Marcello nods, heads for the door, and then stops. "Saint. You should know. There's chatter."
"What kind of chatter?"
"Russian chatter. Some of Alexei's men aren't buying the fire story. They think it was an inside job."
"Do they suspect us?"
"Not yet. But they're asking questions. I don't have ins on the Russians, but I'm working on it." He looks at Gemma. "Stay out of Russian territory. Both of you. And hope Igor takes control fast."
He leaves.
Silence fills the apartment.
"He's right," Gemma says finally. "This was stupid. I was stupid." She lets out a shaky laugh. "Again."
"It was, but it's handled."
"Barely."
I sit beside her again. "But it's done, so we move forward."
"How? How do we move forward from this?"
I take her hand. "We lie low. Let Igor consolidate power. Let the Russians fight amongst themselves. We stay out of it."
"You think Igor will take over?"
"I do. He's smart. Connected. He knows the business." I squeeze her hand. "And he has no reason to come after us. Even if he suspects us, which I doubt, he's in charge now, and Alexei was not well-liked. I'm sure most of his men want to buy you a fruit basket."
She nods. But she doesn't look convinced.
"What?" I ask.
"I just—" She looks at me. "Why did you come? When I called. You could have left me there. Let them kill me. It would have solved a lot of your problems."
The question hits like a punch.
"You think I'd do that?"
"I don't know what to think anymore. You gave me to Adrian. Watched him hurt me. Let him disown me." Her voice is steady, but the words cut. "Why would saving me be different?"
I should deflect. Make an excuse. Keep the walls up like Antonio taught me.
But watching her fade away nearly destroyed me, and I'm done lying to her, and to myself. If we are going to move forward, we need to do it right.
"Because I was wrong."
"What?"
I turn to face her fully. The words are bitter on my tongue. What I'm doing, right now, goes against everything I believe. But I've watched what happens when my wife crawls inside herself, and I'll lay my fucking guts bare before I let that happen again. "I was wrong to give you to Adrian. Wrong to think I could sacrifice you for the family. Wrong to believe I could choose duty over—" I stop. Can't say it.
"Over what?"
"Over you." The words are hard. Heavy. "I choose you, Gemma. I should have chosen you from the start."
"Why didn't you?"
I cup her face. "Antonio taught me that love was weakness. That caring was dangerous. And I believed him for so long."
