Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 132498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
The thing about Victoria is that she never complained.
Never doubted me.
Always knew I’d protect her.
She pulls back just far enough to look at me. Her eyes shine, already filling with unshed tears. “You found him?”
I nod once.
Her hands slide to my arms, gripping like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she loosens them. “I knew this day would come.”
“So did I.”
Victoria’s shoulders begin to tremble.
I pull her back into my grasp and hold her tight.
“It’s almost over,” I whisper. “I won’t let this baby be born in secret.”
Her hand drifts unconsciously to her stomach. Soft footsteps interrupt us.
“Why is Mommy crying?”
I look up and see my son standing in the doorway. His dark brown hair is wild with curls, and he’s holding a bike helmet in his little hand.
I can’t help but laugh, though. Only my kid would want to go for a bike ride but has no shoes on and is missing one sock.
Victoria swipes at her cheeks quickly, forcing a smile that could fool no one but him.
“She’s just happy,” I say, dropping my voice. “You know Mommy. She has big feelings.”
He considers this. “Is it the baby?”
I move away from Victoria and kneel in front of him. “No, buddy. The baby’s fine.”
He brightens instantly. Crisis averted. “Can we ride bikes?”
I glance up at Victoria, and she nods.
“Go grab your bike,” I tell him. “I’ll meet you outside in two minutes.”
He bolts away, and I stand slowly.
Victoria stands too. “You’re going tonight?”
“Yes.”
Her jaw tightens. “You don’t have to do it alone.”
“I do.”
She shakes her head, stepping closer. “Tell Matteo.”
I hesitate. She sees it. Always does.
“You need him,” she presses, voice low but unyielding. Now that she’s decided I need to involve him, nothing I can say will change her mind. “No more secrets. Not now.”
“This ends if I move clean,” I argue, though my heart isn’t in it. “If I bring him in and something goes wrong—”
“Then at least you won’t be carrying it alone,” she says softly. “You’ve paid enough in blood.”
I close my eyes.
I think of Rafe.
I think of nights soaked in guilt.
And then I think of my empire built on lies.
I think of my son riding his bike outside, unaware of how close he came to not existing at all.
I nod.
“Okay.”
She exhales like she’s been holding that breath for years.
Matteo is exactly the same and completely different all at once.
Same grin. Same smart mouth. Same uncanny ability to read a room, yet everything is different in his life.
He’s typing on his phone when I walk in.
Probably a dumb joke to the group chat.
Matteo pretends he’s too good for our juvenile antics, but he’s always the first to respond.
His face drops when he sees my expression.
“Lorenzo,” he says carefully. “I wasn’t…I wasn’t expecting you. You good? Because you kind of look like you murdered someone, or like you’re about to tell me you got some girl pregnant.”
“Both,” I reply.
His brow furrows. “The fuck?”
I take a deep breath, then exhale. “I need you to listen.”
He gestures to the chair. “Sit. Now.”
I don’t sit.
Then I tell him everything.
Not clean. Not pretty.
I tell him about the marriage. About the fear. About his father and the bad call I made that changed everything.
Then I tell him about Grant.
About the hit.
About the network.
I tell him about Rafe.
Matteo doesn’t interrupt.
When I finish, the silence stretches heavy with tension.
“So,” he finally says, voice measured. “Let me get this straight.”
Here it comes.
“There was a hit put on the woman you love,” he continues, leaning back, eyes sharp, “and at no point did you think to come to me?”
“Your father was in charge,” I say quietly. “He notoriously killed his brother for trafficking. You think he would’ve believed me if I said the marriage was consensual?”
Matteo winces. “Fair. But that maybe should’ve been your first clue not to force a woman to marry you.”
“Really?” I raise a brow. “And how exactly did you get your wife to marry you?”
Matteo snorts. “I didn’t force my wife.”
“You had a marriage of convenience.”
“Tomato, tomah-to.”
I almost laugh.
Almost.
I open my mouth to speak, but Matteo holds up a finger.
“But what about after? What about after my father died, and I was in charge?”
“I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk it getting out.”
He nods slowly. “Okay. I understand.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry.” I don’t say what I’m sorry for, but he understands, and that’s all that matters.
For a moment, Matteo just stares at me. Then his brows furrow together. “You really killed forty-one assassins?”
“Yes.”
Matteo nods his head. “It all makes sense now.”
“What?”
“Why you’re a lunatic. I always wondered.”
“You wondered why I was a lunatic?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Yeah,” He shrugs. “We all did, but now knowing what you had to deal with…yeah. I get it. But now that I know…We finish this,” Matteo says. “Then we tell everyone.”
“Okay.”
He studies me for another long moment. “Anything else you’re not telling me?”