard blue eyes boring into mine, forcing me to look at him. I shook my head before the words left his lips. “He killed Joey Galiz, Finn. He was caught. They killed him.”
The words echoed in my head, but denial was a powerful thing. “No! Fuck you! You’re lying!”
I had to go back. I had to stop him. I had to save him. He couldn’t do this. I had to find him.
My back slammed against a wall, and I realised I’d gone into fight mode, lashing out at every soldier within reach. Alessio grabbed me and forced me against the wall, his arm across my chest. My injuries from that beating told me I couldn’t fight them all off, but that didn’t stop me from trying.
“Finn, stop. Listen to me. Enzo killed Joey to save Neri and end this war. It’s done. He’s gone. He made that choice.”
“Get the fuck off me!” I roared, shoving him with tears streaming down my face.
It didn’t make sense. None of this did. Enzo couldn’t be dead.
Why the fuck was Alessio even here? A fresh wave of pain surged, and I threw myself at my best friend, tackling him to the floor.
“You knew, didn’t you? You followed us here, and you knew they had Neri! ”
He stared up at me, not fighting back, and I saw it in his eyes.
I knew him better than anyone, so it didn’t take long to put the pieces together.
He was the one who called Frankie. He arranged the meeting and told Enzo about it, which was why Frankie knew where we were and Enzo wasn’t surprised.
Alessio followed us here because he was a fucking control freak, and if anything had gone wrong, he would have handed himself over like the selfless, loyal prick he was.
But that never happened because Enzo agreed to kill Joey himself.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Alessio?” I punched him in the face.
Pure rage was in control. But beneath it, betrayal and hurt drove me.
Alessio had never kept anything from me before.
Hands grabbed me and hauled me off him as I fought against them.
I snatched one of the guns from a soldier’s holster and aimed it at Atlas’ head.
The boy blinked back at me from his chair, not even flinching.
"Finn, don't!" Alessio growled as he climbed to his feet. He slowly stepped in front of the boy, shielding him, our fucking enemy, from me. “Or his death would’ve been for nothing.”
“He died because of you!” I screamed, my face wet with more tears than I’d ever thought I could shed. “I could have stopped him! Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
Alessio wiped his bleeding lip, then stepped into the gun, grabbing my wrist and forcing it from my hand.
“I’ve got him,” he said to the soldiers, who immediately released me. Alessio shoved me back until we reached the private bedroom at the rear of the plane. He slammed the door shut, and I slumped to the floor, sitting against the bed with my hands over my face.
“It should have been me. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I choked as Alessio knelt in front.
“Because you would never have agreed to it. Joey put two million dollars on your head, Finn. I needed you out of Italy and Frankie to agree to end this. Ambushing him was too risky. If he didn’t agree to the terms, I wasn’t about to let you die for me.
I’d hand myself over and make sure I took a few American fuckers down with me.
You were not going to die for me, Finn. But I fucked up by giving Frankie the invitation.
He got to Filo, bribed him to take Neri away for a few hours to panic us all, and made sure we couldn’t kill Frankie in the meeting because he was the only person who knew where she was.
I told Enzo because I couldn't get hold of you. I didn’t know he’d do this. ”
“I can’t lose him again,” I whispered, furious tears stinging behind my eyes.
“That fucking prick,” I growled, shaking my head as anger took over.
“He forced his way back into my life, back into my fucking heart. And when I finally give in, he gets himself fucking killed. He sacrifices himself to save everyone else I love, to save you, Neri, and me. He didn’t even get a chance to live the life he wanted.
And I can’t even fucking hate him for it. ”
The pain was too much. The regret. The what-ifs and what-could-have-beens. My heart was crushed by memories of the night we’d just shared. He’d finally been himself, feeling free and happy, and… he’d got one fucking night. It was too cruel to comprehend.
“He did it because he loves you more than himself,” Alessio whispered, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Which is why I couldn’t let him die.”
My head snapped up. I froze, searching his blue eyes as a spark of terrifying hope flared in my chest.
“He’s alive, Finn. But no one can know. I needed you to react that way out there so everyone would believe it. I’m sorry.”
He’s… alive? But… My lips trembled as I shook my head, wanting to believe it so badly but not understanding how the fuck it was possible.
“I followed them to Joey’s place. Filmed the whole thing and blackmailed Frankie into pretending to kill Enzo. He buried him alive, and I pulled him out once they had gone. Only you, Frankie, Enzo and I know the truth, and it has to stay that way for this to work.”
I blinked. A painful breath filled my lungs, and I shoved Alessio back, sending him to his ass. I didn’t know whether to fucking kiss him or punch him again. “He’s alive?”
“Si. He’s with a doctor friend of mine in America. He’ll get a new identity, then disappear. Start over. Be whoever the fuck he wants to be.”
A broken sob tore from my lips as I buried my face in my hands. He was still breathing. He was alive. The relief was indescribable, yet it brought the gut-wrenching realisation that I’d never see him again.
Alessio moved to my side, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
I fell into him, letting the emotions flood through me for the first time in my adult life.
I cried for the boy I used to be, the one who had wished more than anything that someday I’d find someone who saw my worth enough to protect and love me.
I’d finally found him, but for that wish to come true, I’d lost him all over again.
I cried for Enzo because his wish had come true, too. He was free, but still alone. Something I knew he never wanted to be. I hated the thought of him out there, somewhere in the world, without me. Both of us living a life half full forever.
“Finn,” Alessio sighed, resting his head against mine. “You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother. You’re my family, and I love you so fucking much. You know that, don’t you?”
I closed my eyes, unable to speak. I wasn’t sure how I’d ever recover from this pain, but I knew I’d pick myself up and keep going eventually, because at least he was alive and I had to be strong for Neri. But for this one rare moment, I let myself be vulnerable in the arms of my brother.
“I need you to know,” he continued. “You don’t owe me anything.”
I lifted my head from his shoulder and wiped my eyes. “I owe you my life, Alessio. If it weren’t for you, I’d have ended up dead, either in the fighting rings or by suicide. You know that. And now you’ve saved the man I love, so I owe you even more.”