Chapter 37 Anson
THIRTY-SEVEN
ANSON
“Tell me what happened,” I demanded as I stormed into my father’s office.
He stood from behind his desk and smoothed down his tie.
“Fox was dead when Alessio arrived. There is nothing left to tell.”
I glared at him before looking to Alessio at the bar in the room with Klaus. Both were drinking as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Did you kill him?”
“I did not, Alessandro. Fox was gone when I arrived. Taken by his injuries,” Alessio answered smoothly.
“This isn’t right,” I said, my voice shaking. “It’s not fucking right!”
“Alessandro, please.” Matteo came around his desk. He pulled me in for a hug.
“He was my friend. He was family. He-He was a good man. Rosalie. Fuck, my LeeLee is going to break into pieces. I can’t save her. I know Cole won’t let me near her. Fuck. FUCK!” I wept onto my father’s shoulder. “How do I fix this? How do I make it better?”
“Time, my son. It will heal her, make her stronger. Trust in that.” Matteo held me tighter. “Let the pain out and know there are better days ahead. That she is yours now.”
I pulled away from him, my heart thumping hard.
“She’s not mine.”
“She is free. Fox wanted it to be this way. It is what he said, no?”
I swallowed hard. “Did you plan this? Did you want him to die so…so I could have her?”
“I did not, but this is what he wanted. You know it is,” Matteo said gently. “And it has been given to you. Take it. Take your woman, Alessandro.”
I glared at him. “What sort of man do you think I am, Father? I have a fiancée. Bianca—”
“I will handle Bianca.”
“No,” I said fiercely. “I committed to her. I said I would marry her, and I will fulfill that promise.”
A muscle thrummed along his jaw as he stared back at me. “You could have everything you’ve ever wanted, and you choose to throw it away? For a whore my brother impregnated with our enemies?”
“Bianca is a good person. Dominic is a good person. Even Fallon is. If you’d put your hatred aside, you’d see that!
” I roared at him. “They don’t deserve the pain you’re putting them through!
If you’d go to her and talk to her, you’d see how wonderful Bianca truly is!
You’d fucking see! Instead, you’d rather mask your pain with hatred and continue to ruin your fucking life.
You’d rather continue to hurt your own feelings and make shit worse.
” I backed away from him, shaking my head.
“I’m marrying her. I promised. Nothing has changed. ”
He said nothing as he stared back at me. Alessio and Klaus had gotten to their feet by that time. I knew they’d put my ass down if I proceeded, so I decided the best course of action was to leave.
“I’m going to see my fiancée,” I said softly. “We have a wedding to plan.”
And with those words, I walked out, the door slamming behind me.
I rubbed Bianca’s stomach, the babies kicking gently beneath my hand. We’d been sitting in silence for the better part of an hour now. I’d told her about Fox, and she’d cried with me.
Now, everything was silent.
I hated it, but I had no words to fill the void. All I had was pain.
“You should check on Rosalie,” Bianca murmured. “You should go to her. She needs you.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. Cole will likely kill me. I can’t put her through the stress of another encounter. I want to, though.” I sighed and lay back in bed.
“She needs you right now,” Bianca murmured. “If Cole can’t understand that, then he’s lost his humanity.”
“I doubt he’s ever had any,” I muttered.
“He is a good guy. He’s helped me. If you give him a chance and just talk to him—”
I sighed. “It won’t work—”
“Try.” She reached over and grabbed my phone off my bedside table and handed it to me.
I took it from her and stared at the device for a moment before unlocking the screen and pulling up Cole’s number. If I could get him to chill, this would be good for all of us. I knew LeeLee needed me right now. Fuck, I needed her.
I hit his name and put the phone to my ear. Bianca gave me a quick smile before going to the attached bathroom and closing the door to provide me with some privacy.
“Why the fuck are you calling me?” Cole’s growl came across the line.
“I want to talk.”
“Fuck you.” He hung up.
