The memories throw a bucket of grime on me. Not even if I submerge in holy water would it cleanse me. It’s her soft touch that brings me back.
Right next to my side, Dahlia squares her shoulders, shifting into a woman you don’t want to mess with. I am in awe of her.
She stabs a hard finger at him. “He killed his father, his men, for me. Do you want the gory details of that, brother?” That one word causes him to flinch, and she continues, “He did what he had to do, literally and figuratively, to get me out as unscathedas he could, and when he got his chance, he didn’t hesitate. He slaughtered them all.”
She looks up at me and smiles softly. “I wouldn’t have made it without him.”
“You wouldn’t have needed to if I hadn’t invited him into our lives,” the asshole mumbles.
“You fucking asshole.” I am about to march over to him and punch him when Dahlia presses a hand on my chest, holding me in place.
“Nothing you could have done would have changed it. He’s my destiny. Not even you have the power to bend fate to your will, big brother. He’s your best friend, but he has always been mine—my everything.”
“Did you fucking brainwash her?” he says through gnashed teeth, but the fight slips from his hard features.
Calla swipes her head toward him. “Stop being a damn asshole. They love each other.”
He grumbles something under his breath and turns to leave.
“You betrayed my trust,” he sighs, looking at a fixed point on the wall. The jab could be intended for me as well as for all three of us.
No bullet could have come closer to injuring me more than that one sentence.
“Let’s go, Enzo, or I’m dragging you home by any means necessary,” Calla says.
“Climb down the moral ladder. I guess I haven’t been the only one who kept secrets,” I retort. I am guilty, but he’s no better.
Yes, asshole. Let’s not forget that.
He comes to an abrupt stop, flips me off, and stares at his wife. “You knew.”
Calla glares at him. “Stop looking at me like I betrayed you, or you’ll sleep on the fucking couch tonight.”
They stare at each other, trapped in a battle of wills.
His jaw tightens. “You wouldn’t dare, wife.”
She tilts her head. “Try me, husband.”
He mumbles something unintelligible, moving reluctantly to the door.
“I’m sorry,” Calla mouths over her shoulder.
We should be the ones to feel bad about putting her in this precarious position.
I know it’s up to me to fix the situation, but I have no damn clue how.
At the door, he grips the handle. “Will you come home with me?” he asks Dahlia, his tone losing the hardness.
She runs to Enzo and hugs him tightly. “You’ve been the best brother I could have wished for. But I love him. And home is wherever he is.”
He sighs. “So you choose him over me. Over your family?”
“It’s not like she stops being your sister, for fuck’s sake. Don’t make her choose or I’ll end you, motherfucker. And I am her family too. Stop doing this shit.” I rake a hand through my hair, ripping some just to ground myself.
I can’t lose my self-control. I repeat it like a mantra. He’s still my brother and best friend, even though the asshole makes it really hard for me.
He jerks his chin in a challenge. “Or what?”
