Page 41 of Love and War

“It has everything to do with Luca.” She sat back, shivering as she tucked her legs underneath herself. Taking off my flannel I held it out for her.

That smile was all I needed from her.

“Her parents grew up in New York with Luca. I don’t know too much about their lives. But Andrew, her dad, Walker, her uncle, and Luca…They grew up together. Luca had always been crazy, and Andrew was involved in the mafia. Anyway, there was this girl, he—”

“Emily Willis,” Dimitri blurted out. It made sense, but it didn’t.

“Yes, Emily Willis. She was the daughter of two very powerful people, lawyers, the mafia lawyers to be exact. They were arranged to be married, but Luca was batshit crazy. They were supposed to marry but the night before the wedding Emily and Andrew ran off. Walker helped, and they went south. Bought a farm and began different lives.”

“Luca has a son, Dante. No one knows the mother.”

“They got rid of her after he was born. She’s not really important. They had three children, Emmy, Lee, and Salem. By the time Salem was nine, Luca had found Emily, and he took a team to murder all of them.”

“I hate to say this, but it’s not uncommon for the mafia to kill families off.” At least Dimitri looked sad as he said this. “I’m not saying it’s okay, believe me. I would never go after children, but it’s common with a lot of men in our world.”

“I don’t know how she survived. When I found her, there was so much blood. We were supposed to go for our last dance practice, but when I arrived…” All of this was suddenly sounding familiar. “She was lying on her stomach. Her back was completely torn up, and glass was sticking out. God, there was so much blood. I don’t even know how they saved her leg; it was cut so badly. Her throat was slit, sh-she, fuck.” Aziza’s tears fell from her face. She was never one that cried, and I couldn’t handle watching her cry like this. “She had packed dirt into her throat to try and stop the blood. She even had her shirt bunched up. But when I t-touched her, her eyes shot open. She was a-alive.

“H-her brother, he had been stabbed so many times. His face was no longer recognizable. Emmy, god, she was raped, over and over again. Andrew had been beaten, missing a hand, most of his fingers and toes. His ear was m-missing. Then it was her mother, E-Emily. Emily was raped, and not just in one place. She was tied down to the kitchen table. Her hands had been nailed down, and her legs were broken so she couldn’t move. But worst of all, she was stabbed and left to die. She was left to hear them try and finish Salem off.” Aziza finally looked around, her eyes glossed over as she whispered, “She was eight months pregnant.”

Mila screamed, clutching her own stomach. But I couldn’t focus on them as I picked Aziza up and held her in my lap. Wrapping my arms around her, I held her close.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled into her ear, rubbing circles on her thigh, something that always calmed her down. “I’m so fucking sorry.” I was apologizing for more than her best friend almost dying. It was for everything.

“I don’t believe it,” Zane finally spoke.

“Excuse me?” Aziza tried wiggling off my lap. But I wasn’t having that.

“It's some stupid sob story.”

“Some sob story? That’s why she’s gone back to the broken shell since you walked out that door. Since you called her nothing, basically. I don’t even understand why you hate her so damn much.” Zane once again took a step towards her.

“Zane, you better watch yourself.”

“If you truly cared about her, then you wouldn’t have said what you did. You would also believe it all. I’m sure you’ve seen the scars covering her entire body.” I hadn’t realized what scars she was talking about.

“She has always been saving us,” Mila sobbed out.

“Moy tsvetok?”

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you. I’ve known Salem since I was pregnant with Tobias.”

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one confused. It seemed only Aziza and Mila knew what was being talked about.

“Four years ago, when I was kidnapped, she was there. She was the one who killed them.”

What the fuck?

“Wait. Are you telling me she was the one who tore all those men apart?”

Aziza nodded her head.

“She was the one who tore Matteo apart, literally. We found his body missing. Luca’s men, those murders were brutal. You’re telling me that Salem… that girl is the one who murdered all those men.”

That couldn’t be possible. Salem was short, five-foot-four, maybe. She weighed about nothing as well. I mean, sure she took Dimitri down, but all those men?

But Aziza nodded her head.

“He was convinced it was some guy…”

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