I didn’t want to be here.
I’d hoped Vinn would swing by and demand I return to him, that he’d sense my distress over the distance, drag me into his arms, tell me everything would be fine.
That he loved me.
God, I needed him to love me, but it was hopeless.
He wouldn’t or couldn’t remember what he’d meant to me, and waiting for him to figure it out wasted my time.
A small body hit my back. Two little hands clutched my middle. I turned around, at Matteo's sweet face beaming at me, and burst into tears. I hugged my nephew and sobbed, the hug triggering a deep agony. I might find someone else to love me, but I'd never love another man as much as him.
“Don't cry, Zia.” Matteo patted my hair. “It's okay.”
“Honey, go play with your sister.”
My insides twisted as Michael appeared, peeling his son away. He shooed him away. Michael returned in a flash of Derby shoes and a suit. He'd planted himself in front of me, his brows knitted.
“What’s going on? Carmela says you’ve been here for three days.”
I shook my head, sobbing. “Nothing.”
“I have the right to know what that asshole did to you.”
If I told him about James, he’d probably call me insane for being upset.
“Before him, you were moving on. Dating other guys. Finding yourself.” He sighed heavily, slapping his thighs. “Now you’re miserable. Pregnant. He’s not even taking care of you.”
“He doesn’t love me,” I choked as I finally admitted it. “I thought it wouldn’t matter. I hoped he’d change.”
“Didn’t I warn you so many times?” A note of desperation tore his voice. “Why didn’t you let me set you up with another guy?”
“Because I don’t want someone else! I love him!”
Michael stooped to one knee. He dragged me into a fierce hug that melted every last ice wall as I sagged into my brother’s arms.
“You don’t have to be with him, Li.”
Vinn didn’t love me.
Vinn kept secrets from me.
Vinn gave me everything but his heart.
Wild grief consumed me, and I couldn’t stop crying. I clung to Michael’s shoulder as he pulled me past his shocked children.
“He has a responsibility to you,” he began, his tone dropping a thousand degrees. “You’re sick, and he’s leaving you here. I’ll kill him. I’ve had it!”
Michael shot upright and ripped off his jacket. My heart slammed into my chest as he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
Carmela watched him, brows knitted. “You just got here.”
“I’m going over there and giving him a piece of my mind.”
“Michael.” Carmela followed him, her angry tones blasting through the mansion. “Stop getting involved.”
“Sweetheart, she’s my sister. He knocked her up and threw her away.” Michael shouted down his wife. “I love you, but stay out of this!”
Carmela staggered down the steps, yelling after him. “Don’t do anything stupid!”
I ran outside as he climbed into his car.
“Fucking men.” Carmela sighed hard. “I love your brother, but Jesus. He has a temper.”
She didn’t understand the danger.
I’ll kill him.
Michael wasn’t kidding.
Twenty-Seven
Vinn
I craved alcohol like oxygen.
When I reached for the bottle, Liana’s soft don’t do this to yourself whispered in my ear. She was my strength, but it was funny. I had no interest in eating when she wasn’t around.
Life dragged. It’d only been a couple of days, but every second ticking by mocked me. I faced a bleak future without Liana. I’d never hated my existence more, not even while I was being court-martialed, or the months after, in which I abused every drug imaginable, and Michael had found me nodding off with a tube wrapping my arm.
Losing her had ruined me. It was like slow suicide. More than once, I jumped into my car to go drag her from Michael’s. I still considered her mine. Nothing could change that but divorce and a restraining order. Because I fucking loved her.
I loved her.
It was the only reason I hadn’t stormed Michael’s home. She had to choose, and I hoped to hell she’d choose me. I desperately needed her. I looked for ways to keep her, and thought of her grief over Daniel. That I had no self-awareness. I hurt people.
