Page 63 of Unleashed
“The truth.”
“Which is?”
“She’s yours. Always has been. And no matter how much I want to rip that fact out of the universe, I can’t.”
Maximo lets out a short bark of laughter. “Well, look at that. Fucker’s smart after all.”
“So you came all the way here, risked me breaking your neck, just to confess you lost?”
“You killed Michele for her. You tried to kill me…for her. You dragged her out of a church with a bloodied dress, took her to a goddamn island in the middle of nowhere, lied to her so you wouldn’t lose her, and had more of my men killed than I can count.”
“You’re really out here making me sound romantic.”
“What good is all that?” he snaps, cutting over me, “if now you’re hiding in this dusty goddamn library, drowning yourself in bourbon, while she’s pregnant, terrified—living through what’ssupposed to be the happiest time of her life alone?” His brow arches, sharp as a blade. “Tell me, Isaia. You too much of a coward to show up?”
“You think I don’t know that?” My voice rips out raw, broken at the edges. “If it were that easy, don’t you think I’d be with her right fucking now instead of wasting breath on you?”
“Then what’s stopping you? What excuse is big enough to leave her shattered while you rot in here, pretending you’re some kind of martyr?”
The room stills, the tension sharp.
“Unless…” Anthony watches me, suspicion thickening in his gaze. “Unless you’re not with her…because you’re protecting her from something.”
Maximo’s eyes cut to mine. A whole conversation happens in that look. My throat works, but no words come. Not yet.
“What is it?” Anthony’s voice lowers, but the demand doesn’t lose an ounce of bite. “Is she in danger?”
I drag a hand down my face, fury and exhaustion clawing at my chest.
Anthony steps forward, cane thudding once against the floor. “We might hate each other, Del Rossa, but wherever Everly’s concerned, I’ll do everything—everything—to keep her safe. But you have to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“We can handle it.”
“Clearly, you can’t. Or you wouldn’t be here. You’d be with her.”
“Don’t act like you know me.”
“I know what it’s like being a man who loves her. And I know, if she were mine, there’s only one thing that would keep me away from her, and that’s if her life were in danger with me in it.”
The words hang heavily, but I don’t respond. Maximo shifts beside me, arms crossed, gaze locked on me like he’s daring me to deny it.
“Jesus Christ. That’s it, isn’t it?” Anthony’s eyes sharpen. “You’re keeping your distance because you think you’ll fucking destroy her?”
“Think?” I spit the word. “Iknow.”
“Bullshit.” His cane jabs against the rug, punctuating every word. “You’ve already destroyed her. Every time she calls and you don’t answer. Every day you let her believe she’s raising your child on her own. That’s the wreckage, Del Rossa—not you showing up.This.” He waves between us, between the bottle on the desk and the shattered glass glittering across the floor. “This is cowardice dressed up as sacrifice.”
I grab the bottle of bourbon and fling it across the room, straight past Anthony’s face, exploding against the wall behind him.
The man doesn’t even flinch. “About time you showed some guts,” he mutters, swiping his shoulder. “Now, the way I see it, you either keep drinking yourself into the ground while she cries into a phone, or tell me what the fuck is threatening her so we can actually do something about it.”
He doesn’t back down. I don’t blink. Two men who’d slit each other’s throats without hesitation, standing locked in the one thing we’ll never shake. Her.
I glance at Maximo, and he confirms with a nod. “As much as it pains me, we could use Paladino’s help with this.”
“My brother?”
“Alexius already gave his permission.”
