Chapter 42
Max
Daniel’s knuckles whiten around the grip of a sleek black pistol—Carlos’s empty holster tells me where it came from.
I step forward, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed to slits.
“You fucking dick.” My words slice through the air between them.
“You killed Leo. And tried to kill Sol.” My voice drops to a deadly whisper that somehow fills the ballroom.
“And for that—” The gun fires with a deafening crack that bounces off marble floors and crystal chandeliers, leaving my ears ringing.
Carlos jolts to the floor.
I’ve never killed a man, and I never intended to.
The rage and pain collapse into a grief I wasn’t prepared for.
Not now. When Carlos aimed the gun at the only woman my heart beats for, my entire world snapped into a chilling pain I’d never recover from.
He would have taken the lives of our unborn children.
A family we had worked hard to earn and build.
I never expected it would come down to this.
Never expected Carlos to aim a gun at her or anyone.
I invite him into my small circle, counted him among the few I could trust. I was wrong.
You always hear people say not all heroes wear capes.
I’ve never paid much attention to that thought. Until now. Only our hero grew wings.
Carlos plants his hand on his stomach, grunting in pain as the blood flows out of his limp body. I should have aimed for the head. The click of the gun forces me to drag my gaze toward the man pointing a gun at me. The revelation that Carlos and Daniel are related blindsides me.
I stare down the barrel of Daniel’s gun without flinching. My mind goes blank when I see Leo’s body crumpled on the floor, blood pooling beneath him. Sol’s broken wails cut through me like a knife, igniting something primal in my chest.
“Drake,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel, “get Sol out of here.” One death was already too many for tonight.
“Please, Daniel. Don’t take him from us. Please. He’s all I’ve got.” Her broken whisper, begging for my life, burns a hole through my chest. “I grew up without my parents. I don’t want the same fate for my children.” She weeps. “Please,” she whispers.
“Baby, go with Drake. Sol, always remember I love you.” I swallow hard, my eyes on Daniel. “Take her, Drake,” I order.
“Hey, man. Take me for the life he took,” Drake offers himself.
From the corner of my eye, Xander holds Leo in his arms. Carlos is not even dead yet. He’s still holding a hand over his wound.
“Take her, Drake,” I implore. The sound of her sweet voice will always be engraved in my heart. Drake lifts her and carries her out.
The wail of sirens is close. The door clicks shut, leaving just us, Daniel, and his men in the room.
Two bullets tear through the air inches from my face, right into Carlos’s skull.
Daniel tucks the gun back into his holster nonchalantly, as if he just didn’t put a bullet in his uncle’s head.
“Tell Andy to clear the surveillance,” he barks at one of his men.
Daniel then drags his gaze to me. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. ”
What the fuck?
“Was he really your uncle?”
He adjusts his cufflink. “Unfortunately, yes. Carlos always wanted to be part of my father’s organization.
He wanted to be his right-hand man, then take his place when he retired from the position.
Carlos has always been power and money-hungry.
He’s asked who will take my position if something were to happen to me.
I started to suspect he was behind my girl’s disappearance.
She left the house frantically when I looked at my camera.
She just disappeared. I’ve searched every state and continent.
I was about to ask her to marry me. The only people who knew that were my dad and mom.
Later, I found out my mom had excitedly told Carlos.
My dad has been pressuring me to marry for an heir.
Carlos always dismisses it when he hears my parents talk about it.
I began to put it together. He didn’t want me to have an heir.
He had been begging to be the head of the mafia if something were to happen to me.
My mom begged us not to kill him unless we had a good reason to.
” His gaze travels to Carlos’s dead body.
“I have been spending more time with him to see what he’d tell me about where my girl went.
He said he didn’t know. Tonight was a perfect time to get rid of him. My dad despises him. He’ll be pleased.”
I’m unsure why he’s told me all this, considering I’m not in his circle. The mafia is very private about their information. Although I’m grateful for the truth about who Carlos really was. I hate that I stepped into his gym and brought danger to my family.
