He was walking away before I could explain. The stiff set of his shoulders all the confirmation I needed that I’d just added a nail to his torment. I looked at Remo, shaking my head.
“What?” he asked. Tact wasn’t one of his finest traits.
I stood as Alessia asked, “who was that?”
“The boy who has owned Lorenzo’s heart for the last eight years.”
I wasn’t sure who was more shocked. Alessia or me. We both stared at Remo before looking at each other.
“Is he the reason you could never give me your heart, Lorenzo?” she asked, hesitation lacing her words.
Instead of answering her, I searched my brother’s stoic face. “How did you know?”
“Fuck, Renz, I told you before, I’m not as fucking dumb as you might think.”
“How long?”
He grinned, fidgeting with his bourbon glass, his usual pre-dinner drink. “The day they escaped and you asked me to follow them home to make sure they got there safely.”
“Why didn’t you say anything.” I was still trying to understand his calm acceptance.
“Say what exactly. You were already tormenting yourself. I didn’t need to add to that distress,” he scoffed. “I made sure he was safe until you were ready to accept what your heart wanted. I guess he found you first.”
“And you don’t have an issue with it?”
He frowned. “Fuck, Renz, you’re my brother and I don’t fucking care who you love as long as you’re happy. And that kid right there,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “has had you by the balls from the get-go. But you’re both arrogant pricks.” He shook his head.
“è ancora un bambino,” I muttered, wondering how at twenty-six, Rayden still made me want to treat him with kid gloves.
“Yeah, but he’s your baby because you treat him like one.” Remo snorted, verbalizing my thoughts. I looked at Alessia unsure what to tell her when my brother said, “Alessia, my brother doesn’t owe you an apology. You already knew he’d never love you and now you know why. That said, if this leaves this house before my brother is ready to tell the world himself, you’ll find yourself on a plane back to Italy.” He leaned forward, his threatening stare unmistakable. “Just remember cargo planes only carry boxes.”
The widening of her eyes followed by a loud gasp, indicated she understood his intentions perfectly. Shaking my head, I wondered how Remo could speak about love and death in the same breath without sounding macabre.
“Grazie, fratello.” I blew out on a frustrated exhale. “For everything.”
He gave me one of his impassive smirks. “Thank me by putting an end to your pain.”
We both knew what he was saying without the need for words. When I reached Rayden’s room a minute later, my knock was received with a belligerent, “fuck off.”
“You’re being childish, Rayden,” I muttered, trying the doorknob. It was locked. “Open the door.”
“Leave me the fuck alone.”
Blowing out another frustrated breath, I shook my head. I was a fucking drug lord, I killed people, how the fuck was I still standing here, trying to pacify a stubborn kid. Dragging my hands down my face, I walked away. God fucking help me.
“You want me to open the gate?” Dario asked me twenty minutes later.
I stared at the security monitor, pain carving a hole in my chest as Rayden, his brow furrowed in anger, stared daggers at me from the other side. I could hear the rev of the engine as the car bucked under the pressure of his foot tapping the gas pedal every few seconds.
“Yes.”
A second more and he floored it. His car lurched through the barely open gate. The squeal of tires against the hot tar as he burned rubber down the road resonated through the intercom for another couple of seconds before silence descended on my home. Yet the kick of my heart rate took over on an insensitive boom, refusing to abate. I had a feeling it would stay that way for a long time to come.
“I’m sorry, boss.”
I glanced at Dario, his face cast in a solemn replica of mine. “You knew?”
“How long?”
