Present
Stupid.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
That’s all that’s been on repeat in my mind for the last two days.
What the hell had possessed me to kiss him back? Why didn’t I stop him sooner?
Because you wanted him.
Ugh. I had a clear plan in place when coming back to the city.
Job.
Reconnect with my brother.
Make friends.
Not fall back into the pits of hell with Marco goddamn Romano.
I guess the one good thing to come from the kiss was that I haven’t seen or heard from Marco in two days. I guess me kicking him out gave him no choice but to finally get the message.
So yes, it’s a good thing, because now I don’t have to deal with him.
Is that really what I wanted, though?
I shake my head at myself and push that little voice aside for now. I can’t deal with her tonight. I may not have heard from Marco, but I have heard from another Romano. Izzy messaged me this morning and asked me to stop by her apartment after my shift so she could update me on what she’s found. To say I’ve been antsy as fuck all day is an understatement.
I step into Izzy and Luca’s apartment and spot her and Enzo’s wife sitting on the couch.
“Sloane!” Izzy calls and I grin at her.
“Hey,” I say and take a seat in the chair opposite them. My eyes slide over Robyn briefly as I recall the last time I saw her, when she was in the hospital and I thought she was married to Marco. My eyes gravitate to her stomach and I can see how her bump has grown since then. I swallow the knot in my throat before diverting my attention to Izzy.
“So… I did bring you here to update you, but I also brought you here because it’s girls’ night and you are now officially part of that,” she says with a grin. I cock a brow at her.
Behind me, the elevator sounds and I turn to see a man enter. He’s definitely not a Romano, and he doesn’t look like one of their guards, so I’m curious to see who he is since he can just walk in here as he pleases.
“Bestie.” The man grins at Izzy before turning to Enzo’s wife.
“Robyn! I’m surprised Enzo hasn’t locked you away somewhere yet,” he says with a smirk. She laughs while Izzy mutters, “It’s not for lack of trying,” just loud enough for me to hear.
He then turns to me and cocks his head. Something flashes behind his eyes, but it’s gone too quickly for me to interpret it.
“You’re new,” he says.
I raise a brow at him, but stay silent.
“Ah. You must be Marco’s girl. I’m not gonna catch it from being here with you three, am I?”
“Catch what?”
“Commitment,” he deadpans.
“You might off those two,” I wave to Izzy and Robyn, “but you certainly won’t get it from me.”
“He hasn’t gotten you to come around yet? Whatever happened to all of that Romano charm?”
I roll my eyes, trying to go for nonchalant when I’m internally agreeing with him. Only things are so much more complicated than anyone knows…
“Anywaaaay,” Izzy drawls, taking the attention away from me. “Ignore Alec, I do. I have an update for you.” She shoots me a pointed look, suddenly serious, and I bite my lip.
“From what I’ve gathered, whoever hired the guy to deliver the notes to you is also the guy who hired the men who attacked the docks that night and ended up shooting Marco. I talked to Luca and Marco about that, but we haven’t determined yet whether they’re targeting you because of Marco, or if they were targeting him because of you.”
I nod along with what she’s saying, trying to figure out who the hell would care enough about me to not only target me, but to target the Romanos too.
“I know you and Marco aren’t currently speaking, which is why I’m the one telling you this and not him, since he wants to give you some space. You need to tell your brother what’s going on, Sloane. It’s not just little notes left under your door anymore. And if Finn finds out we know about it and didn’t tell him? He’ll lose his shit.”
I sigh. I knew this was coming, but it’s still hard to accept. My brother will lose his damn mind when I do tell him, and I’ll have to fight like hell for him not to keep me under lock and key. I love my brother to death, but I’m not going back to living my life the way I grew up for anyone.
“I’ll tell him tomorrow,” I murmur.
“Great,” Izzy says with a clap of her hands. “Now, who wants pizza?”
Once again, I find myself staring up at my childhood home. I’d texted Finn this morning and told him I needed to talk to him about something. Of course, he told me to come over straight away and offered to send me a driver.
No use putting it off, I suppose.
I walk into the house and find Finn sitting at the kitchen island, scrolling on his phone. His head snaps up when he hears me enter and a wide smile spreads across his face.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hey.”
“So, what do you need to talk to me about? Does it have anything to do with a certain ex-boyfriend of yours?”
“Kinda,” I say and bite my lip, trying to force myself to get the words out. “But not how you think.”
His brows furrow and he nods once before motioning for me to sit down. Once I do, I take a seat and tell him everything. Everything. I watch as a range of emotions spread across his face. Shock to anger. Anger to burning rage. Burning rage to sadness. Sadness to gut clenching sorrow.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Answer me something, Finn. How tempted are you to make me move back in here and quit my job right now?”
Just like I knew he would, he huffs, but doesn’t answer, because that is exactly what was going through his head.
“I’m still pissed you didn’t tell me,” he grumbles. “And you need a guard on you, Sloane. I know you don’t like it, but I’ll never be able to concentrate, let alone rest, if I don’t know that you’re safe.”
He begins pacing the kitchen, running his hands through his hair as he does.
“I guess it makes sense now, why Marco called me and asked me why you didn’t have a guard. But wait.” He spins towards me. “Why isn’t he here now? Why aren’t you staying with him?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ve been spending time with Marco, no?” A look of confusion passes across his face. “I figured you were back together?”
“Why the hell are you so obsessed with this? You do realize you aren’t even supposed to like him? You should be warning him away from me, not pushing him towards me. And after what he did ten years ago, how can you want that for me?”
“For fuck’s sake, Sloane!” he snaps, and I jolt from the change in his attitude. “I swear, you’re so fucking stubborn. He didn’t just break your heart because he didn’t care. He knew.”
He knew? Who knew what?
He couldn’t mean…
“No,” I whisper in horror.
Finn gives me a reluctant nod, regret clear in his eyes.
“What happened?” I bark and he sighs.
“I don’t know all the details. I just know that Marco did what he had to do to keep you safe, which is why I know he’s perfect for you. He may have broken your heart, little sis, but he broke his own, too, just to make sure you were okay. I didn’t want to tell you back then because I knew you would do something that none of us could take back. I was fucking terrified about what Dad would do to you if you stayed, so I persuaded him to send you to live with Aunt Jen.” Anger that I’ve never felt towards my brother before bubbles to the surface.
He knew. All these years, my dad knew and Finn didn’t tell me.
And Marco. Oh my god, Marco.
He’s been trying to tell me, trying to get me to listen to his side of things.
“I’m sorry, Sloane,” he whispers.
I don’t respond. I turn and walk right out the door.
I know I should talk to him. I should talk to Marco, too, but what I really need right now is to be alone. I feel like a little girl again, hiding from my father’s wrath. And I guess, in a way, that’s exactly what I’m doing. He may be dead, but the consequences of his actions will live on forever.
I may be able to forgive Marco, but he’ll never be able to forgive me for everything that followed.
I can’t expect him to forgive me when I can’t even forgive myself.
