Chapter 24

CLEO

T he truck hugged the curves of the mountain road, tires crunching over gravel and dried leaves. Shafts of golden sunlight slanted through the pine branches, striping the rugged slopes in saffron and shadow.

I’d insisted on driving back. ‘I know all the potholes and ditches from Moss Vale to home.’

Still, as I gripped the steering wheel, I inhaled quickly, needing reassurance from what was bothering me.

Alessio stared through the windshield, watching the ridge crests burn rose gold in the fading light, his handsome face in profile. The air between us was taut, heavy with unspoken words.

Soon, I couldn’t wait any more.

I pulled the car to the side of the mountain track, the late afternoon radiance filtering through the trees and dappling the windowpane.

I turned in my seat to face him, my expression pensive, the weight of implicit thoughts pressing against my lips, a dam ready to burst.

He shifted in his chair, the leather creaking.

‘Alessio,’ trying to make sense of my spiraling thoughts. ‘I need to ask you something -.’

My voice trailed off.

‘Si,’ he rasped, brushing a stray hair on my forehead. ‘What’s on your mind, cara?’

I caught his hand, lacing our fingers together. ‘Alessio, I -’ I paused, gaze dropping to our intertwined hands. ‘You said something at the cafe. That you were the man who brought him down the first time. You also stated his loose lips in prison led to the deaths of your mother and father. What was that all about?’

He sucked his teeth and took a hissed inhale.

With a sigh, he rubbed a hand over his jaw, rugged with stubble.

‘Cleo,’ he began, voice rough with emotion. ‘What I’m about to tell you is not easy to share. But you deserve to know the truth, cara. So here goes. Franco Conti has been on my kill list for many years. It all originated with your grandfather.’

My eyebrow arched. ‘Poppa?’

Alessio nodded. ‘Not sure if you knew, but he was an ex-mafia capo for the Omertà alliance.’

A jolt of shock hit me. ‘What the hell?’

‘It’s true. Your grandfather went by the pseudonym Cesare Michele. His real name was Cosimo Matteo from Napoli. He was about to go to jail for murder when my Poppa, Constantino, helped him escape to Australia, where he changed his identity and disappeared as best he was able. However, he and Constantino remained friends until my grandfather died. When you were kidnapped by Conti and brought to Naples to have your sham marriage blessed by the pope, that’s when your Poppa called my dad, Stephano, to help. I was sent to rescue you.’

I stared at him, shaking my head. ‘I’d no idea.’

‘It’s an old oath that we were determined to keep.’

I sat silent, eyes fixed on the road ahead, heart racing.

I faced him and touched his arm, still parsing what he’d told me. ‘I thank you for keeping that promise, honey.’

He stuck a tongue in his cheek and growled, ‘So you’re not mad at me?’

‘I might say fuck you, but that’d make me a bitch. You gave me my life back, Alessio, and I appreciate you for it. Please know that. Although using a gun on me this time and telling a white lie about my Nonna was scraping the barrel.’

‘I’m so sorry, mia sola,’ he groaned, raw and ragged, as moisture misted my eyes. ‘Shit strategy, but I wasn’t sure if you’d let me into your world unless -‘

‘Unless you bulldozed your way in! Typical man. Why didn’t you just ask?’

I laughed in between my tears.

He reached a hand and stroked the corner of my temple. ‘I froze. Just like I did when I first rescued you because I had an MS flare and went numb in the hand holding to you.’

‘Is that right?’

‘Si. You ran off, and I strung up Franco. When I’d tied him up, I searched his hotel room. I found weapons, drugs, and all the evidence that he’d kidnapped you and handed him and the proof over to the authorities. He got put away for a few good years. During that time, he somehow learned the Calibrese family was involved in his imprisonment, and he never forgave us for snatching his bride-to-be away and landing him in prison. So he started rumors in jail of how my father, Stephano, conspired against Carlo Abrazzio. The long and short of it, an already paranoid Carlo thought the hearsay was true and bombed my parents’ and uncle’s car, killing them. As head capo of my family, this was shit I couldn’t let fly. Since then, I’ve kept tabs on Franco and you. Waiting for the right moment to strike.’

Alessio paused, the pain of that betrayal still fresh in his mind.

I tagged and squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.

‘He couldn’t get to me, so he went after the people I loved most.’

Alessio’s voice cracked, and I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, feeling his anguish. ‘He had them killed, Cleo. And it was all because of me. I should have eliminated Franco on the night I found him with you in Naples. Instead, I let the fuzz take him. Not knowing how he’d knife us in the back in the worst way possible.’

The words hung heavy between us, the weight of his confession almost suffocating.

My eyes glistened with unshed tears, my hand tightening around his as I processed the revelation.

