Page 14 of His Mafia Lover

I can only hope our love is strong enough to see us through to the other side.

CHAPTER 7

SANTINO

The city blurs past the windows of my car, a smear of neon and shadow, as I weave through the late-night traffic with single-minded focus. My knuckles are white on the steering wheel, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. Every mile that passes, every minute that ticks by, feels like a noose tightening around my neck.

I'm running out of time.

The meeting with the feds, the one I've been working towards for months, is mere hours away. A lifetime of secrets, of sins and betrayals, all laid bare in exchange for a chance at freedom. A chance to finally shed the weight of my father's legacy, to build something new and clean and untainted by the blood on my hands.

A chance to be worthy of Aaron, of the love and devotion he offers so freely, even in the face of my darkest demons.

But it's not just my future hanging in the balance. It's Matteo's, too. My nephew, my blood, the innocent child who's already lost so much. I can't fail him, can't leave him to be swallowed up by the same darkness that's haunted my steps since the day I was born.

I have to make this work, have to find a way out of the tangled web I've spent my whole life weaving. Even if it means burning down everything I've ever known, everything I once held dear.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, jolting me out of my racing thoughts. I glance at the screen, expecting to see Gia's name, or maybe Marco's. But it's not my sister or my consigliere lighting up my display.

It's Aaron.

For a moment, I just stare at his name, something hot and fierce clenching in my chest. I haven't seen him since the gala, since our desperate, passionate reunion in the shadows of the museum. Haven't let myself think about the way he felt in my arms, the way he shattered so beautifully beneath my hands and mouth.

I've been avoiding him, throwing myself into the preparations for my meeting with the feds, trying to convince myself it's for his own good. That he's safer, better off without me darkening his doorstep.

But god, I miss him. Miss his smile, his laugh, the way he looks at me like I'm something precious, something worthy of love and redemption. Miss the way he fits in my arms like he was made just for me, the way his body yields and accepts and cherishes every part of me, even the jagged, broken pieces.

Before I can think better of it, I'm answering the call, lifting the phone to my ear with a hand that trembles. "Aaron," I say, my voice rough with all the longing I've been trying to deny. "Is everything okay?"

There's a beat of silence, heavy with all the words we haven't said. Then, "No, Santino. Everything's not okay. I need...I need to see you. Please."

The ache in his voice, the quiet desperation, cuts through me like a blade. I swallow hard, my grip tightening on the phone. "I don't think that's a good idea, Aaron. I'm in the middle of something, something big. It's not safe for you to be around me right now."

"I don't care," he snaps, a thread of anger beneath the hurt. "I don't care about safe, Santino. I care about you. About us. You can't just kiss me like that and then disappear, not after everything we've been through."

I close my eyes, guilt and longing warring in my chest. He's right, I know he is. I've been a coward, pushing him away instead of trusting him, trusting in the strength of what we've built together.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "You're right, I shouldn't have shut you out. I just...I wanted to protect you, Aaron. From my world, from the choices I've had to make."

"I don't need your protection," he says fiercely. "I need you, Santino. All of you, even the parts you think are too dark to love. So please, just...just let me in. Let me stand by your side, whatever you're facing."

I take a shuddering breath, something hot and bright unfurling in my chest. "Okay," I whisper, the word feeling like a vow, a promise. "Okay, Aaron. Come to the mansion. I'll...I'll explain everything, I swear it."

"I'm on my way," he says softly. "Just hold on, Santino. Hold on for me."

The line goes dead, and I let the phone fall from my numb fingers, my heart pounding a staccato rhythm against my ribs. He's coming to me, my beautiful, brave Aaron. Coming to stand at my side as I face down the demons of my past, the legacy of blood and violence that's been my birthright.

I can only pray that I'm strong enough, brave enough, to be the man he sees when he looks at me. The man I desperately want to be, for him and for Matteo.

The man I'm going to fight like hell to become, no matter the cost.

By the time Aaron arrives at the mansion, I'm a livewire of nervous energy, pacing the length of my study like a caged predator. I've sent Matteo to Gia's for the night, needing to know he's safe, protected, while I lay my soul bare to the man who holds my heart in his hands.

The sound of the doorbell, of Aaron's soft footsteps on the marble tile, sends a bolt of anticipation down my spine. I force myself to stillness, to breathe through the maelstrom of emotions threatening to pull me under.

And then he's there, standing in the doorway like a vision, his eyes soft and worried in the warm light of the desk lamp. "Santino," he says, his voice wrapping around me like a caress. "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

I cross to him in three long strides, my hands coming up to frame his face, my forehead resting against his. "I'm sorry," I whisper, the words torn from somewhere deep in my chest. "I'm sorry for pushing you away, for making you doubt what you mean to me. I'm just...I'm so fucking scared, Aaron. Of losing you, of tainting you with my darkness."

---