Page 83 of Light It Up Red
I can hear him sigh into the phone. “I love you, Liliana, and I’m coming for you.”
“I love you too. I’m sorry I doubted you, Daddy. I’m so sorry.”
“Zia Romeo has your location. We’re ten minutes out. Do not hang up, baby.”
“Dad, Travis… I…”
“He’s right here, Lil. He’s right next to me, and we’re coming,” Dad says.
Then I hear his voice. “Lili, I’m coming for you.”
“I’m sorry.” I’m a broken record, I know. But it seems to be the only thing I can say. “I love you, and I messed everything up. I know that. I… I was coming to see you. I wanted to tell you.”
“Lili, you haven’t messed anything up. I love you. I will always love you,” Travis says.
I hear the screeching of tires.
“We’re here, sweetheart,” Dad says as the sounds of heavy footsteps echo through the house. I push to my feet and walk to the doorway right as Travis lands at the top of the stairs.
He rushes forward, his arms wrapping around me tighter than they ever have before. “Fuck,” he curses as he pulls back to look me up and down. “Are you hurt? What the fuck did that bastard do to you?”
“Nothing. It’s… it’s not my blood,” I tell him as my dad and brother push through the bedroom door with their nines raised. Then I hear the gunshots, one after another. When I peer back inside the room, I see my father standing over Lou’s body.
He returns his nine to its holster, walks over to me, and cups my face in his hands. “I’m sorry it took so long,” he says.
“It’s okay. I knew you would find me.” I give him a small smile, and he presses his lips to my forehead.
“Let’s get you home, sweetheart.”
The whole time my father is talking to me, Travis is here too. His grip tight as he stands as close to me as he can get. He bends at the waist and picks me up.
“No, put me down. You can’t carry me!”
“The hell I can’t,” he grunts as we descend the stairs.
“Travis O’Neil, you’re going to pop a stitch!” I tell him.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ignoring everyone else, I carry Lili into the house. Our house. Our home. I didn’t realize her father told the driver to take us here until we were pulling up. This is not how I pictured this going. Lili finally seeing our place for the first time. But she’s here now, and I’m not fucking letting her go.
As we’re walking up the stairs, I can’t help but hear her father tell Alessandro not to follow us. I don’t look back, though. I continue straight into our bedroom and close the door.
I don’t set her down again until I carry her into the bathroom. I reach in the shower stall and turn on the water before I pull my shirt over my head and drop it to the floor. I grab for Lili’s sweater next. She lifts her arms and helps me tug it off her. Neither one of us says a word as we strip down. Taking her hand, I lead her under the spray and pull her body against mine. Red tints the droplets and pools around our feet.
“I love you so fucking much,” I whisper into her neck. “I was so fucking scared.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I love you, Travis. I shouldn’t have pushed you away like I did.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. But I also shouldn’t have let you. I should have fought harder,” I admit. “Never again, Lili. I’m not going to be apart from you ever again.”
I let go of her so I can reach behind her head and pick up the loofah. I squirt some bodywash on it before lifting her left arm and running the loofah over her skin, repeating the process until the water is clear again.
Lili sucks in a huge breath. “Mmm, I like smelling like you.”
“I like you smelling like me too,” I tell her, pausing before asking her what I really want to know. “Lili, did he…?” I can’t even say the word.
“No.” She shakes her head. “No, Travis, he didn’t.”
