“Okay, then what about love. You don’t love me, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be capable of that.”
“Love will come in time. As for my feelings, I have been nothing but honest with you from the moment we met. And as for you being incapable of love,mia Amorethat is a lie. You love your brother, your niece. You have spent the last few years enduring hell for people you don’t even know just to protect them. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”
“Why do you call me that?”
“What?”
“Mia amore.”
“Because you are.”
“Am I?” she asked, looking at me. “Am I your love?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I can never return the sentiment.”
“Yes.”
“When you brought me to this island, and I woke up that first morning, I promised myself I would never leave. This place is magical. I’ve seen pictures of places like this in magazines but never thought I’d ever get to see it with my own eyes. It truly is beautiful here. I don’t want to leave.”
“We can come back anytime you want,” I said, walking over to her. Standing behind her, I said nothing as she whispered, “I don’t want to leave Gio. If I do, the real world will come back, and it’s dark. So dark.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I held her close in the protective arms of my embrace. I knew what I was asking of her. It would test the limits of her strength. Mine too. “Then let me be the light to your darkness. Let me help you finish what you and Kitty started so many years ago.”
“He will kill me when he finds out.”
“He will have to kill me first.”
“He will. You must know that. Nothing will stop him from killing me.”
“He will not touch you ever again, Layla.”
“Are you sure about that because if we do this, there is no going back? He will find out, and all hell will break loose when he does. I’m not sure it will work. Then again, I thought my original plan was foolproof. I really don’t know anything anymore.”
“You will have the family behind you,mia Amore. Even your blood relatives will protect you. With the Golden Skulls at your side, no harm will come to you. We will all make sure of that.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Yes, I can.”
Turning her in my arms, I cupped her face and said, “I love you, Layla Franks Capribella. Marry me. Be my life partner. Help me save both our families and stop a madman. Marry me because you want peace as much as I do. Marry me and allow me to give you the life you deserve.”
I held my breath as tears fell down her face. I didn’t know what she was going to say. I prayed she heard the sincerity in my voice. I meant everything I said, and if she would let me, I planned on giving her the world.
As the seconds passed, I was about to give up hope when she whispered, “Yes.”
25
Layla
The moment I uttered the word yes, everything changed from the serenity of the island to the compound in Chicago. So many faces and quiet conversations took place. In the days that followed, nothing was the same. Everything was different. Even his brothers and sister changed, and when we arrived back at the compound, his own mother was there to welcome me with open arms. Security was heightened. Everywhere I turned, armed guards were watching my every move.
I couldn’t breathe.
It was all too much too soon.
Everything was happening too fast.