Chapter Seventy-Two Ella
Chapter Seventy-Two
Ella
Tiero’s eyes drift closed.
“Talk later,” he slurs, his body winning the battle for rest.
I bring his hand to my face, resting my forehead against it, breathing him in as if I can anchor him here by touch alone.
My heart won’t slow down.
I told Tiero he’s out of the Mafia.
I have no idea how he’s taking it. He looked stunned, but exhaustion swallowed his reaction before I could read anything more.
What if he wasn’t ready for this?
What if his plan to get out looked very different, and we just blew it apart?
Who am I kidding? Of course we did.
I study his face, searching for some hint of unrest beneath the calm. But there’s nothing there. His features have softened again. He looks so peaceful. As if the weight of the world has been lifted.
A soft knock on the door makes me straighten. Dr. Pro… Carter steps inside and moves quietly to Tiero’s bedside.
“How is our patient?” he asks softly. “I see he’s drifted back to sleep.”
He glances at the monitors.
“I’m surprised he stayed awake as long as he did. In cases like this, the body usually demands rest after only a few minutes.” He offers me a small smile. “Your fiancé is strong. Determined. That will help him heal.”
He checks Tiero’s vitals and adjusts his medication with practiced ease.
“Gualtiero will probably sleep for a few hours,” he continues. “You should get something to eat and rest as well. This kind of emotional strain takes a toll. You need to take care of yourself too, especially in your condition.”
“I’m not tired,” I say quietly. “And I’ll eat something soon. I just… I need to stay with him a little longer.”
“I understand,” he says gently. “But it’s okay to step away. Your fiancé is doing well. Rhia, Claudette, and I can take turns keeping an eye on him and call you when he wakes.”
I nod, even as my resolve hardens.
I’m not leaving his side.
Not again.
He’s stuck with me now.
After the doctor leaves, I walk over to the window and stare out at the Alaskan landscape. Mountains stretch into the distance, quiet and vast, their snow-dusted peaks catching the light. I’m glad to be back among them. I can’t imagine a better place to recover.
Tiero would disagree. He likes it warm. If asked where he’d go to disappear from the world, he’d say his island without hesitation.
I sigh. We can never go back there.
It’s only early afternoon, yet the sun already hangs low, washing the mountains in muted hues. There’s a kind of stillness here you only find in places like this. A serenity that seeps into your bones. And this view… it’s as good as it gets.
I could imagine spending the rest of my life here. At least, I think I could. Let’s see how I feel once winter truly sets in.
But could Tiero be happy here?
Life as he knows it has been stripped away from him.
Even though he said he wanted out of the Mafia, in the end the choice wasn’t his. It was made for him.
Would I have agreed to it if I’d known Lex’s plan?
I would have been tempted.
It solves everything on paper. Nobody is hunting us anymore. Our child can grow up normally. It’s all I ever wanted for her.
But what about Tiero?
When reality settles in, will he resent what was taken from him?
What does a man like Tiero do when he no longer runs an empire or eliminates threats before they reach his door?
There’s only so much distraction two people can offer each other before the questions catch up.
Clinking sounds at the door draw my attention. Rhia steps inside, a tray balanced in her hands.
“You need to eat something,” she says softly.
She’s not wrong. I’ve barely eaten since the shooting.
She sets the tray down on the small round table by the window, and I sink into the chair with a long sigh. I haven’t seen much of my best friend since we arrived, but then again, I’ve only left Tiero’s side to go to the bathroom.
I know we need to talk and clear the air about her keeping the truth from me about Tiero and the escape plan.
It just hasn’t been a priority.
“You looked deep in thought when I came in,” she says gently. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I spear a piece of sweet potato with my fork, turning it absently. “I told Tiero he’s officially dead. And out of the Mafia.”
“Oh.” She pauses. “How did that go?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I admit. “He fell asleep.”
Rhia gives me a look. “And now you’re worrying yourself sick about his reaction, aren’t you?”
She knows me too well.
“El,” she says, her voice unsteady. “I need you to know something. Before anything else.”
