72
Zayne (38 years)
Salvatore and I stared at each other for what I’d call eternity. Everything from confusion to incredulity to a million questions pounding the silent air between us. And finally, the disbelief reflected in his eyes, mirroring mine perfectly, morphed into recognition, realization, as we took that first step toward each other, everything else ceasing to exist.
“Skywalker?” The word tripped out of my mouth on a raspy breath, an anchor of emotion welling in my eyes, my stomach a churning sea of weathered storms.
He stared at me, the confirmation of his doubts, widening his eyes. “Obi-Wan?” he whispered in a breathless rush.
I nodded because words failed me because for the first time in my life the ball in my throat was so huge, I didn’t think swallowing would push it down, because, for the first time in my life, the sight in front of me spun my world on an impossible axis. My hands trembling, I could feel its residue seeping through my body.
Salvatore’s steps faltered as he shook his head. “How?” he breathed on a shaky breath. “How?” Once more.
Shaking my head, I took another step and like the world would never keep us apart, we rushed into each other’s arms, our names tripping from each other’s lips over and over, like a mantra to protect us from the evils that had separated us, from the voids that had made it impossible to find each other. But we did. Until we finally stood back, his grip tight on my arms like he was afraid I’d be whisked away again, we stared at each other, unashamed tears painting our flushed cheeks the color of happiness.
“Fucking hell, Gabriel,” Salvatore whispered, and then he did something I hadn’t seen since meeting him. He smiled.
And judging by the gasps flying around us, no one else had seen it too.
He pulled me into another tight hug, this time laughing and that sound was the most genuine fucking thing I’d heard all my life. When we separated, Ria stood closer, her expression a mix between confusion and happiness, her tears telling us she felt what we felt.
“My brother,” Salvatore and I breathed together, and her eyes widened, bouncing between me and him in disbelief.
I nodded. “I thought he died, Ria.” I didn’t care that I was crying through the words. “And you brought him back to me,” I rasped.
Laughing, Salvatore nodded. “You did,bella. You gave me love but you gave me my brother too.”
And the three of us must have looked like bawling school kids to the children as we came together in a hug.
“There’s always that one person who makes you smile with no effort at all, and I waited a long time to see if I was that person for you, Salvatore but it looks like you might love me, but you’ve loved your brother more.” Ria laughed when we finally broke from our hug. Then for my benefit. “He’s never smiled before, ever.”
“Never,” someone said from behind us, and we all turned to find Rosana, swiping vigorously at her tears. “I worked for his father and him for a long time and I’ve never seen him smile in all those years.”
Salvatore laughed and she cried harder. “Come here, Rosana.” And when she did, he enveloped her in a tight hug.
“When your mama took you, boys, from your papa, he was heartbroken until the day he found you,” Rosana said when she stepped back.
Salvatore looked like he’d either just been slapped in the face or he was having a major heart attack. “You knew us when we were boys?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “You were five and your mama was pregnant with him.” She pointed at me. “When she took you away because she didn’t want to live in your father’s dangerous world. One day, he came home and said, he found his babies. Then he went to fetch you but was taken to the hospital without his boys, bleeding and broken-hearted. Someone stole them he said. When he was better, he started hunting again then he found you,signor, but you were broken, and he didn’t know how to fix you.” She rushed on in rapid Italian, further shocking Salvatore. It seemed like all this was news to him. Then she turned to me. “And they thought you were dead because no one could tell your father what happened to you.”
“Why haven’t you said anything before this?” Salvatore asked her.
“Because I didn’t know how to fix you either. Your father and I tried but you were an eleven-year-old boy who had either lost his soul to Satan or became the devil himself,” she continued, her excited Italian broken by sobs.
His fists clenched and shoulders stiff, Salvatore turned away from all of us. Ria, Rosana, and I stared at each other, not sure what to say. Behind us, Julian watched over Rowan and Maddox, yet his eyes held a somber gloominess. The boys, I noticed seemed to be communicating in sign language, their smiles like they understood each other.
Ria gestured for me to talk to Salvatore, and I nodded, moving toward him. “I didn’t find my brother after all these years for him to turn his back on me and after he’d given the world his first smile,” I said squeezing his shoulder. He looked at me, no longer the arrogant man I’d met just a day ago, but someone who looked burdened by a heavy heart. “Talk to me.”
He spent the next ten minutes telling me about what Cassius had done to him, how he’d escaped, the effect it had on him, and why he’d done what he’d done to Ria. It began with revenge. He wanted to use Ria against Cassius.
“Then I fell in love,” he continued. “I let her leave to give live in Italy, all alone.” He glanced over to her and smiled. Her smile bounced back to both of us. “Then I found out Cassius wasn’t her father. I still planned to go after him, yet I regretted what I’d done to her. Now I’m going to have to kiss her fucking feet every day,” he muttered good-naturedly.
“I heard that,” she called from across the room where she was teaching Rowan to color within the lines and helping Maddox to set up a PlayStation game.
