Turned out he wasn’t a complete idiot.
“But what you have to remember is what will happen to all of you if you kill a Gabbiano,” he added. “The other Sicilians back home will bring a full-fledged war to your front door. Every Rossetti, including Roxanna here, will all be mercilessly gunned down. You sure you want that?”
I narrowed my eyes, watching his expression falter. I saw the worry there.
He was bluffing.
Something told me he doubted whether or not the other Sicilians would avenge any Gabbiano deaths. Besides, even if they did, he would already be dead by then. It wouldn’t matter to him if his death was avenged.
It wouldn’t help him now.
“You know as well as I do there are extenuating circumstances when a man goes after another man’s woman,” I reminded him. “That’s a principle that goes all the way back to the first families. I think even the Sicilians will respect the merit of me killing the man who threatened my girl and held a gun to her head. They tend to look the other way when there’s proper justification.”
His eyes widened because he knew I was right.
I smirked. “There’s no way out. But if you let her go right now, I’ll let you walk away. Free and clear. As long as you never show your face in this city again.”
Time was suspended as we stared each other down, neither one dropping his weapon. And the longer his barrel kept digging into Roxy’s head, the more impatient I became.
Finally, he slowly pulled his gun away, centimeter by centimeter.
I could tell she was waiting on tenterhooks to be released from his grip. His arm lowered further and further from her neck, acting like he was going to drop it altogether. To prove that I was willing to let him walk away, I matched his movements and lowered my own gun at the same time.
I just needed his away from Roxy so I could breathe again.
And honestly, I was terrified of taking that shot, just in case he moved at the last second and I hit Roxy instead.
She saw it coming before I did.
It all happened in about a split-second, and I couldn’t say that I would have reacted in time if it wasn’t for her.
Dominic suddenly thrust his arm out and pointed his gun in my direction. His wide-eyed gaze turned into a perverse sneer as his finger squeezed to pull the trigger.
But before he could get a shot off, Roxy raised the hand that still had her mother’s rosary wrapped around her wrist and stabbed Dominic’s gun hand with the pointed edge of the silver crucifix.
The gun fell from his hand as he let out a harsh cry of pain and dropped to his knees. The crucifix was stuck in his hand pretty deep. The beads that dangled from it were already getting stained with his blood.
“Fuck!” he spat. “You bitch!”
I ran for them as Roxy flew down the steps toward me. I caught her just as she slipped in a puddle of water from all of our soaked clothing. I never moved my gaze from Dominic as she buried her face in my neck and I kicked his gun away.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, her wet hair cool against my chin. “No. I’m okay.”
Those words saved the asshole’s life.
If she had said otherwise, I wasn’t sure I would have been so willing to grant mercy. Even now, I was struggling with it. The devil’s nephew knelt at the altar of the church where Roxy’s mother and brother were buried, clutching his bleeding hand that had a shiny silver crucifix sticking out of it.
He belonged in Hell, and I wanted to send him there.
But the next thing I knew, Roxy jerked out of my arms, swiped Dominic’s gun off the floor—
And pointed it directly at him.
Oh, shit.
“Careful, Rox…” I said gently as I slowly came up behind her. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret here.”
Her laughter was broken and bitter. “You really think I’ll regret this? To see one less Gabbiano scum walking the earth?” Smiling eerily at Dominic, she said, “I’m going to be a doctor, you know. I doubt your uncle ever told you that. But I’m very familiar with human anatomy.” She aimed the barrel at his leg. “And I know exactly where to shoot to hit your femoral artery. You’ll bleed out in minutes. Quick but painful.”
That’s when I knew she could and would kill him if I let her.
I understood that feeling all too well. When you knew that someone evil needed to die in order to bring the world back into balance. When you just knew the prison system was too good for a person. That the only way society would ever truly be safe from that individual was if they were dead.
Dominic’s eyes were filled with pain and a whole lot of hate as he glared Roxy down. He didn’t even seem afraid of her threats. The arrogant bastard was still taunting her with his eyes. But when she cocked back the hammer, he swallowed nervously.
“Not like this, baby.”
“He was prepared to kill you and leave you rotting in a pool of your own blood,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why shouldn’t I return the favor?”
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Because you’re not a murderer like him.”
Sure, I’d wanted to do the exact same thing just moments ago. I’d been so close. I didn’t care what stained my soul and what didn’t at this point. I’d never committed violence against anyone who hadn’t first attacked me or who hadn’t just truly deserved it. But taking someone’s life did leave a mark on you, with permanent ink. You were never able to escape it.
And I didn’t want that for her.
“It’s not murder if it’s justified,” she whispered. The hand that held the gun began to shake. “His uncle killed my mother and brother. Ruthlessly. Santi didn’t care what he’d stolen from us.” She jabbed the gun in Dominic’s direction. “He’s just like him. Whose family will they go after next? Their blood is evil, Ace. They deserve to die. He deserves to die.”