She was right, so I spent the week performing good deeds. I sent flowers to Queenie with a nice message. If James were alive, I would’ve put him in jail, but since he wasn’t, I called the Bourton dean and told him someone I knew was sexually assaulted at James’ fraternity. The next day it was shut down. The news outlets rolled with a storm of articles condemning campus rape and the Greek system’s toxicity combined with grisly stories from Bourton alumni.
Why did I want to help?
I felt closer to Liana when I was less of an asshole. It made me drive through Boston aimlessly until I stopped at Alessio’s house. I hadn’t been here in ages.
Heavy rain drenched my shoulders before I’d stepped through the iron-wrought gate. The red door swung open as I reached the gables.
Alessio walked out, his dark eyes narrowing as I approached. He crossed his arms.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Honestly, I don’t know. “I wanted to talk to you and Mia.”
Alessio’s mouth twisted. He had good reason for hating that idea. I’d kidnapped his wife a couple of years ago. I’d rationalized it by telling myself I was saving her. I’d only done it to lure him out, so I could kill him and succeed him as boss.
“I don’t want you anywhere near Mia.” His baritone cooled to a condescending whisper. “Jesus, you look like a fucking wreck.”
The red door yawned again, and the pint-sized Mia popped under Alessio’s arm, cradling their toddler daughter. A deep frown creased her forehead.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, her greeting steeped in reproach. “What do you want?”
Coming here had been a desperate move.
I waved aside my hesitation and inhaled deeply. “I let you both down, and I’m sorry. I fucked up, and I’m here to make amends.”
Alessio looked like Christmas had come early. He flashed me a wintry smile, sneering. “What is this, some twelve-step bullshit? You don’t give a damn about us.”
“Then why am I standing in the rain?”
He shook his head. “Go home, Vinn.”
“I can’t. I have to do something.” If it would ease the weight crushing my heart, I’d do anything.
Alessio’s smirk carved a dimple into his cheek. His black eyes drilled into me.
“She dumped you, didn’t she?”
The fire consuming me dampened.
What if she had?
Alessio folded his arms, grinning like the cat that ate a cage of canaries. “Well, it’s about time. That girl is way too good for you.”
I turned away, my stomach boiling.
Mia descended the steps, ignoring her husband’s warning. She bit her lip. “She left you?”
A pang hit the back of my throat. I couldn’t bring myself to answer, because saying it out loud would make it permanent.
“Boy, you’re really hurting.” Alessio’s dark gaze searched me, lapping up my misery like it was gold. “I have to say, seeing you in agony is nice.”
Mia’s toddler squealed, and Mia passed the baby to Alessio. His face lit up as he shifted, hoisting her. He kissed her. She beamed at him, and a sledgehammer hit my chest.
An ache pulsed inside me, new and terrifying, but real. I gritted my teeth. I raked my hair, tearing away from the infuriating sight of their wholesome happiness.
I bolted down the path.
“Wait. Vinn, hold on.” Mia jogged to my side, stopping me. “Come back.”
“Mia, let him go.”
She frowned at her husband. “It doesn’t hurt to hear him out.”
Alessio released an exaggerated sigh and waved me forward.
“I’m tired of butting heads with you, so name your fucking price.”
“Fine.” Alessio rolled his eyes. “Make me partner in all your construction firms.”
I glowered at him. “That’s a big ask.”
“Hey, you’re the one seeking amends.”
He’d thrown that out to test me, but my anguish was so acute it punctured my lungs with every breath.
I sighed. “Fuck. Fine.”
His laughter grated my ears. “Seriously?”
“I’ll make you a managing partner. You’ll have executive powers.”
“I don’t care about that,” he snapped. “I just want your money.”
“I’ll give you a twenty-percent stake.”
“Thirty-five,” he shot.
“Twenty-five.”
Alessio shrugged and offered me a hand. “Deal.”
I shook it, as an inner voice screamed. By far, the worst deal I’d ever made, but it’d be worth it if it convinced Liana I wasn’t a hopeless asshole.
