“There was no choice. It was either allow the transplant or your brother would die. Reaper had no choice.”
“The fuck he didn’t. He could have let him die! Does he know what he’s done? Dylan will kill him when he figures it out. My brother would have rather died on that operating table than live with his wife’s heart beating in his chest. He won’t do it!”
“It’s already done,Tesoro.”
“Stop it!” I shouted as I began to pace the room.
This was not happening.
Reaper couldn’t be that stupid.
Was he begging Dylan to kill him? Because when my brother found out what Reaper had done, my brother would happily oblige.
I stopped moving when Gio’s hands rested on my shoulders. Turning to face him, I tried to hide the tears that fell down my face. But when he lifted my chin, he saw everything. “Don’t crymia amore. The decision was already made well before any of us realized it. None of them could let your brother die. His wife sacrificed everything, and in the end, she saved the man she loved. Don’t deny her that. She wouldn’t want you to.”
My tears came back in earnest as Gio held me close to him. I couldn’t keep them contained any more than I could deny the truth of his words. He was right. Kitty would kick my ass if I denied her last gift.
He was right.
It was already done.
There was nothing I could do about it.
I now had to live with the knowledge my brother was alive because of his wife, and I needed to make sure he stayed that way.
No matter what.
When my tears subsided, Gio carefully wiped my face. “Come eat something. You’ve been here for three days already and have eaten nothing.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Yes, you are. You just don’t know it. Come.”
Back at the table, I looked at the beautiful meal before me and sighed. Picking up my fork, I stabbed a little bit of the pasta and brought it to my mouth.
I had never tasted anything so good in my life.
One bite turned into another, and when I looked at my plate, it was empty.
“Now, that’s better,” Gio grinned.
“I didn’t know I was so hungry. It was delicious. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,Tesoro. Now that you’ve eaten, I need to talk with you.”
“About?” I whispered, looking up at him.
“Angelo Capribella, your biological father.”
23
Giovanni
I watched her intently as I said her father’s name, and as if I was talking about a stranger, she showed no emotion whatsoever. She just stared ahead as if I wasn’t even sitting in front of her.
She was detaching herself from the conversation, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was a safety measure she used. I understood, but she had the information I needed. I would choose that course if there was any other way, but there wasn’t.
Treading carefully, I continued.