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"Thank you."
"Can we talk for a moment while Alessandro's asleep?"
"Of course."
"I’m not sure how much you know about the situation Alessandro was in when it came to you. And I don't know what your plans are from here, but I really think that you should give him a chance."
"Things have been complicated. I know Alessandro cares about me, but the way things happened, especially when he wouldn't let me leave...what if things don't work out? How can I be with someone who could possibly do that again?"
Teo let out a dry chuckle and blew out a heavy breath before perching on the edge of my bed. "Do you remember what Alessandro told you might happen after you overheard our conversation?"
I nodded. “How could I forget? He said that he might have to kill me. He seemed angrier at the thought that he might have to do that then at the fact that I had heard anything at all.”
“But when you came back with him, I told you that you would be allowed to return home if you chose not to work for me.”
I nodded again. “I remember.”
“Well, I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” I looked at him curiously, studying his solemn expression. “I lied to you then, but I’m asking you to hear me out and let me explain. There is no excuse for what I did. However, I’m hoping that if you'll hear me out, that you will at least have some understanding of where I was coming from.”
I held my breath and waited for him to explain. “The truth is that Alessandro was right from the beginning. The options were to either get you to willingly work for my family or for you to be killed. I ordered Alessandro not to tell you the truth about those options.” The world felt like it was opening up to swallow me whole.
“Alessandro didn't like my terms and tried to convince me to change my mind.” Teo sighed. “I can be a stubborn man. And Alex’s only hope was to convince you to stay, because he didn't want to see you killed.”
“Wow,” I breathed out the word, practically speechless.
“What I would like for you to understand is that while I was wrong, I had my reasons. My family is the most important thing in the world to me. You can't even begin to understand what the last few months have been like for us. Mia coming back into my life, my brother's death, the struggles that Mia and I had in trying to finally be together... Mia was kidnapped, tortured...” Teo sliced his fingers through his hair, clearly distraught from the memories of everything that had happened. He met my gaze with sincere filled eyes. “I can't even begin to describe to you the horrors that we've been through.”
“I'm so sorry.” My voice was barely a whisper at the thought of the awful things he described. While I had been kidnapped by Alessandro, my treatment had been kind, all things considered.
“When Alessandro sent you away with your father, we had a long talk. He is a very good underboss and friend, not because he tells me what I want to hear and does what I tell him to do, but because he tells me when I'm wrong. That is a rare thing to find as the head of the family. Most people are afraid to speak up. Alessandro made me see that I was wrong. I've been so focused on protecting my wife and my unborn child that I pushed aside some of the key principles of our family, that we don't harm innocents.
“I was wrong, and I would like to ask for your forgiveness.”
I thought about all that happened and the things that Teo had admitted to me, everything that he and his family had gone through, and I couldn't blame him for being overprotective and trying to do everything he could to keep them safe. Alessandro might not be my family, but I had literally jumped in front of a bullet for him.
I smiled gently at Teo. “I forgive you.”
He blinked and looked surprised. “That fast? That easily?”
I nodded. “You were trying to protect your family. You saw me as a threat to them. How could I fault you for doing what you thought you needed to do?”
Teo surprised me by taking my hand and giving it a light squeeze. “Thank you. You are a very special woman, indeed. It’s no wonder Alessandro has fallen for you.”
A thought crossed my mind and I paused, looking at Teo as the puzzle pieces fell into place, and I began to see the full picture. “So, when Alessandro was taking me to the tarmac so that I could go home...”
Teo’s face fell. "You were never supposed to make it to the jet. I had offered to let someone else do what needed to be done but Alessandro insisted that he had to be the one with you in the end. Part way through, he decided that he couldn't do it. He tried to follow orders the way an underboss is supposed to do but he loved you too much. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he convinced me that keeping you, even against your will, was a better fate than death.”
“Wow. I sat there silently for a few minutes just letting it all sink in. How close I had been to death. If Alessandro hadn't felt the way he did, if he hadn't had the courage to stand up to Teo and to not just follow orders.
Teo squeezed my hand again and gave me a weak smile. “I'm going to let you have some time to process all this, but I do hope that you will consider giving Alessandro another chance. He plans on taking you back home if that's what you want once you're well enough. And he didn't ask me to speak to you about this, but I felt that you deserve to know the full truth before you made a decision.”
“Thank you for being honest with me and for the apology.” I gave him a weak smile before he left the room.
Alessandro slept for another half hour, and I sat in complete silence just staring off into the white wall of the hospital room, thinking about everything that Teo told me and all the information that continued to fall into place. I had no idea what Alessandro had been going through during my time with him, and I couldn’t imagine what all it could have cost him to go against Teo when he sent me and my father away. He’d sacrificed himself for my freedom.
"Hey, you're awake," Alessandro said, suddenly pulling me from my deep thoughts.