“And they deserve justice, Rox,” I said imploringly. “Santi will pay for what he did to your mom and Filip. Dominic will pay for what he’s done to us. But no one can pay for those crimes if they’re dead. They need to be alive if your mom and brother are going to get their justice.”
“I hate them so much,” she whispered, her lower lip quivering.
I reached forward and laid my hand on her forearm. “I know, baby. But if you do this, you’ll never be able to forget it. He’ll always be in the back of your mind. Don’t give him that. Once he’s behind bars, you never have to think about him again. Don’t let him steal anything else from you. Just walk away and let it be over.”
Her breaths were shallow. Tears began to fall.
But when I put gentle pressure on her arm, she gave in and lowered the gun.
I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks.
She turned in my arms as I removed the gun from her grasp. Wracking sobs shook her entire body, while I stood there squeezing her tightly, letting her get it all out. The sounds broke my heart, but I knew they were helping heal hers.
She needed to cry for them.
All these years, she and Vinnie had needed answers. Now, they had them. They could finally move on.
And I would make sure she did. Roxy would have her happiness.
Her tears eventually quieted, her emotions purged. I glanced up at Dominic as she began to pull away from my chest—
To see him smirking at us.
I gnashed my teeth. “Give me one second.”
I let her go and approached the altar where Dominic remained on his knees, clutching his hand and grimacing from the pain.
“This is for making her even consider doing that.”
My fist connected with his jaw.
His head snapped to the side as blood spewed from his mouth. The action jarred him, sending him wobbling, but he remained upright.
Then I leaned down to say in a voice that only he could hear, “I told you she would never belong to you. This is for thinking she ever could in the first place.”
My fist knocked h
im out that time, sending him sprawling onto his back.
I stood over his prone body and spat on his unconscious form. “And that’s for having the fucking nerve to touch what’s mine.”
Roxy had an amused grin when I turned back to her. “Feel better?”
I shrugged. “A little.”
I pulled out my phone and hit the number six on my speed dial.
“Who are you calling?”
“Someone who can help us get that justice.”
Bryce probably wouldn’t be thrilled that we’d sort of had a shootout of our own before calling him, but at least he was getting a phone call at all. And yes, with the bodies out back, he’d have a little bit of a mess to clean up.
But hey, he’d asked for it.
“Tell me you didn’t already go vigilante on me,” he said in lieu of a greeting.
I flinched. “Well…”
He sighed. “Goddammit. Some of the bad guys better still be alive or I swear, I’m arresting every one of your asses.”
I glanced back at the unconscious man on the altar. “Unfortunately, they are.”
Actually, we should probably go check to make sure Vinnie hasn’t killed Santi yet.
But deep down, I didn’t give much of a shit if the Gabbianos were alive or not.
As long as Roxy was alive and safe and never leaving my side again.
I was at the airport three days later.
After all, I still had to leave for med school. That was something I couldn’t exactly reschedule. I had a meeting with the Dean and my advisor the next day that I simply couldn’t miss. So, despite how desperately I wanted to stay in the city with Ace, I had to go.
“I still think this is a mistake,” Gia grumbled as we walked toward security. “I think you should have at least told him. He’s going to lose his mind when he finds out, you know.”
“Which is why you’re not going to tell him until after I’m already up in Connecticut. Right?”
She seemed too preoccupied with her phone to answer me. When she raised her head, she glanced around the terminal anxiously, biting her lip and tapping her foot. Was she looking for someone?
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Right, Gia?”
Her head snapped back to me. “Yes, fine. Whatever. I just thought you’d forgiven him.”
Pain shot through my heart. She actually wanted me and Ace to end up together.
“I have,” I assured her. “This is just something I have to do.”
Despite the tumultuous events of the summer, I still had a future to get back to. I couldn’t have called off medical school just because I’d been targeted by the Sicilian mafia. I’m sure the Dean hears that excuse all the time. As much as I wanted nothing more than to permanently move in with Ace in his brownstone, I had a career to start—or at least, the education for that career.
She sighed. “And I still think it’s ridiculous. But you have to do what you have to do. I get it. Even if I don’t like it.”
I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Don’t forget to call me. I’ve got tons of new lyrics that need music.”
I chuckled. “You got it.”
We broke apart and I got in line for security.
All I could do while I waited for my turn was mull over my decision to leave. I was certain of it, I knew that, but the rush of excitement hadn’t quite hit me, which allowed for doubt to creep in. The confidence I’d felt when I first made this choice was beginning to wane.
Don’t question yourself now. You’re doing the right thing.
That became my mantra as I took off my shoes and walked through the X-ray machine. It was my mantra when I glanced back and waved goodbye to Gia. It was my mantra as I walked to my gate, and it was absolutely my mantra as I flew through the air back to Connecticut.
Once again, I was leaving my heart in Brooklyn.
Only this time, I had every intention of coming back for it.
