“Or more plausibly,” Eric cut in, “Maybe she was just happy he was alive. Derek said that he risked his life for her.”
“I risked my life for her,” I shot back.
“I’m just saying, emotions fly high in times of stress. It could all be a terrible misunderstanding.”
Derek snorted. “Yeah, one in which her lips were permanently sealed to his and his hand was wrapped around her head, holding her to him.”
“I don’t need the reminder,” I said angrily. “It’s on replay in my head.”
“Did you get it on camera too?” Joe asked.
“Yeah, I pulled out my phone and video taped it so I could remember what the knife to my chest felt like.”
“Hey, I’m just saying, if you had done that, we could have thoroughly studied it and then we could give you some real answers.”
“I don’t need to study video footage. The message was pretty clear to me.”
“Maybe it wasn’t quite the way it looked. How long are we talking?” Will asked.
“A good minute,” Derek snorted. “We’re talking full on lip-lock. Well, unless you count the tongue action. I guess their lips weren’t completely locked.”
“Thanks, man,” I nodded. “Very helpful.”
“I’m just saying, it definitely wasn’t a friendly kiss. I’m not sure you can misconstrue what her intentions were.”
“Wait, so you’re not together?” Joe asked.
I breathed out a heavy sigh and leaned back in my chair. “I don’t know. If you asked me yesterday, I would have said that we were spending our lives together. Now…”
“Right…so…not together.”
I glanced over to see Joe typing something on his phone. “What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“What are you typing?”
“I’m just updating the town. I can’t let them think that you’re getting married when your baby momma is having a tryst with another man.”
I stood so fast that my chair fell backwards. I leapt across the table, grabbing for his phone, but he pulled away before I could grab it.
“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“This is pretty normal,” Eric said casually. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Get used to the whole town knowing my personal business?” I shouted.
“Hey, he outed Kat being pregnant at the bakery in town. Just be happy you’re not in a public setting.”
“And like he said, at least you can control the questions now,” Andrew pointed out. “Just imagine the questions if this came out any other way.”
“Or maybe it wouldn’t have come out at all,” I seethed.
“Yeah, that’s not likely to happen,” Joe laughed. “Besides, look on the bright side, there are some women that are offering to come be a mother to Alessa. Oh, wait, this one wants to know if you’re willing to upload a current picture to the page.”
“Why?” Will asked.
“Well, I could be wrong here,” Derek cut in, “but I would guess she wants to make sure Josh doesn’t look like a troll before she hitches her wagon to his.”
“Smile.”
I turned just as Joe snapped a picture, blinding me with the flash from his phone. “What the hell?”
“What? It’s for the page.”
“Don’t upload my picture. I don’t need women drooling over me on Facebook.”
“Don’t worry,” Andrew laughed, looking at the picture on Joe’s phone. “With that photo, nobody’s knocking on your door.”
Carly
Robert and Hunter drove me toward a safe house they had on the outskirts of Chicago. It’s where they took Antonio. And despite the fact that I wanted to get home to see Eric, I also needed to speak with my brother. We may have taken out a large number of the organization my uncle was running, but there was still the chance that others were out there, waiting for us. We had betrayed the family, and that would be met with retribution, unless we could figure out a way to get them to back off.
“I want to talk to my brother alone.”
Hunter pulled over to the side of the road and turned around to look at me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? The man just tried to kill you.”
“He’s still my brother, and I have questions for him. Besides, I saw his face in the basement. When he found out what was really going on, I wasn’t his target.”
He turned back around, shaking his head. “I think that’s a bad idea. One interlude with your brother doesn’t mean you really know who he is.”
“Well, luckily, I’ve known him longer than you.”
“Fine. But if you die, I’m not telling Josh. Robert can do that.”
“Shit,” Robert muttered. “Thanks for that.”
He smirked and pulled into the driveway at the safe house, nodding his head toward the door. We headed inside and Hunter led me to a room with no windows where Antonio’s hands were zip-tied in front of him.
Robert turned to me almost pleadingly. “Are you sure you want to do this? He tried to kill you.”
“He punched me. That’s hardly a deadly assault.”
“To some it is.”
I smirked. “Not in my family.”
I shoved past him and walked into the room, taking a seat across from my brother. He had aged a lot since I had last seen him. He was harder, more deadly than I remembered. But then again, my uncle had basically made him his enforcer. He had probably killed hundreds of men. I just hoped that the man I once knew was still in there somewhere.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his eyes boring into mine.
“I thought I would visit you, see how you’re doing?”
He smirked, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Well, my life is definitely different than it was twenty-four hours ago.” His gaze flicked back up to mine and then slid across my face until it landed on the bruise he put there. I could see the guilt and shame in his eyes. “You should just leave. Go live your life and forget about me.”
“Is that what you think you deserve?” I asked.
