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My stare didn’t move off the windshield as Romeo sped us out of there, kicking up rocks and shooting shots off to the men who were trying to put bullets in us.
“Is he dead?” I asked, my voice sounding far away as we got back onto the highway. We were an hour from home, far enough away that I could put myself back together, but close enough that I worried everyone would be able to see what I’d done.
“What the fuck was that?” Romeo asked, pounding his fist on the steering wheel.
“That,” I murmured, “was who I am.”
Romeo shook his head, muttering something under his breath. He clearly didn’t want to acknowledge what I’d done or what I’d said. I understood it, I did, really. He’d never seen me like that, to him, it was completely out of character. But to me…it was who I was. “I got a look at one of the crates.”
My head whipped around, all thoughts of the blood covering me gone. “What did it say?”
“FUOMO.” He frowned, then spelled the letters out. “It’s a code word.” I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes as I tried to figure it out.
“We need to tell Lorenzo,” Romeo grunted, slowing down, but only by a little. If he wasn’t careful, we’d get pulled over, and that was the last thing I needed right now. There was no doubt they’d arrest me at the sight of blood that was on me.
“He’s not back for two days,” I told him, letting out a breath. He’d taken Aida away for a romantic trip and only told us this morning just before he’d left.
“I’ll call him when we get back,” Romeo said, shuffling in his seat.
I was already shaking my head. “It can wait until he’s back.”
Romeo’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything else. It wasn’t like he could go against me. While Lorenzo wasn’t here, I was in charge. What I said went, period. Deep down I knew I should have let Lorenzo know, but I needed time to get my head on straight. Time for my knuckles to heal, but even more importantly, time for my mind to figure things out.
We didn’t speak the rest of the way back to the mansion, and as soon as Romeo had dropped me off outside the big house, he peeled back down the driveway, leaving me in the open air, my feet glued to the ground.
I could have gone in the mansion and cleaned off, but I didn’t want to risk Ma seeing me. She’d know what I’d done the moment she spotted the blood and my knuckles, and there was no way that I wanted to see the sympathy in her eyes. I’d had enough of that growing up when Dad would bring me home from fights, I didn’t need it now too.
So I slowly turned and staggered across the lawn, heading for home—to Navy and Dario.
Not a single light was shining as I stumbled toward the house. It was as dark as the night sky when the stars were at their dimmest.
I blew out a relieved breath, knowing that I could sneak in and get these clothes off without Navy noticing. I wasn’t ready for this conversation, not right now. I just wanted to get in the shower, then into bed, and hold her against my chest while I waited for sleep to take me away from the nightmare I’d just come from.
The light on the keypad next to the front door blinked as I got nearer. It would only give twenty seconds to input the code before the alarm went off, so I quickly jabbed the eight digits into it, wincing as blood smeared over the keypad. I’d have to wipe it off later, but right then, I just needed to throw these clothes away.
I pulled in a deep breath as I stepped inside the house and shut the door behind me, my shoulders sagging and my head pressed against the glass on the door.
What had I done? What had I allowed myself to become in the blink of an eye? All it had taken was someone to tackle me and I reverted right back into the man I swore I wouldn’t be anymore.
“Dante? Is that you?”
I jumped at Navy’s voice, my heart racing so fast in my chest I was sure I was about to have a heart attack.
“Go back to bed,” I demanded, not moving away from the door.
Her footsteps creaked closer but I could sense that she was at the top of the stairs.
“Are you okay?” Her voice was sleepy and I just hoped that meant she’d go back to bed without asking any questions.
“Go back to bed, Navy,” I repeated, this time firmer. Silence. And then a click. “Fuck.” Light bathed the hallway, illuminating me entirely.
“Dante.” My name was a gasp, the sound making me shiver. “What happened?”
I shook my head, feeling the cool glass of the door against my skin as I leaned my forehead against it. I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t let her see me like this.
“Go back to—”
“Don’t you dare tell me to go back to bed,” she snapped back. “What happened to you?”
