Page 120 of His Tesoro

“I’ll stop by her apartment right now and meet you in the garage.”

Romeo nodded, and I called Noodle to my side. He kept pace with me as I flew up the stairs to Sienna’s floor.

I nodded at the guard who was positioned outside her door and let myself in. She jumped up off the couch and ran towards me.

“Matteo, what the fuck is going on? They said you’d been shot?” Her eyes roamed down my arm. “And I just heard something on the roof.”

“Sofiya’s been taken by the Irish,” I bit out. “We’re going after her now. You need to watch Noodle.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, Matteo.” She pulled me in for a hug I didn’t deserve. “What happened?”

“I don’t have time?—”

“I swear to God, Matteo, you are not walking out of this room until you tell me what is going on.”

How was it that everyone feared me except for the women in my life? “I got evidence that Sofiya was a traitor—that she was feeding information to the Albanians.”

Sienna’s jaw dropped. Then she shook her head slightly. “There’s no way that’s true.”

Her immediate dismissal of Sofiya’s betrayal made me feel even worse. How could I have believed it even for a second, even when faced with a shit-ton of evidence? “Yeah, well, right after I got the news, I was told Arben was attacking one of our warehouses.” Now it was so obvious that Domenico had orchestrated the whole thing. “So… I had her put in the basement until I returned.”

Sienna took a step back, her eyes transforming into judgemental slits. “Are you fucking serious?”

“She was only meant to be in there for a couple of hours to scare her, but then I got shot. When I woke up in the hospital, I assumed she would be waiting for me in our apartment, but she was still in the basement.” I turned away from Sienna’s horrified expression. “I never meant for this to happen. It was all a setup by Domenico. He was working with the Albanians, but he’s dead now.”

“And the helicopter? The roof?” Sienna’s voice was ice cold.

“Sofiya and Angelo left with the Irish. And—” Fuck, I didn’t want to speak the words. “The Irish have an alliance with the Albanians to expand the sex trafficking trade into the city.”

Sienna’s expression turned horrified. “What? Are you sure?”

“Yes. Now I have to go.” I gestured at Noodle. “His stuff is in the apartment.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re just going to leave me with that and walk out? How could you put your wife in a fucking cell for what, hours? Days? No wonder she left!” Her hands landed on my arms and she shook me, sending shocks of lightning through my injured arm. “What is wrong with you?”

“Everything, apparently!” I screamed. “I’m not cut out to be a husband, or a brother, for that matter. I know all I am to you is a disappointment! I’m the reason you don’t have parents, the reason we spent two years in hiding and poverty. I have failed every single person in my life, so why bother with relationships?”

Sienna took a step back, blinking. “Is that what you think, Matteo? You’re the reason I’m still alive! How can you be this stupid? Our uncle would have killed you! And that means I would also be dead, or worse. How long are you going to punish yourself for something that wasn’t your fault? You don’t allow yourself to be human, and now it’s lost you the love of your life.”

My jaw clenched. “I’m not capable of love.”

She threw up her hands. “You wouldn’t recognize love if it shot you in the face. Which is why you don’t understand that I love you. Romeo loves you. Sofiya…well, at least she did love you.”

My limbs felt weak and my chest, hollow. “And I ruined it.”

“Yeah, well, fix it.”

“How?” My voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Figure it the fuck out. But start by bringing her back here.”

I nodded curtly as I spun on my heel and strode to the door. I paused with my hand on her doorknob. “You know I love you. It’s not enough, but I love you.”

And then I walked out.

64

SOFIYA

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