12. Camellia
12
Camellia
“Rocco?”
The last person I expected to see today was my brother. In truth, I never thought I’d see him again.
Yet, here he is. Looking rougher than I’ve ever seen in my life, with the scent of alcohol staining his clothes. No, I’ve seen him this way once before. Back when our father died. For a week, he was so torn and ruined, he looked like this.
Like a man whose life is falling apart. Despite his sisters and mother being there to mourn with him, he shut everyone out. Once our mother ran away, giving up on the chaos that comes with her husband dying, he sobered up.
“You’re alive?” He says the words with an eerily calmness as his eyes stare at the bags in my hand. “Looking more comfortable than I was expecting.” He sniffs and tears his eyes away from my direction to stare at something else more interesting. “And Eliza?”
“She’s okay.” My voice wavers, and I grimace at how this all must look in his eyes. However, I notice the way his shoulders relax. “They haven’t done anything to us.”
What they have done isn’t really something I want to tell my older brother, anyway. I probably shouldn’t tell him that our sister is now married, either. He looks like he’s already standing on a ledge here, and I’m not going to be the one to shove him over.
Santino might, though. The way he grabs my arm and tugs me back so I’m pressed to his chest makes my brother’s eyes narrow on him.
I recognize the heat of anger behind his stare, and the way he clenches up like he wants to fight the man who is gripping me hard enough to leave a mark.
It’s like Santino thinks I’ll catch the next gust of wind and fly away from him.
When I wince, he curses under his breath and loosens his grip on me, but his fingers remain locked around my limb.
“You two seem to get along well enough.” There’s this tone to his voice that I don’t recognize. There’s no way that he’s feeling betrayed. Not him, not with me. He wanted me gone.
Heat prickles up my neck at what he’s implying. Of course, he’s not wrong. I can’t help my feelings. They formed all on their own.
“I can explain,” I start, hoping I can reason with him. Remembering that there are plenty of Bertelli men willing to shoot what little family I have, I don’t want him to do something crazy.
Plus, there have been some skittish pedestrians. I’m sure someone has called the cops by now.
“You don’t have to explain anything,” Santino snarls behind me, offended by the very thought. All I have to do is look at him, and he’s gritting his teeth.
That makes Rocco snort and show the first sign of emotion I’ve seen today that isn’t pain. Unfortunately, it’s a sarcastic laugh.
“Look at me, Rocco.” Pleading softly, his brows knit together, and his frown grows. “Please.”
His jaw works, and his fingers curl and uncurl at his sides. Finally, he shakes his head. “I can’t.”
My heart aches in my chest as he refuses even to glance my way. He’s always been that way, never able to hold eye contact for long.
It’s my eyes, I know it is. He’s always hated my eyes. I don’t think that will ever change. Even when I had those pesky eye contacts in, it wasn’t enough. It’s like looking at me physically leaves him in pain.
“Let’s put an end to this fighting.” Putting the offer out there, I know Santino wouldn’t agree to such a thing. He’s got a grudge against my family. I could see it in the way he reacted to me, revealing who I was when he’d first caught me.
He’d be happy to wipe the Parada name off the face of the earth.
“Please. We don’t have to keep clashing like this. I know… I know I understand little about this whole thing, but I don’t want anyone else to die.” I swallow thickly. “I don’t want you to die.”
Even though he’s treated me like I’m not a person, kept me locked away and everything else that has made me into the person I am today, I don’t hate him.
He’s still my brother. Somewhere deep inside, he’s still the guy who was loving and caring. My brother who wouldn’t dare let anything happen to me.
Slowly, he looks at me. His face pains up like it hurts him to even look my way. He doesn’t last long, he never does. His eyes lower to look at Santino’s shirt I’m wearing, and he blinks.
“Do you want to come back home?” He asks the question low enough that I’m not sure if I’ve misheard him or not. I must’ve.
“Why in the fuck would she want to return?” Santino is one step away from grabbing him, and my nails dig into his arm hard enough to ground him. To ground me as well.
Rocco ignores him, waiting for my answer.
He hasn’t called it our home in a long time. I’m starting to think I’m not seeing the bigger picture here.
Why is Rocco here? He’s come without a weapon in hand, so I doubt he came to fight. He showed up where we were, so he knew one of us would be here. Did he know it was me?
Did Santino warn him to draw him out? My stomach clenches at the thought, and I make a note to question him later about it.
Either way, Rocco showed up for a reason I’m struggling to understand. The concept of him caring is so foreign to me, I struggle to believe it’s true.
“Were you going to rescue me?” I ask him instead. “You didn’t plan on abandoning me.”
He blinks, returning my silence with his own.
Communication was never a strong suit in our family.
Finally, he grunts. “I made a mistake sending you there.”
Why? Because he knew I’d get caught? Because he regrets sending his sibling on her own? Because his enemy stole my heart?
I want to ask, but I don’t. There’s this tightness gripping at my heart and my lungs as I just wish I could understand what Rocco’s deal is.
If I let him, Santino would be happy to torture the information out of him.
“Rocco–”
Shoving the heel of his hand into his eye, he sighs as he turns his attention to the men behind us. “Are you going to kill me or not? If not, then get the hell out of my territory. You don’t look like you’re going to give her back, and I don’t have anyone for support, so just do what you’re going to do. Put me out of my misery or leave me to suffer. Just get it over with.”
I look at Santino and frown when he considers the question. There’s conflict behind his gaze, one that shouldn’t be there.