His eyes dropped again. “I think I’ve done a lot of shit that I’m not proud of. There are things I’ve done that you should hate me for.”
I swallowed hard and leaned forward, lowering my voice. “Did you kill Ricardo?”
He shook his head. “I thought…Giuseppe told me that Alessandro was responsible for that.”
“And you believed him.”
His jaw clenched hard and he glanced toward the door. “Shouldn’t your guard be back by now?”
“Eager to die?” I asked. “Is it really so terrible talking to me?”
“Just go live your life. Forget about me.”
“Why did you believe him?”
He ran his hand across his jaw, but still refused to look at me. “So, you have a daughter now. I bet she’ll be a spitfire just like you.”
“She won’t grow up the way we did. That’s about all I can ask for.”
“And the guy…Josh…he’s a good guy?”
“Do you care?” I asked, tilting my head. “After you hit me, probably would have killed me, suddenly you want to play big brother and ferret out the bad boyfriends?”
He still didn’t say anything.
“Why did you believe Giuseppe? Why would you ever think Alessandro would betray our family?”
“You did,” he sneered. “You ran and left us all behind.”
“My intention was never to leave you behind. Not like that. And I didn’t betray anyone. I chose life over living for whatever our father wanted for me.”
“You have no idea what that did to us. When we thought you were dead…something changed inside me. I was filled with so much anger that someone had taken you from us. Suddenly, everything that Giuseppe was asking me to do seemed right.”
He huffed and shook his head, the self-loathing in his whole body dragging him down.
“Why did you believe him?” I asked one last time.
“Because he proved to me that
Alessandro had you killed,” he shouted, slamming his fists on the table in front of him.
I sat back in shock, tears filling my eyes as I stared at the man that I once loved so much. He was always a little harder than the others, but he was my brother, and family was something I was running short on right now.
“I didn’t know,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “I didn’t know you hated your life so much that you would do something like that. He set me up to do everything to wipe out my own family, all because of greed.”
I hadn’t known what I would walk in on when I came in here, but I knew now what I needed to do. “Then help us take out the last of them. Let’s finish this and make sure they can never touch us again. You can start over and have a new life.”
“And never see you again?” he smirked.
“Better that I never see you again, but know that you’re somewhere out there living the life you deserve. I don’t want to hear about your body washing up in Lake Michigan.”
“It’s what I deserve.”
“Maybe, but what Giuseppe did to you, what he manipulated you into doing, that was wrong. And in time, you’ll see it for what it was.”
He shook his head and blew out a harsh breath. “Carla, I deserve to be in prison or dead. We all know that you don’t walk out of this life unscathed.”
“But you have a chance to change that. Look at me. I have a man that I love and a daughter. As long as none of this blows back on me, I have a chance at a real life, and you could have that too. One that doesn’t include violence or being someone else’s puppet. Take it.”
He shook his head again, refusing to look me in the eyes.
I reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in mine. “Do it for me.” His eyes flicked up to mine. “They would forgive you, you know. If they knew what really happened, they would forgive you.”
“I doubt that. I’ll never get the image of Alessandro begging me for his life out of my head.”
“If he was alive and he was in my position, he would want you to do this, for all of us. You and I are the only ones that escaped. We’re the only ones that get a second chance at life. Take it for Ricardo and Alessandro and never look back.”
I went to stand, but he snatched my hand and squeezed it tight. When I looked at him, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. My heart broke for him, for what he had done. I knew deep down that he would never forgive himself.
“Do you forgive me?”
I sat back down and looked him in the eyes. “You don’t need my forgiveness. We both did what we had to. We survived. Go make a new life for yourself and learn how to forgive yourself.”
I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he just looked so damn sad, but I got up and walked around the table, leaning down to give him a hug. I felt his breath shutter out and then his zip-tied hands slid up to cup my cheeks.
“Please, do this for me.”
He nodded and swiped at a stray tear and turned away from me. I turned and walked toward the door, knowing this would be the last time I ever saw my brother, and even though I was happy to be starting a new life, it killed me to know that I was walking away from my last remaining family member.
“So, where am I taking you now?” Hunter asked. I had noticed when we arrived at the safe house that there was a second team at the house, watching over my brother. I hoped they all knew not to touch him.
“Aren’t I going with him?” I asked, pointing to Robert.
“I guess that depends,” Robert said, the bite in his tone evident. “Are you staying with Levi or going back to my brother?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Just what are you implying?”
“Nothing,” he spat. “But in case you’ve forgotten, you have a daughter waiting back at my brother’s house.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I snapped. Where the hell was all this animosity coming from? One minute, they seemed to welcome us home, and the next, well, I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then again, I did put their brother in harm’s way once again. It was very possible that was the reason Robert was acting so strangely.
“Then let’s go.”
