Page 88 of A Bond Beyond Blood
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gannon
I’d endured true pain in my lifetime.Losing a parent would do that to a person, deliver hurt like they’d never experienced before and never wanted to again.
I’d died on a cold April night, utterly alone and beyond miserable, and the pain I woke up with, the hunger that burned and scraped through my insides like scalding fire had been excruciating.
I’d ached, with guilt and shame and a deep-seated self-loathing after every accidental kill.
And yet, this was something else entirely.
I was fracturing as I stood here, stunned silent, every piece of me a shard, raw and hard-edged and sharp.
As I watched my girl melt into another man’s arms, my chest ripped open and emptied, my heart a useless pile of rotted muscle and flesh on the floor.
As I watched him kiss her like he was layingclaim, I wondered if I hadn’t truly felt thisparticularpain, thisloss, before at all.
Because as much as I’d missed Jackie, grieved her, hated myself for leaving her, I hadn’t truly felt the pain of knowing she’d never be mine again.
The way it felt to see that she was truly gone, in love with another man...
I hung my head and closed my eyes as my soul shattered into a thousand tiny shards, each one sharp and edged in acid, each one a new way to tear me apart from the inside out.
Jacqueline Alessia Fiorino would never be mine again.
I’d never wanted to go home more desperately than I did at that moment.I glanced over my shoulder at the door.I didn’t actuallyhavea home anymore, but I didn’t have to stay here.She didn’t want me; she’d made that abundantly clear more than once—
A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I swiveled my head to look at Elias.
“Cheer up, my boy,” he whispered, “we’re only getting started.”He winked and released me, then cleared his throat and raised his voice a bit.“Yes, well, as delightful as this is, if you could stop pissing on the girl’s leg, there is much to discuss.”
I dared a look at Vinny and Jackie, exhaling when he finally pulled his lips away from hers.She didn’t look at me as she turned in his arms, then they both walked over to the couch and sat down together, and I was grateful for that small favor.With their backs to me, I could swipe at my cheeks, disappearing the evidence of my pain.
I moved to stand in the kitchen, putting as much distance between her and me as I could without actually leaving the Fiorino home.When Elias settled back into Franco’s chair, I glanced at Jackie, but she didn’t even flinch.
“Wonderful.Now then, I’d like to propose—”
