Chapter 7
Veda’s question rang in my ears.
Gino won”t be alive much longer. Will that upset you?
I thought about everything that fucker had done and shook my head. ”I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I told her. “But no. I don”t think that will bother me at all.” Wiping my face with a tissue, I blew my nose. ”He’s my father by blood, but that’s it. He’s never done anything for me but donate his sperm. And right now, he’s doing god only knows what to Tristan.” My voice broke and fresh tears filled my eyes.
”Tristan told you to leave,” she said as she pulled up the other chair.
Pulling myself together, I looked her straight in the eyes. “Would you have left Luca?”
She didn’t so much as blink. “Yes. If he ordered me to.”
“You’re lying,” I told her, trying to smile, but my face wouldn”t cooperate.
She gave me a little shrug. “Maybe. I’ve never been in that situation, thank god, so I’ve never had to test it.”
”And Luca, as far as I know, has never gone through the shit Tristan has with Gino.” The words caught in my throat as guilt threatened to consume me. I hadn”t told her the sordid details of Tristan”s traumatic past with my father. Those dark secrets weren”t mine to share, and I would never betray his trust like that.
She gave me an encouraging smile, and then said, ”Tristan scares the ever-living fuck out of me, Luna. I”m sure he”ll hold his own until Luca and Enzo can get there.”
But she didn”t know. She didn”t know what Gino had done to him when he was a child, or the effect those memories still had on him. But all I said was, ”I hope so.”
We sat in silence after that. Lisa brought me a cup of coffee and a sandwich, but I couldn”t eat. I just held Logan”s hand, careful not to jar his broken arm. Veda was with me the entire time, kicking off her shoes and curling her legs underneath her. I appreciated the company even if I didn”t feel like talking.
The sun had dropped beneath the horizon when I heard the front door open and close, followed by raised voices. My heart leaped into my throat, and I jumped to my feet, running out of the room with Veda close on my heels.
Luca and Enzo were back, and they had Tristan with them. He was alive and had blood smeared across the side of his neck, but he was walking on his own. Sort of. He was a bit unsteady. As he got closer, I saw his long-sleeved shirt was ripped at the neckline, revealing a peek at some of his scars, but otherwise, he seemed intact.
”Oh my god,” I whispered, my hand flying to my mouth. ”Tristan...”
His eyes shot over to me, and he froze. ”Luna.” His voice was strong, and although his face showed nothing of what he was feeling, I thought I heard a hint of relief.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I rushed forward, wanting to throw my arms around him, but not sure how he would react. He seemed distant again. Guarded. I stopped when I got close enough that he could touch me if he wanted to. ”I”m so sorry,” I sobbed. ”I”m so sorry I left you there. I had to help Logan, and you told me to go and…and I didn”t know what else to do.”
”Shh,” he soothed, reaching out to cup my injured cheek with a gentle hand. ”You did the right thing, bambolina. If you”d stayed, we’d both be dead right now.”
A pained sound tore from my throat at the endearment, and I leaned into his touch, my tears wetting his palm. My cheek stung where his palm touched the raw spots, but I didn’t care. ”I thought...I was so scared. I didn’t know if Luca and Enzo would get there on time. I thought…I thought he killed you,” I finally forced out.
”Not yet,” he said, so quietly I almost didn’t hear him as he brushed his thumb along the tender skin beneath my eye, then he dropped his hand.
I wanted to ask him if anything else had happened. If Gino had…hurt him in any other way. But I wouldn”t ask him such a thing with everything there, and the fact that he hadn”t locked himself in his cell gave me hope. So, instead, I asked, ”Did you kill him?”
He shook his head. ”No.”
”But…” I looked to Luca and Enzo, noticing for the first time that they weren”t in much better shape. ”I don”t understand. How is he still alive if you’re here?” I”d assumed they would take Gino out the first chance they could. I’d hoped they would.After what he”d done to the both of us—and to Logan—it was no less than he deserved.
”He must’ve run off when we arrived,” Enzo told me as Luca pressed a kiss to the top of Veda”s head. She stood in the circle of his arms, completely uncaring if the blood on him was getting on her clothes, and I was almost envious of how sure she was of her welcome there.
”They”d left the construction site,” he continued. “But we were able to track T”s phone. By the time we caught up to them, Gino had more men with him, and it turned into a goddamn bloodbath.”
Tristan”s expression was unreadable as he stared down at me. He”d never taken his eyes from me since he”d walked in.
My heart lurched. This man had faced down his worst nightmare to save me and Logan. Well, to save me, at least. I didn”t really think he cared at all about people in general besides Luca and Enzo.
And now me.
As Veda talked to Luca and Enzo, I swallowed hard, wondering again what it was about me that caught and held his attention that first day he saw me. And at the same time, feeling sick at the thought of him caught in the middle of this shit between me and Gino because I”d been stupid enough to believe Gino would ever let me go.
”You”re wrong,” he told me quietly.
My eyes jerked to his as he read my thoughts. ”I am?”
”He didn”t want you. He wanted me. He knew I”d come after you, and he knew I”d come alone.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and hugged myself. What does that mean? I wanted to scream.
