Chapter 33
ROMEO
> I love her.
> Delete line? Y/N
> Input: N
> Line preserved.
“You look like shit,” Angelo says.
I grunt in response, scrolling through my phone to suppress the itchy feeling crawling through my veins.
I don’t like having Gabi out of reach, even if I can’t touch her. This is the first time she’s left the penthouse since we came back from the island, and the urge to go after her has never been stronger.
It doesn’t matter that they have a small army of guards. I can’t shake the feeling that she’s still not safe.
I’ve handled the remaining members of Imperium, but there's no guarantee that’s the end of it. There are still well-connected family members to consider, and while the authorities might buy the car accident and disappearances, their families aren’t likely to swallow it as easily.
For now, we’ve decided to see if they start sniffing around before taking further action. In the meantime, I’ve been mediating the situation with Ares.
Angelo is still pissed that he had to bring him into the fold and give him a seat at the council—and, worse, a say in who fills those now-vacant positions.
But as annoying as Ares Stavros may be, our goals are the same.
Find corrupt politicians, bankers, attorneys, and anyone with a position of power in this city who can be bought to further our agenda.
It’s the way the world has always worked.
“Are you finished setting everything up with Riccardo?” my brother asks, still trying to force this one-sided conversation.
I don’t even know why he’s here, other than the fact that his wife and daughter are currently with Gabi. Apparently, he thinks we’re going to have an intervention of our own, but I’m really not in the mood.
“Everything’s taken care of,” I tell him. “It will hit the news cycle this week, and once his scams are out, his parents will get a text letting them know he’s left the country.”
Angelo nods, but still doesn’t leave. We sit in uncomfortable silence until my patience wears thin.
“Anything else, or do you plan to stand here and stare at me all day?”
He’d be well within his rights to tell me to fuck off, but instead, he tosses something onto the coffee table. When I glance at the familiar envelope, my gut clenches.
“Yes, there’s something else.” Angelo points at the letter. “Read it.”
“I’m good.” I sink back against the lounge.
“Read it, or I’ll read it to you.”
I shoot him a murderous look. “Why were you going through my shit?”
“Because I knew you hadn’t read it, and that’s what this is all about, isn’t it?”
I say nothing, but that’s answer enough.
Angelo takes a seat on the other end of the lounge.
“I was in prison when Dad brought you back, so I don’t know everything that went down. But I can tell you what I do know, Romeo. You’re the only one he left a letter for. He asked me to make sure you got it, and I gave him my word.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to hear any more of his thoughts on my captivity. I heard enough about it when he was alive.”
A long silence follows, and I expect Angelo to defend our father. They were always the closest.
I never resented it. I just resented the fact that I would always be his biggest letdown.
“I don’t think that’s what it is,” Angelo says quietly. “I’ve never mentioned it, because I figured whatever he had to say would be in that letter. But one of the last conversations I had with him before he died, he told me he’d fucked up with you.”
“Why?” I let out a humorless laugh. “Did he wish he left me in the institution?”
“No, Romeo.” Angelo’s voice comes out raw. “He said he was overwhelmed. He had one son in prison, another who’d betrayed the family, and Mom was dying. He didn’t know how to help you, so he did what he thought was best at the time. But he came to regret it, and he wanted you to know that.”
I swallow hard, a sting in my eyes I don’t want to acknowledge.
I’ve lived with this wound inside me for so long, I’d convinced myself it didn’t have power over me anymore. But that’s a lie. Every time I leave the island, I hear my father’s voice in my head, reminding me I’m incarcerated—and I have a life sentence.
I’m not supposed to want anything more.
“I’m not leaving until you read it,” Angelo tells me.
I let him think I don’t know what he’s doing, giving me that final push. He knows how fucking stubborn I am, and he’s giving me an out, like it’s not really my decision.
I snatch the letter from the coffee table, a tremor shooting down my arm as I tear it open. I’m not sure I even intend to read it, but my eyes move over the first line…and then they keep going.
Romeo,
You know I’m not a man of many words, and I suppose that’s one thing I passed down to you. But I’d like to share a few with you now, in the hopes that you’ll take them to heart and let them free you from the chains I gave you.
There are few things I regret in my life. My sins are many, but I always prided myself on being a good husband and father, even if I wasn’t a good man. That may have been the case with my other children, but I can’t go to my grave without acknowledging that I failed you.
When I brought you home, I convinced myself that if I gave you a purpose, it would be enough. It was a selfish act that I mistook for strength.
I let you believe that the world wasn’t safe from you, but in truth, I didn’t think it was safe for you. I couldn’t control what happened to you off the island, and I couldn’t promise your mother that if you left, you wouldn’t end your life.
I wanted to protect you, but instead, I created a prison you could never leave.
As I prepare to depart this world, I can see clearly the mistakes I made. It’s too late for me to fix them, but it’s not too late for you. You’ve lived in the shadows of my decisions for too long, and I don’t want those fears to be your inheritance.
Let the boundaries and beliefs I gave you die with me.
Live on your own terms, and build the life you were denied. This is what I want for you.
And someday, if you can, find a way to forgive me.
Ti lascio solo la verità.
Papà.
Pressure builds behind my eyes as I stare at that letter, long past the point of reading it. Emotions are a motherfucker, and I’ve always prided myself on being untouched by such a human affliction. But this—it’s a different beast.
“Well?” Angelo prompts, reminding me that he’s still here.
I hand him the letter so he can read it himself. When he’s finished, he returns it to the table.
“He’s right, you know.”
When I don’t respond, he sighs.
“Do you want Gabriela to be happy?”
My gaze drops to the floor as the memory of our last conversation resurfaces. I’ve never felt like more of an asshole than I did that day.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job of it. You’re both fucking miserable.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I mutter.
