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“Oh, honey,” she whispers, gently tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’d do anything for my boys, and that now extends to you and Calli.”
Another sob erupts.
“I need him,” I cry, falling into her arms. “I need him.”
“I know, honey.” Her arms tighten around me. “You’re not the only one.”
Her grey eyes hold mine, letting me see her own pain.
My lips part to say something, but she beats me to it.
“Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
With me still tucked tightly into her side, she guides me back into the bedroom. One of the bedside lights is on, casting a warm glow around the room. Not that I pay any attention to my surroundings. I’m too numb for that.
Gianna sits on the edge of the bed beside me and waits while I attempt to get comfortable.
Folded on the end of the bed is a black shirt. Immediately, I reach for it, holding it as tight as I would if it were him. Emotion burns up the back of my throat once more.
“Is this…”
“It’s Alex’s. He still had a few things in his room here. I hope that’s okay.”
Lifting the fabric, I bring it to my nose and inhale deeply.
It might not be strong, but it’s there. His scent washes through me, settling just a tiny part of me.
“They’re going to be okay, aren’t they?” I plead.
“Evie, my boys are strong. Stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.” She pauses, looking off into the distance as she reminisces.
“When I first met Stefanos, I was blown away,” she says absently as if she’s not aware the words are even spilling from her lips. “He was every girl’s dream. The dangerous bad boy. But unlike everyone saw on the outside, there were cracks. It took a long time for me to dig them out, but I did. He made mistakes and most importantly, he disappointed his father. He was their only son, and the pressure on him was immense. His father wanted him to be perfect. But Stefanos, he’s… normal. He has emotions and flaws and all the things his father tried to eradicate from him.’
“Eradicate?”
“It took me a lot of years to learn the truth about the darkness in his life, Evie. Too many years.” Sadness darkens her eyes before she hangs her head.
“But my boys… from the day they were born, they were so strong, so fierce. Even Daemon, who had to fight hard in those early months. I don’t know if it’s because there’s two of them, that knowing they always had someone covering their back meant that they didn’t have any fear, but Stefanos saw that. He knew how incredible they were going to be, and he tried to harness it to help mould their futures.”
I nod, although really, I don’t have any understanding of what she’s trying to say. I’ve no idea what Alex’s childhood was like really. He’s mentioned training and some horrible grandfather, but he’s kept most of it brief.
“If I knew the truth of it all, I’d have stopped it. I’d have done anything to have stopped it. But I was kept in the dark about the true ugliness that was happening to my own boys.
“I should have seen it. I did to a point, but I never could have imagined the true horror of the situation.”
Lifting her hand, she wipes a tear from her cheek.
“I swear to you, Evie. The day I found out what was really happening, I put an end to it. I just wish I could have done it sooner.”
“What?”
She shakes her head.
“Stefanos was trained by his father from a very young age. And while he excelled in a lot of the skills he’d need for the future, he was never good enough for his father.”
“Trained?” I ask. “Like taught how to fire a gun and—”
“Yes, but that was only the start of it. Trained is probably the wrong word. Manipulated, corrupted, abused. Any of those would be more adequate. He wanted his boy to be the best, to rise up through the ranks and end up with a senior position in the family. And his upbringing taught him how to raise a fearless soldier, so that’s what he did.”
