45. Liana
FORTY-FIVE
LIANA
B aby cries. Husbands—old, young.
Blood. I’m floundering, gasping, and choking on it.
Death.
“Please, wake up, Lia.” The familiar voice cracked through my dreams. No, not the voice. The demand. A need. “Wildflower, come back to me… please.”
Drawing in a shallow breath, I forced my eyes open, my gaze darting around as the last events I remembered poured in, piercing through my skull. I found Giovanni at my side, his bloodshot gaze locked on me.
His brothers stood beside him, their usually cocky expressions changed into compassionate ones.
“Lia… Fuck, I thought I’d lost you.” A green, tortured gaze held mine for a long moment. Alarms blazed in my head, and I tried to move. “No, don’t get up.”
It was then that I noticed the IV tube stuck into my arm.
“Where—” There was a painful drum in my head, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut to ease the pain. I slowly dragged my eyes open again.
“We’re in a hospital,” he murmured softly, but there was a storm brewing in his eyes. He glanced at his brothers, and I thought he said, “Call her sister.”
They gave him a terse nod.
“Good to see you back,” Romeo said.
“I’m sorry for everything,” were Cristiano’s words as the two left the room, leaving us alone.
Silence followed the soft click of the hospital door, and I was left holding Giovanni’s hand, his palm dwarfing mine. He wore a crumpled Brioni suit and tired eyes, and it struck me how much I loved this man. These feelings I had never experienced before were like a warm glow in my chest, heating my soul.
Despite it all, I didn’t regret any of it. Because as twisted as it was, this cursed, painful path had led me to him. It was a long, winding road, but I couldn’t imagine a different outcome.
“Why do you look mad?”
“Because you took a bullet,” he rasped, staring at me with a mixture of disbelief and anger. “For me.”
I ignored him, instead pinning him with my own stare. “Where’s Julia?”
“You don’t ever do that again. You’re not allowed to put yourself at risk like that.” I shook my head and his eyes flashed. “I cannot survive without you. So please, for the love of God, don’t fucking die on me.”
“I’m sorry for…” My choked tone couldn’t hide any of my feelings. I swallowed as a tear slipped from my eyes. “For leaving you the way I did.”
“I think I understand why you did it.” His voice cracked. “I just wish you?—”
“That I talked to you about it,” I finished for him.
“That you trusted me,” he corrected me softly.
Events of the past that had twisted us into something we never wanted to be reverberated in the silence. The head of the Cartel. The mafia princess that took her twin’s spot, hoping she’d outsmart the world.
“Where is Julia?” I repeated my earlier question.
“She’s buried six feet under,” Giovanni replied, cupping my face tightly but not enough to hurt.
A sense of relief washed over me, but also disappointment. Sadness. A finality that sent a shard of glass through my heart with the knowledge that my son was lost to me. Forever. It was almost like losing him all over again.
I released a long breath before I shifted on the hospital bed.
“Did she…” I studied his face, the old distrust flickering. Taunting me. “Did she say anything else about my… son?”
“The doctor said you need to rest.” Doubt started to niggle at my insides. Maybe I’d miscalculated and he wanted my son to remain hidden from the world forever.
I clutched his hand. “About your mother?—”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t give a fuck about that woman. And I ensured she knew it before I extracted the information about your son from her. Once I had it, I ended her miserable existence.”
My stomach lurched. “Is he okay? Oh… oh my God. Is he really alive?”
“We should really wait until you feel better,” he murmured, brushing his lips over my knuckles.
“No, please,” I blurted, choking on hope and despair. I didn’t know where I got the courage to yank Giovanni’s hand. “I’ve waited too long. I can’t?—”
I was filled with heavy longing: for the truth about my son, for Giovanni’s love, for him to touch me and assure me that he didn’t care about a little boy potentially being his competitor for the Tijuana Cartel.
He clenched his teeth.
“I want you to understand one thing, Lia.” His gaze bore into mine. “I will help you find your son. Until my dying breath, I’ll watch over both of you. I don’t care about power, the cartel, the Omertà, any of it. I just want you . As my wife. As my confidant. As my lover.”
My heart swelled at seeing the truth in his eyes. His forehead came to rest against mine and I breathed his scent in, letting it wash over me.
“Tell me everything,” I pleaded softly. “Please.”
He straightened then looked away, but not before I saw hurt in his eyes, then he started talking.
“My mother… she might have lied about some of it, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Okay?” He turned his head to meet my eyes and I nodded slowly. “She hired a family to care for the baby, but when the boy turned three…” He faltered and I prepared for the worst. “She sold him using the Marabella Agreements.”
A sharp inhale filled the space, and I realized it was mine. God, why would you be so cruel?
“To whom?” I whispered in a low tone.
“She didn’t know. She didn’t keep tabs, scared that Santiago might get a whiff of the fact that she snatched his flesh and blood right under his nose.”
My chest deflated and tears filled my eyes as I placed a palm on my stomach.
“I can’t have any more children.” Trembling began in my fingers and spread outward through every inch of my body. “Giovanni, this baby… He’s my last chance for a family. To have someone who won’t leave me.”
Giovanni exhaled deeply before cradling my jaw.
“I’m here, Lia. I’m not going anywhere.” His voice was harsh and authoritarian. “I love you, through sickness and in health, hard times and good times. We’ll find your son.” Tears lingered on my eyelashes, but I couldn’t find the words. I didn’t know what to say. “We’ll raise him together. But you can’t lose hope. You’re not allowed to. Got it?”
My chest expanded with relief at hearing his words. Everything this man did and said was exactly what I needed.
“I…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
The dark tattoos peeked at me from his hand as I stared at it, trying to find a way to utter the words I had never spoken before while emotions clogged my throat. I hated the feeling of being so vulnerable, yet my heart, my soul, and my body knew I could trust him.
“If you want a divorce, I’ll give it to you,” he said. “And I’ll still help you.”
“Why?” I reeled, all my trust wavering. Maybe I made a mistake. But he said… he said he loved me.
“Because I don’t want you to stay with me just for me to help you.”
“Oh.”
“I want you to stay if you love me.” He took my hand into his again. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t fight for you. I’ll let you go, but I won’t go far. I’ll find a way to charm you into dating me. I’ll find a way for you to fall in love with me and love me as much as I love you. I’ll make it right.”
“I love you.” My throat closed and I blinked furiously. “I love you so much that losing you seemed like a better option than hurting you once I realized who your mother was.” A full-body shudder took hold of me. “I’ll never let you go again, husband.”These emotions would be the death of me, but I pushed through. I couldn’t stop now when the dam had been opened. “You’ve crashed into my life, thrusting light and hope into my heart, and now I don’t know how to live without it.”
He groaned in satisfaction and kissed me so deeply, he stole my breath away. His love ignited me, breathed life into me.
“You’re everything to me,” he murmured against my lips. “I’ve been gone for you for eight years. I would destroy the world, alliances, everything for you. There’s nobody else for me but you, Lia. You are it for me. My one and only, greatest love.”
We belonged together. For better or for worse, just like he’d said.