He turned and walked out of the safe house without another word. Hunter walked beside me, his eyes scanning the area for any threats. I snorted to myself. Like I really needed him as a bodyguard. I had been protecting myself for a long time, and now that my family was dead or behind bars, there really wasn’t a threat.
The drive out of the city was much longer now that I had so much weighing on my mind. I wasn’t sure where I stood with Josh right now and Levi was asking for more than I could give. Both men had been there for me in so many ways, but only one held my heart. Still, I couldn’t just walk away from Levi, but how did I keep him in my life without leading him on? And was that fair to Josh?
When we pulled up to the house, anxiety kicked in and I found myself unsure about going inside. But I wasn’t one to back down from anything. Whatever was going on with Josh, it was better to face it head on.
When Robert opened the door and stepped aside for me to enter, six sets of eyes landed on me, each of them searing at me angrily. I wanted to take a step back, but instead, I held my head high and walked into the kitchen.
“Is Alessa sleeping?”
“Yeah,” Josh said, clearing his throat. “Kat’s keeping an eye on her. I checked on her when I got home.”
I nodded and pointed to the other room. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
“You know, I think I need to go…do biker shit,” Joe said, slapping the table as he stood. “Catch ya later, Hunty.”
My brows furrowed and I turned to Josh. “Who’s Hunty?”
He shrugged. “I’m guessing Hunter,” he said, nodding to Hunter, who stood behind me.
“Don’t look at me. No one’s ever called me Hunty before.”
“Is Anna upstairs with Kat?” Robert asked.
“Yeah,” Eric said. “They’re probably asleep in my bed.”
“Nice,” Andrew grinned.
Eric slapped him upside the head. “Shut the fuck up.”
“What? I’m just saying, it paints a nice picture.”
“One that you’ll never see,” Robert said as he walked around me and headed for the stairs.
I stood there, just waiting for the rest of them to leave or for Josh to stand, but everyone else stayed where they were. I cleared my throat and Will quirked an eyebrow.
“Oh, is that my cue to leave?”
“I think we’re getting kicked out,” Eric said, standing from his chair. “I have an early day anyway. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow,” he said, clapping Josh on the shoulder.
I glanced at Derek, but he just shrugged. “I have nowhere to be.”
“Can you give us a minute?”
“And miss the show?” he grinned.
Josh glared at him and he stood. “Fine, Hunter and I can do a perimeter check.” His tone wasn’t at all friendly, almost like he hated me.
Soon, everyone else was gone and it was just Josh and I sitting in the kitchen. I took a seat across from him, trying to figure out what to say. Minutes passed with neither of us saying anything.
Finally, I took a deep breath and went for it. “You left me at the hospital.”
He nodded.
“I thought…was it because I dragged you into my shit again?”
He huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. “We both agreed to that plan going in.”
“Then why-“
“I saw you,” he said angrily.
I looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“In the hospital. I went to check on you when you were in Levi’s room. I saw you kissing him.”
The blood drained from my face and I stumbled over my words, trying to explain. “That wasn’t- I swear, it wasn’t what it looked like.”
“Carly, you don’t have to lie to me. You told me that you were engaged to him. I’m not stupid. I know you felt something for him. That was no
ordinary kiss.”
I blinked several times, trying to find my way out of this. I hadn’t heard him at all. I had no idea that he had been standing there.
“Josh, he was trying to convince me to give him another chance, but I don’t want that. I want to be with you and Alessa.”
“Do you?” he asked, disbelief in his tone.
“Of course, I do.”
He shook his head slightly. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“How can you say that? After what we’ve been through over the past seven years, how could you think that I don’t want you?”
“If I really meant that much to you, why would you allow him to kiss you? I stood there for a good minute while his tongue was shoved down your throat. That wasn’t an innocent kiss.”
“It wasn’t me declaring my love for him either. I…” I sighed in frustration. “You don’t know what this feels like, to know that I’ve dragged two people into my mess and both of you almost died. I could no sooner cut you out of my life than I could him after what he did for us.”
“So…what? You’ll keep us both around?”
“No, that’s not-“
“Spend your days with me and your nights with him?”
“I never said I wanted to be with him.”
“You also just said that you couldn’t cut him out.”
“What would you have me do? After he just almost died trying to help us get our child back.”
“She was never gone.”
“He didn’t know that,” I retorted. “If we had called him back and told him what our plan was, none of this would have happened. As I recall, you and your brother were the ones pressuring me to involve him. We’re the reason he’s in the hospital.”
“You don’t know that we could have trusted him.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “After seeing what they did to him, you think that was all for show?”
“I don’t know what to believe, other than the fact that he wants you. I have no doubts that he would do whatever it takes to get you back.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Is it?” he asked. His eyes dropped to the table and he sighed. “Carly, you’ve been on the run for so long, running from who you are, that I’m not sure you even know what you want out of life.”
Wanted Dead or In Love: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 3) Page 22