Chapter Twenty-Two
Gemma
I was ready to dislocate my thumb to pull my hand through the damn handcuff and run far away from everyone who was mafia. Not just my brother and his man, Tommy, but Evander too.
I had no doubt his imminent rescue would conclude in a violent and bloody end. That the thought of Evander’s death left me cold and empty inside told me everything I needed to know. I really did still love him.
I bit back a desperate sob. I couldn’t let him lose his life to save mine.
I also didn’t want Enzo’s death on my conscience. He was the brother I’d never known, a part of me I was yet to understand.
A helicopter swooped low, its engine and rotors roaring overhead. More shots were fired and I shrank back even as Enzo seemed to come to life, a rush of adrenaline making him whoop out loud even before he unholstered his gun and ran toward the bedroom window.
The tires on the vehicles outside exploded—Enzo wouldn’t be going anywhere now—before the metal bird swung away. My brother leaned farther out of the window and peppered the air with bullets, a couple of them hitting their mark with a ping .
“Fucking sewer rats,” he screamed. He aimed again, but this time he was unable to shoot. Click. Click. Click . With a snort of disgust, he threw his empty firearm away, then swung around and called out, “Tommy, what’s the damage?”
“Boss, our men are down, all but one are dead, though I’d say his death is imminent.”
I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by what Evander’s family had done to protect what was his...namely me.
I swallowed back tears. My mom wouldn’t even know what I was going through. When I’d lost my baby our emotions had frayed and then snapped, and we’d drifted apart. She’d been in such a happy place for the first time in years and hadn’t known how to comfort me when I’d hit rock bottom, and I’d been too closed off to accept or want her sympathy.
I’d been like a wounded animal, unable to trust or believe in anyone. Unloading the truth on Evander had been akin to shedding an overtight, shrinking skin, loosening a tension I hadn’t realized I’d carried.
Enzo’s breath hissed out. “ All of them?
“Yeah, boss. What do you want to do?”
Enzo pushed the back of his head back against the wall, his eyes on me. “I should kill you right now.” He blew out a heavy breath. “But you’re my one and only bargaining chip.”
I nodded. He wasn’t stupid and I got the impression he wasn’t as evil as the media made him out to be. “I understand.”
His eyes widened, then he nodded. “I’ll do my best to see you don’t get caught in the crosshairs of the war between our families.”
“So you’re not completely brutal and braindead.”
I gasped, my attention jerking away from my brother simultaneously to Enzo’s attention snapping Evander’s way as he stood framed in the doorway. Though he held a gun, I hadn’t heard it fired. Though the fresh blood splattered over his clothes told me everything I needed to know.
Tommy was dead.
The fact Evander had killed so silently, so stealthily, sent shivers down my spine. How did such a creative, talented man have such an uncanny ability to kill?
“Evander,” I said, my voice cracking. “You’re here.”
He cocked a dark brow before he asked roughly, “Did you think I’d stay away?” He didn’t wait for my answer when he added, “Are you hurt?”
I ignored his shrewd, assessing eyes and shook my head. “No. But I-I need to use the bathroom.”
He nodded, keeping his gun trained on Enzo as he dug into his pocket and extracted the key to my handcuffs. He bent and unclicked the lock, the cuff splitting apart. “You have one minute.”
I glared, but didn’t argue. Emptying my bladder was becoming a priority, as was taking care of my menstrual needs.
Gathering the bedcover around my nudity, I hurried into the bathroom and did what I needed to.
It was only once I returned that Evander reached out and brought me close to his side. He tipped his gun toward the other man. “Get on the bed and put on the handcuff.”
Enzo’s eyes flashed. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather be dead.”
Evander released the safety mechanism and cocked his gun with a smile. “Good to know. Saves me from having to make any hasty decisions.”
I jerked my arm free and stepped in front of Evander even before I’d considered my options or disputed my reflexive instincts. “Stop,” I croaked. “Don’t shoot him.”
Evander looked at me with hard eyes. “Gemma, what the fuck are you doing?”
I shook my head. “No more killing.”
Evander’s gaze narrowed. “Enzo isn’t your friend. He’d shoot you dead in a heartbeat to save himself.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, glancing his way. That he was motionless from utter shock was clear to me now. I’d seen him fueled by adrenaline and violence and he’d been on edge and agitated. I sighed, then conceded, “But only because he doesn’t know the truth.”
Evander glanced over at Enzo. My brother shuffled suddenly and said awkwardly, “You know as much as I do.”
Evander refocused on me. “So what is the truth, Gemma?”
I exhaled slowly. “If I could tell you I would. Just...don’t shoot him, okay.”
Evander’s stare hardened. “You have three seconds to tell me or I will shoot him where he stands.”
I blinked. “Evander, don’t—“
“One.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand, I—“
“Two.”
He stepped past me and raised his gun at Enzo.
My brother frowned, his eyes swinging to mine. “Ah, now might be a good time to fess up.”
Everything inside me tumbled and churned. I’d kept this secret for so long now it was nearly impossible to expose the truth. Until Evander’s finger squeezed the trigger. “He’s my brother!” I shouted desperately.
Sudden hushed silence filled the room. I swallowed hard and added softly, “His father was also my father.”
Enzo gaped. “I have a sister.” His cheeks hollowed out. “I thought there was something special about you, now I know why.” He chuckled. “We share an affinity because we share DNA.”
Evander’s face paled, a muscle in his jaw ticking as his cold eyes gave way to endless questions. I could see the answers falling into place behind his stare even as he said, “Your father is why you left me.”