Tristan turned as though to leave, and I reached out to stop him. He flinched at my touch, and I pulled my hand back like I”d been burned as my heart cracked into jagged pieces. ”I just… Are you hurt?”
He studied me for a long moment. ”I”m fine,” he told me dismissively. ”I need to get cleaned up.”
But he wasn”t fine. I could see it in the tightness around his eyes and hear it in the emotionless tone of his voice.
I watched him walk away toward the back of the house, his back stiff and straight, and I forced myself to let him go, even though a part of me wanted to go after him, to demand he talk to me, or at the very least let me hold him. But I knew it would be useless. I couldn”t reach him right now.
”Luna,” Veda said softly from behind me. ”Why don”t you try to get some rest? Logan’s probably out for the night, and I”m sure Luca will let you use one of the spare rooms. It”s been a long day.”
I shook my head, wiping at my tears. ”I”m not leaving my brother. He”ll be scared if he wakes up and doesn”t know where he is.”
Veda sighed. ”Are you sure? You look exhausted. I can sit with him.”
”Thanks, but no. I need to be there. I”ll rest later,” I promised her when she looked like she was going to argue more. I couldn”t leave Logan right now, despite the weariness seeping into my bones. With one last longing look in the direction Tristan had gone, I left them all standing in the great room and returned to Logan”s room with determined steps. Sinking into the chair beside him, I resumed my vigil at his bedside as I tried not to read too much into Tristan”s reactions to me, or mine to him.
Pulling the photo of me and my mother from my back pocket, a shadow of doubt slid down my spine. Maybe it was better this way. I hadn”t forgotten about this picture, or what it could mean. If anything, it only made my feelings for my captor—my savior—even more complicated.
I shouldn’t care about him. But how could I not after everything he”d done for me? He”d risked his life—more than once—to keep me safe from Gino. Even if I didn”t agree with his methods, was I just supposed to ignore that?
And the worst thought of all—the one that made my breath catch and new tears fill my eyes—what if after today he realized I wasn”t worth it after all?
The minutes ticked by slowly as I waited for the night to pass and the next day to dawn. Everything always looked better by the light of day. Lisa brought me more coffee, along with a glass of water, but I left them both untouched on the end table. I couldn”t stomach anything right now. Not until I knew Logan would be okay.
Veda came in a little while later wearing a clean white T-shirt and yoga pants. She was taking some college courses, she told me, and brought her homework in with her, asking if that was okay. I nodded and asked her about her classes, but, eventually, she left to get some sleep herself.
I must”ve dozed off at some point, though, because the next thing I knew, I felt Logan”s hand twitch in mine. My eyes flew open, and I sat up straight, my heart pounding right out of my chest. The house was dark, but someone had turned on a lamp in the corner. It let off a muted glow, giving me enough light to make out his still features. ”Logan?” I whispered.
His eyelids fluttered, then his good eye slowly opened and his hand slid up to hover over his ribs. He blinked a few times, frowning in confusion as he took in the tray ceiling and crown molding. Turning his head slowly, his gaze slid to the large windows, where lights flickered like fireflies on the other side of the dark lake, before coming back to land on me. ”Luni? What...” He cleared his throat and lifted his head, looking around. ”What happened? Where are we?”
Relief crashed over me, and I fought back tears. I was so fucking tired of crying. ”You”re okay,” I said, squeezing his hand. ”You”ve got a broken arm and some cracked ribs. Lots of bruising. But you”re safe now.”
He tried to sit up and winced, falling back against the pillows with a groan. ”Where are we?” he asked again.
”Luca”s house,” I told him. ”And be careful with your arm. It”s just in a brace because the doctor didn”t have anything to make the cast.”
He glanced down at his arm. ”Who the hell is Luca?”
”He”s a…” I wasn”t sure what to say. Criminal? Mob boss? Murderer? ”…a friend.”
”A friend, huh?”
I could tell he didn”t believe me. And I didn”t have a better explanation, so I just shrugged. ”I”m sorry he hurt you,” I told him when silence fell between us again. I didn”t have to tell him that I was talking about Gino now.
Logan turned to me, his eyes filled with confusion and betrayal. ”Is it true? Is Gino our father? Was everything he said true? About him? About you?”
I hesitated. I didn”t want to lie to him, but I also didn”t want to tell him the whole truth. Not yet. ”It”s...complicated,” I said finally. ”Would you like some water?”
”Uncomplicate it,” he demanded, sounding more like himself despite the hoarseness of his voice. ”How long have you known our father is alive?”
Standing, I strode over to the table where Lisa had brought in a cup and a straw along with a pitcher of water and poured some for him anyway. ”Not that long.”
”Why didn”t you tell me?” He shook his head when I offered him a drink.
”I didn”t know who he was until Tristan found out and took me from Gino”s.” I skipped the part about the cell.
”Wait. Who”s Tristan?”
Another hard question to answer. ”He”s the guy who came after us.”
”Your new boyfriend.”
”I don”t know,” I told him honestly. ”Maybe. Things are kind of a mess right now.”
”He took you from our…from Gino?”
