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“Ariana Valentine is not my heir. She is nothing to me. Isn’t that right, sweetheart? Nothing but a ghost from a painful past I’d rather forget. And yet, she is everything to you.” As Vitale turns to me, my chest tightens and my stomach flips. I know I’ve run out of time.We’verun out of time. “Ariana Valentine has brought the Blood King to his knees and cast the last of a great dynasty into the mud like the worthless trash that he is and represents. She has served her purpose, a purpose her mother could not fulfill. And now, she dies.”
Vitale takes a deep breath, turns to his men, and says, “Grab the knife. Slit her throat with the same blade he used to kill my men, and then do the same to him. The Amato reign ends tonight.”
“No!” I yell. As I push myself up from the muddy ground, I am quickly brought back down by an electric charge that sends my body into shock. The water soaked into my clothes only prolongs the effects of the volts. My body twitches, writhing in the mud as one of Vitale’s henchmen grabs the knife from the ground and stalks toward Ariana. I try to fight through the pain and push myself to my feet, but it’s no use. I even try to call out to Gio, even though it will blow his cover and the cover of my men. But the charge is too strong. All I can do is grit my teeth and take it as Vitale’s man pulls at Ariana’s hair, forcing her to look to the sky. The simple movement exposes her throat.No, God, please, don’t take her from me.I won’t survive it. I can’t lose her too. I can’t—
As the man standing behind Ariana brings the bloodstained blade to her flesh, the sound of rushing wind swoops through the space. Fewer sounds have brought such a smile to my face as it is followed by the collapse of the knife-wielding henchman.
“Team 3 is in position, if it wasn’t obvious.” As Gio gives me the go-ahead, the sweet sound continues. Bullets zip through the air, eliminating the men surrounding us while Cassio’s men storm the building and work their way through the men stationed throughout the other levels of the decrepit home. One by one, my enemies fall as the electric pain pulsing in my bones slowly subsides. Some land among us in the basement-like place. Others crash through what’s left of the wooden floorboards, landing haphazardly throughout the property.
As Gio takes care of the men stationed closest to me, Ariana, and Vitale, our captor, the wannabe king, turns pale. He takes in the room, now cluttered with the bullet-ridden bodies of his followers, in horror, quickly realizing the hard truth I’ve been forced to live with ever since he invaded my home and took my mother from me. Alliances are as fickle as the wind. A crown does not make you powerful. An army does. And the men you want fighting for you can’t be bought, bargained with, or manipulated. Only respect breeds true loyalty, and only true loyalty breeds true power.
Vitale spins around, searching for a soldier to defend him as I ball my fists and force myself up from the mud. Finding no one, he looks at me with wide eyes filled with bone-chilling fear. His face flushes bright red with the sting of loss, though this night is far from over and he knows it. At that, Vitale takes off. He runs out of the building the same way I entered, but my legs do not move to follow him. Instead, I go straight to Ariana.
“Alister—”
“Shh,” I whisper as I drop to my knees in front of her. I grab the knife from the ground beside us and use it to cut the ropes from her wrists and ankles. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay? Everything is going to be alright. You’re going to be alright.” My words are just as much reassurance for me as they are for her. Ariana is weak, whether she realizes it or not. She hasn’t eaten or had any water in hours, during which she was soaked by rain and chilled to the bone by winter winds. Even without her injuries, she’s endured enough to warrant a hospital visit. With them, she could lose consciousness at any second. Knowing this, I work quickly.
Though Gio will maintain visual on us until I can get Ariana to Gagliano’s men, we have no idea how many forces Vitale has. He admitted to sending some to Laroux House in search of Sophia, which means they aren’t all present here tonight. Still, I’d rather Ariana be long gone from this wretched place in case Vitale has any more men set to deploy.
“But you’re bleeding. You were shot and electrocuted. And, and…Vitale’s going to get away with it, with everything. He’s… You’re…”
Ariana lifts her trembling hand to my cheek. As I cut the last of the rope from her feet, I lift my eyes to meet hers. Her eyes shine bright in the soft yellow light of the lanterns surrounding us. They well with tears, even though she is too dehydrated to have water to spare. I lean into her touch and let out of a sigh of relief. Yes, my shoulder hurts. Yes, my legs still tingle with residual volts of electricity. But Ariana is alive. And perhaps it’s nothing more than her fear of my mortality or that she doesn’t have enough energy left inside her to hate me, but she looks at me with so much warmth, so much love, her gaze alone chases away the chill of the night, of my rain-soaked clothes, and of seeing her at the mercy of my greatest enemy. She doesn’t hate me.
“I’m fine,” I say. “And Vitale isn’t getting away with shit. He just thinks he is. Now, put your arm around my neck so that I can—”
“You came for me,” she says then, her voice cracking with emotion. My brows crinkle in confusion.Did she think I wouldn’t?
