Chapter Seventy-Four Ella
Chapter Seventy-Four
Ella
Movement in my hair makes me stir. I run my fingers through it, only for them to tangle with a strong, masculine hand.
My eyes open, my gaze colliding with warm, hazel-brown eyes watching me. They’re filled with so much tenderness and love, it melts me on the spot.
Will Tiero always have this effect on me?
I pray he will.
“Have you been awake long?” I ask, pushing myself upright and rolling my neck to ease the stiffness.
I’ve fallen asleep with my head resting on Tiero’s bed yet again, and now I’m sore all over.
After lunch with Rhia, we talked for a while until my eyelids grew heavy, my body demanding rest. She offered to stay with Tiero so I could sleep in a proper bed, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I can’t explain it, but the thought of being away from him makes my body break out in a cold sweat. I need us to be together.
Somewhere in my psyche, I must fear that he won’t be here when I come back, that something terrible will happen to him if I don’t watch over him.
“A few minutes,” he murmurs. His voice carries a stronger Italian lilt than usual, a sure sign he’s only just woken up himself.
I lean over and kiss him, lingering, soaking in the warmth of his mouth against mine, needing the reassurance all over again.
He’s here. And he’s alive.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, brushing a few soft strands of hair away from his face.
“Better now,” he murmurs, his lips brushing mine. “I’m right where I need to be.”
My brows knit together.
“You need to be in a hospital bed in Homer, Alaska?”
He chuckles, the sound music to my ears.
“I need to be with you,” he corrects.
That puts a huge smile on my face.
I shift onto the head of the bed and run my fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. He sighs softly, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment.
“I had a dream,” he says quietly. “Or maybe a nightmare. I’m not sure which. But Neptune was there. Just like in the dreams I had as a child.”
Okay.
Is this the medication talking? Should I be concerned?
I decide to just listen.
“He showed me my old life. The blood. The suffering. The pain.” His gaze grows distant. “Papa and Nonno were there too. Handing me their legacy.”
“Nonno?” I ask. “Your grandfather?”
He nods. “Yes. He died when I was young. I don’t remember much about him.” His mouth tightens. “And that’s probably for the best. He had a reputation for being a cruel bastardo.”
He tries to sit up and immediately winces.
I’m on my feet at once, adjusting the angle of the bed, fluffing the pillows with one hand until he settles back more comfortably. Only then do I resume stroking his hair, grounding both of us again in the present.
“When I was very young, I had those Neptune dreams often,” Tiero says quietly. “But they stopped after Mama’s death.”
His face takes on a distant, bittersweet expression.
Is he remembering the dreams or his mother?
I lean in and press a soft kiss to his forehead, wishing I could take the ache from his memories and carry it for him.
“Neptune would always point his trident toward distant waters,” he continues. “They glowed with the colors of dawn. Warm. Inviting.”
A faint smile touches his mouth.
“‘This is where you need to be,’ he would say. Every time.”
He looks at me then, really looks at me.
“I understand it now. He meant you.”
His voice is certain.
“He knew you would lead me away from the darkness. Toward something brighter. He wanted me to leave the world of my ancestors behind and build something new.”
A quiet shiver runs through me.
“That’s… huge. Especially with how deeply leading la famiglia was drilled into you.”
His gaze locks onto mine. It’s so intense it makes me want to look away.
“It’s why I never acted on it,” he says eventually. “Not even when the chances presented themselves.”
I ease myself back onto the mattress beside him and slip an arm around his shoulder, needing the closeness.
“You had chances to leave before?” I ask, genuinely surprised.
Tiero’s eyes widen briefly before a low, rumbling chuckle escapes him. He shakes his head in disbelief.
“How is all of this connected?” he mutters, more to himself than to me.
“What?” I ask, curiosity pricked.
“I had those dreams more than twenty-five years ago,” he says quietly. “And it was all there back then. Every piece of it.” His brow furrows. “How is that even possible?”
I must look completely lost, because he exhales and continues.
“Neptune told me I would be given three chances to leave,” he says. “And that each one would be harder than the last.”
He shifts and rests his head against my chest, his weight warm and familiar, his voice turning thoughtful.
“Looking back, he was right.”
He pauses, staring into space, remembering.
“The first chance came after Mama died. Enzo and I talked about running away. We made plans. Hid money.”
His mouth curves into something wry.
“We were serious. But when the moment came, I couldn’t do it. Mateo needed me. I couldn’t leave him behind.”
His fingers find mine, absentmindedly turning the sapphire ring on my hand.
“After that,” he continues, “I stepped fully into the life I was born for and became exactly what was expected of me.”
Then his gaze lifts to mine, softening.
“Then you came along,” he says. “And you turned my world upside down.”
A small smile touches his lips, mirrored by my own.
“You asked me to run away with you. Leave the Mafia behind. Start over. Just us.”
His smile fades.
“We both know what my answer was.”
“And then there’s now,” I say quietly, studying his face, a knot tightening in my stomach.
He wouldn’t suggest going back, would he? Not after everything we’ve just gone through to get here.
“Yes,” he agrees. “And then there is now.”
He exhales slowly.
“It’s being handed to me on a silver platter.”