Police swarm in, and he tells them Carlos was armed and shot a man, and they had to shoot back. The police asked no questions I didn’t expect. Daniel’s reach was longer than I’d realized. “I’m sorry about your friend,” Daniel says.
I raise a brow angrily. “You say you don’t let your men hurt women and children, but you allowed him to point a gun at my girl.
He pulled the fucking trigger. If it weren’t for Leo, my kids would be dead, and Sol.
” My voice cracks. “He confessed to the fire. And come to find out, he was the one responsible for her fall.” I wish I could bring him back to life and kill him myself.
He nods. “My apologies. I didn’t believe he would do something so heartless to a pregnant mother. We were trying to get to him safely and take the gun, but when he saw my men move, he pulled the trigger.”
Daniel promises to handle the aftermath, gesturing for us to go.
As the medic drapes Leo with a white sheet, his lifeless form disappears beneath the fabric, leaving only the outline of what was once our friend on the stretcher.
Xander grips my shoulder. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.
” His voice is soft but dark, with a cloud of grief hanging over us.
I didn’t know that loving both boxing and the woman I love would cost me.
Walking into the house, my father’s head whips up from the pot of coffee he’s about to brew.
He wipes the gloss from his eyes and rushes to me.
“I thought…” He swallows. “Drake told me what happened. I thought they…killed you. I thought I lost you,” he whispers, clearing his throat. “Leo,” he says in another whisper.
“I’m here, Pops. Daniel killed Carlos. But Leo…he’s gone.” My chest aches, but I shove it down. I can’t break in front of Sol. She needs me to be the strong one.
Drake rushes down the stairs and clasps both hands on my back, his head on my shoulder. “You’re alive, fucker. Man…I didn’t know what to do.”
“I’m here. Where is she?”
“She was losing it. I had her shower to clean the blood off her. Pops made her a hot tea to help her relax, to help the babies relax. She just fell asleep in the bedroom.”
I turn to Drake. “Thanks.” Then to Xander. “Please stay. Being alone right now… We are all grieving and traumatized…” I trail off, my throat tightening. “God, if I’d just stayed put tonight—”
The weight of what happened settles on my chest like a stone.
Xander’s eyes meet mine, his jaw set. “This is on Carlos, not you. Man was unhinged. Daniel said as much. He’d have come for you no matter what, and Sol. Leo loved Sol like a sister. He wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”
Drake gives me a sad face. “Check on her. Let her know you’re okay. We’ll be here.”
Walking into the dim room, I toss the suit jacket on a chair and unbutton the soiled dress shirt, tossing it in the laundry basket. Sol is curled up on the bed, her arms crossed, hugging her chest. I almost lost her tonight. In those moments, panic pulled at my gut. I didn’t move fast enough.
Sol moans, then a small whimper follows. I crouch down beside her and move the curl of her hair to the side. “Mi amor, I’m here.”
She whimpers again.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I keep adding more trauma to her life. “Wake up, mi vida.”
Her eyes flutter open. “Max?”
“I’m here.”
“Max,” she cries, wrapping her hand around my neck. I hold her for what feels like minutes while she sobs. “I thought I lost you, too. I was going crazy.”
My hand moves up and down her head. “Do you need to go get checked at the hospital? To see how the babies are doing? You witnessed more than I would have liked.” I pull back and kiss her cheek, her nose, and her lips.
“What happened?” she asks.
After I tell her everything, she sighs. “I’m glad Carlos is dead, Max.” Her chin trembles. “He…he took Leo from us.” We bring our foreheads together. “Leo saved the twins and me.” She clutches her wing necklace. “I’m going to miss him.”
I whisper, “Me too,” and slide in beside her, pulling her close until her back curves against my chest. She weeps against me for hours.
Only after her breathing steadies into sleep do I let my own grief surface.
Behind my closed eyelids, Leo appears—motionless, vacant—his final words still in my ears as I press my face into the pillow and let myself break.