‘Baby,’ I whispered, voice trembling. ‘I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine the pain you must have gone through.’

He shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at his sensual lips. ‘It’s grief I’ve carried with me every day since. A constant reminder of the consequences of my actions, of the price others paid for my mistakes. ’

I reached up, palm cupping his cheek as I forced him to meet my gaze. ‘You can’t blame yourself, Alessio. You were doing your job, trying to bring a dangerous man to justice. What happened to your parents, that’s on Franco, not you.’

He leaned into my touch, drawing strength from my unwavering support. ‘I know that, logically. But it doesn’t make the guilt any easier to bear.’

‘Baby,’ I breathed, stroking his jaw.

‘What are you thinking?’ he rasped. ‘Does this change how you see me? Us?’

Silence stretched between us, and the only sounds were the distant chirping of birds and the gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze.

He turned to look at me, but I fixed my eyes on the road ahead.

When I spoke again, I kept my tone soft.

‘It changes us for the better. You risked your life for me, honey, then and now. For that, I love you even more.’

His voice hitched, a hoarse timbre dragging out of me. ‘You love me?’

I tapped my heart, giving him the fullness of my soul, smiling at him.

It’d been a short time together, but one so intense it felt like I’d known him for years. Which made my declaration that much more poignant given the shit we’d been through.

‘Fuck woman, stop,’ he grunted, those sensual lips curling, his leonine eyes flashing. ‘If you don’t, you’ll need to give me your heartbeat because you’re taking off with mine.’

He leaned in and took my jaw, gentle thumb caressing my cheek. ‘Ti amo. Sei la mia anima gemella, you’re my dream mate, Cleo. ’

I slid across the truck’s bench seat, burying my nose in his nape.

He inhaled, and his musk and scent filled my lungs as he held me close. The scorching heat of his body against me was all I needed to exist.

Taking my time, I pulled back, his hands stroking my face.

‘I meant every word,’ he murmured. ‘Franco’s carelessness cost my parents their lives. Bringing him to justice is the only way to honor their memory.’

I exhaled, my shoulders rising and falling with emotion under my thin sweater. ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Did you not trust me?’

‘No, cara, never that.’ Alessio reached for my free hand, lacing their fingers together. My skin was cool, the slim bones delicate beneath his rough palm. ‘I wanted to protect you from my past. From the man I was before.’

‘The man you are is all that matters to me.’ I shot him a glance, my eyes green and gold in the honeyed light. ‘No more secrets, Alessio. Promise me.’

‘No more,’ he vowed, lifting my hand to brush his lips across my knuckles. ‘From now on, you’ll know everything. My heart is an open book.’

I sighed and glanced away from him, eyes canted to the view outside the car window.

‘You’re one of a kind man,’ I whispered. ‘Rare,’ I added as if not quite believing it.

‘Why do you say so?’

I turned to lock eyes with Alessio. ‘Because most men I’ve encountered have been monsters. They’ve suffered no consequences for the horrible things they’ve perpetrated on women. Despite their behavior, I’ve had to retain hope and keep fucking trucking, no matter what they’d done to me, or I’d have been too angry to live.’

My voice rose, the bitterness within me welling up. ‘From my father to Franco and his sons, my lifetime has been spent witnessing others manipulating, lying, bullying, misleading, and freakin’ forcing marriage on me — all consequence-free.’

‘You’ve earned your anger,’ Alessio rasped, his finger stroking my cheek.

‘Damn right I have,’ I growled. ‘But I’ve worked hard not to let it poison me by isolating myself to heal.’

‘And have you healed?’ He murmured.

‘I’m getting close,’ I told him, facing him. ‘You need to know, baby, that for me to love and trust you means you need to see me for everything I am. To recognize the facade of quiet calm I put on for the world is nothing more than a mask. The question is: Will you want to know and love it all? My flaws, my past, my shit?’

I raised my face in defiance, daring him, my heart pounding as his eyes narrowed in contemplation, never leaving my face.’

His hand moved to cradle my chin. ‘Here’s a question for you: Will you love me all with my kinks, my resting badass face, my morally gray sins, and my gruffness?’

He had a point.

‘Cara, we’re both broken to some degree,’ he rumbled in his deep timbre. ‘We both, unfortunately, or fortunately, carry the bullshit of our fucked up past. This means we understand each other more than anyone else would, making us each other’s haven, our safe space. Will you trust that united and on the same team, we’ll make sure Franco pays for everything he’s done to you and countless others?’

I gave him a long look. ‘Only if we do it by the book. No more secrets, no more going it alone.’

‘Fuck yeah, we’re doing it together, and secret-free,’ he grunted, pulling me into his arms and holding me close once more.