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“So, what is the hold up, then? If these people are behind what happened to Brielle, they’re going to fucking pay.”
Sofia cracks open her water and takes a sip. “I think that there’s more to this than either of us think. These people, they aren’t exactly criminal masterminds. We found them in a drug den.”
I nod and take a deep breath, trying to stop myself from going down to the holding cells and killing them right now. If there is more going on, then it would be stupid to kill our only link to the bigger picture.
That doesn’t mean that I can’t rough them up a little, though.
Gio walks into the room and crosses his arms, Matteo trailing behind him. I look at my older brothers, sighing when Damien walks into the room. Damien looks at all of us, his mouth opening until Sofia gives him a slight shake of her head. His mouth snaps shut and he nods to me.
“How do you want to handle this, Salvatore?” Damien asks, leaning against the counter. “This is your call.”
My eyebrows shoot up my forehead as I stare at him. This isn’t what I expected from him at all. For the first time, it feels like all my brothers are seeing me.
“I want you and Sofia to question the rest of the Alvarez cartel,” I say, standing a little taller and meeting Damien’s gaze. “We already know that there are connections to Brielle there. I want to know what those connections are and why they’ve been missed all this time.”
Sofia nods and leads the way out of the room, Damien trailing behind her. Gio and Matteo exchange a look before glancing back at me.
“Matteo, I want you to stay by Brielle. Don’t let her out of your sight. I don’t want to risk losing her again.” Matteo nods and leaves the room while I turn to Gio. “I want you with me. If I get out of control down there and you think that I might kill them before we have enough information, you need to step in.”
Gio nods, though the corner of his mouth twists downward. “How much does Brielle really mean to you? She seems like a nice woman, but this is a lot of trouble for one nice woman. You don’t know what you’re risking.”
“When you find someone like her, you’ll understand,” I say, brushing by him and heading for the elevator that leads to the holding cells.
Gio scoffs and follows behind me. “You’re acting like Iwantto find someone. I’m better off alone. Have you seen Mom recently? She still isn’t over Dad’s death and it’s been years. What makes you think I would ever want to risk that?”
I smile and shake my head, thinking of Brielle. “When you find the person worth risking everything for, you won’t think like that.”
Even though I know that it would be better to let her go, it isn’t going to happen. Somewhere between when we first met and now, I started falling. Hell, I’m sure that I had already fallen long before I realized I was in a freefall, plummeting to something I’m now figuring out is inevitable.
“I never thought that you would be the kind to fall in love.” Gio shakes his head as we ride the elevator to the floor with the holding cells. “I thought that you were determined to be on your own.”
“I wanted to make something of myself. It didn’t seem like there was room for someone else in my life while I was doing that.”
“And now?”
“Now, I’m having a baby with a woman who is far too good for me.” I crack my knuckles as the elevator stops and the doors open. “All that’s left is to figure out who the hell is after her. Once that’s done, maybe I’ll be able to grow the balls to tell her how I feel.”
Gio laughs and leads the way down the hall, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket. “Alright, let’s get you some answers about what’s been going on.”
I grin as he stops in front of a door and unlocks a cell. “This is going to be fun.”
* * *
“How did your day go?”Brielle asks when I join her in the bedroom that used to be only mine later that night.
“Well, apparently there is a man and a woman who hired that group of Alvarez defectors to go after you.” I sigh and take off my shirt, tossing it to the side. “How was spending time with my family? They didn’t freak you out too much, did they?”
Brielle shakes her head, her gaze drifting slowly down my torso. “It was alright. They’re nice people but it’s weird. I never had a big family even before my parents were killed. Being there with everyone was a good time.”
For a moment, I watch her as she pulls one of my shirts out of the closet. Her clothing hits the floor, revealing the bruises and cuts on her body. My stomach lurches as I look at them, guilt tearing through me.
I should have been there to protect her and I wasn’t.
I should tell her the truth about her parents.
The information I got earlier today is good information. Sofia and Damien were able to find three other people who told the same story.
If I tell her, everything is going to change. I want to enjoy as many days with her as I can before her entire life implodes. As soon as she finds out the truth about the last several years of her life, she’s going to question everything.
