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I hoped that now I would be able to manage the anger that had been racing though my body and burning me alive since the night I'd found out what he'd done to Jessica.
My need for revenge had come second to the need of keeping Jessica’s secret safe from the rest of the Società. The Società was an incestuous tangle of relationships between the different families. If my father had come to an obviously violent end, there would be no way to hide that fact—not from the household staff, the soldiers guarding the property, or the doctor who worked for us.
And then we ran the risk that eventually people would find out the reason why I had done it. And I wouldn’t risk Jessica’s rape being found out and gossiped about. I wouldn’t do that to Jess—she meant too much to me.
JESSICA
I let Gabriel lead me to the sitting room and collapsed into an armchair. My hands were trembling, and my breaths were coming too quickly.
“I-I’m okay,” I stammered.
“You will be. Rafael is ending his life right now. After today, Emanuel Santino will never be able to hurt you again.”
That news made a numbness spread over me. I didn’t know if I should feel elated or sad that another person’s life was ending as we spoke. I couldn’t really process it all right at this moment. “You should get back to your mother…you don’t need to stay with me.”
“I’m staying. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“No, really. I know you don’t like me—you don’t have to stay here with me, I’ll be fine.”
Gabriel frowned at me. “Why do you think I don’t like you?”
The shock coursing through my body made me less diplomatic than usual. “I know I probably remind you…a little of my sister. And even if I don’t, I was the reason you got shot just before my wedding.”
“You’re not responsible for what happened that day.”
“The only reason Juliana was here was to see me. If she hadn’t come to see me, you wouldn’t have been shot.”
“I don’t blame you. It was just a gunshot wound—I’ve had worse,” he responded.
“I’m still sorry.”
He paused. “I know I’ve been a little short with you at times. You’re right, having you around does remind me—not of Juliana herself, but of our failure to protect her.” He sighed. “It’s just frustrating that we haven’t been able to help her—it makes me so angry.”
I looked at Gabriel and saw the pain on his face. “You really like her, huh?” I said softly.
“I know in our world we’re not supposed to fall in love with people, but I wish there was more I could do to help her. She doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her. She doesn’t deserve any of it.”
I nodded. Because he was right—Juliana didn’t deserve what had happened to her, but there was nothing we could do to help her.
“I’ve also been angry that we weren’t able to protect you, Jessica.”
“Me?” I blurted out.
“You’ve been ours to protect since you signed the contract. That was when you became a Santino. We should have done more to look after you. We failed you. Now that I am Capo, I will make sure that no one harms you ever again.”
He was right—he was the new Capo now.
“I told Juliana before her wedding that I would always be here for her if she ever needed anything. The same goes for you. You are my sister-in-law now—you are my family.”
I was stunned at his words, both about me and about Juliana. Perhaps he had more humanity in him than I’d given him credit for.
CHAPTER 14
RAFAEL
After informing my mother that my father was dead, I took Jessica home.
Gabriel stayed behind to deal with the aftermath. We had been flawless in our execution—no one would ever find out that our father’s death was deliberate.