I nodded, then conceded weakly, “Yes. If any of your enemies or your family had put two-and-two together, my dad would have come after me. Then he would have gone after my mother for not telling him about me.”
“It seems the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree,” he bit out.
I deserved that. “I guess not.”
What were the odds for both my mother and I resorting to hiding our conditions from the men who’d impregnated us. The only difference was that I hadn’t known I was pregnant until after I’d escaped from Evander and his mafia family.
I held his stare and added, “We were trying to protect ourselves...protect each other along with our freedom.”
“We were so happy,” he said starkly, “until the moment you learned who I really was.” He stared down at his revolver for a moment before he lifted his eyes and asked, “How do you feel about me being the underboss now?”
“How do I feel?” I echoed, before I laughed drily. “Honestly, my feelings haven’t changed. I-I was already in love with you before I left.”
An expletive burst from his mouth, his emotions caught somewhere between delight and despair. “You crushed my heart when you fled. Damn it, Gemma, you should have told me the truth! We could have worked something out.” He shook his head. “All this time wasted for what?”
“We were scared,” I said shakily.
“I think it’s time for an intervention,” Enzo said, his eyes gleaming. He turned to Evander, then lifted his hand. “Aside from the fact your chained my sister to your bed, you’re obviously deeply in love with her—tick.” He tapped one of his fingers. “You’re both still alive. Tick.” He tapped another finger. “We’re all family now, which means I don’t want to kill anyone here. Double. Fucking. Tick.”
Evander’s face stayed set, distant and cold as he looked at Enzo. “You expect me to trust a man who came here to murder me.”
Enzo shrugged. “Hey man, from where I’m standing you’re still alive and all my men are dead.”
“Your men also killed three of Ethan’s soldiers.”
“In my defense, that was the O’Malley mafia.”
“The Accardi and O’Malleys are one big happy mafia family now, and therefor guilty by association.”
Enzo nodded. “Yeah, to be honest, that’s not working out so great for us. Besides which, if I’d known I had a sister who you clearly adore, I would have protected your family, not attacked them.” He snorted. “She even has my eyes and my exact same fucking dimple!” He slapped his thigh. “How didn’t I see it sooner?”
I ignored my lunatic of a brother to focus on Evander. “I’m sorry for leaving you how I did.” Tears filled my eyes, my voice breaking as I added, “And I’m sorry for the loss of our baby.”
“Did you name him?” Evander croaked.
I nodded. “Elijah.”
“My middle name,” he breathed.
“Wait—what? You had a baby?” Enzo interjected.
Was my brother that socially inept?
Evander’s eyes softened as he looked down at me. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry too. But mostly I’m sorry for what you must have endured alone. I wished I could have been there for you, wished I could have shared the burden.”
“Me too,” I whispered. We stepped into each other, his strong arms surrounding me before I looked up and added brokenly, “I’m never leaving you again.” His eyes were as wet as mine when I said, “I love you, Evander.”
“I love you too, la mia Gemma. Just...please don’t ever leave me. I-I couldn’t lose you a second time. It’d break me.”
“It’d break me too,” I admitted. “And I’m not going anywhere.” I managed a trembling smile. ”You’re stuck with me now.”
A slow clap sounded from behind us, my brother in full force again now. He followed it up with a long, slow whistle. “I hope that means I’ll be the best man at the wedding—yes?”
At the sudden rumbling of approaching vehicles, Evander drew back from me, his attention momentarily diverted. He sighed heavily, then reached into his pants pocket and dug out a key. He threw it Enzo’s way, my brother easily catching it one-handed.
Evander nodded at the other man. “If you want to live, take my Harley. Go north. You’ll find a wooden bridge over the stream, cross it and follow the fence line back toward the highway. You’ll find an opening along the way.”
Enzo nodded, a smile splitting his face. “Thank you, man. At this point I doubt my reception here would be received well from the rest of your family.” He glanced my way. “And thanks...sis. I hope we’ll catch up one day and get to know one another better.’’
He winked, then sauntered out of the bedroom like he had all the time in the world. The Harley fired up soon after, then he roared away from us and the entourage of approaching vehicles.
Evander smiled wearily at me. “Are you ready to face your future family?”
I nodded. “I’m past ready.” I grimaced. “Though they must all hate me for abandoning you at the restaurant.”
He shook his head. “They had no idea I took you there. I was too proud to confess you left me. I pretended I arrived alone.” He sighed heavily and conceded, “Deep down I guess I also wanted to protect you from any ill will toward you.”
“I have so much making up to do,” I said softly.
He cocked a brow. “I’ll look forward to that. But until then, you should probably put some clothes on.”
I was still giggling when I dropped my blanket, dragged on the first dress I found, then picked up Rembrandt as he sashayed out from under the bed. As I walked with Evander through his cabin to meet his family, I averted my eyes away from the deceased body on the floor.
Evander didn’t seem to notice or care about the dead man, he was too busy grimacing at the broken and splintered door of his studio.
I sent him a guilty smile and admitted, “About that...my brother thinks I’m Chase Holland.”
He shook his head and then chuckled as we stepped outside on the porch. “I’m more than happy to continue with that story if you are.”
The driver’s door of the lead vehicle suddenly banged open before Ethan strode toward us. Evander ignored his don for a little longer, his eyes locked on mine as he bent and kissed me, giving me his undivided attention. When he drew back he said quietly, “I really do love you.”
My heart warmed with healing energy, love beaming through me.
This really was where I belonged, with this man, united together.
Forever.