“Not possible.” My father pulled away and gripped his shoulder. “You’re my son. I will always worry about you.”
Bones held his gaze and couldn’t hide the hint of emotion in his eyes. Those words clearly meant the world to him, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud. I recognized his slight movements, the subtle cues he naturally emitted. He said nothing, at a loss for words.
“And thank you for saving Vanessa,” my father continued. “I knew you would get her out of there.”
“Don’t ever thank me for that,” Bones said quickly. “It’s my fault she was there in the first place. I should have listened to you. I should have walked away from that job a long time ago—”
“It’s in the past. Leave it there.” My father lowered his hand. “It’s time to bury the past for good. It’s time to move forward into our new lives. It’s time for peace and quiet. It’s time for the next stage in all our lives.” He shook his head slightly. “It took me forever to listen to my own advice, to not live in the past. You can beat yourself up over this, or we can go home and start over. What do you want to do?”
I hooked my arm around Bones’s and rested my face against his shoulder. I could feel the guilt in his heart, feel the anger in his limbs. He blamed himself for all of this, but he shouldn’t. We were walking away from that life. We were finally getting everything we wanted. It was time to focus on that—not the people we used to be.
Bones didn’t make another argument and only gave a slight nod in return. “Let’s go home.”
Eighteen
Carter
After I picked up Mia from my parents’ place, I drove back to the house fifteen minutes away. I took her bag and greeted her with a simple look, treating her with a hint of indifference. Naturally, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and let my lips brush against her hair. That affection was bottled deep inside. “How was it?” I had one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the center console.
“It was nice.” As if she couldn’t resist touching me, she placed her hand on mine. “I missed you.”
I interlocked our fingers and squeezed her hand. “I missed you too.” I’d stayed at Conway’s penthouse in Milan and spent all my time working. I didn’t go out at night like I normally would. I didn’t jerk off either. Didn’t seem appealing. When I had Mia waiting for me, all my other options didn’t seem like options.
“Your parents are wonderful. They made me feel right at home. Your mother is really sweet, and your father is nice too. And they’re so in love…it’s cute.”
I shrugged. “I’m glad I didn’t have to witness any of that.”
She rolled her eyes. “It makes you happy, and you know it.”
“From a distance, yes.” I turned onto a different street and passed the golden fields down the road from the house we both shared. “What did you think of the cooking?”
“Amazing.”
I smiled. “I miss my mama’s cooking.”
“She knows how to work the kitchen, that’s for sure.”
I passed through the gates and drove up the long driveway to the house, watching the metal gates close behind me. We inched toward the building and pulled into the garage on the side of the house. “I’m glad you were comfortable there.”
“It was a good decision. I wouldn’t have been able to stay here alone, even with all your security.”
“I need to get you a gun and show you how to use it. Maybe that will make you more comfortable.”
“I know how to pull a trigger.”
“Handling a gun is more complicated than that. If you master the weapon, you might have more confidence.”
“I don’t think I want any guns in the house with Luca here.”
I hadn’t considered that. My lack of experience with kids was becoming more apparent. “Mia, I have a lot stashed around the place. But not having any guns isn’t an option, unfortunately.” We had to be protected in the unlikely event of an attack. It would take ten minutes for my family to get here to help, and I needed a way to protect us.
“Could you lock them away somehow? That way he can’t get to them.”
I guess I could carry a key around my wrist at all times. If something happened, I could unlock any door and get what I needed. “I can do that.”
“Thank you. He’s only eight years old…which means he’ll be curious.”
“I understand, sweetheart.” I still couldn’t believe I would be sharing the house with a child. When I made the offer, it didn’t sound like an issue, but perhaps my ignorance would make this new lifestyle difficult.
“So…any news on Luca?” Her voice came out weak, like she was afraid she was annoying me by asking the question all the time.