28. Sal

Liam and I are getting married.

Gia's words rattle around in my mind. I think everyone around us has gone kind of quiet, and they're just staring at me.

Or I'm just hearing the echoes of what she said and everything else is quiet.

Liam and I are getting married.

If she's faking it, she's making a good fucking show out of it.

Because she does not, in any capacity, look like she's faking it.

Gia's fingers glide over Liam's arm. He steps closer to her, like he's protecting her.

From me.

My fingers clench into fists, and I gulp against the pain that's gripping my chest.

Liam and I are getting married.

"Well, first of all, totally want to just say congratulations," Stassi leans in and blows them both a kiss. "I most def want an invite to the wedding." she beams.

"Salvatore," Liam says with a tilt of his eyebrow. "Care to share your congratulations?"

If I open my mouth, I'm going to rip his throat out with my teeth.

I give him a curt nod.

"Oh, come on now. That's the type of felicitations you'd give to your sister-in-law?"

Gia rolls her eyes. "That's so silly, and definitely not how you describe that. Come on, pumpkin," she coos. "Let's go."

"But how will I know that they give Elio the message?" Liam growls.

My eyes go warily to the gun still hanging from his fingers.

The types of messages that we like to leave are not exactly legal.

And if it were me?

I would not leave someone to walk away from me with a message.

I would send a fucking statement.

Liam's eyes glitter, and I see the calculation in them. He's thinking the exact same thing that I've been thinking.

Fuck.

I need to get Stassi out of here.

Leaving Gia behind is going to kill me, but…

Liam and I are getting married.

"We'll go," I manage to grunt.

Stassi's fingers find mine. They're delicate, petite. Elegant.

I'd give anything to feel Gia's fingertips on my skin.

Hell, I'd throw Stassi to Liam if I thought that he had any interest.

I can't see that he does, not any more than I do. We can both appreciate Stassi is a beautiful woman, but…

Gia's the prize, and we both know it.

"Cool. Totally cool. I think Sal and I need to bounce, but again. You're going to just be the cutest couple," Stassi says with a little wrinkle of her nose.

"Come on, Sal," she smiles.

"Follow them," Liam barks at his red headed henchman.

The last thing I want to do is turn my back on them. On Gia. On the baby I know she's carrying.

Fuck.

Fuck.

My heart slams against my ribs. How is this fucking real? My skin feels hot. My muscles refuse to move, and my knees are locked.

I open my mouth.

Shut it.

I stare at Gia.

She stares back. Her hand snakes into Liam's, and she squeezes it.

Her eyebrow arches at me. Like she's daring me to prove her wrong.

Like she's daring me to do something.

That, more than anything, makes my heart feel like it's being shredded.

Gia is fucking with me. She's playing some kind of fucking game. I have no doubt that she doesn't really love Liam, and she's just making him play whatever tune she has in her head. She's going to walk out of this someday, head held high, bullets raining down around her like hail, but she's going to be fine.

Gia has a plan.

Which means that ultimately, my deepest fear is true.

Gia doesn't care about me. She's never cared about me the way that I care about her.

She doesn't love me.

It's that final thought that decimates me.

My chest feels like it's been broken in half, shredded more effectively than any bullet ever could. I'm barely breathing, and when Stassi tugs me toward the dock and the boat, I just follow her.

The red-haired mother fucker follows us the whole way. He has a pump-action shotgun, with two rounds chambered.

I wonder if I'd be able to swing on him before he can unload one of them…

Stop.

There's no point in going over this again in my mind. Gia made her choice. Even if she doesn't feel anything for the Irish fuck, she's not choosing me.

She's choosing the life she always wanted.

I'm the idiot who thought she would change for him.

It's my fault. She told me exactly who she was. Exactly what she wanted.

I'm the one who fucking believed her.

Stassi gives all kinds of orders in Danish that I'm barely tracking on. Somehow, the boat is pulling away from the dock. I'm still halfway impressed that we haven't been shot.

Maybe I'm hoping that I will be.

It would hurt less, I think. I know, actually. Having been shot before, the physical pain is manageable.

