Chapter Fourteen

A Side Serving of Lust

Willow

"Now that you've returned to your husband, I will be leaving," Diego says when he finds me in the kitchen.

It has only been a week since he almost died and he should not be moving around. Thalia rounds the corner, her features morphing into unadulterated rage when she sees him standing in the doorway.

"Do you have a death wish?" She glares.

I was going to ask the same thing.

"Not at all, Tiger," he replies with a grin that showcases his ridiculous dimples. "But my work is done. Willow is safe and I need to return to my own life."

"Not necessarily," Rafe says as he also enters the kitchen.

What the hell is this? A family gathering? I only wanted a cup of coffee and now I find myself surrounded by every person under this roof it seems. Rafe places a kiss on my cheek before preparing some coffee for himself.

"Meaning?" I ask when no one else does.

"You have a fondness for Diego and he kept you alive and safe for those days when I couldn't," he supplies with a frown. "If he chooses to stay, he will be responsible for your personal security as well as assisting Dom with everything that needs to be done to get the Hernandez household in order. Selecting men who can be trusted to stay loyal to you and Roman when he comes of age and takes his rightful seat at the table."

Glancing at Thalia and Diego, I see they are wearing the same shocked expression I am. Am I dreaming? Perhaps Rafe has started sampling his own drugs?

"Don't look so shocked, wife. I'm working hard not to repeat the mistakes I made even if it goes against my nature."

He walks out with his coffee, leaving the three of us to stare after him. Raphael Gallo trying to change? Who would have thought?

"I don't care who you work for," Thalia cuts through the silence. "You aren't supposed to be out of bed. You could rip out your stitches."

"Tiger," Diego starts but she cuts him off.

"Fuck off, Diego. I barely kept you alive the first time. I'm not sure I can do it again. Go back to bed and stay there. Make plans to leave in two weeks if that's what you want or take Rafe up on his offer. I don't care. But you're not going anywhere now."

She goes to stomp past him but Diego stops her with a hand wrapped around her wrist. Her gaze snaps from his hand to his face and back again.

"Thank you, Tiger," he says lowly. "I owe you a life debt and I fully intend to repay it."

"I was only doing my job."

"That makes no difference to me. I will give you back the life that was taken from you."

A slash of pain crosses her features and I feel like I am seeing something that isn't meant for me. As if this is a private moment only meant for the two of them. I feel like an interloper but for the life of me I can't pull my gaze from them.

"No one can do that," Thalia replies brokenly before leaving the kitchen.

Diego follows her with his gaze but my focus is on Dom and the pure unfiltered rage he is working so damn hard to hide. At least now I know who the woman is that Rafe was talking about. Interesting. I never would have guessed he had a thing for the pixie-like healer.

"Go to bed, Diego." Taking a sip of my coffee I watch him frown. "Think of what Rafe is offering, and heal. You can leave once Thalia no longer thinks you're in danger of killing yourself."

Diego chuckles before grabbing his side. "Don't make me laugh," he wheezes. "I am always almost about to get myself killed."

Instead of leaving and doing what he is told, he ambles deeper into the kitchen and takes a seat beside me in the breakfast nook. His gaze is trained on me, assessing me in that way he has since the beginning.

"Do you want me to stay?" Typical Diego, never beating around the bush.

"Yes." My reply is instant and honest. "I am still an island in an ocean of Gallo."

Diego nods. "Good. It's time for me to put down some roots as well. Can't live life on the move forever. Has Alejandra been working through the books?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound happy."

"I'm not. My uncle had his fingers in so many pies that it's hard to keep track of everything." I feel a headache brewing already and it's not even ten o'clock yet. "I still have to worry about Konnor's retaliation for Devon's death, Regina won't come out of her room, and Rafe is acting like the perfect husband."

"That last part shouldn't worry you," he says and chuckles.

"And yet it does. Do you know what happens to people who try to force themselves into a mold that wasn't intended for them? They bottle up their anger, fear, all their emotions until they fucking blow up. I don't want that for him, for us." My confession falls from my lips without my permission.

Diego nods his understanding.

"Let's work through the problems as they arise," he suggests. "Konnor has closed ranks but I don't think he will make his move anytime soon. As for Regina, that is one you will have to take care of on your own."

"And everything Sebastian has destroyed in his wake. The lives he has ruined? How do I atone for that?"

"You don't. You fix what you can and make sure it doesn't happen again. His mistakes aren't yours to wear, but if you want the Hernandez name to be worth more than dirt, you need to take control now."

Diego's words repeat in my mind. I am not my uncle and his mistakes are not mine. I need to stop punishing myself for things I didn't do and couldn't control. Leaving him in the kitchen I make my way to Rafe's office. The door is open and I enter without knocking. Dom almost knocks me over in his haste to leave.

"Get your fucking murderer for hire under control," he says with a glare.

I wait until he slams the door before facing my husband with an arched brow.

"He's unhappy that Diego might be staying," Rafe says by way of explanation.

"Is staying," I correct.

"That's good?" Rafe asks.

"Yes. Diego is definitely someone to have around, especially with everything else we have going on." Taking a seat across from his desk I fold my hands in my lap. "I need to go to the compound."

"Why?" Rafe straightens in his chair.

"Alejandra found something in her hunt through my uncle's accounting that she won't disclose over the phone," I explain calmly. "We are currently running two families and I haven't been out of the house in a week."

"Konnor," Rafe starts, but I cut him off.

"He isn't going to make his move now. Knowing him the way I do, he will draw this out and wait until you have forgotten he is waiting in the wings before he strikes."

"It still disturbs me to know that you have a better grasp on that psycho than anyone else. That your families were so close and no one knew about it." Rafe shakes his head in disbelief. "If you really believe that is true, then I will accompany you in an hour."

"Thank you," I say, rising from my seat to leave him to his work.

A minute later, standing in the middle of our room, it hits me just how awkward everything is now. You would think it would have always been awkward, but no. Through kidnappings, death, violations on both ends, and so many broken promises, we have always known where we stood with one another. Now, it's like we are caught in limbo. We aren't moving forward, instead caught in this stupid little dance where we try not to offend or upset the other.

With the things he still doesn't know, there is bound to be a blow-up sooner or later, but I can't tell him everything just yet.