He held onto me, smirking. “Having a conscience gets expensive, doesn’t it?”
You have no idea.
My gaze slid to his wife. “What about you?”
“Ask him for another twenty-five, honey.”
Mia ignored her husband and smiled at me. “I don’t need anything, Vinn. I forgive you.”
Alessio tutted. “Terrible negotiator.”
I stepped back, well aware I’d signed over hundreds of thousands of dollars. “So we’re good?”
“Yeah,” Alessio muttered after a long pause. “I think so.”
“Maybe I’ll have you both over some time.”
Alessio quirked an eyebrow. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Mia thumped his chest. “We’d love that.”
“I’ll see you guys later. Have a nice night.”
They gaped at me like I’d said something in a foreign language. As I walked to the car, my loafers drenched, I waited for a weight to lift off my shoulders. Intense nausea and desolation swept over me.
Nothing had changed.
The next few hours were pure torture. It somehow topped being shot, stabbed, and dragged to a mock-execution, because at least she’d still been in my life. I couldn’t inhale without a stitch in my ribs. All I’d done since I got home was stare at photos of my wife.
I missed her.
A fist hammered my door.
I tossed my phone aside and yanked it open.
Michael stood in the doorway, his shirt half-untucked, his hair askew like he’d spent the ride to my place clenching it, and darkness billowed over him like a rolling storm. He stepped in, radiating a corrosive contempt that fouled the air.
“Is Liana with you?”
I was so damned pathetic.
“Why, so you can break up with her again?”
He shoved me.
My back hit the console table, pain slicing my spine. He punched my face. Agony exploded across my jaw. My teeth ached. My world spun. Two savage blows knocked out my breath. He’d never hit me like this, even at our worst.
I collapsed, gasping.
“You sent her away, you fucking loser!” Michael’s foot whirled, slamming into my stomach. “She’s carrying your kid, and you give up on her?”
I rolled over, stunned. I’d never told Michael about the phony pregnancy. The chaos surrounding Nico’s death had driven it clean from my mind, and it’d stopped being a fake relationship weeks ago.
“I warned you,” he glowered, his shoe pressing my neck. “Hurt her, and you’re dead.”
I gripped his ankle and shoved him off. A blow struck my head, and my vision blacked out. His knuckles bashed my skull, hitting me so hard the echo of grinding bones filled my ears. He refused to let up. His merciless punching slammed me into the ground.
If I didn’t stop him, he’d kill me.
I tackled his middle, hurling him into a console table. Michael grunted at the impact. Hissing, he launched at me. I scrambled out of the way, warding him off with a chair.
“Michael, calm down. I didn’t send her away.”
He batted the chair. “Put it down and fight me.”
“No. Let’s talk about this.”
I had fifty pounds on Michael, and I would murder him. If anything happened to her brother, Liana would be devastated. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.
“I’m done with you, buddy.”
Michael grabbed his sidearm. He pointed it at me, chest heaving.
I held up my hands. “Do you have to dial everything to eleven?”
“I warned you,” he snarled. “I told you what’d happen.”
“Christ, Michael. I did nothing wrong. I just—”
“I gave you a chance. You blew it!” His voice tore, the gun trembled. “You used my sister. She is the only sibling I have, and you destroyed her.”
His words ripped me apart.
“What—what do you mean? Is she okay?”
“No, she’s not, you fucking maniac.”
A horrible dread went through me. “She’s hurt?”
“Of course she’s in pain. Her husband abandoned her with a baby! You kicked her out of your home!” A red flush wrapped his throat as he screamed at the top of his lungs. “You knocked her up, and you can’t deal with it.”
“Michael, listen to me. She is not pregnant—”
“You really can’t handle being a father, huh?” he shouted, railroading me. “What a coward.”
“Michael, I love her. I’d do anything for her.” I backed into the couch as Michael advanced, his eyes flashing. “Look at me, and tell me you don’t believe me.”