What I'm feeling now is agony.

Pure, simple agony.

When the shore of Greenland is finally curving away over the horizon, Stassi comes to sit by me in the dining area. She pulls up two chairs, putting her long legs out over one of them.

"So, like… what's the vibe?"

I stare at her. "What?"

"You look like you've been really through something," she says.

She's braided her platinum blonde bob into two braids that arch over her head. She looks like something out of a sci-fi film with the long cashmere wrap she has on.

How the hell did she get a cashmere wrap?

"I'm fine," I say.

My voice sounds hollow, and Stassi's eyebrows raise. "That sounds like someone who is totally not fine."

"I'm fine."

Stassi sighs. She leans back in the chair and shuts her eyes. "You know, that's who kidnapped me."

I turn to look at her.

"The like… tattooed guy. Except I think the guy who captured me in Belarus was like, totally meaner. This one looks like he could be his twin."

"He is," I say slowly. "Kieran was the one who died."

"Well, he sucked," Stassi says, like she's an Emperor sending a Gladiator to death.

I laugh, a humorless sound that's lost in the roar of the engines. "He kidnapped my sister too."

"Oh my god. No way," Stassi turns, her eyes wide. "Like, what's his deal?"

"I think there's probably some type of inheritance clause. Neither one of them can be the full leader of the gang until they're married."

"Ew. That's like, a thing?"

"Yeah. It's definitely a thing." God, am I going to come out of this talking like Stassi? That's a fucking nightmare.

"Why kidnap Gia, though?"

I shake my head. "I don't know," I say hollowly.

"Like, aren't you guys and the Irish kind of really mad at each other?"

I tilt my head. "Yeah. Why?"

"So, is he trying to be your enemy, or your bestie?"

Bestie… I frown.

I hadn't actually considered that.

There are plenty of women to marry in the world. Plenty of women in the mafia. Hell, there's plenty of women in Ireland.

Why the hell did he go for Gia?

"Anyways. Just seems weird, you know? Like I was probably an easier target."

"You sell yourself short, Stassi," I say curtly. "You're pretty fucking formidable."

Stassi makes a little gasping sound. "Oh my god. That is so nice. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I respond, a little bemused.

Stassi settles back in her chair. "I bet Gia's planning something."

"She is," I confirm.

"Well, that's like good then, right? Because if she's just planning something, then she'll escape, and you guys can be together forever!"

"She doesn't want me," I say roughly.

Stassi sighs. "Oh my god. Totally not true. I can tell from the way she talked about you…"

"She doesn't want me, Stassi. She wants what she wants more than she wants me."

"You don't think…"

"Don't fucking talk about Gia again," I snarl.

Stassi blinks.

Oh god.

It's like yelling at a puppy.

I feel like a fucking monster. "Stassi, I'm sorry…"

"It's fine," she sniffles. "I know when I'm not wanted."

Jesus fucking… "I'm just a little tired right now."

"Okay," she sniffles again.

Fuck.

Now I made her cry.

I stand and turn. "Where do you want to go?" I ask her abruptly.

Stassi blinks up at me. "What do you mean?"

"Now. Where do you want to go? Where should I return you to?"

"Um… I don't know. Where are you going?"

I narrow my eyes. "Why?"

"Well like, this isn't over yet, right? So don't we need to follow Gia?"

"No," I say curtly. "I'm not following her anywhere."

"Okaaaaay," Stassi draws it out. "So where are you going then?"

I stare out over the ocean.

There's only one place I want to go.

"Italy," I grunt.

* * *

I dropStassi off in Marseille. I refuse to find out if that asshole French gangster is still there, so I personally see her to the airport.

She gets back on the plane to London without any issue.

And I go to the house that I bought for us.

I don't know how long I'm going to be there. I don't know how long I should be. I assume that eventually, life will resume its flow around me.

Eventually, I'll move on.

Elio will know by now that Gia chose to marry Liam.

Everyone will know soon enough that I failed.

But no one will know how devastated I am. No one is going to see it.

Because I'm not going back.