“Ariana, of course I did. Of course I did.” At that, I lean forward and kiss her forehead. There’s so much more I want to say, but I don’t because nothing has changed between us. The sight of her now lets me know that it never can. Everything I’ve ever told her has been the truth, even if she hasn’t always wanted to hear it, even if I haven’t always wanted to say it. I will always love her. I will always protect her. But I can’t be with her. And after what happened tonight, she should finally understand why. I almost lost her tonight. The very knife I brought to battle could’ve been the death of her, my love could’ve been the death of her. That is a tragedy I can’t endure. I won’t.
“Team 2—standing by.” As I pull away from Ariana, the leader of Gagliano’s men lets me know he and his team are in position. I take in Ariana one last time as— I jump at the sudden noise and spin to find the body of one of Vitale’s men sliding down the stairs just a few feet away.
“Boss, you need to move. More of Vitale’s men are breaching the building from the back.”
“Copy,” I say. “Team 2—move to target.” Out of time, I lift Ariana from her seat and cradle her against my chest. She winces as my grip digs into her cuts and bruises. “I’m sorry, baby, but we’ve got to go. Gio, cover us.”
“You got it, Boss.”
With Ariana in my arms, I make my way to the threshold and wait for Gio’s word to move outside the building. The sounds of gunfire and men talking fill my ears as I stare out into the night in search of the SUV meant to take Ariana from here back to New Orleans where she’ll be under the care and protection of her father. As the SUV comes into view, bullets zip through the air, quiet and quick. With Gio having handled the last of Vitale’s men on the frontside of the building, he gives me the go-ahead to move toward the SUV. “Hold on tight, baby,” I say. Ariana does as I say, and I take off running toward the black SUV. As I reach it, the doors to the back seat open on both sides. Out come two of Gagliano’s soldiers tasked with protecting Ariana. They move to flank the SUV, positioning themselves between Ariana and me and the house in case any of Vitale’s men notice us and try to attack before I can get her settled.
I place Ariana directly into the van, not giving her a chance to stall or argue with me about her staying. “Alright, you’re going to go with these people. Enzo here is in charge,” I say, pointing to the driver. He gives Ariana a friendly nod. Then I direct my attention to the woman in the passenger seat. “This is Hannah. She’s a nurse. She’s going to make sure you get the treatment you need for your wounds. These other guys are part of Enzo’s team. They will all work to keep you safe and get you back to New Orleans in one piece.” Ariana shakes her head, visibly overwhelmed by everything that’s happening. “Ariana, don’t fight me on this, okay? You’re in no condition to fight, and I can’t take down Vitale if I’m worried about you. I need you safe.” At that, I bring my hand to her cheek one last time, caressing her softly. She nods in agreement.Oh, thank God.
Just as I reach for the car door, Ariana leans forward and, wrapping her arms around my neck, she kisses me. After everything that happened between us this morning and almost losing her to Vitale, I thought I’d never feel her lips on mine again. Though, as our lips move together, I can’t ignore the uncharacteristic roughness due to her dehydration nor the taste of her blood on my tongue. They are stark reminders of our tragic reality.
As she pulls away from me, she says, “I love you, Alister Amato. Stay safe. I’ll be waiting for you to come home.” Her words hit me like a bag of bricks, the pain of which is etched all over my face. “What is it?” she asks, noticing my change in demeanor.
I close my eyes as the sounds of her cries from this morning echo through my mind. It occurs to me then, just as I’ve meant everything I’ve said to her, her words have been laced with the same honesty. She told me she didn’t know how to give me up. She begged me not to let her go. All this time, I’ve seen her strength. I’ve told myself she can handle it. She’ll survive because she is a survivor. But even survivors reach a breaking point. I should know. And after everything she’s been through, after so much loneliness and heartache and never having anyone show up for her, now more than ever, she isn’t capable of letting go. She isn’t capable of accepting that this is over, because doing so will break her. Truly and tragically, it will break her. And that devastates me, even more than knowing I must live a life without her.
I hate to do this here. In fact, I hate having to do this at all. We agreed that after last night, we’d bottle our feelings and go about our normal lives, however not normal they are. But I suppose neither one of us have been very good at living up to our bargain. Now, I have to set her straight. I have to say goodbye for the very last time.
“Ariana, these men aren’t mine and they aren’t taking you to Laroux House.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Confusion washes over her. I take a deep breath and—
“Enzo and his team answer to Alessandro Gagliano. He is one of my capos, but most importantly, he’s…he’s your father, Ariana.” I know this is a shitty way of telling her. As with everything with our relationship, the timing is anything but perfect. But I suppose it’s better she knows now than to have her arrive at his home in the French Quarter and have no idea who he is. “By the end of the week, everyone associated with Christio Vitale will be dead, as will he. With their deaths, your identity will be safe, and your father and I will work out a way to make sure it stays so.”
“Alister—”
“No, Ariana.You almost died tonight because of your association with me. I made the mistake of allowing myself to be seen with you by members of my world once. I won’t do it again. This…this is goodbye, Ariana. For the last time, goodbye.”
