“When it’s to do with you, it’s to do with me. I love you, Dante. I want you to be safe. I want you to stay alive.”
I almost broke. Almost. Those three words had been like getting blood out of a stone. Affection, openness, a willingness to give herself to someone was not Tori’s style. It was a product of her upbringing and of the mistakes I made the first time we dated. The mask slipped at times. Marcus and Eliza’s wedding was a glimpse of what life could be like if Tori just let herself be exposed but it never lasted. Instead of open declarations of love and public displays of affection, Tori shared her deepest thoughts in the dark when it was silent. Words that were only meant for me in a way that she could deny if it came down to it.
She might love me, but she didn't trust me. She didn't trust me enough to let go of her family. This wasn't about where she spent the night or where she sat in church. This was about Vittoria trusting me enough that she would stand by every decision I made, even if she didn't know the full story. Trusting me enough to know that everything I did was to ensure we had a comfortable life together. She let us try again but she hadn’t let go of our past. Tori still required a safety net and that had manifested as a distrust in her.
“Please,” Tori pleaded quietly. “Whatever Lucas has dragged you into, forget it.”
“Luc hasn’t dragged me into anything. I made a decision.”
“I can’t protect you if you make this choice,” she told me desperately.
“That’syourdecision,” I told her. “That is a choice that you actively make.” I was growing tired of everything falling down to my actions when she was just as culpable.
“This won’t work if we aren’t even on the same page, Dante. Tell me what’s going on. Tell me what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.” Both statements were true. “Then what’s the point of all this?”
There was only so much that we could sweep under the carpet. Only so much that we could ignore before we became strangers in a relationship. We were already headed in that direction and I’d seen the damage it could do. Tori hiding Xavier’s little trip had put us on the back foot and what I couldn’t risk was anything, even the smallest inkling, being fed back to Xavier and completely unravelling all our plans.
“There is no point,” I admitted. The ache in my chest was prominent.
“So, we’re done here?” she asked, tone cool, business as usual.
“We’re done here.”
It was brief, the flash of hurt that haunted her eyes before she straightened up. She wouldn’t allow anything to pierce her without her permission. This wasn’t what she expected when she barged through the door. I hadn’t played along to the narrative in her head, but Tori would rather die than show she had been caught off guard.
“Fine. I’ll see myself out.” She pressed the key she held in her hand into my chest and I took it from her fingers. “Tell Luc to stay away from Gabe. He had a free shot last time. He won’t get away with it again.”
Warning delivered, Tori walked away, slamming the door as she left, and leaving me feeling emptier than I had in years. I’d pushed Luc to chase after old dreams of ambition and I was running alongside him, eager to taste it all. I just hadn’t expected the prospect of enjoying power and planning for the future alone.
Chapter Four
Mia
My heels clicked along the hospital hallway. It was rare that I slipped into sneakers, my preferred footwear sticking out like a sore thumb against the outfits I donned, but I missed the comfort they brought. Everything these days was about appearances. Although, this visit was for more of a personal reason than a need to win favour. Dom walked ahead of me and Michael, who I’d recently inherited thanks to Luc, was behind.
As we reached the door, Dom stepped aside, leaving the decision in my hands. I either knocked and went through with my bright idea, or I turned around and told them I wanted to leave. Taking in a deep breath through my nose, I knocked before stepping into the room.
Franco laid in the hospital bed dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. The casual nature of his outfit caught me off guard. It made him more human. Reminded me that there was a man behind the job title and scowls. He rarely expressed emotion, other than disdain, but the shock of seeing me in his hospital room almost made his eyebrows disappear into his hairline. “I didn’t expect you,” he said once he’d recovered.
I’d only ever called Franco in the mornings to tell him the plans for the day. Short conversations that were heavily weighted on my side and even they had become less frequent. He assumed his post at the door most mornings without any prompt from me.
“Sorry.” It felt awkward and stilted. Franco wasn’t a friend. He wasn’t even a willing employee, but I needed to see him. We’d gone through a traumatic event together, although he bore the lasting impact. “I can leave if I’m disturbing you.”
“It’s fine. Come in.” Franco winced as he tried to push himself up in the bed.
“No, no,” I told him. “Don’t.” I took a few steps forward, prepared to help him get comfortable again but he held up a hand to stop me. Even on their deathbeds, men would maintain their pride.
I forced myself not to watch him as he struggled into more comfortable position. The machines beside the bed beeped in a steady rhythm, keeping track of his vital signs. Nothing to be alarmed about from what I could gather.
“Surgery went well?” I asked. My eyes flicked to his side without meaning to, where beneath his clothing he would have been expertly sliced and stitched to ensure that he was back up and running.
“As far as we can tell for now,” he confirmed. “They said I was lucky more damage wasn’t done.”
Nodding my head, I swallowed a lump in my throat. I was finding this a lot more difficult than I’d originally anticipated. “I really just wanted to stop by and thank you for...” The sentence was left hanging. The images of that morning flashed through my head again. The shattered glass that littered the sidewalk. The screams and gasps that came from inside the café. A phantom pain ran from my wrist to my elbow, dictating me to rub it. I’d gotten away lightly from the event with Franco taking the brunt of the attack.
