I glanced at Gia sitting beside me, her face closed off, both of us silent. A thick air of anxiety hung between and all around us, both of us tense for what would come. How would I be treated? How much did people know? And why in hell did I give a fuck? Why in hell was I going anyway?
The knowledge of Franco’s death settled like a heavy black cloak around me, inside me, swallowing me up. I didn’t know what I should feel. Hatred? Anger? But all I felt was regret. And a sense of loss like I’d never experienced before.
It was over.
He was dead.
There was no going back. No making amends. No saying sorry.
Salvatore told me he’d asked about me. Had he truly regretted what had happened? Had he regretted telling me like that? All those years, I’d thought he’d loved me. I had. It was maybe stupid, but I had believed it. Losing that love, I realized now, it had broken a part of me.
And through that break seeped a darkness that had oozed into my soul. Made me into a man I no longer recognized. But then I found Gia, bruised and afraid, huddled in a corner of that decrepit room. The moment she set her burning gaze on me, she saw me. She saw right through me. All the broken pieces of me. And now that she knew, now that I’d told her my story—the first time I’d ever done that—it was like those pieces slowly fused together again, even if it was inside out and backward, scar tissue barely covering too many razor-sharp edges.
I was no longer the man I had once been.
But I was stronger. I may be harder. I may be darker, but I was stronger. And I would never be fooled again. I would never be weak again.
Nerves twisted my gut as we neared the house in the Adirondacks. His favorite place. The last time I was here had been to celebrate his birthday.
I turned to Gia. “You do as I say. Every word, understand? You do not leave my side, and you do exactly as I say.”
“You told me that already, and I promised I would.”
Gia’s gaze bounced from me to the road and back. And even as she acted tough as nails, the shadows beneath her eyes and the fact she’d refused to eat told of her anxiety.
“What about the auction?” she asked.
I grinned. That piece did truly give me joy. “I took care of it.”
She tilted her head to the side, waiting for more.
“Watch them all at the funeral tomorrow. We’ll see just who is involved.”
I wouldn’t say more yet.
We drove the last fifteen minutes in silence. As we neared the gates of the house, I saw several cars already lined the driveway. I parked behind the last one, recognizing several of the vehicles. I switched off the engine and took a deep breath. Gia’s hand touched mine, startling me. She didn’t say anything but lookedat me with those eyes that seemed to know much more than spoken words.
I broke the gaze. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
We stepped out of the SUV at the same time. I tucked a pistol into the back of my jeans, making sure my jacket shielded it. Gia had hers in her purse, although we’d run out of time for those lessons. Leaving our bags in the trunk, I went to Gia’s side and took her hand. It felt cold and a little clammy. Strange enough, it made me stand taller, giving me strength enough for both of us.
“Whatever you do, do not show fear,” I whispered.
She didn’t deny she felt it this time. She simply nodded as we approached the foreboding double doors.
Without hesitation, I pushed on the doorbell. Last time I was here, I’d walked in, using my own key to enter. That key sat in my pocket today.
To my surprise, Salvatore opened the door, as if he’d been there waiting for me to arrive. We both stopped. His eyes scanned me from head to toe, and he gave me a small smile and a nod, holding out his hand.
I took it, meeting my brother’s firm grip with my own as he pulled me in for a hug, patting my back.
“Good. You did good to come.”
He released me. I looked at him, saw how much more gray was now mixed with the black of his close-cut beard, saw more lines around his eyes and mouth, not lines of worry or of a hard life. No. Lines of happiness. His skin glowed bronze, a byproduct of living happily under the sun.
Lucia turned the corner, looking tanned but otherwise just the same apart from her rounded belly protruding from the close-fitting dress she wore. She came to stand beside her husband, and I saw how his face changed, how his smile grew,how his gaze had brightened as he’d followed her path across the room.
