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“I’ve got noth—.”

“The guilt.” He cut me off before I could protest. The thick slime of blame slid through my veins. It threatened to choke me as surely as the cold.

“Yeah, okay,” I grumbled, conceding that maybe I had my own issues surrounding Grace and my brother.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Angelo gripped my neck, giving me a comforting shake.

I shrugged him off, rejecting his absolution. “I should’ve seen it.”

“No one knew what he was. He was good at hiding it. He learned from the master.”

Angelo’s father. The name didn’t need to be spoken. He’d taught us all how to wear the mask. To control what the world saw.

I thought Angelo had been the best at it before the scars. After the incident, he stopped bothering to hide the beast. But I’d never seen the evil that lived in Mitchell. Never imagined he could be that vile.

“You need to sort your shit out, or you’re no good to her.”

I knew he was right, but I didn’t have a chance to respond. Emerging from her studio in the other barn, Isla appeared to the right and in front of us.

Angelo gave me a wolfish grin in the dark as he crept towards her. She didn’t seem to notice as she continued to the gardens. I stayed back, watching as he stalked his wife.

His footsteps were surprisingly light and quiet for a man his size. The night hid his larger frame as he moved in the shadows of the trees. Isla’s head shot up at the last second. Her squeal filled the air as he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up.

“Angelo.” She sighed, realizing it was him.

“I’ll always catch you, Beauty.”

By the time I reached them, he had her backed into the garden gate with his lips on hers. His hands on her growing baby bump. An ache formed in my chest as I looked at them.

When Angelo had kidnapped her, I never could’ve pictured this is where they’d end up. It gave me hope I could get there, too. That Grace loving me wasn’t so far out of reach.

They broke apart when they saw me. Isla smiled as he tucked her to his side, and we continued towards the house. “Will you stay for dinner?”

Being a practiced crime wife, she knew not to ask about our activities or the source of the blood covering us.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Her nod was understanding. We didn’t talk again until we reached the end of the path.

Angelo gave me a pointed look and a slap on the back like he was reminding me of our conversation. I gave Isla a quick hug. “Go feed my future niece or nephew.”

Technically, the baby would be my first cousin once removed or some shit, but Angelo and his brothers were like my own. Especially now.

“Tell Grace I’ll call her tomorrow.” A sad smile pulled on her lips. “It’s been forever since she came around.”

We all knew why Grace didn’t visit. It hurt her to see how happy Isla and Angelo were. To see her pregnant with a baby when Grace had lost her own.

For the first time, I felt a pang. A longing for a family. I’d locked those dreams away with my love for Grace. And now they were out. Roaming free. I wasn’t sure I could handle losing them again. Or her.

But as always, it felt like I was clinging to something I didn’t really have.

24

Vander

“How could I not know?” I stared at the floor. My head hanging between my shoulders, my hands clenched together. “Why didn’t I see it?”

My heart ripped open as I asked Alessandra the question that haunted me. Along with the images of Grace’s tortured body, they lived in my nightmares. Attacked my thoughts throughout the day.

So I’d taken Angelo’s advice. I was going to work my shit out. I was going to learn to breathe with this guilt. So I could be better for Grace. Be the man she deserved.

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