CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ROME
––––––––
I could not become my father.
I would not become my father.
Yet, I felt like I was headed down a similar path to the one he’d taken all those years ago. Nothing good had come of that. However, my brothers had followed a path not much different from his, and look at them. They were laughing and shit while I was sitting here, spiraling.
For months, I'd watched them lose their minds over their women. I'd judged them for it. Mocked them. Called them idiots. Then they’d kidnapped those same women and somehow ended up happily engaged and living with them.
Meanwhile, I was sitting in a casino bar, staring at pictures of a florist while contemplating whether abducting her counted as a reasonable relationship strategy. I wanted what they had.
And I’d do whatever it took to get it. But there was no guarantee I’d end up with the same results as them. If I ended up like my father, that would destroy me... and her. Despite the risks, that might be my only option.
My thoughts strayed to my beach house. If she’d give it a chance, I knew she’d love it there. I could picture us living there. I could see us cuddled up in bed, watching anime until the wee hours of the morning. I could see us cooking together.
And waking up wrapped in each other’s embrace. I could see us walking along the beach, holding hands, talking about our day. I could give her a good life. I knew I could. If it took kidnapping her to show her that, then fuck it, I would.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Raz asked, pulling my thoughts back to them.
I swirled the whiskey in my glass.
Then, before I could stop myself, I asked, "When did you know?"
All three men frowned.
"When did we know what?" Cas asked.
I hesitated before saying, "When did you realize you were willing to do anything to have them? Including things that were illegal and irrational.”
"Ahhh, I see what you’re asking,” Raz said.
“With Monique, the moment I spotted her in my casino, I knew I wanted her. I didn’t give a damn that she was married, especially after learning Trevor’s weak ass was her husband.
I’d taken one look at her and said, that woman will be mine.
But what solidified my feelings was our first argument.
Right after I showed her the contract and told her to sign it. ”
“I still can’t believe you did that,” Leo said, shaking his head.
Raz smiled. “Honestly, neither can I. After reading the contract, my Rosa got so mad that she tried to stab me with a pen. I knew right then, she was the one.”
I frowned. “Because she tried to stab you?”
Raz nodded. "Don’t look at me like that. You weren’t there. You should’ve seen how beautiful she looked when she did it."
"She tried to stab you, and you thought to yourself, That’s the woman I’m going to marry?" I asked.
"That’s exactly how it happened,” Raz told me.
Shaking my head, I looked at Cas. “What about you?”
"Well, I’m not as savage as our big brother. I fell for Meka before I met her,” Cas told me.
That sounded more like Juliet and me. I leaned closer to the bar as Cas continued.
“You all already know about the situation that left me depressed. And that Meka and I met through a hotline, where she talked me off the ledge. And after that, we continued talking, growing closer without ever seeing each other. Her voice soothed something inside me. So, when she showed up here with Monique, I recognized her instantly from her voice alone.”
Why was his situation so similar to mine and Juliet's? Mine and Blossoms? Cas recognized Meka from her voice, after having never seen her. I was recognizing Juliet in Blossom from their mannerisms and similar things they both said.
“I took her to my room to verify that she was the woman I’d been dreaming of, the woman who saved me when I was feeling lost.”
“You took her to your room against her will, right?” I asked.
“I mean... it just happened that way,” Cas told me. “I don’t truly recommend kidnapping women ordinarily. It just sort of happened in my situation.”
“You made it happen,” Leo pointed out.
“True. And she tried to kill me while we were in my room. But I survived. And look at us now. In love and happy. It worked out,” Cas said. “That makes it worth it.”
But it could’ve gone horribly wrong. So could Raz’s situation. Had these women called the cops, as they should’ve, these love stories would’ve been tragedies instead.
I turned to Leo. “What about you?”
“Toya was intimidating when we first met. And I liked that about her,” Leo told me, shrugging. “Now, I’m hers. She’s mine. The end.”
“You like being intimidated?” I asked, frowning.
“Until meeting Toya, I hadn’t known that I liked a woman who spoke her mind and who wasn’t ashamed to be herself. I was used to going for the damsels in distress. Now, I have a damsel who puts others in distress.” Leo smiled. “She’s perfect.”
Perfect was the last word I’d used to describe Toya. Psychotic was more like it. Meka and Monique were a little crazy, too. But if my brothers and Leo loved them, that was all that mattered.
