“You can try and chase me away all you want, but I’m gonna thank you for saving my life tonight,” I say.
His eyes are so hard.Much harder than I’ve ever seen them.He has our mother’s coloring, green-grey eyes and light brown hair with golden streaks.There used to be a gentleness to his face, especially when he was with me that isn’t there anymore.Ten years is a very long time, it seems.A lot changes in ten years.
“Even if you were only there because of me?”he asks, his eyes growing maybe a smidge less hard and cold.
“Hey, like you said, I contacted you even after you told me not to ever do it,” I say.“That’s how they traced me, right?The text I sent?”
He nods.“I have no privacy with Dante.He’s been running me like a dog for a long time now.He only kept me alive after he killed Ricardo and Dad to humiliate me.But that’s over now.”
I may never have cared much about the rules of the kind of life my family led, but I do know just saying you’re done and leaving does not get the job done.
“I’m sorry that happened,” I say and a part of me truly is.But they should’ve just let me love who I wanted to love.
“I don’t blame you,” he says, his face softening by maybe half a degree.“We never should’ve tried to marry you off for favor.We were over-reaching and Dad should’ve known that.You weren’t raised to understand the importance of it.Of course you wanted none of it.”
It’s the kind of forgiveness I never expected to get.Carrying the knowledge that I caused the deaths of my father and brother was a heavy burden.And I’m only just realizing how very heavy it was now that I can finally set a little of it down.
“Stay here with me,” I say, but he shakes his head.
“I have my own scores to settle.”
“Where will you go?”I ask.“We have no family left.”
My aunt, the one who took me in back east after my father disowned me was the closest blood relative we had.
“I’m going to New York,” he says.“There’s still a few cousins left.I’ll be all right.”
“You’ll be all right here too.”
He shakes his head and reaches for my hand.“I put you in enough danger for now.”
“And I caused all this shit in the first place so we’re even,” I counter.
This time his eyes turn undeniably soft.
“You’ve paid your price in more ways than one, Bella,” he says.“But you’re back with your man now and from what I’ve seen, he’ll take good care of you.Tell him I’m sorry we beat him up that time.It was a mistake.”
A mistake that bred so many other mistakes.
“Tell him yourself,” I say and clutch his hand.“Come in with me.”
He takes his hand from my grip and places it on the steering wheel.“I’m going back east to get an army.Then I’ll return and take back everything Moretti stole from us.I owe that to our father, our brother, to myself and to you.”
“But—”
“We’re done talking, Bella,” he says.“This is how it’s gonna be.And once it’s all done, we’ll talk more.But until then, stay safe.”
He waves Blade over and repeats his request that he open the gate.Blade looks at me, silently asking if that’s what I want too.I give a small nod, because I do understand all about family honor.I’ve sure broken it enough times.
“Everything will work out, Bella,” Matteo tells me as I climb out of the truck, the lace on the dress getting caught on absolutely everything like it doesn’t want me to leave.“Just stay away from Dante.Especially in that dress.”
I smile despite myself, and he does too, and for that second, he looks like he used to, back when I was a girl, and he was my older brother who could always make me laugh and feel good.I hope this isn’t the last time I’ll ever see him smile.Or see him at all.But it very well could be.
“Don’t worry, man, I’m marrying her as soon as possible,” Blade says.“Just so no one else can try it ever again.”
“Good,” Matteo says and starts the engine.
Blade wraps his arms around me as we watch him drive through the gate.
