I don’t take my eyes off her as she walks out of the door. I want her by my side always. Grabbing a bottle of scotch tucked away in the safe, I pour two glasses.
“Are you okay?” I ask as he knocks back the drink.
He shakes his head and grunts.
“Are you?” he asks.
“Not even close, but getting there. I have my girl back.”
“I don’t understand why you have to leave.”
I stand and walk to him, clasping my hand down on his shoulder.
“Frankie and Grayson can hold down the fort. We have our army. I don’t want her anywhere near this.”
He nods. “I’m proud of you, brother.”
I tilt my head. Proud? I had our mom killed, and he was nearly blown up.
“You shouldn’t be.” I shake my head, the sudden need to drown my feelings creeping back up.
“I’ll miss you,” he says.
“I know you will, I’m a fucking delight.” I bite back a smile.
He spits out his scotch all over the table. “No, you’re a pain in the ass, Luca.”
I’m going to miss him.
“I never thought I’d see the day a woman nails Luca Russo down.”
“She’s special. I knew right from the start. I always joked about you and Grayson being pussy whipped, but damn, I get it. That woman can tie me up and spank my ass and I won’t argue.”
She did rope me down, and I loved every second of it.
“Yeah, it happens, but I prefer to be the one doing the spanking,” he chuckles.
A seriousness flashes across his face. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could have helped. You didn’t have to do this all on your own. If they threatened my daughter, you know I would have hunted every single one of those fuckers down.”
His hand tightens around the glass.
“That’s exactly why, Keller. You have a family. I’m not letting you risk it all to deal with my screw ups. I stole the guns, I made the deal. I wouldn’t let anything happen to my niece. I still couldn’t save Mom though.” My throat feels like it’s closing in.
“You didn’t kill Mom, Luca. Dante did. Romano did. And now we will get our revenge. You can’t live your life blaming yourself. You’ll go mad.”
I scratch the back of my neck, the image of Mom lifeless on the floor still burns in my mind.
“I’ll take you to the airstrip tomorrow. I’ll call them to get the jet ready. I’ve heard Greece is nice this time of year.”
We both stand, and he pulls me into his frame.
“I love you, brother. Never forget that. We might not have had the family growing up, but I’m glad we made our own.” His voice breaks as he speaks.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
