Chapter 14

ALESSIO

G roveling fuckin’ sucked.

My version involved physical servitude: trudging across Cleo’s property with a spool of wire and a hammer hanging from my belt loop.

The sun beat down on my neck as I surveyed the crooked, splintered fence posts jutting from the soil.

I started at one corner, where the perimeter line disappeared into overgrown blackberry bushes. Cursing under my breath, I fought through the thorns, ripping my shirt sleeve.

There - a broken slat dangled limply, the rusted nails just about holding it in place. I yanked it free and tossed it aside.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I selected a fresh board from the stack I’d hauled over in my SUV.

With precise whacks, I nailed it into position, the ringing of metal on metal echoing across the fields .

This shit was so far removed from the boardrooms and backstreet brawl clubs I’d become so used to.

It called on my military experience and brought back old memories.

It also purified the soul and helped to beat back my demons.

I took my time along the boundary, walking the fence lines and stopping every few feet to mend a weak spot.

I plugged knotholes with wood putty, twisted errant wires back into alignment, and replaced rotted posts knocked askew by fallen tree limbs.

I went as far as the Conti compound.

Studying the farmstead for a long time from beneath a stand of trees, as I’d done several mornings now, gathering intel and planning an infil while I paid penance for my sins.

Hours slipped by under the relentless Australian sun. My hands were nicked and raw, and dirt caked the sweat on my arms, but still, I continued, fueled by a grim resolve to do right by her.

The systematic work helped calm my restless thoughts.

I got back to the cabin by mid-afternoon.

Her door was still shut, and silence reigned.

I searched around for what more I could do and spotted the loose slates on her outhouse.

Clambering up the rickety ladder propped against the small building, I balanced precariously on the top rung, a stack of shingles tucked under one arm.

The old roof was a patchwork of rot and broken tiles, the exposed plywood beneath buckling from many rain seasons.

I pried off the damaged panels one by one, tossing them into the overgrown grass below with a satisfying thump. Sweat trickled down my back as I worked, the air heavy with the scent of pine sap and distant wood smoke.

With care, I aligned the new roofing, hammering each into place with precise strikes.

The shadows grew long, and the cicadas began their evening song when I hammered the last staple.

I stood back, surveying my work with weary satisfaction.

It wasn’t enough to atone for what I’d done. But it was a start.

When I climbed down, the outhouse roof gleamed with tidy rows of fresh tiles, a small bastion of order amid the chaos.

I allowed myself a brief surge of pride before actuality crashed back in. Cleo was still fuming inside her cabin, nursing her grudge like a dog worrying about a bone.

Sighing, I stowed the leftover supplies and trudged towards my SUV.

Resigned to a different reality, pulling out the sizable swag bag from my car.

I found a secluded spot in her backyard.

Setting up the tent was a mechanical process. My body moved on autopilot while my mind replayed her last words to me over and over.

I rehearsed awkward attempts at an apology in my head. In my past, making amends was simple - I’d never offered any.

Fuck.

I mulled the matter, eating tinned minestrone, before falling back into the sleeping bag.

Closing my eyes, I let the day’s events wash over me. It had been a roller coaster of emotions.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration for her stubborn resolve, even as I grappled with the sting of rejection.

Cleo was a force to be reckoned with, and winning her over wouldn’t be easy.

I considered knocking again, demanding that she hear me out. But something told me that pushing too hard would only make things worse. No, I would have to play the long game to earn Cleo’s forgiveness.

Patience, I reminded myself. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were second chances.

I’d always taken pride in being in control and holding all the cards, but now I realized how fragile that illusion was.

The silence of the night was broken only by the distant howling of a solitary wild dog.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. I was a lone dingo now, cast out from the warmth of her cabin, left to fend for solo in the wilderness of my own making.

‘Cazzo,’ I groaned.

I missed her, longing for her scent, skin, eyes, and laugh.

This was torture, to be lying a stone’s throw from her, knowing I couldn’t see her. So close, yet so far.

Sleep eluded me all night, my thoughts consumed by the weight of my mistakes.

When the sun rose, painting the sky in hues of orange and red, I felt none of its warmth.

