Chapter 3
S he’s here. Aurora. My eyes take their time inspecting every inch of her. Looking for any sign of blood…
I woke up in a bed, and she wasn’t here.
Flashbacks of a rifle aimed at her head immediately entered my mind, and I lost it.
All the worst-possible scenarios played on repeat, and I felt physically sick at the thought that I wasn’t fast enough.
That I didn’t save her. That she was gone, and all I could think was that she didn’t know…
She didn’t know how much I love her. I never told her how much I truly love her, how much I was prepared to say fuck it and leave everything behind. If she was willing to run with me. She didn’t know that she is the single most important person in this world, the only one who matters.
Now she’s standing in front of me, with a few scratches on her face, her clothes covered in dirt.
But she’s in one piece. She’s here. And then I’m reminded about what she did.
The fact that Kenny is gone. Because of her.
I know she wasn’t in her right mind, but that doesn’t make it any better in my head.
I turn to face her as a searing pain tears through my shoulder. Ignoring it, I close the gap between us, stopping just before my toes touch hers. So close I can smell her shampoo. I want to move closer, bury my head in the crook of her neck and inhale.
I don’t.
“What. The. Fuck. Were. You. Thinking,” I hiss out. My relief is now replaced with rage. Anger. Fucking desperation to make her realize how damn stupid she was to go back to that cabin.
Aurora doesn’t flinch at the harshness of my tone. Not that I expected her to. She holds up a hand. I’m assuming to stop her brother, who I was just about ready to put through the damn wall. The asshole wouldn’t tell me where she was.
“What was I thinking? Are you out of your damn pretty mind, Connor O’Malley? You?” Her finger pokes at my chest. I don’t move. “You idiot! Who runs towards a fucking bullet? Connor, what were you t hinking?” she throws back at me.
“I don’t know, princess. Maybe I was thinking I didn’t want your brains splattered all over the ground.” My voice rises and I add some distance between us again. “Why? Why run back? To do what? We were out of there, Aurora. Why the hell would you put yourself in that situation?”
A throat clears from behind me. “Because she’s fucking crazy and acts on impulse,” Enzo mutters.
“She’s not crazy,” I tell him.
“Maybe I am.” Aurora shrugs. “But I’m not the one who ran towards a bullet. Do you really think my life is worth more than yours? That’s stupid. It’s not.”
“Yeah, it is,” I correct her.
“No, it’s not. And I swear to God, Connor, if you do something so stupid again, I’m going to kill you myself.”
I smirk. “No, you won’t.”
“Yeah, she would,” Enzo adds.
Fuck, he’s annoying. I run a hand through my hair. I don’t know what the fuck is going on.
“What happened? Where are we?” I ask Aurora.
“What happened was you were a fucking idiot and saved my life. And got yourself shot in the process. Which you are not allowed to do ever again, by the way. So, we brought you here, the doc stitched you up, and you slept. For hours,” Aurora tells me.
I need to get out of here. The longer she’s near me, the more at risk she’s going to be.
I have no doubt her family can keep her protected, make sure mine doesn’t get to her.
But I can’t do the same, not unless I go home.
I can make up some bullshit excuse about why I was at the cabin, about why I’d run with her.
They’d believe it, because it’s better than the truth.
That their heir is— was —sleeping with the enemy.
“I need to go.” I look around for my shirt. I can’t find it anywhere. “Where’s my shirt?”
“It got cut off,” Aurora says. “You’re not leaving.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What are you going to do to stop me? Tie me to the bed? Drug me again? I need to go,” I tell her.
“Enzo, get out,” Aurora directs at her brother.
“And leave you with the enemy? I’m good right here,” he replies.
“Enzo…” Aurora glares at him.
“Not leaving,” he tells her.
I always thought that being an only child was lonely. Now, I’m fucking glad I don’t have siblings.
“Is there a problem?”
My neck snaps to the doorway, to the last person I expected to see. Aurora’s father. And, surprisingly, he’s not pointing a gun at my head. Yet.
“Yeah, your son won’t get out of the room,” Aurora snaps.
Mr. Valentino hasn’t taken his eyes off me. “I’m leaving,” I tell him before glaring over a shoulder. “ You need to stay away.”
“No. You don’t mean that.” Hurt shines in Aurora’s eyes as they start to well up with tears.
Fuck. I look straight ahead because I can’t see her cry. I’ve seen it once and it broke me. I can’t let her do it again. I have to get out of here. I walk over towards the door. Her father steps out of the way, letting me pass.
“Connor, don’t do this.” Aurora’s pleas have my steps faltering. I don’t want to leave her, but I can’t stay with her either.
I don’t turn back around. I can’t. I have to keep walking.
The farther she is from me, the safer she is from my family.
I make it to the front door without anyone uttering another word.
I walk out, barefoot and shirtless. Only to realize I have no fucking idea where I am.
I have no phone, no wallet, and no damn shoes.
“You know, not many men walk away from a woman they’re willing to take a bullet for.” Mr. Valentino’s voice comes from behind me.
I turn back around to face him. “That’s because most men are selfish fuckers,” I say before tacking on, “sir,” as a little show of respect. He is her father after all.
“They are.” He nods in agreement. “Why?”
“Why are men selfish? I can’t answer that.”
“Why are you walking away from my daughter?” he asks.
“I didn’t think that would be a problem for you.”
“It’s a problem for her, which makes it a problem for me. If her heart breaks, a grenade explodes in mine,” he explains.
“She’s safer if I’m not near her. They’re not going to stop. They will keep hunting her down until they find her,” I tell him.
Mr. Valentino nods. He already knows this. “I’m sending her away.”
My heart stops. He’s sending her away. I’m never going to see her again. The realization hits me like a ton of bricks. Fuck. It’d be for the best, though. I think.
“Where?” My heart is beating twice as fast at the thought of her going off somewhere on her own. Alone. Without me.
“There’re a lot of people who would put their life on the line to protect her. Most of ?em share the same last name. But you’d do more than that, wouldn’t you, O’Malley?”
“More than risking my own life? What’s more than that?” I ask.
“You’re not afraid to tell her no. And you’re not afraid to shield her from herself. That’s what she needs. As much as I hate to admit it, she needs you.” He sighs. “There are registered aliases on the flight path. A jet is ready to leave within the hour.”
“You want me to go with her?” I cock a curious brow.
“My nephew said you were intelligent. I’m starting to doubt his own genius now.” Mr. Valentino chuckles. “She’s willing to throw everything away for you. Are you prepared to do the same for her?”
Throwing everything away for the woman I love isn’t what has me so indecisive. She killed my cousin. I’d be betraying Kenny’s memory. How do I wrestle with the fact that I’m in love with the one person responsible for that? It was an accident. I know it was. I still can’t unsee it.
Am I prepared to have her go off to God only knows where without me, though? I don’t think I am. The thought of not knowing if she’s safe, not being able to check in on her, doesn’t sit well with me.
Fuck it. It’s not like there was going to be a welcome party waiting for me at home. At this point, my father’s probably already named his next in line.
“Okay.” I nod. “I’ll go with her.”
“Good, because she was never going to go without you.” Mr. Valentino smirks, grabs the knob, and holds the door open for me. I walk back through it, my fate sealed.