Of all the days for one of my clients to have a power outage, causing their security system to go haywire, today was not the most convenient of days for me.
Roxy had been acting weird ever since the other night at the church. She said everything was fine, but I wasn’t convinced that being held at gunpoint and almost killing someone wasn’t having a significant impact on her. That was more than understandable.
The problem was, I couldn’t understand anything if she refused to talk to me.
I had naïvely assumed that once our enemies were no longer a threat to us, mine and Roxy’s path would magically be paved smooth. No more speed bumps or roadblocks. No more fear, no more worry. Santi and Dominic were behind bars and most likely following Raphael to trial. Even the Niners had declared a ceasefire against the families. Apparently, their new leader had never ordered that shootout at the meat processing plant. That had been carried out by a group of rogue members who’d been after the money Stefano owed them.
Nothing should have been stopping Roxy and I from starting our lives together.
But she didn’t seem to be on the same page.
I’d told myself to give her time. In case she was having difficulty coming to terms with everything, I was going to give her the space she needed to deal with it. I wouldn’t push. Not to mention, she’d been worried about Vinnie’s injuries, which thankfully, had been minor. She’d been spending more time with him at their house the last few days. I think more than anything else, she’d just needed to reassure herself he was going to be all right. Almost losing him had definitely shaken her.
She was dealing with a lot.
So, why isn’t she confiding in me?
We should have been riding off into the sunset together, or however the hell all those romantic movies end. Our happily ever after was supposed to start right away, wasn’t it? Why did it feel stalled?
Four hours after starting the task of re-booting my client’s system, I packed away all my gear and checked my phone. I always put it on silent while I was working.
I had five missed calls and four texts, all from Gia.
Shit.
Of course, my first thought was that something had happened to Roxy.
I quickly packed everything up and headed for my car while listening to her first voicemail.
I was so floored by her words, I almost walked straight into traffic.
“…Answer your phone, Ace! Roxy’s getting on a plane for Connecticut today. Her flight leaves at… Get to the airport right now… You have to stop her…”
What the fuck!
I sprinted to my car and threw all my expensive equipment onto the front seat. I drove recklessly all the way to the airport, weaving in and out of traffic and breaking at least ten different laws. But the cops could chase me down with tasers and guns all they wanted—nothing was stopping me from getting to Roxy.
Clearly, more was going on inside her head than I’d thought. Why the hell would she leave? What had I done?
You schemed with her father behind her back.
I thought I’d made amends for that. Did she not believe how sorry I was? Did she think I was lying when I’d vowed to never do anything so asinine ever again? She has to believe me! I couldn’t lose her over such a stupid, idiotic mistake. She had to let me fix it.
I could not let her get on that plane.
Last time she left for Connecticut, she was gone for five years.
This time, everything was different.
I wouldn’t make it five years—hell, five days—without her now that I’d had her. Now that I’d felt what it was to touch her and be touched by her. Now that I’d known what it was to have her in my home, feel her next to me in my bed, smell her shampoo on my pillows, hear her playing the piano from the dining room. Now that I’d heard her laughter just before falling asleep and seen her smile first thing in the morning.
And that was only a fraction of it.
She made me laugh, too, and she damn sure made me smile. I loved
seeing the way her brain worked, listening to the way she talked about the reasons why she wanted to become a doctor. I loved the way her forehead scrunched in concentration when she was learning something new, especially when it involved sex. She was a quick learner, not to mention an eager one, which was one of her sexiest qualities, as far as I was concerned.
She was the most interesting, clever, kind-hearted, courageous, selfless, gorgeous woman I’d ever known.
There was no way I was giving any of that up.
By the time I was racing through the crowded terminal doors, I suspected I was having a mild cardiac event. My heart was beating out of control, my forehead was dotted with sweat, and every one of my limbs was shaking like a leaf.
I knew I was garnering attention as I ran to the security lines, but I paid no attention to the gawkers.
“Sir, do you have a ticket?” a TSA employee asked, stopping me with his hand on my chest.
I didn’t have time for this shit.
“No, I just have to find someone. I’m not actually getting on a plane. I’ll come right back through.”
The dude shook his head, crossing his arms. “You cannot come through security without a boarding pass, sir.”
I felt my temper rising. I was tempted to just push past him and anyone else who got in my way, but I knew I couldn’t afford to get detained by TSA. I needed to find my girl and stop her before it was too late.
I’d just have to go buy a goddamn plane ticket.
“Ace!”
The voice rang out through the terminal just before I reached the nearest ticket counter. I spun around to see Gia hurrying toward me.
“Where is she?” I barked.
Her expression told me everything I needed to know.
And everything I didn’t want to.
“Her plane just took off.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry. I tried, but I couldn’t stop her.”
My entire world shattered into a million little pieces.
She left me. The woman I loved had just left me.
Without a word.
Roxy was gone.
I lost her.
A week later, I was woken up by piano music.
Scars and Sins (Brooklyn Brothers Book 2) Page 25