There's nothing for me there, in that life. I'm not Elio's spy. I'm not anyone's protector. I'm a failure.

A failure who couldn't get the person he loved to love him back.

Days kind of blur together. I eat food if it's delivered. I drink myself under the table, more than once. Wine is free flowing in Italy, and I have a pretty good cellar here.

One that I built for her.

Eventually, I decide that I need to change. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting in these clothes, but it's long enough that I'm aware of how I must smell.

When I strip off the jeans I've had on for longer than I remember, something falls out and clatters on the tile floor of my bedroom.

It's my phone.

I haven't looked at my phone in…

A while.

I plug it in to the charger. When the phone is finally charged enough to turn on, I open it and tap my password in.

A barrage of messages flood the screen. They're from everyone. Dino. Elio. Lots from Elio. Caterina.

My eyes tear up at the next ones. Luna.

She wants to know where her uncle Sal is.

That one almost kills me, but the next set of messages…

They're from Caterina.

I'm having my babies now, you butthead! Where the heck are you!

Please come home. I need you.

Sal, I'm scared.

Please come back.

Fuck.

I slam my head back against the wall.

I missed the birth of my new niece and nephew. And my sister needed me.

But I missed it.

I'm sulking, pissed at myself, when I hear a knock.

There's someone at the door.

I grab my gun and march toward the door, pointing it down and out of the way.

No one knows about this place, I reassure myself.

The knocking, however, is loud.

Firm.

Like someone knows I'm here.

I get next to the door. I'm still trying to bank on the fact that no one knows I'm here, when a very, very familiar voice floats through the door.

"Sal! I gave birth a week ago and I had to drag my butt all the way out here and if you don't open up I'm going to lose my mind!"

Caterina.

I take my finger off the trigger and toss the gun down. I open the door.

Caterina is standing in front of me. She looks like hell. Her hair is up in a messy bun, her skin is really pale. Her eyes are kind of watery, and she's holding herself against the doorframe like it hurts to stand.

I've never been happier to see my sister in my whole entire life.

For just a minute, I don't care how she got here. I don't care why.

I'm just so happy to see her that I want to collapse.

"Cat…" I start.

She pushes in and wraps her arms around me.

And starts sobbing.

Cautiously, I put my arms up and hold her. "Um. Hi?"

"You're so mean, Salvatore De Luca!"

Uh-oh. It's never good when Caterina uses my full name. I cringe, ready for the lecture that's definitely about to follow.

Caterina pulls back, her eyes streaming tears. "You are the worst out of all my brothers! I hate you! Why the heck did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"No one has seen or heard from you in three weeks!"

Three…

"Oh," I say softly.

"Yeah. Oh," she snarls at me. "I literally had the babies a week ago. One. Freaking. Week. And no one has heard from you. Stassi Novikov, of all people, was the last person to see you alive. I swear to God, Sal…My body hurts so much right now and if I don't sit down in the next ten seconds I'm going to pee on you so let me in!" she cries.

Meekly, I move out of the way. My sister hobbles into my house.

And collapses on the couch.

Gingerly, I move over to her. "Um. Are you okay?"

"No!' she shrieks. "I thought you were dead!"

"How did you find me? No one knows where…"

"Oh, your secret real estate empire? The fact that you're secretly a billionaire and you just never wanted to tell us?"

I blink. "How…" my voice trails off.

Then, I shut my eyes. "Stassi."

"Yeah, Stassi. Did you know she has a master's degree in like computer hacking or something like that?"

"And a PhD in biology," I mutter.

"Didn't know about that, but yeah. Stassi Novikov. She found your little real estate side hustle," Caterina waves her hands at me. "And she found you here. And she helped me get on a plane while her uncle distracts Elio at like a Russian spa, so you better get the hell back on this plane and come back with me!"

"No," I whisper.

Caterina sits up. "Huh?"

I shut my eyes. "No, Cat. I can't go back."

"Why not?"

I don't know if it's the fact that she's, my sister. Or that she flew on a jet one-week postpartum. Or that she's here in front of me.

But I take one breath.

And then I tell Caterina…

Everything.