His hazel pools bored into mine. “Then why is she at my house?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Explain.”
I strolled into the kitchen and poured myself water. My grip shook, sloshing the contents before the glass reached my mouth. “She would’ve left me, anyway. She wants someone else.”
“What are you talking about?”
A sick yearning yanked at my insides. “There’s another guy.”
Michael wiped his face, growling. “She said that to make you jealous, you idiot. She loves you. She has since she was a kid. While you were fucking around, she dreamed up names for your future children. She begged me to set you up on a date. She’s loved you forever.”
I dropped my gaze, startled at blood streaming from my clenched fist. I’d broken the glass. I picked a shard from my skin, but it didn’t even sting.
“I don’t understand.”
Michael snorted. “Of course.”
I stiffened as a wave of heat passed through me. Parsing through what he’d told me was like sifting sand. Then it landed on me.
Ice spread through my stomach.
“Why the fuck didn’t you say so?”
“The better question is, how did you not notice? You’re so dense, Vinn.” Michael launched into a tirade that seemed years in the making. “She visited you. She brought your favorite dishes to the hospital. She wrote you letters and cried every time she saw you with other girls. What did you think that meant?”
I didn’t think about it.
I’d never let my thoughts go there because she was too young, was Michael’s sister, and was forbidden on every level. Now that Michael had laid it out, it was so obvious. She’d downplayed her feelings as a crush, and my dumb ass had believed her.
I was so stupid.
A needle-like feeling prickled my face. “So you’ve talked to her about me.”
“Many times.”
My heart pounded. “And what did you say?”
“That she should move on,” he deadpanned. “Don’t give me that look. You’re nine years older. You’re a dog with women. You never cared about her the way she did about you.”
My insides curled up and blackened.
I picked him up by the shirt and slammed him into win
dows. My vision clouded with sick fantasies. I pictured him begging for his life as I hung him from the balcony. My fist smashed into his jaw. He smacked the ground and tackled my knees. I ripped him away from me. I shoved him into a photo.
Glass shattered over his head.
A second shadow crept along the wall.
“Mike.” I jerked my head toward it.
He spun around.
A man’s silhouette peeled onto the floor. A man in a leather cut tutted as he stepped out, pointing a gun at Michael, whose Glock lay several feet away.
“You idiots made this too easy. Door’s wide open.” Killian slicked his teeth, the sound wrenching at my gut. “Considerate of you. Thanks.”
Fuck.
“What are you doing here?” I kept my tone even, trying to buy us time.
“Killing you. Taking your wife.” He threaded a hand through his hair. “Where is the little woman?”
“She’s not here.”
“That’s too bad. I wanted your babydoll to see you die.” Killian slack-jawed expression glazed over. “Right before I fuck her over your corpse.”
He’d shoot.
He wouldn’t miss.
This was how I’d meet my end at the hands of a two-bit psycho who’d somehow bypassed my security just because Anthony had to get revenge.
A female voice echoed in the house.
Vinny.
The faint whisper was a desperate wish from my dying brain.
“Vinny?”
Less distant and louder.
No, no, no.
Killian’s stare drifted past my shoulder, his mouth parting.
A tremor shook my arm as I slowly turned. My gaze crashed into a pair of soft, blue eyes.
Liana stood in the hallway. She wore the clothes from three days ago. The necklace gleamed on her neck, like a beacon dragging me forward. Her lips parted as though she hadn’t noticed Killian.
“Vinny, I—”
“Run.”
Her brows furrowed. She hesitated.
She stepped toward me.
A gunshot blasted the air. Something splattered my wrists. I lunged at Killian, who’d lowered his gun. I tackled him. I grabbed his wrist and wrenched, knocking the piece away, and then I dove for it. He yelled. I shoved the barrel under his jaw. Pulled the trigger.
The deafening boom cracked like a thunderbolt.
Faked: A Dark Mafia Romance Page 20