I took another sip of my drink and realized I was sitting here judging them when, in truth, I was no different from them. Raz fell for Monique because she tried to stab him. Cas fell deeper for Meka when she tried to kill him.
And Leo thought Toya was perfect because she was intimidating. How was that any different from me falling for the woman who’d hacked my systems? Damn... we sure knew how to pick them.
"So, you all just... accepted it?" I asked.
Raz cocked his head to the side. "Accepted what?"
"The obsession? The possessiveness that won’t go away?"
The amusement slowly faded from their faces. Because they understood what I was actually asking. The love was the easy part. It was the darker emotions that I feared. I hadn’t even begun a relationship with Juliet yet, and I was already obsessed with her. These feelings scared the hell out of me.
"I fought it," Raz admitted. “My version of love isn’t normal, neither is my lifestyle. I thought she’d be safer without me. But then I realized, to keep her safe, I had to be with her. I also realized that I was dying when I wasn’t with her.
Life had no meaning without her. So, I stopped fighting it and gave in. ”
"I didn’t fight that shit at all. I was all in from the start," Cas said. “Meka witnessed my darkness and decided she could handle it. For that acceptance, I’ll forever be true to this woman. I’ll forever cherish her.”
“I didn’t fight it either,” Leo admitted. “I don’t think Toya would’ve let me fight it if I’d tried. Her darkness matches mine. Hell, she may have a darker side than I do. Did I mention she’s insane?” Leo smiled, head over heels for her brand of insanity.
So, basically, trying to fight it would be pointless. These feelings in me, even the darker ones, were here to stay. I just had to hope and pray Juliet could handle them, could accept them.
"Are you actually going to do it?" Cas asked.
My brows rose. "Do what?"
"Kidnap this mystery woman?"
The room went silent. Even Leo stopped drinking to stare at me, awaiting my response.
“I have no choice. I must have her,” I admitted, feeling defeated by my emotions, my desires, my heart.
"Damn," Leo muttered.
Cas leaned against the bar. "Whatever you do, be good to her. And if you realize she doesn’t want you, I mean, truly doesn’t want you, let her go. Don’t hurt her. Don’t ruin her and yourself. Don’t be like...him."
He didn’t say more. I already knew who he was referring to. The man who’d raised us. My father. I nodded at Cas. But even as I did that, part of me wondered if I could do as my brother suggested. If once I had her, would I be able to let her go?
“And remember,” Cas said. “Men aren’t the only ones who do the kidnapping. Even Monique planned to kidnap Raz before the gala incident ruined her plans."
How could I forget? I’d given her the drugs needed to knock Raz out so she could snatch him up. Unfortunately, my dad ruined her plans.
"As I recall, you owe me for giving Monique drugs that sat me on my ass that night. So, as payment, tell me who your mystery woman is," Raz said. "What's her name?
“Where did you meet her?" Cas added.
"Does she know you're this obsessed with her?" Leo chimed in.
“Let’s change the subject,” I told them, not wanting to tell them more about Juliet yet.
“No fair,” Cas complained. “Tell us the details.”
“I’m done talking about her.”
“But...” Cas started.
“I’m leaving if we don’t change the subject.”
"Damn. He's got it bad,” Leo mused.
“Okay, let’s change the subject for now,” Raz said, drawing a glare from Cas.
I was glad Raz let the mystery woman subject drop. For now. I knew better than to think my brothers were done with it. But for the moment, everyone seemed content to leave me alone with my secrets.
“Let’s talk about our cousin,” Raz said, swirling his drink. “How’s the investigation into the people who provided the Bianchis intel on Marcel going?”
The question immediately shifted the mood away from women and onto vengeance. Cas stopped grinning. Leo’s posture straightened. And just like that, my thoughts moved away from Juliet and to my plan to avenge Marcel. I leaned forward, resting my forearms against the bar.
"I’m still looking into some things,” I told them. “I need to find out which underground information hub sent info about Marcel to Italy. Terzo found me some new info while I was in Italy. After Ettori was killed, his devices were wiped."
"Completely?" Raz asked.
"According to Terzo, yes. Someone had understood the risk those devices posed.”
"What are you thinking?" Raz asked.
"I think whoever supplied the intel knew those devices could connect them to the situation. They also knew who their client was, which wasn’t information they were given when they took the job.
They did their research and found out who they were working for.
Which leads me to believe they’re highly skilled.
When they learned their client had been killed, they did what a professional hacker would do. "