I blink at her, hating the uncertainty in her eyes.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how the transport would go,” she continues, the words rushing out now. “There were too many moving parts. Too many things that could have gone wrong.”
Her eyes shine, and she swipes at them impatiently.
“I couldn’t give you hope and then tear it away again if something happened,” she says, her voice dropping. “I couldn’t do that to you. You know I couldn’t.”
My throat burns as I swallow.
“So I let you believe it,” she adds quietly. “And watching you break like that nearly destroyed me.”
Her voice wavers.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I swear to you, I did this to protect you. Not because I didn’t trust you. Never that.”
She searches my face, bracing herself. For what?
My anger? Accusations? For me to pull away?
Rhia would never hurt me intentionally. She loves me too much for that. And sitting beside Tiero for hours gave me time to let the initial sting fade, to see the sacrifice of her choices more clearly.
“I know you wouldn’t do this lightly,” I say.
Her shoulders sag in visible relief, as if she’s been holding herself upright on sheer will alone.
“Why did Lex change his mind?” I ask.
Rhia tilts her head, a faint frown forming. “What do you mean?”
“Why did he arrange Tiero’s escape?” I set my fork down and look at her expectantly.
“When Claudette told me about the plan while Tiero was in surgery, she only talked about getting me out,” I continue. “She said that some undercover Freemont agent would watch over Tiero. So faking his death wasn’t part of it then.”
I lift my glass of water from the tray and take a slow sip, thinking.
“Otherwise, Lex could have just let Tiero ‘die’ during the operation.” I make air quotes around die.
Rhia nods slowly. “You’re right. But even if Lex had already been considering it, the plan wouldn’t have looked much different. He needed someone senior from Tiero’s circle to watch it happening.”
I let that sink in.
“Hmm, that makes sense.” I hesitate, then look back at her. “But he did change his mind. Why?”
Rhia exhales. “Because I realized it would eat you alive to leave Tiero behind. You would have done it only for Peanut.”
She twists a red strand of hair around her finger. She only does that when she’s unsure, which is rare.
“You would have worried about him constantly. And El, you wouldn’t have been able to see him anytime soon,” she continues quietly.
“Plus, can you imagine how devastated he would have been hearing from his men that you died in a car explosion?” She looks at me. “I might not have liked him much lately, but I couldn’t do that to him.”
My hand flies to my chest.
“He might not have survived the heartbreak,” I whisper.
None of us had thought through every consequence when the plan was first set in motion.
“I begged Lex to get you both out,” Rhia says quietly. “When I told him, in confidence, that Tiero was planning to leave the Mafia for you… that’s what convinced him.”
The room suddenly feels too small.
If it hadn’t been for that one conversation, for that one decision… everything could have ended so differently.
My throat goes dry. Tears burn behind my eyes, gratitude swelling until it feels almost too big to hold.
So many people put themselves on the line to get Tiero and me out. To give us a future.
I reach for Rhia’s hand, squeezing it tightly.
“I’m so impressed with Lex,” she says thickly. “With the whole Freemont team, really. They pulled both of your escapes together in record time.”
I nod, my throat too tight to speak.
When the first tear slips free, I push up from my chair and wrap my good arm around her, holding on the way you do when words aren’t enough.
“Thank you, Rhi,” I sniffle into her hair. “For always having my back.”
She hugs me just as fiercely.
“You would have done the same for me,” she says simply. “That’s what we do. We look out for each other.”
She’s right.
I owe this woman more than I can ever put into words.
“How will I ever repay you?”
“There’s no debt between friends,” she replies. “There never was.”
We pull apart, both of us emotional, eyes shining.
“Where is Lex now?” I ask, my voice still raw.
“He’s making sure everything at the hospital and with the authorities is wrapped up properly,” she says. “Then he’s heading back to Freemont in Atlanta, where he… you know… succumbs to his grief for me. He’ll join us here, hopefully in about a week.”
“Wow.” I sink back into my chair, exhaling slowly.
“You’ve given me the greatest gift imaginable. A future with the man I love… and my best friend still in my life. For good.”