I closed my eyes and breathed out for a moment before trying again. He answered on the first ring.
“Cole, please. I just want to see Rosalie. I want to help. She needs support right now.”
“I’m sorry. What part of fuck you didn’t you understand, Ass Hat? She doesn’t fucking need you right now. She has us! What’s fucking left of us.”
“Cole, I care about her. I care about you, too. Enzo. E…” I paused when he didn’t tell me to go fuck myself again. “I just want to be there to help.”
“You never said what happened with Fox when you went back inside,” Cole whispered, his voice shaking. “Why didn’t you bring him out?”
“I couldn’t make it to that level,” I answered softly. “I got to the third level. The smoke was too thick. I-I tried so fucking hard. Fox was one of my best friends. He’s my family—”
“Fox was nice to you. That’s all. Don’t you dare say he was shit past that.
He tolerated you for Rosalie. Now he’s dead.
You don’t have a fucking champion here for you anymore,” Cole said, his voice wobbling more.
“He’s fucking dead. The police arrived. The fire department.
They’ve been clearing out fucking bodies and victims since last night.
Since you fucking failed to bring him home!
” His voice rose. “Your precious underground is gone, you two-faced fuck head. Always working all sides. Enzo is at the fucking morgue right now identifying his body, you piece of fucking human garbage. And Rosalie? She’s not your concern.
She’s ours. If you come near her, if you even fucking try to reach out to her, I’ll kill you.
Fox isn’t here to save your ass now. Crawl back to your fucking daddy, Alessandro. If I see you around, you’re dead.”
“Why?” I demanded, trying to school my anger at his words, words I didn’t fucking deserve. Hatred I didn’t deserve. “What have I ever done to you, Cole? For you to hate me the way you do?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “How about trying to take our girl? We can start there.”
He had me there.
“I only want to help her,” I said. “She needs me right now—”
“She doesn’t. She’s sleeping. She’s been unconscious since last night. We plan on keeping her that way until she’s calmer.”
“She won’t ever be calmer!” I shouted into the phone as I got up and paced the room, my anger surging.
“She needs to lose it so she can find herself. The love of her fucking life just died! You can’t keep her sedated because you’re scared of how she’ll react.
She has to react! It’s how she’ll fucking heal! ”
“Don’t fucking tell me how to treat my woman, you fucking prick.”
I scoffed bitterly into the phone. “You keep it up, and she won’t be yours anymore.”
“Are you threatening to take her from me?”
“No,” I whispered, knowing this fight was pointless. Cole Scott was a stubborn prick, and he hated me. “I’m telling you she’ll leave on her own when she realizes that Fox was the one who kept it all together. That he was the backbone. You aren’t shit without your backbone, Scott.”
“Fuck. You.” He breathed heavily into the phone.
“Don’t fucking call again. Don’t text her.
Don’t reach out to her at all. I will kill you.
I’ll kill your fucking little brother. Your best friend.
Your daddy. All of them. Fucking dead. I will hunt you all down and end your fucking lives if you even breathe too close to her. Don’t. Fucking. Push. Me.”
My hands shook as I tried to steady my breathing.
“You are dead to her,” he continued softly. “You already broke her heart by proposing to Bianca. She was fucking broken when she found out. Some way to show her you love her.”
I said nothing, my heart breaking. I hadn’t known it hurt her. She said she didn’t want me. She told me we’d never happen.
I didn’t fucking know.
My guts twisted at the thought of me hurting her.
Fuck, LeeLee… I’m sorry.
“Stay fucking dead, Beyers, or I’ll kill you for real.” The line disconnected. I stood, holding the phone, my body trembling.
Warm arms encircled me.
“Sit,” Bianca murmured.
I let her guide me to the bed, where I sat on the edge.
I lost it.
I cried softly, my head in my hands as Bianca kneeled in front of me. She reached out and held me through my tears.
“It’ll be OK,” she repeated over and over.
I wanted to believe her, but I was inclined to think she may be wrong.
Everything was fucked.