“You’ve been with her every night, and nothing has happened,” he says. “Are you going to let this fear control the rest of your life?”
I scrape a hand over my face, trying to wipe away this terminal exhaustion. I’m so fucking tired of this war, but I don’t know how to let it go.
“Do you want to lose her?” Angelo asks.
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re about to if you don’t fix this.”
I meet his gaze, hating the certainty I see there. “Did she tell you that?”
“She didn’t have to. I saw it for myself.”
His phone rings, and he drags it from his pocket. Before he answers, he delivers one final blow.
“Figure it out, Romeo. Either you claim her, or you can watch someone else give her what you wouldn’t.”
“They’re on their way back.” Angelo gestures for me. “Come down for a minute and get some fresh air. It will be good for you.”
I drag my ass off the lounge, not for fresh air, but because I won’t relax until Gabi’s safe at the penthouse.
We take the elevator down to the parking garage and wait for the women to arrive. Under the buzzing fluorescent lights, all I smell is exhaust. But that isn’t why Angelo brought me down here. He could tell I was crawling out of my skin.
His phone rings, and he takes a call, rattling off something about permits on a project that’s been stalled.
The wind outside picks up, and a cold draft rushes through the garage, blowing a receipt across the ground. The sound of tires rolling over concrete and a flash of headlights draw my attention to the vehicle coming up the ramp.
Before I can see if it’s one of ours, the unmistakable squeak of shoe rubber pulls my focus. I pivot just in time to catch a flash of movement behind one of the pillars.
The hair on my arms rises as the edge of a coat flutters out from behind the pillar, and a muzzle slides forward, aiming straight for my brother.
A cold sweat creeps over me as the familiar hum rattles the base of my skull.
My vision tunnels, and static fills my ears as my heart pounds. The neurological ambush happens in rapid-fire, and this time, I don’t resist it.
I tackle my brother to the ground, his phone flying out of his hand as we skid to a halt beside a truck.
“What the fuck—” His words falter when he meets my gaze.
He can see my body has been hijacked, but something is off.
I only realize it when I hear the squeak of a door hinge, followed by Gabi’s voice. Instead of locking my sights on the target, I move directly toward her.
Angelo sounds like he’s underwater as he calls after me, but my singular focus is Gabi as she steps out of the SUV. She glances up at me and says something, but I don’t hear it.
My eyes dart to the pillar as the figure steps into view and takes aim at her head.
It feels like the entire world around me slows to a crawl as I hook an arm around her waist and turn.
The shot rings out, and my body jerks.
Blood explodes across her face, and I drag her to the ground, shielding her between my body and the vehicle as I cradle her head against my chest.
Two more gunshots echo through the garage as our guards take aim. From my periphery, I see them filing out from behind the SUV in search of the shooter.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. After a minute, when I know it’s safe, I pull back to examine Gabi.
Tears streak down her face as broken sobs spill from her lips.
With the adrenaline still coursing through me, my eyes move over her in a controlled scan, checking for injuries. When I find none, the tension in my body dissolves.
I palm the back of her head, holding her against me until her pulse slows.
When I glance over at my brother, I catch him staring at me with an odd expression as he shields his wife and daughter.
“All clear,” one of the guards yells. “They’ve fled the premises.”
“You’ve checked every level?” Angelo asks.
“Yes. We’ve got two of our guys in pursuit on foot.”
I look over to find Julian hovering nearby, waiting for instructions.
“Have one of your men get Beppe,” I tell him. “I need you to take her to the island and keep her there.”
He nods and fires off a message to one of the guards still in the building.
Angelo stands up and secures his wife and daughter in the SUV. I do the same with Gabi, settling her into the back seat.
She clings to me as I try to pull away, so I hold her for another minute, until I have no choice. We’re losing time.
“You’re safe now, baby,” I murmur the words into her hair, breathing her in for the first time in two weeks.
She lets out a broken sound when she tries to speak, but her voice won’t work.
I shake my head and pull back to wipe her tears as rage bleeds through me. God help whoever thought they could take her from me.
“Romeo,” Angelo calls out for me.
I nod at him to indicate I’m coming just as Julian appears with Beppe and one of my spare hoodies.
“I brought this for you.” He glances at my arm. “Figured you could use it.”
“Thanks.” I reach out and take it. “Give me a second.”
I turn back to Gabi and pull the hoodie over her, then grab Beppe and secure him inside it. She brings her hands up to cradle him there, letting out a shuddering breath.
Taking out my phone, I open the playlist I made for her and press play, giving her something else to focus on. I leave the phone in the pocket of the hoodie and press a kiss to her forehead.
“You’re safe now,” I repeat, wishing I could do more.
“Romeo,” Angelo calls out again.
“I know.”
I meet Abella’s gaze across the car, and she nods. “I’ll take care of her.”
When I pull away from Gabi, she closes her eyes, and I force myself to look away as I turn to Julian.
“I’ll keep her safe,” he assures me.
I shut the door, sealing her inside the armored vehicle before I join Angelo and the guards. A war of indecision flickers across his face as he glances at my bleeding arm. I can’t even feel it, and right now, it’s not on my list of priorities.
“Get them to the island,” I tell Angelo. “I’ve got this.”
“You didn’t go for the target,” he says, a note of disbelief in his voice. “You protected her instead.”
I jerk my chin, acknowledging it, but it’s something to dissect later. “I need you to protect her now. Get her to the island.”
He gives me his reluctant agreement. “The cavalry is coming, and I’ll join you as soon as they’re secure.”
“I’ve got their location,” one of our men says, showing me his phone.
“Good. Let’s go.”
I turn to leave, and Angelo calls after me.
“Hey, Romeo.” His gaze drifts to his wife and daughter in the SUV.
“Yeah?”
“Now we can go scorched fucking earth.”