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"Yes," I say without hesitation. "The lot of you belong behind bars."
"And you, where do you belong?" Theresa cuts in.
"Not with you," I say without looking at her, yet I sense her flinch. My stomach knots and bile sloshes up my throat. Goddam it. Apparently, even my body knows when I am lying. As long as I can keep the expression off my face and make sure that she believes me...
"Why are you telling us all of this now?" Seb finally asks.
"I want to cut a deal with you," I respond.
"Of course, you do," Luca raises his gaze skywards, "this keeps getting better and better."
Seb narrows his gaze on me, "What sort of a deal?"
Luca glowers at him.
"What do you want?" Massimo snaps.
"I want you to take her back to Palermo and make sure she is safe."
Theresa stiffens, but she doesn’t say anything.
"Done," Seb nods.
"What the fuck?" Luca rounds on him, "You’re actually going to agree without asking him what he is going to do for us in return?"
"What do we get in return?" Seb raises his chin.
"I give a version of events to my bosses that will ensure you guys are cleared…largely." I glance between them, "Of course, one of you may have to take the fall for some of the events, and perhaps do a reduced jail time." I glance at Luca, who glowers at me.
"Fuck you," he snaps.
"Indeed." I blow out a breath, "Look, it’s the best I can do, and you know it could have been a lot worse than this. I hold the fate of your future in my hands." I tilt my head in Seb’s direction. "Wouldn’t you agree?"
"Of course, we could kill you and make it look like it was Freddie. Without backup, you don't hold much leverage." Seb reminds me.
"Then again, I am your brother and I am married to Theresa, who is under your protection, so..." I raise a shoulder.
He holds my gaze for a few seconds, then he nods, "I’ll need to discuss this with Michael."
Tension leaches out of my shoulders. "Of course," I jerk my chin, "I’ll be waiting outside."
I head toward the door when she calls out, "So this is it? You are going to leave me without even a goodbye."
I pause, then grit my teeth before schooling my features back into some semblance of normalcy. I glance at her over my shoulder and choke out the words, "Goodbye, Theresa." Turning, I stalk out.
46
Theresa
"So, he walked out on you?" Elsa glances at me with wide eyes. "He just left?"
"Y-e-a-p!" I nod.
Damn it, I had been dreading this conversation, which is why I had stayed away from my shop since arriving home. Hell, I hadn’t even gone home. Instead, I had stayed with Michael and Karma for the week since returning from London. They had respected my privacy and let me be. Which meant, I had done nothing but sleep late most days, and cry myself to sleep most nights. In between, Cass had taken over the job of getting my food to my room.
Initially, I had protested but she’d brooked no arguments. She’d told me I should focus on simply getting my strength back. I had been too heart-broken to protest, so I had taken advantage of the generosity of my friends. It took five days for me to venture out of my room, a week for me to face up to my life, and tell them that I was ready to face the world. I had asked to move back into Xander’s home and Michael had been more than happy for me to do that. So, I have taken up residence in the home of the man I once thought I loved, which later became the home of the man I know I still love, and neither of them are here with me.
It was clear that he was… He still is my future. There is no one else for me, except him. If only he would realize that. I finally made it to work today, and as expected, Elsa is full of questions. It doesn’t seem half as agonizing as I’d anticipated to talk to her about what happened. In fact, it’s almost a relief to be able to finally share the events with a friend.
