War.
My men stood before me, covered in blood, looking like they hadn’t slept in days, leaner, eyes traveling over me like they were starved for the sight of me.Kane’s eyes stopped at my belly, his breath hitching at the evidence of my pregnancy.Ryder never made it past my face, his gaze glued to me, his chest rising and falling like he was struggling to get oxygen.They both practically vibrated with energy, the struggle to hold themselves back showing in the strain on their faces.
War?
The world began to spin around me, and I felt myself sway.
What did he mean,war?
Strong arms wrapped around me from either side, and I dropped my head forward, pressing my face into Kane’s chest while Ryder’s heat soaked into my back.
“Easy, Vay,” Ryder murmured, stroking my hair back from my face with fingers that trembled.“We’ve got you, little star.”
The metallic smell of dried blood blended with sweat and what I could only guess was gunpowder was overpowering.I pressed my face deeper into Kane’s shirt, needing to find his scent.As soon as it hit my nose, faint but enough to remind me of all the best memories, I was lost.
With a sob, I clung to him.
It was a relief to be between them.To hear Kane’s heartbeat beneath my ear, to feel Ryder’s breath against my neck.I could close my eyes and almost forget that they had broken me in the worst possible way, pretend like the last few months had never happened, that our little world was still standing.
Almost.
But some things couldn’t be forgotten—or forgiven.
They’d been at war.
With whom and for what, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.What mattered was that they were here, alive.As if in agreement, the baby gave a sharp kick.Ryder, who had his hands on my belly, tightened his hold.“Was that…?”
Hearing the wonder in his voice, I struggled to pull myself together in a hurry.Swallowing my tears, I pushed away from them, scrubbing at the wet trails on my cheeks.A glass of water was shoved into my hands as Anya guided me to a chair and urged me to sit, placing herself between my men and me like a shield.
Taking a sip of the water to gather myself, I caught sight of the other person in the room and dropped the glass.It shattered at my feet, the water splashing everywhere, but I couldn’t tear my gaze off the man seated mere feet away.His brows were pulled together, almost exactly how I’d imagined earlier, familiar yet not.A stranger, but someone I knew deep in my heart I loved like nothing else.
A flicker of a memory hit me.Carl, the security guard at the hospital, told me two men had been looking for me.He’d shown me pictures.An older man in an expensive suit, a mean vibe.I’d been distracted that night, had barely looked at the photo on Carl’s phone before dismissing the man and his younger associate.
We’d literally missed each other by a matter of minutes that night.
My heart cracked open at that realization.I could have found him that night, and I didn’t even know it.
“P-papa?”Hands shaking, I lifted one toward him.
He caught it and brought it to his chest, holding it against his heart.“Hello, my bright little star.”
Kane
Breathing in the cold air,I walked along the path from the barn to Ernesto’s home.He had a large farm just outside of Philly.It was where we’d been cleaning house, finding the weak links in our ranks, weeding out the disloyal.Those who had followed Cullum and Aurelio had been disposed of, including my own da.
It hadn’t surprised me.He’d been too greedy for power, pushing me to marry Raffaella from the moment it became apparent Samara Vitucci and I would never be anything more than friends.I’d put a spike through his head personally when he admitted that he’d been watching Vega for years.
Cullum’s end hadn’t been as quick.Ernesto had made it last days.His blood was what had been on us when we’d seen Vega for the first time that day at the Vitucci manor.Once Ernesto got the call from Anya that Vega had agreed to meet him, we didn’t think past getting to New York.
Somehow, Ernesto convinced Vega to come home with him.Over the last week, she’d spent every free moment with her father, while Ryder and I had stayed out of sight.It was a relief to have her under the same roof.For now.I respected that she needed time, and while I waited, Ryder and I could tie up all the loose ends.
Like finalizing our annulments, making it so that the marriages that never should have taken place were wiped clear, as if they’d never happened.
It was a mile-long path from the barn to the house.It was a true home, not the monstrosity of a mansion my parents or the Bianchi family used to live in.Ernesto had built it in secret, in hopes of sharing it with his daughter one day.Now, he was living that dream.
And I got to watch from the shadows.
As I walked around to the back of the house, I wasn’t surprised to find Vega seated on the veranda, a firepit blazing to keep her warm as she sipped her tea.I stopped, taking a moment to soak in the sight of her.Dressed in one of her college hoodies and maternity yoga pants, she had one hand on her ever-growing belly bump as she watched the flames dancing in the pit.
