Oh.
And my entire body slumped in awareness.
Oh.
Tor lowered his voice as he went off on a tangent. “No, G. She’s happy. Do you get that? She’sfinallyhappy. And between my fuck up andhers, I am not letting anything touch my wife ever again. This is a hassle she does not need.” Sometime during his spiel, my heart melted into a puddle and my expression gentled. I loved Ettore Scala. I really, truly did. “I will take care of it. She doesn’t need to know.”
But that wasn’t his decision to make. And as I began down the stairs, they both glanced up as I asked, “What don’t I need to know?”
Giada’s face snapped to her brothers, but Tor kept thin-lipped, his closed off expression on me.
Already feeling the exhaustion settle in, I asked jadedly, “What did she do now?”
Chapter22
The Disciples
Vittoria
“Breathe, baby.”
The quiet words reached me and, in a delayed movement, I turned to my husband and took in a stuttering breath. He reached out and gently cupped my cheek. I leant into it as he said, “I stand by what I said. I don’t want you to do this.” When my lids opened again, he looked mildly haggard as he confessed, “I don’t want you in his sights.”
My neck twisted and I glanced out to the unassuming warehouse. Our limo was idling, waiting for an exit I wasn’t sure was even going to happen. I didn’t want to be here either.
I wasn’t very good with confrontation and you didn’t get more confronting than this.
My lips parted with my slow exhale. I turned to my husband, took his hand from my cheek and held it tightly. “I have to.”
Tor did not look happy. His jaw remained tight when he uttered, “I think your soft heart needs reminding that she would not do the same for you. I don’t need to tell you that she left you for dead and didn’t even flinch. And now, this shit?” He paused a moment. “Roam is not a man to be trifled with. The second you show an ounce of emotion, he will pounce on you like a lion hunting a gazelle, and then the rest of his pack will lunge for you too. They will eat at you until all that is left is a blood stain on the floor and then they’ll mop it up and it will be like you never existed.” I swallowed hard. Well, that didn’t sound great. “I have seen good people ruined all for gaining his attention. I need you to remain cool, calm and collected. Can you do that for me, baby?”
Oh God. My stomach hurt.
I don’t know. Could I?
I thought about my life prior to this moment. About my sister and her manipulations, about the times I should have spoken up when I remained soundless. About how she took my silence as weakness, never looking deeper, not knowing how taxing it was.
I hadn’t been silent by choice. I was silenced. There was a difference.
An ember of courage lit in my middle. Yes, it was small, but its glow had the tightness in my chest easing.
I was stronger than she ever gave me credit for. “I can do that.”
“Listen,” he shuffled closer, “You’re not alone. I’m here, right beside you. The second I feel the situation getting out of control, I will step in and take the heat. Nothing is going to touch you. Not while I’m here. Do you understand?” I wanted to say yes, but I had been let down by the people closest to me and my hesitation showed. “Do you hear me?” He took my face between his hands and forced me to look at him. His eyes blazed as he gave me a light shake for emphasis. “Nothing.”
And that reluctance?
It fell away.
Of course, I believed him. It was impossible not to when he spoke with such conviction.
I nodded and swallowed hard. My husband watched me closely for a long moment and then he lifted a knuckle and knocked on the limo window. The door opened and I unconsciously took the hand offered to me. It guided me out and when I lifted my head to see his surly face peering down at me, my light gasp was barely heard and I acted on instinct.
Marco grunted when my body collided with his. I wrapped my arms around his middle and his light chuckle sounded in my ear as he awkwardly patted me with one arm, keeping the other by his side. “Don’t tell me you’re actually happy to see me?”
When Tor lightly touched my back, I released Marco and backed into my husband’s tall frame, smiling at the curt brute. Tor’s arm slipped around my waist and his thumb lightly stroked my hip. “Well, I don’t know. You’re not going to chase me out of the crawl space again, are you?”
“Not today,” he said evenly, but his eyes were filled with mirth.