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I stare at my cell and wonder if I should call Dario or not. I miss talking with him. As much as he annoyed me, he also made me laugh a lot.
My fingers move over the screen. On the search engine, I type in his name. I’m not sure why I’m doing this. Maybe I just need to see a picture of him. If I see him, maybe I’ll get a sense of clarity.
My heart stutters and tears fall down my face as I see him with the woman he brought to Teagan’s wedding as his plus one. The two of them are coming out of a restaurant, and they look cozy and perfect together. I look at the timestamp and see it was taken last night.
My tears fall thick and fast. God, I was so stupid. I should have known Dario wasn’t who he said he was. There’s no way he was just focusing on me.
This has cemented my decision.
I’m going to Missouri and working for Kelvin.
SEVENTEEN
DARIO
TWO WEEKS LATER
“She’s doing better,” Elio tells me. “It’s not an easy fix, and it’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s going to happen.”
I breathe deeply. The guilt is still eating away at me. “Can I speak with her?” I need to apologize. I’ve kept my distance the past few weeks, letting her heal, as I didn’t want to be a stark reminder of what happened.
He nods tersely at me, and I know he’s worried I’ll say something to make her upset. He’s still pissed that I suggested putting Teagan in an in-care facility that would help with her trauma. I didn’t want to tell him that Portia had thought it would be best. I didn’t want Elio losing his mind on Portia, not while Teagan was recovering. Hell not fucking ever.
The fucking bastards who put the hit out on her broke into the house to try to finish the job they started. Teagan managed to hide and get help, and those fuckers are gone, but being hidden in the closet while the men were in the house sent her into a panic attack, thinking she was in the basement of the clubhouse again.
I want to apologize, but I don’t want her to relapse with the progress that she’s made in her recovery.
I move toward the sitting room. Teagan’s alone right now. Her doctor not long left, and usually when she does, Teagan goes to bed as the sessions with Dr. Lena take it out of her. The past few weeks, I’ve watched carefully as she’s started to recover from what happened. I hate that she had to hit rock bottom for Elio to realize what he felt for her, but I’m glad she has him to lean on when she’s not strong.
“Hi,” she says gently as I enter the room.
“Hey. Do you have a moment?”
Her eyes widen slightly, but she recovers quickly, reaching for the remote control and switching the TV off. “Sure. Are you okay?”
Even with what she’s going through, she still has a soft heart. I nod. “I am. I wanted to speak with you.”
She bites her lip, then grabs one of the decorative pillows from the sofa and clutches it to her chest. I hate that I’m making her uneasy. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I say instantly. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
She blinks, almost as though she doesn’t understand why I’m apologizing.
“It was me who found out you’re Bear’s daughter. It was me who paid the homeless guys to give me your whereabouts, and it was me who told Elio about you. I’m sorry.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Did you know what had happened to me when you told him?” she asks, her voice soft and her words steady.
“No. I knew something had—I always had an inkling that something wasn’t right. But no, I didn’t know what those bastards did to you.”
“Did you tell Elio to push me away and act as though I didn’t matter?” Again, her voice is soft, but her words are strong.
“No, I didn’t,” I say as I look at my brother. I hadn’t realized he did that to her.
“Dario was the one who told me that I cared for you. He said not long after we got married that it was no longer about revenge. He was right. I chose not to listen,” Elio says.
As shit as this entire situation is, Elio’s not brushing it under the rug. He’s taken accountability for what he’s done and hasn’t passed the buck to anyone else.
Teagan nods. “You had the information, and you gave it to him. You did not cause this, Dario. You had no idea what could have happened. I understand your need and thirst for revenge. I’ve always known and understood it. I get it; my father caused unimaginable pain for you all and deserved to be punished.” She pauses for a minute. “Does that mean that this is Jade’s fault? Had she and her family not got revenge against my dad, you would have, which in turn means I wouldn’t have had to marry Elio.”
