24. Chapter 24
Grace
“Did we tell you we’re going to St. Lucia?
” Aurora broke through the awkward silence with a small giggle, as if we weren’t sharing our family meal under the nearly silent chorus of knives, forks, and frustrated sighs.
“Giaco has a friend who takes his wife every year. He knows a resort with rooms that open up to their own private pools!”
Next to her, Nellie worked overtime to pick up the slack of our excitement. “That sounds so amazing! Doesn’t that sound amazing, Grace?”
“It does sound really great.” And now, all I could think about was what it could be like to be in one of those private pools with Connor.
Somehow, even knowing Connor was the reason for the tension, thinking about him made it feel lighter—like my entire family wasn’t looking at me to see how I was going to respond. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
“Thank you,” Giaco said, putting his hand on his wife’s thigh while she gleamed next to him. “We’re pretty excited. We need the vacation.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes like it was muscle memory. “I wasn’t talking to you,” I said, and, suddenly, it was like I was nine years old again. Aurora and Nellie looked at each other while Giaco, Enzo, and Ronan glared at me. Across the table, my mom failed to hold back tears.
“Seriously?” Giaco snapped. When he slammed both hands on the table, he looked a lot like our dad. My stomach sank when I thought about what he’d have to say about all of this. It wouldn’t have been very good. “How long are you going to act like a child?”
“As long as you insist on treating me like one.” I calmly sat back in my seat, folding my arms over my chest. I could practically see the steam pouring from his ears before Ronan stood.
“We’ll treat you like one until you start making better decisions,” he said, nodding at Giaco to back him up. Giaco just continued seething while Enzo agreed next to him. Was there anything worse than having two older brothers and a cousin that may as well be one? Having them know way too much.
I shoved my seat back, earning a worried gasp from across the table. I could tell by the way my mom put both hands up that she was going to beg me not to leave. It was already only lunch because she couldn’t get us to agree to dinner.
“For the last time, you don’t get to make my decisions.
You might keep me from your precious family business, but you don’t get to decide the rest of my life for me.
That’s not your job!” My frustration formed a lump in my throat, and my heartbeat against my eardrum was loud enough to almost drown out the sound of heavy knocking.
As quickly as it had started, my anger twisted to anxiety while I watched my brothers look at each other.
The next knock rattled the door. Where our argument hung a moment earlier, we now exchanged looks around the table.
“Are you expecting someone?” Enzo asked. My brothers shook their heads before another knock made my mom gasp. She covered her mouth, looking for comfort in the empty seat my father used to sit in.
“Stay here,” Giaco said, mostly to Aurora but definitely to all of us. Still, Ronan followed him to the door.
The room held its breath while my brother opened it. We’d heard that knock before, more than once. We knew what was coming next. “Giacomo Moretti. Captain Hoover with the FBI.” He paused, likely to show his badge, but Giaco looked unfazed. “May we come in?”
“Absolutely not.” My brother wasn’t known for being the most welcoming, especially when the FBI showed up at the front door.
“Sorry, I guess that was just my being polite. I have a warrant for your arrest.” He sounded proud of himself, almost cocky, and he didn’t cower away from my brother.
When I saw Giacomo straighten, it almost made me cower.
“One for your brother and your cousin too. Let’s get them in cuffs,” he added, gesturing to the others.
When Giaco took a step back, the room got colder. The silence that had hung over us at the table was replaced with scuffling boots and clicking metal as agents came into the room. There were at least two of them to each of my brothers. It felt unnecessary. My brothers didn’t fight back—ever.
“Mind filling me in on why?” Giaco put his hands behind his back, sounding moderately amused.
“Gladly. I’ve been dying to do this for ages.
” The Captain appeared to enjoy it too much when he smashed the papers into Giaco’s chest and let go.
They fluttered to the floor. If I were closer, I would’ve been able to read them.
“We finally got you for the drugs, and I’ll get you for the trafficking too. I’ll prove it was you.”
Ronan grunted. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Shut up, Ronan,” Giaco demanded, knowing anything they said could come back to bite them.
“Why don’t you read it to them, Connor?” the Captain sneered, never taking his eyes off Giaco.
My lungs deflated when the door opened wider.
“Connor?” That was when I saw him walk in—perfectly messy hair, golden eyes, and the same suit he’d been wearing when he left my place this morning.
“What is going on? What are you…? Are you…?” none of the questions could make it off the tip of my tongue before the next was rushing in. Around me, the room spun.
“I can explain,” Connor said, lifting both his hands and stepping toward me.
I shook my head, stumbling backward. “I trusted you.” I couldn’t breathe—my breath couldn’t even make it past the lump in my throat. It felt like my head was buzzing, like it floated over my shoulders. The tingling in the tips of my fingers turned to numbness that warmed the rest of my body.
I trusted you.
“Grace, listen to me.” When he put his hand on my arm, I yanked it back like he burned me. Suddenly, I didn’t know the man in front of me at all—the man I had spent the morning saying nothing but four-letter words of admiration to.
“No!” I screamed, feeling hysterical as my heartbeat got more erratic. “You’re a fucking cop? You lied to me! You let me love you! How dare you?”
“I didn’t…” Connor gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t…part of this. I never meant for this to happen.”
The tears that blurred my vision started to paint warm streaks down my cheeks that soaked into my sweater.
“How can you look at me and say that while you arrest my brothers?” A sob broke from my chest. “They were right. I never should’ve loved you.
” Admitting they were right hurt as badly as feeling my heart crack in my chest.
“Grace, please. Let me explain.” He took another step toward me, cornering me against the wall briefly while his apparent team escorted my brothers out of the house. I watched them, ducking under Connor’s arm and around his side.
“No,” I spat calmly. The weight of the necklace he had given me felt heavier on my shoulders, and I traced the pearls.
Then, I grabbed them in my fist and yanked, breaking the clasp and watching a few loose pearls fall from the ends.
“I never want to see you again,” I said, throwing the necklace at him.
When he caught it, my chest squeezed with his grip. “Please don’t do this,” he begged. His captain walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder.
“We need to go,” he said. Connor clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Then, he stared at me with his feet planted while the doors to unmarked SUVs opened and closed.
“You heard him. Go.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling bare under his pleading look. “I have to figure out how to get my brothers out of jail now.”