“If you do, I will never forgive you, Santino Bertelli.” Whispering the promise, I don’t miss the way both men look at me in surprise.
Rocco’s surprise lasts as long as I can blink before he’s turning around. Giving us his back, he shakes his head. “I’m leaving first, then. Just needed to see if she was still breathing, that’s all.”
I watch my brother disappear inside of a SUV, the tightness in my chest growing even tighter.
If I had told him I wanted to go back home, would he have put up more of a fight?
“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” I murmur as my stomach clenches. “Can we please just go back?”
Santino’s glare on my brother’s unmarked vehicle could cut through glass. He doesn’t move, not at first. The conflict is there, I know. I’ve put him between a rock and a hard place.
I won’t ask him to get along with Rocco, even I know that’s pushing too much.
“What do you want us to do?” One of the guys behind us asks, seeking guidance. “We can catch up and follow him.”
His grip on my arm dissolves, and he wraps an arm around me. “Follow him. Make sure he doesn’t drive off of a bridge and get himself killed. Track his location.” I hear his teeth grind. “You do not have my permission to do the job either.”
Hearing the shuffle of feet, I smile at Santino. “Thank you.”
His frown doesn’t lessen. No, he still looks pissed. He’s just trying his hardest not to aim it at me.
“Let’s go. If you’re still hungry, I’ll send someone to grab food later.”
Grimacing at the thought of eating something now, I nod my head and let him lead us back to the cars.
Sirens ring in the background. We don’t stick around long enough to see any cruisers.
* * *
The drive gives me plenty of time to think. Santino doesn’t touch me like he had the drive to town.
We’re both lost in our heads.
“Leave the bags. We’ll return to them later.” Giving the order to his men, he flattens a hand on my back and leads me into the home.
Bia is sitting with my sister, chatting her ear off on the steps. For once, Urzo isn’t breathing down her neck. I can’t even stop to say hello with the way he’s guiding me straight for the room I’ve adjusted to. His bedroom.
Once we’re inside, he shuts the door and starts tearing at the buttons of his shirt. He’s like a coiled spring ready to snap at the slightest push.
If he’s waiting for me to apologize, I won’t.
When I don’t move, and go as far as crossing my arms over my chest, his frown grows.
Snapping a button, he growls out of frustration and stomps back toward me. My arms loosen and I step back, trapped by the wall behind me.
“You do not put yourself in front of a line of fire, do you understand?” He’s trying his hardest to keep his feelings inside, but I can see the rush happening behind his gaze.
Well, I’m a little angry too. This man is too trigger happy for his own good.
“You can’t just shoot my brother. Even though our relationship is complicated, you can’t just kill him. My voice wavers as my fingers curl at my sides. “There shouldn’t have been a line of fire to begin with. He didn’t come to fight. he–”
“He came to take you away from me!” Roaring out his frustrations, he flattens his hand against the wall. “He’ll try again, I know he will.”
“He won’t,” I whisper. “I don’t want to leave, Santino. I would have tried going with him if I did.”
I want to stay with the man who has been torn up by the thought of me leaving his side. I’m not going to be cared about in this way by anyone else.
Reaching up, I cradle his face. “Tell me you didn’t purposely draw him out to try to kill him.”
His eyes close and he sighs. “You know that’s exactly what I did, little bird. I didn’t want to risk him taking you away from me. From him threatening my family and everything I love.”
My stomach tightens and my eyes grow wide. “You love me?”
His nose scrunches. “You need to ask that?”
I suppose it may be a bit of a silly question, but the thought is a crazy one to me.
“I want you to have my last name, Camellia. I’ve wanted it the moment I had you pressed against my desk. Wanted it even more once I had my cock inside you.” He brushes the front of my stomach with his thumb. “You’ve made me into someone I can’t even recognize anymore. Desperate and weak. Soon, my men will be whispering behind my back to try to figure out what you’ve done to thaw out my heart.”
When his eyes open, I get lost in that pit of darkness.
“I’ll marry you, Santino. I’ll become a Bertelli.” Seeing the light start to seep into his gaze, I frown. “On one condition.”
Sure, I’m pretty brave to ask him of anything. Especially when I saw how easy it is to marry someone off. Still, it can’t hurt to try.
“Save Rocco. I… I don’t know what his deal is. He’s not a bad guy, I swear. I haven’t forgiven him, not even close. But, I can’t do that if he’s dead.” I grimace at what I’m asking of him. “Please. These bonds you were talking about, they’re meant to draw families together. You said it yourself. Save the Parada name.”
He grimaces at my words. They make him look sick. Finally, he sighs. “I’ll send him a wedding invitation, then. Maybe I’ll even hand deliver it to see his face.” Murmuring the words, he shakes his head. “I suppose he’s already my in–law thanks to that sister of yours.”
Hope starts to grow in my chest, but his frown diminishes it.
‘I’ll try, Camellia. However, if he isn’t on board, and he tries to take advantage of my kindness by attempting to take my life, I will not hesitate to put a bullet between his eyes. Sorry-looking bastard looked like he came hoping I’d do the job today.”
Murmuring the last part, I can’t help but agree. He did seem surprised to see that I was still alive, and probably happy as well.
“Alright then. I’ll become Mrs. Bertelli. Don’t make me regret–”
I don’t get to finish my sentence. He’s too busy swooping down to capture my lips with his own. Like he’s been starved for contact, he doesn’t pull away.
No, I’m sure of it. This man intends on eating me entirely.