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“Shut your mouth you dirty bastard,” Rafael whipped out from across the room, but I didn’t look at him. I kept my attention directly on Mr. Pozzi, refusing to miss a single second of this.
I pressed my hand to my chest, the X that he’d carved there burning a path into my skin. He thought he’d marked me, so I’d remember what he did to me, but I refused to let it be anything other than a battle scar. It was proof that I’d fought, that I’d faced the devil head-on and won.
“I’m ready,” I told Romeo, my gaze meeting his.
A wicked smile spread across his face. And deep down, I knew I shouldn’t have liked it, I shouldn’t have wanted to witness this side of Romeo, but damn, it made me feel like I mattered, like I was the only girl he would do this for. It made me realize that without him, I was nothing.
I blinked at my thoughts, my heart hammering in my chest, but not because Romeo sliced the knife across Mr. Pozzi’s neck from ear to ear, his blood spurting out like it would in a horror movie, staining Romeo’s skin, but because I finally understood…
I understood that Romeo was meant for me. And I was meant for him.
Mr. Pozzi taking his last breath signified that I had to leave. But I couldn’t—I wouldn’t. My heart was in this room, the other half of my soul standing directly behind the man who had tortured me for months.
Our hearts and souls were combined. And I wouldn’t give that up, not now, not ever.
* * *
ROMEO
His wet, warm blood spilled over my skin, dyeing my hands, but it was worth it. It was all worth it to see that look on Bailey’s face.
A look of pure and unadulterated peace.
Neither of us moved as the life drained out of Gio, his gurgling getting less and less, then finally, his chest stopped moving and I let his head go.
Death surrounded us, darkness ebbing away at every corner, but she was the light in the middle of it all. The bright shining glow that pulled at my very core.
Footsteps shuffled in the room, the door opened, then closed, but still, Bailey and I stood there, staring at each other, so much being said with one silent look.
“I love you,” she confessed, stepping forward. “I love you, Romeo.”
My body jerked at her words, a physical reaction to what was coming out of her mouth. My breaths came faster, almost panting at this point as I darted around Gio’s dead body and crashed against her, holding her face in my bloody hands.
“Say it again.”
She smiled, her small hands covering mine. “I love you, Romeo.”
“Fuck, angel.” I pressed my forehead to hers, not giving a single fuck that we were both covered in blood now or the fact that the man I’d just murdered was sitting in a chair behind us, the only things holding him up being the chains wrapped around his body. “Falling for you was never meant to be easy,” I told her. “We’re messy, dangerous, and together we don’t make a lick of sense.” I paused, pushing my point home. “But it’s meant to be, angel. You and me. Me and You. We’re it.”
“We’re it,” she repeated, her breath fanning across my lips.
“We’re it,” I repeated, pushing closer, my lips a hairsbreadth from hers. Our path hadn’t been straightforward, in fact, it had been a winding road that I’d never thought would end. But now it had…now we could move on.
I’d thought this would be the end of it—the end of us—but her words said different, and so did her body as it leaned against mine, every part of us touching.
There was only one last thing to say to her—to confess…
“I love you too, Bailey. I love you so fuckin’ much it hurts.”
EPILOGUE
BAILEY
“Bella,” Antonio greeted as he walked into the kitchen where Uncle Caden and I were standing.
“Antonio!” I grinned, wrapping my arms around him. It had only been four days since he’d last come here with Vivianna, but I missed him and his silly dad jokes. Romeo rolled his eyes as he strolled out of the kitchen, his footsteps sounding on the stairs. He didn’t get my and his dad’s relationship, not understanding it, but that was okay because Antonio was like a second dad to me at this point. And now that Uncle Caden had moved closer to us, I was surrounded by family—a family I never thought I’d have.
“You’re his favorite, you know,” Vivianna said in greeting, her plump lips lifted into a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around me once Antonio had let go.