Just an icy chill and hollow emptiness that threatened to swallow me whole.

Jumpy as a skittish savage cat, I sat up in my cot.

Fuck the long game.

I needed a resolution for us now.

I had one play.

With a twist of my lips, I decided to use it.

I marched to her door and banged on it.

I was about to hit it once more when the door was wrenched open by a sleepy, angry woman.

‘Alessio, for the love of -.’

I lifted a hand to pause her tirade before she went wild on me and wordlessly pushed an offering into her hand.

She unfurled her palm, revealing a jade bead bracelet.

The same one she’d lost on the night I’d rescued her in Naples.

She stared at me, at the weary, shitty lines on my face, and then down at the cluster of aquamarine beads in her hand.

I had no words left to say.

So I didn’t.

Her eyes narrowed as she brought them closer, studying the beads.

Seconds later, her face transformed into a soft smile.

‘No freakin way,’ she whispered in that gentle way she had that threatened to send me to my knees in supplication. ‘My grandparents gave me this to me on my sixteenth birthday. I thought I lost it.’

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Still, I had to, and my vocalization was raw, hoarse. ‘You dropped it when you ran. I kept it.’

I’d done more than keep the jade gems; I’d turned them into prayer beads, my aquamarine-stringed rosary.

They’d been my peace, my ritual in meditation, especially after my father’s death.

I panicked if I ever misplaced them, even for one moment.

I’d never traveled, moved, or spent an hour away from them.

Many times, I’d thought about returning them to her.

I hadn’t, needing to remain connected to her somehow.

She stared back at me, eyes wide in disbelief. ‘You’ve held onto them all this time? ’

I nodded, twisting my lips.

She took in my words, shaking her head in incredulity. ‘What am I freakin’ going to do with you?’

Her voice was edged with exasperation, and I sighed, almost stepping away until I caught the tenderness in her eye.

It shored me and gave strength to my weakened limbs.

‘Is this your apology?’

I shrugged. ‘It’s what you want it to be.’

We locked eyes for a long moment before I bit my lip and made to leave.

She reached a hand to stay me. ‘Wait.’

I turned back to her, hope rising.

‘One thing, Alessio, you said you subsidized my grandmother’s hospice care?’

I had to tell her the whole truth. ‘I bought the fuckin’ facility.’

‘For her?’

I inhaled with sharp emotion. ‘For you.’

She stared at me for an extended beat. ‘Just double checking what you told me last night. You were the sponsor who reduced my fees and gifted me months of free accommodation for Nonna?’

I sucked my teeth and looked away, letting my silence be my answer.

‘Why?’

‘Because I wanted to.’

Now, she was apprised of how much of a hold she had on me.

Leaving me weak, exposed, vulnerable as fuck.

Still, I met her eyes.

I’d aggravated her and was now motivated to get us past it .

She tilted her head and searched my face for a long time. ‘Calibrese, I see your heart,’ she finally whispered. ‘It’s not as black as you’d have me believe.’

I sliced my eyes at her, letting my need for her bleed through.

To her credit, she didn’t push me further. Instead, she took my hand and pressed an object into it.

I glanced down to see her jade bracelet in my palm.

‘Take it, it’s yours. If it has brought you peace all these years, hold onto it, Alessio. I won’t take it from you.’

She could, but only if she surrendered her heart in its place.

Turning on her heel, she eased inside her cabin.

I lingered at its threshold, uncertain of whether I was welcome.

She swiveled her head and nailed me with those stunning emerald eyes. ‘You coming soldier?’

I gave her a slight turn of my lips and followed, not unlike a battle-weary warrior returning from the cold.

‘Hungry?’ she murmured in her soft, sweet cadence.

I growled, as did my tummy. ‘Si.’

‘Minestrone?’

I cursed, wondering how she knew. She must have smelt it wafting from the tent out back.

‘Too early in the fuckin’ morning,’ I grated, following her lush ass into her home.

‘It’s never too early for anything, Calibrese.’

I tagged the tease in her voice and clenched my fists. Fighting a craving to pull her into my chest, thrust a hand down her panties, and flick her clit until she came so hard she blacked out.

Fotto.