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Two minutes.
Nerves thrashed through me, my mind spinning and working a mile a minute.
What state would she be in when we finally got there? How bad was she hurt? Would she even want to see me?
I love you, too.Her last words to me echoed over and over in my brain as we pulled into the emergency room parking lot.
You have arrived at your destination.
My stomach bottomed out as Mateo pulled up right at the entrance, murmuring that he would come and find us after he’d parked, but I wasn’t paying attention to him as I jumped out, not wasting a second or waiting for my boss.
I needed to get to Peyton. I needed to see her in the flesh. Her bloodied and bruised face had haunted me the entire two-hour drive here. But now as I got to the doors, terror jerked me back, gluing me to the spot. I’d betrayed her. I’d helped put her in this position. If I would have fought harder for her that day in Lorenzo’s office… If I would have made them see what I had seen…
But…even I had doubted the truth of what was happening thanks to the men higher ranked than me. It wasn’t like I had a choice to go against them. There was a hierarchy for a reason.
No, you always had a choice.
I ground my teeth at my thought, hating how it was the truth. You always had a choice. At times it may not have felt like it, but it was all down to what you were willing to give up—willing to believe in.
“Raf?” Lorenzo called from beside me, pulling me out of my own head. “You going in?” My heart raced in my chest as I turned to face him. Whatever he’d seen on my expression must have made him realize what I was thinking because he stepped closer, telling me, “We all make mistakes, Raf. No one is perfect, but it’s what you do when you realize you’ve made a mistake that matters. It’s how you react to situations that means the most.”
“I let her down,” I croaked out, hating how I felt like I was breaking apart. I should have been strong, not just for Peyton, but for my boss too.
“You did,” Lorenzo said, matter of fact. “But now is the time that you decide to never let her down again.” He paused, raising a brow. “You walk through those doors, and as soon as you cross that threshold, how you’re feeling no longer matters. All that you should be concerned about is her. Capiche?”
I nodded, swallowing against the lump in my throat as I counted to ten. I’d give it ten seconds to pull myself together, because as soon as I was in that building, I had to be as strong as I could. I had to be the one person that Peyton could rely on. I had to prove to her that I would never turn my back on her again.
It would be a long road, but I was in it without a shadow of a doubt.
So I headed inside, Lorenzo walking beside me as I went right up to the desk and asked for Peyton.
“Last name?” she asked, sounding bored as hell.
“Um…” My heart pounded in my chest as I realized I had no idea what her last name was. Ace’s was Beckett, but if she was married, then—
“Ace said they’re on the third floor,” Lorenzo said from beside me, already walking off toward the stairwell. Mateo chose that moment to walk in with my dad and Romeo, and although I wanted to get to her as soon as I could, I stayed at the back of the group, needing to build myself up to this moment. Needing to just…breathe. Now that I was here, it was all the more real, and as soon as we entered the third floor and I saw Ace, I lost it, my Pagani temper rearing its ugly head.
I ran at him, not stopping as I collided with his body, tackling him straight into the wall.
“Raf!” Lorenzo shouted, but I didn’t take any notice of him as I pulled back, rearing my fist, then slamming it right into his face.
“You should have protected her!” I shouted, my throat hurting with how loud I’d said it. “Where the fuck were you this entire time?”
Ace’s eyes connected with mine, a calmness on his face that I’d only ever seen on my dad and Lorenzo. This was a man who never let his emotions get the better of him. Or at least, didn’t let anyone see them.
“I’m gonna let you have that one hit, Rafael.” He paused, pushing me off of him with one swift motion. “Because you’re right, I should have protected her better than I had.” He rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles, and all the while I gave him a death stare, wanting to take every bit of my anger out on him, but knowing thathewasn’t the real issue. We had a common enemy now. “But know your damn place. And know that you are a guest inmyterritory.”
“We’re aware of that,” Lorenzo said, pulling me back. Ace had several men with him, just like we did. We all stood opposite each other in the hallway, blocking the path for anyone else, but not a soul said a word about it. “But don’t think I’m not aware that your sister was living in my state the entire time she was married to that piece of shit.”
“They were just over the border,” Ace countered. “And we never conducted business there.”
Lorenzo shrugged; a move I didn’t think I’d ever seen him do before. “Doesn’t matter. Both you and I know that you should have declared it.” Lorenzo paused, coming shoulder to shoulder with me. “So how about we have a clean slate from here? For Peyton’s sake.”
Everyone was silent for so long I wasn’t sure we’d come to a truce—not that I wanted to because I needed someone to let my rage out on, and right then, he was the perfect candidate.
“Deal,” Ace said, spinning around and putting an end to it all. Fuck, I hadn’t expected that. “They have a room we can wait in.” He walked away, his men following him, then opened a door on the right. “The doctor is on his way to give me an update.”
No one said anything as we all entered the white room complete with what looked to be uncomfortable light-blue hospital chairs lining the edges of the walls. The tension was building, my anxiety climbing higher and higher, then finally, after fifteen minutes, the door opened and a man wearing scrubs walked in.
