Chapter 28 Lark #2
He nods. “Yes, I did. And I’m sorry if that felt counterproductive to us building trust. But I was having something done that required secrecy.”
“I see.” I fold my arms. “I assume Noah and Johan were aware of this ‘secret,’ though, yes?”
Rather than answer me, he finishes unbuttoning his shirt and pulls it from his shoulders.
I’m about to tell him that sculpted abs won’t distract me from my mission.
But I’m wrong.
Very wrong.
However, it’s not just the abs that grab my attention, but the bandage across his chest.
I gape at him. “What the fuck happened?” I hurry toward him on the bed, awkwardly moving over the walls of my nest to the bench so I can kneel there and investigate his wound. “Lazarus.” My eyes widen even more. “Oh, please tell me you didn’t attack Gio…”
He grunts. “If I had, I wouldn’t be the one with gauze on my chest, Aurora.” He grabs my wrists as I try to reach for him, his touch gentle yet firm. “I also don’t intend on hurting Giovanni unless harm is warranted.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he would need to do something horrific to earn my brand of justice.”
“Johan being attacked doesn’t qualify?” I hedge, confused by his assessment. Noah went into a blood rage afterward. It’s safe to assume my brother has more than earned the pack’s wrath for his involvement in the situation.
It doesn’t matter that it was meant to be a kidnapping.
The issue is that the Bianchis, who are under my brother’s rule as don, put Johan in jeopardy. That has to be addressed.
“I didn’t say I forgive your brother or that I’m not displeased.
I’m furious. And if Johan had been injured, I might feel differently.
But I understand that Giovanni wanted to set up a trade.
Bastian is the one who chose to alter the course of the assignment.
He paid the ultimate price for that mistake. ”
I swallow. “But the Bianchi advisors set it all up…”
“And they will answer to our pack for that grievance,” Lazarus assures me. “But you’re a Bianchi, Aurora. That matters, and it changes things. So we’ll attempt to work this out between the families and go from there.”
I chew my lower lip. “Okay, if this isn’t from Gio, then who were you fighting?” I again try to touch him, but he holds me back with his grip on my wrists. “Who hurt you?”
He smiles. “I hurt myself, darling.”
My eyes widen. “What? Why the hell would you do that?”
“Atonement,” he murmurs, using that word again. Then he releases me and takes a step back. “The gauze wasn’t actually necessary, as there’s a plastic film beneath, but I wanted to slowly reveal this to you.”
And I’m frowning again. “Okay…”
He starts to unwind the fabric from his body, allowing me to see the plastic he mentioned.
Which shows hints of dark ink beneath.
My lips part. A tattoo.
But I can’t quite make it out yet. “Is that… a spider?”
“A black widow, yeah,” he says, the bottom half on display just above his right nipple.
However, he’s nowhere near done.
He keeps unraveling until I realize the black widow is hanging from an L.
“Oh my God,” I breathe. “You tattooed my name across your chest?”
And not my real name. But Lark. My hacker pseudonym. My chosen identity.
“Yes.” He finishes revealing the beautiful script. It takes up all the space between his collarbone and the top of his pecs, making the letters huge. “Your bite marks are not visible unless I stick out my tongue. So I wanted something more prominent to show the world I’m yours.”
I blink.
Then I reach up to gingerly trace the letters through the plastic.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” he says softly. “That’s why Johan and Noah kept my confidence. We weren’t trying to hide anything from you. I promise.”
Tears fill my gaze.
Which is ridiculous.
This isn’t something to cry about.
I’m just… I’m just so touched by his gesture. And also relieved.
“I thought you ran away from me,” I admit in a whisper.
“I would never run from you,” he promises, his palm settling over mine and flattening it to his chest. “You’re my omega.
My heart. There’s nothing you could do to change that.
” His opposite hand grasps my chin, forcing my gaze to meet his.
“I don’t care if you helped Giovanni organize the kidnapping. In fact, I would respect you for it.”
“But I didn’t have anything to do with it, Lazarus.”
He nods. “I believe you.”
“Do you?” I ask, incredulous. “Because I don’t think you do at all.”
He cups my cheek, his opposite hand releasing mine so he can wrap his arm around my lower back. “Aurora, trust takes time. But you’ve said more than once that you didn’t have anything to do with it. And I’m choosing to believe you.”
I nibble my lower lip, considering his words. “Okay…”
He arches a brow. “It’s my prerogative, darling. Just as it’s your choice to believe me when I say I wouldn’t care even if you were involved. That’s the heart of trust—having faith in each other’s words and actions.”
He’s right, of course.
Only, it’s difficult to choose to accept someone else’s word at face value.
Except, he hasn’t given me a reason not to.
If anything, he’s provided a myriad of examples of why I should think the best of him.
He’s defied every expectation. The whole pack has, actually.
And he didn’t run away. He went to have my name tattooed on his chest while also apparently giving me a job.
“One more thing,” he says, his hand leaving my cheek as he reaches around me and into the nest.
I don’t understand what he’s doing until his phone appears in his hand.
“That farmland we flew off of last week has a lot of potential. So I have some designs I need you to review for our Colorado home.” He looks up at me. “I assume you want a place where we can all stay to be close to your Widows, right? For when we visit?”
I swallow, my heart suddenly in my throat. “You’re going to build a place outside of Widows Peak?”
“I thought you would prefer that more than us being inside Widows Peak, but we can do that, too.” His lips twist a little. “It’ll be a bit of a downgrade from what we were thinking. Although, we’ll divide our time between there, New York City, and here. So it should be—”
I launch myself at him and kiss him. Hard.
His phone slips from his hand as he catches me, the dull thud barely registering above the rapid beating in my ears.
Never in a million years did I think he would allow me to return to Widows Peak, let alone agree to live there part of the time. Or near there.
I would be fine with a few days a year, if that’s what he’ll give me.
Only, he seems to be offering a lot more than that.
This man.
These men.
My alphas.
I don’t know when I fell for them. But I have.
And it’s so much more than a scent match.
These men are rewriting everything I expected from a mafia pack.
It could all be a lie. However, it’s like what Lazarus just said—it’s my choice to believe them.
I do, I decide. I do.
It feels like I’m agreeing to a lot more than simply putting faith in Lazarus. Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.
It doesn’t matter.
I just want to exist in this moment.
And invite him into my new nest…