I nodded. ”I met Tristan when Gino brought me here for a wedding. He thought I looked familiar. Eventually, he figured out who I was, and realized what Gino was doing, and that I didn”t know I was his daughter, so he rescued me from our father and brought me here, where I”d be safe from him.” It was a simplified version, but I wasn’t ready to get into the details. Not yet.
Logan was quiet for a long time as he stared up at the ceiling.
I leaned over him, searching his swollen face anxiously. ”Are you okay? The doctor left you some pain meds if you need them.”
”I”m fine. I don”t want them.”
”Logan, you”re safe here. We both are. You don”t have to worry about anything.”
He looked at me then. ”Luni, our father is some kind of gangster, isn”t he?” He didn”t wait for me to respond. ”And have you looked at the guy who came after you? Like, really looked at him? That”s one scary motherfucker.”
”I know,” I told him. ”He”s a bit…closed off. And protective. But he won”t let anything happen to us.” I fussed with his blanket. I’d see if someone could get him some more comfortable clothes tomorrow. He was still in his jeans and T-shirt, although I’d taken off his sneakers earlier. “You need to sleep.”
”Why would he want him instead of us?”
I thought about how to explain. ”They have a history.”
He looked at me, then looked away. ”Do you have a mirror?” he asked me suddenly.
”Uh…” I glanced around the room. ”No.”
”Would you bring me one? I want to see what that son of a bitch did to my pretty face.”
I laughed. ”I”m not sure that you do, honey.”
He started to grin and then winced.
”Get some sleep, Logan. I”ll stay right here with you. I promise.”
I thought he was going to argue with me, but then he took as deep a breath as he could manage and his eye started drifting shut. ”I”m not done with my questions, Luni.”
”I know.”
”You”re gonna answer them.” His words were barely more than a mumble, but I understood him well enough.
”I know,” I whispered. ”I will.”
I stayed by Logan”s side until he fell asleep. When I was sure he wouldn”t wake up again, I slipped out of the room.
The house was dark and quiet, but I couldn”t even think about trying to sleep myself. My mind was too full of everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours.
Had it really only been a day? It felt like a lifetime.
With the soft lights underneath the cabinets leading me to it, I made my way to the kitchen on the other side of the house, thinking I”d rummage around and see if I could find any decaf tea.
I froze when I saw Tristan standing at the island. His back was to me, his hands braced on the edge of the counter, and his head bowed. From the doorway, I could smell the dark forest scent of him that told me he”d showered, and he”d changed into a long-sleeved, black cotton shirt and black sweatpants. His dark hair was still damp and brushed back from his face.
I didn”t move, not wanting to startle him. He looked so vulnerable standing there, his shoulders slumped, his head down. Like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
And maybe he was.
All the things he’d done to protect me flashed through my mind as I watched him. How he”d risked his life to save me from Gino. How he”d brought me to his home—to his cell—to keep me safe. The only place he ever really felt that way. How he”d helped me save Logan, even though I knew it was only me he”d wanted.
But then I thought about the picture in my pocket. The one of me and my mother. The one that I’d found in his safe.
God, I didn”t know what to think. I didn”t know how to feel. Everything was so mixed up inside me, and I wished I”d never gone snooping around his fucking house. But I had. And there was no going back now.
And I was NOT going back into that fucking cell.
I must have made a noise, because Tristan”s head snapped up and he turned around, his dark eyes finding mine across the room. For a moment, we just stared at each other, the air between us charged with everything we weren”t saying.
Then he straightened, his expression shuttering, and I knew the moment was over.
Feeling around on the wall, I found the light switch and flicked one of them on. More lights came on behind him.
”I thought you”d be sleeping,” he said, his voice low and rough.
I shook my head. ”I was just looking for some tea.”
He studied me for a long moment. “Have you eaten? Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not hungry.”
Moving to the cabinets, he pulled out a box of herbal tea and showed it to me.
”That’ll be perfect,” I told him, my voice barely above a whisper.
As he busied himself with the kettle, I glanced back toward Logan”s room before I sank down onto one of the stools at the island, my legs suddenly feeling weak. Warily, I watched him. He was so at ease in the kitchen, his movements precise and efficient, and I wondered what he was thinking.
Did he regret saving me? Did he wish he”d never met me? Never gotten involved in my life? Or did he feel the same pull between us that I did? The same inexplicable connection that seemed to defy all logic and reason?
I didn”t know. I didn”t know anything anymore.
Except that, no matter what he”d done, no matter what secrets he was keeping...if I stayed here with Logan much longer, I didn”t know if I”d be able to stay away from him.
And that terrified me more than anything else.
Because if he really was involved with the murder of my mother somehow, what did that say about me?
What kind of person was I, to be drawn to someone like that?
To feel things for him that I”d never felt for anyone else?
I stared down at my hands, my vision blurring with unshed tears. I felt so lost, so confused. I didn”t know what to do. I didn”t know how to reconcile the man who”d saved me with the man who might have destroyed my life.
But one thing I did know?
For my sake, and Logan”s, I had to let him go.
Even if it destroyed me in the end.