AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grace is about to reply, but her phone buzzes, interrupting her. She pulls it out and checks the screen. The sight of her pink cheeks and sparkling eyes makes me smile. I know who it is before she even says his name. “It’s Connor. His plane lands in a couple of hours. I’m planning to surprise him with his favorite dinner at home.”
When I woke up, Grace was there by my bedside. It seems Gabriella called her following the incident, and since then, she’s only gone home to sleep and shower. But now Connor’s returning after being in Ireland for the past few days, meeting with our uncle James.
Because our father is dead.
It still doesn’t feel real. For ten long years, that man controlled my life. It may have been from a distance, but his presence was always there like a constant noose tightening around my neck. When something that powerful, that large disappears…the relief isn’t sudden. It comes in stages, moments when you still feel like they’re there, ready to punish and control you, and when they don’t…that’s when the relief comes. That’s when you start to believe they’re gone. That’s when you know you’re free.
The memory of his death is a blur and something I’m in no hurry to remember. Connor explained that after Patrick shot Igor, which set the church on fire, he turned his gun on me. That’s when Connor arrived, and he didn’t hesitate to save my life.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m thankful he did, but Connor is…no, was, Dad’s right-hand man. Killing him was an act of betrayal, a treachery of the worst kind.
Our uncle James had every right to call for Connor’s death, but…he didn’t. Instead, Connor received our uncle’s support as Miami’s next Irish mob boss. It seems Mom’s and Aiden’s death broke Dad more than we realized, and he slipped further into a state of madness that blinded him from protecting and properly running the business. Connor saw it, the men saw it, even his brother saw it from across the ocean. It wasn’t much of a stretch for Connor to take control. The men already respected him, so it was an easy transition.
When I spoke with my uncle yesterday, he apologized profusely for my father’s actions. He told me about everything he did to protect me from my dad’s poisonous reach growing up. How it wasn’t until he spoke to Evie that he learned Dad lied to him about my disappearance and that I wasn’t on some extended vacation like he was told.
I always knew Dad and his brother weren’t close. That he agreed to take me in after Mom’s death out of respect for her but not his brother. Needless to say, there was no love lost between the two brothers before the shooting occurred. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Connor told him what happened at the church. Had Dad survived that night, I doubt he would have lived for long.
Connor and I spoke at length before he left, too. Turns out, he was the one who sent Michael the anonymous email instructing him to save me. When he heard a rumor from the men that Michael was going crazy over a mysterious woman he met in January, a woman he’d been unable to find since, he remembered picking me up outside of Sinners and put it all together. I understand now why his hands were tied that night in Italy. It was impossible for him to save me at that moment without endangering himself, me, and Grace. So he did the next best thing and sentMichael the anonymous email about the auction’s location.
I owe Connor more than I can ever imagine, and for that, I forgave him for his part in Italy. But despite having that, Connor still asked how he could make it up to me, and I simply said to love my sister with everything he had for the rest of their lives.
Speaking of forgiveness, I tried apologizing to Grace, but she refused to hear a single word. She admitted that she was hurt at first, but then she revealed how she had secretly contacted Evie a few months after I disappeared. My best friend never told me Grace did, and believe me, I gave Evie an earful when I finally got the chance to talk to her. But she helped give my sister peace of mind, so I couldn’t stay mad at her for too long.
And speaking of Evie, after hearing what happened, she hasn’t left either. A certain six-foot-four reincarnated Viking god developed quite the crush on my hot British friend, and from what I’ve seen, Evie feels the same, but she won’t admit it. Not anytime soon. She likes to be chased, and Enzo is more than happy to oblige, even if it means doing so in a wheelchair while he recovers from his wounds.
Grace’s phone buzzes again, and this time, her face goes as red as a tomato. It doesn’t take a genius to know that this newlywed couple is still enjoying the honeymoon phase.
Jealousy rears its ugly green head, and I do my best to shove the greedy bitch back down because it’s unwanted and unnecessary. Of course, I’m happy for my sister, but…I miss Michael.
I miss hearing his voice. I miss the way he holds me close, craving that physical connection. Whether it's a warm touch on my knee or a tender hand caressing through my hair. I miss the comforting scent of sandalwood and warmth that used to surround him, instead of this sterile hospital smell that now lingers on him. I miss the intensity of his eyes, like twin suns ablaze, setting my heart on fire with a burning passion.
He should be awake by now, and I’m tired of hearing the dozens of reasons he isn’t.
The door opens, and Michael’s nurses walk in, wheeling his bed behind them. My eyes go immediately to his prone figure, my hope further crushed when I find him still lying unconscious in bed.
Gabriella arrives as they’re connecting Michael back up to his dozens of machines. She’s typing away on her phone, smiling as she enters the room. I hear the familiar whooshing sound of a text being sent before she sees us. She looks almost embarrassed like she’s been caught red-handed.
She clears her throat and asks, “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Better than yesterday.” It’s the truth.
With Grace’s help, I climb to my feet and settle on the space beside Michael. I brush strands of hair from his forehead before kissing the area, savoring the warmth of life on his skin. I take his big hand between mine and ask the doctor, “Any updates?”
“Results are better than last time. There’s more brain activity. The swelling has all but subsided,and the—”
“So no big change, then?” I cut in with a heavy sigh.
Gabriella frowns at me. “That’s not what he said.”
“I can read between the lines.”
“Well, you need to be listening instead of reading, then,” Gabriella flings back, narrowing her eyes to go along with her frown. Behind me, Grace snickers, and I resist tossing her a look over my shoulder. Gabriella and Grace know each other from family functions but were never really that close. Until now, it seems. The pair of harpies enjoy teaming up to torment me. “Sometimes pain medication can act as a suppressant. We’ve reduced those along with the others keeping him under. Once the drugs leave his system, we’ll know more.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Grace says as his team leaves us alone in the room with Michael’s sleeping form.
I lower my gaze to our hands and squeeze his gently, willing him to squeeze back, but he doesn’t. A wave of guilt rushes over me. I’m letting my anger and bitterness and pain get to me…again. “I’m sorry, Gabriella. I didn’t mean to be rude. I know you’re just trying to be helpful.”
“It’s okay. The stress is getting to all of us. If my stupid big brother would just wake up, it would do all of us a world of good.” She gingerly nudges his sock-covered foot poking out from under the blanket.
