Page 248 of The One
“Send me those pictures of our police chief with that prostitute sitting on his face,” I say without preamble. “Straight to my phone, please.”
I hang up and rise, pulling on my suit jacket with a resigned sigh.
“Let’s visit our chief of police. We need to have a little chat.”
Rom stands as well but not before pouring himself a generous glass of whiskey. He downs it in one go, then shakes his head.
“You being Don is really messing with my sex life,” he grumbles.
I let out a dry, humorless chuckle. “Tell me about it. I’m not getting enough either.”
I glance around the office, the burden of responsibility closing in on me like an iron cage.
“If anyone wants this role, they can have it.”
And I’m not even sure I’m joking.
I slip into bed a few hours later, exhaustion numbing my limbs. The moment I slide beneath the covers, Mari instinctively moves closer, her warm body molding to mine. She doesn’t wake, just sighs softly in her sleep, her breath warm against my skin.
I wrap an arm around her, my fingers tracing slow, absentminded patterns along her arm.
“What do you really want?”
Tiero’s voice echoes in my mind, that single question looping over and over.
The answer hasn’t changed.
Mari.
I want her.
A life with her.
A future where I don’t spend every second looking over my shoulder, where I don’t come home to her with blood on my hands and exhausted bones.
But no matter how much I want that, I feel like I’m fucking it up. I’m being absent, preoccupied, and too consumed fighting fires that never stop burning.
The life I’ve been raised for is pulling me away from the one person who truly matters.
I can’t have the relationship I want with her while I’m Don.
It’s becoming clearer with every passing day, every missed dinner, every time I see the silent pain in her eyes when I leave yet again.
Sure, Tiero and I had busy times before. There’s never a moment in our world where someone isn’t scheming, betraying, or trying to climb higher. Before Mari, I didn’t mind. Before her, I had nothing to lose. And it was foremost Tiero’s responsibility to fix everything.
Now I do mind. I mind a lot.
And I refuse to lose her.
Lying here, with her safe in my arms, I finally make my decision.
I will finish what Tiero started for himself.
Mari and I are getting out of the Mafia. Alive.
Mari is still wrapped in the covers when I sit on the edge of the bed, brushing my fingers over her cheek to wake her. Her lashes flutter, and when her eyes meet mine, still heavy with sleep, I know this is the right choice.
“I want out,” I say, my voice quiet but resolute.