His jaw tightens.
“Yet just like Neptune warned me, it’s the hardest way of all.”
My brows knit together. I don’t understand.
“Why?”
He exhales slowly. “Besides the fact that we nearly died?”
Hmm. There is that.
“Because I leave Mateo to fight on his own,” he continues. “We’ve always been a team. I couldn’t have led the way I did without him.”
His jaw tightens.
“And now I expect him to carry it all while grieving my death? With our enemies closing in and determined to wipe out what’s left of our family?”
My body goes still, my breath turning shallow.
“You’re not suggesting going back, are you?”
Silence stretches between us. It’s heavy and unbearable. His gaze stays fixed somewhere past my shoulder, while mine clings to him, searching for even the smallest tell.
Seconds pass. Maybe longer.
Then Tiero shakes his head.
Air rushes back into my lungs. Only then do I realize I’d stopped breathing.
“No,” he says quietly. “How could I?”
His eyes finally meet mine. “You and our child are my priority. I promised you I would get out. And now I am out.”
The words are everything I need to hear. And yet there’s unmistakable sorrow threaded through his voice.
I pull him closer, pressing my cheek against his temple, pouring all the love I have into the space between us.
“So you’re not angry at Lex,” I murmur. “For making that decision for you?”
“How could I be?” he replies softly. “He gave me a chance at a life I never truly believed I could have.”
He pauses, thoughtful.
“Will it take time to adjust? Yes.
“Will I feel lost sometimes, not knowing who I am without all of it? Probably.
“But this was always meant to happen.”
His thumb brushes my cheek.
“Just like you and I were meant to meet. And fall in love.”
He shifts, tugging gently at my arm until I turn fully toward him. Cradling my face between his hands, he kisses me slowly, reverently, as if sealing a vow rather than stealing a moment.
“Now,” Tiero murmurs when we finally come up for air, “how well did Dougal and Freemont fake our deaths?”
I’m still a little breathless. It takes a moment to pull my thoughts back from him.
“Well, your death was terrifyingly believable,” I admit quietly. “It devastated me. I watched the doctors and nurses try to revive you, but the heart monitor never moved. When they declared you dead, it was the worst moment of my life.”
I swallow. “Antonio was there. He stayed glued to my side afterward. I don’t think he suspected anything. It was very real.”
My body shudders, and Tiero pulls me closer, his arms firm around me, as if he can shield me from the memory itself.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he murmurs into my hair.
I exhale slowly. “I’m not. Not if it means we get a chance at a real future together.”
We stay like that for a long while, wrapped around each other, silently absorbing what we’ve been given.
“What about my body?” he asks eventually. “Mateo would expect Antonio to bring it back to Sicily.”
“Apparently,” I say softly, “I wasn’t fond of that idea. I signed the paperwork to have you cremated, and the ashes sent back instead.”
I watch his face as he processes my words.
“I need to tell Mateo I’m not dead,” he says quietly.
My heart clenches.
“We can’t risk that,” I say, hating to disappoint him. “I know I’m asking a lot, but it would jeopardize everything.”
He doesn’t argue or pull away. But I know exactly what this costs him.
Tiero and his brother are close. But what if Mateo were ever captured and tortured, would he really be able to keep this secret? Especially now that he’s in love? What if they used his girl against him?
“Let’s have that conversation later,” I add gently. “When things are more settled.”
For now, survival has to come before truth.
“And how did Dougal fake your death?” Tiero asks, nuzzling into my neck.
“It was nerve-racking,” I admit softly. “So many things could have gone wrong. I was terrified the entire time.”
I tell him about the bomb planted to take us out, Antonio’s insistence on returning to Sicily, my escape from the hospital, and the car chase that ended in the explosion.
“Lex’s plan worked perfectly,” I tell him. “How they managed to find the exact same model, with all the same external details, on such short notice is beyond me. Even the license plate matched. Though I suppose that part was the easiest to fake.”
I swallow, my pulse picking up again.
“A Freemont team was waiting for us and took over from there. And Rhia…” A soft smile tugs at my mouth. “She was incredible. I literally couldn’t have done it without her.”
I lift my injured arm slightly to make my point.
“She held it together for me. She’s amazing under pressure.”
I pause, drawing in a steady breath. It feels like I’m reliving the escape all over again, adrenaline humming just beneath my skin.
“And then,” I add quietly, “when we got here… I had the biggest surprise of all waiting for me.”
I slip my arms around his neck, brushing my nose against his and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
“Rhia and Lex gave us the chance to build something beautiful together,” I say, feeling so much gratitude. “Everything we have now… it’s because of them. It’s a gift we can never truly repay.”
Tiero tightens his hold on me.
“Lie with me,” he says softly, his voice thick with emotion.
I ease myself against him, careful of the tubes and wires, resting my head on his shoulder. A deep sense of peace settles over me.
I think he understands how immense this gift is.
He confirms it barely a minute later.
“We’ve been given a second chance,” he says, his voice steady and resolute. “And we’re not going to waste it.
“We’ll live fully, love fiercely, and be happy for the rest of our lives.”
I lift my head and kiss him, sealing the promise between us.
Amen to that.