“I’m proud of you, son.”
“You are?” I ask, mystified. I tell my father that I’m effectively fleeing our family legacy and he says he’s…proud?
“You’re a good man,” he says, words flowing so easily out of him that they must be true. “Anya makes you happy, of course you should do the same for her. She wouldn’t be happy to leave her home. And besides, now Jade will have you here when she and Dmitri come back.”
“Fuck,” I exhale, nerves beginning to subside. “I thought you were going to be pissed.”
“Oh, I’m a little pissed,” he tells me, forcing a harsh smile. “My son competed in Bratva fights while he was still an Outfitman. The fact that Dmitri and Anton allowed that without speaking to me makes me feel violent. But I also understand why you felt like you couldn’t tell me.”
“God, I have no idea where you find this stuff out from.” I shake my head. “Did Nico tell you or Anton?”
“I won’t reveal my source, but be glad I found out before flying here and not from seeing that ink on your chest.”
My heart drops into my stomach and I grimace, looking down at my healing chest. It’s not even partially hidden with clear wrapping any more, it’s just fully out and exposed, and I forgot about it completely.
“Fuck,” I groan, internally swearing much louder.
Dad doesn’t get angry, but he doesn’t drop the topic either. “You could have come to me.”
“I could have, but I didn’t want you to know if I failed.” I look down at my feet, worried that he’s more aggravated than he’s letting on. It would be just like him to bottle up his feelings rather than yelling to get them out. “If I told you my plan and I ended up losing a fight, I would have disappointed someone other than myself.”
“You wouldn’t have disappointed me, Matteo.”
I would have, whether he thinks so or not.
“Maybe not,” I play along. “But I would have felt it either way. I’ve never been the most impressive of your sons?—”
“Matteo—”
“No, let me finish,” I implore him, looking back up to meet his eye. “Everyone has always had athing. Ever since we were little, all my brothers have been called to something. Leadership for Apollo, cleverness for Leon, intelligence and strategy for Cassio, strength for Elio, acting for Emilio—the man has millions of people convinced that our family is just a group of philanthropic businessmen, for fuck’s sake.”
I scratch the back of my neck and sigh. “I could go on and on. Armani—Fashion. Nico—Killing. Remo—Computers. I’m the only one who’s never had a proper place or calling. I’m good at a fair bit of shit, yeah. I’m not useless, I’m not trying to say that I felt that way. But I’ve always just kind of been floating around, never truly fitting in.”
“Son…”
“Apollo, Leon, Cassio, and Elio have always been as thick as thieves. Armani has had Colton. Remo has had Nico, and Emilio makes friends everywhere he goes. When Jade finally showed up, I got the close sibling bond I’d been waiting for. And then Empire happened. She fell in love, and her husband came with a built-in best friend for her too.”
I hated Ivan for taking Jade away from me at first. He didn’t really steal her, but I felt the loss of her all the same. Of course, I couldn’t be mad at my sister for finding another friend, especially when he treated her so well and made her feel safe, but it was still a hard pill to swallow.
“With Anya? I’m not searching for where I fit in best anymore. Falling in love came as naturally as our friendship did, and I know that our connection is only going to keep growing stronger.” My throat feels tight, and I try to swallow the lump of tension down. “I’m going to miss home, but my place is here now. I just know it.”
Dad pulls me in for a rare hug, slapping me firmly on the back. “I’m glad you’ve found somewhere, andsomeonewho feels right for you.”
“And it’s not like I’ll never see you again.” I don’t know if I’m trying to make him feel better, ormefeel better. “I’ll have to come visit when Jade has the baby, and eventually Anya will want to meet everyone too. It’ll probably be a while…but it’ll happen.”
Dad claps me on the back once more and pulls away. “I believe it.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We’re good.” He dips his head in a nod. “I’m going to have words with Anton about stealing my son for his own ranks, but we’re good.”
“Try not to be too upset with him,” I request hopefully. “Anya and I have been trying to make you two friends for way too long for you to burn that bridge now.”
He huffs, almost laughing. “You two are something else, son.”
We’re the best,I think proudly.
Chapter Forty-Three
