AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re calling off the hit,” I say woodenly when I get into the car with Nico, driving toward the mansion.
“What? What are you talking about?” Nico asks incredulously.
“It wasn’t him. It was Vincenzo,” I say flatly. “Mia told me she overheard them talking.”
Nico stares out the window, his face drawn and pale. “Shit. That makes sense, Dante. Gallo and Enzo were on the outs when he was killed.”
“I know,” I say, my heart wrenching in my chest. If I had thought it through, just for a few days, if I had allowed myself tothinkabout it instead of just acting, I would have known that. Instead, I blamed Luca and married Mia.
Do I regret it? No. I don’t regret any second that I spent with Mia, but I regret not understanding what really happened. I regret not doing my due research and blaming Luca, and by proxy, Mia, for everything that happened.
“She knows, doesn’t she?” Nico asks quietly, and I just nod, feeling like there’s a rock stuck in my throat. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know about you,” I say quietly, “but I’m going to drink until I can’t think anymore.”
Nico looks at me for a moment and then nods slowly. “I’ll keep an eye on everything for a couple of days.”
“Thank you, Nico,” I say earnestly, and to my horror, tears burn at the backs of my eyes. I reach the mansion quickly. Nico gets out of the car and walks in with me. Alberto’s standing there, looking stressed out, and I wave my hand at him.
“It’s okay,” I assure him. “I found her.”
He doesn’t ask any questions, doesn’t scribble on his notepad, and I’m grateful. I don’t think I can explain the whole thing to him.
Nico follows me into the den where the liquor cabinet is and I pull out a bottle of aged whiskey, the one my father had given me for my birthday before he died.
I had planned on only opening it when I killed Luca, when I finally avenged him, but now...
“Is that the one your old man gave you?” Nico asks.
I nod. “No reason not to open it now,” I say, popping open the top and taking a swig directly from the bottle.
“Jesus,” Nico curses. “Pour me a glass, would you?”
I do as he says, sliding it to him across the bar where he sits across from me. I remain standing and drinking from the neck of the bottle.
“You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” Nico asks quietly, and I just look at him for a long moment.
“Yes,” I answer in a hoarse whisper.
“Fuck me,” Nico says conversationally. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
I shrug and drink another long swig. The burn in my throat makes me feel slightly better. “Doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“You don’t think she’ll forgive you?”
I scoff. “How could she? I married her just to get close enough to kill her father.”
“It turned into more than that,” Nico says and it’s not a question. “I’ve seen how you look at her. How she looks at you. You’re like her whole world, Dante.”
The words spear through me like a knife, hurting more than a weapon through my skin ever could, and I should know, with all the scars on my body.
“What are you going to do?” Nico asks.
“Nothing,” I snort. “WhatcanI do?”
“Apologize, you idiot,” Nico says disdainfully, giving me a judgmental look. “You can talk to her, tell her that you’re sorry. Tell her that you love her.”
“She’ll never believe me,” I say miserably, taking another drink and sitting down hard on the other end of the bar, a couple seats away from Nico. The alcohol is finally kicking in, but as numb as it’s making my mouth and throat, my chest still aches.
