Page 320 of Bad for Me

“I didn’t either,” Alessio says. “But it makes sense. If Ozzy knew, it’s why he treated you so horribly. Your father loved him, but he knew he resented you. So he worded it that way. I’m not sure why he didn’t just come out with it directly in the will. Maybe he thought it would be a warning to Ozzy to treat you better.”

His hand tightens around mine, face hardening. “Instead he chose to push you away. He paid Cain to be with you, Hadley. He wanted you gone. And he gave you a new identity because he knew I’d come looking for you.”

I shake my head, tears brimming at the corners of my eyes. Ozzy is the only family I have left. How could he do something like this to me? He shut me out, refused to support me, and pushed me away. I refuse to believe he could be so cruel.

The other things he’d done when I was a child were just typical sibling rivalry. Surely his resentment can’t run so deep that he’d send me away.

“I don’t believe that,” I say, my head still shaking, my voice weak with the lack of confidence I hold.

“I’m sorry, Hadley.”

* * *

My stomach churnsat the sight of Ozzy and Callum Murphy both glaring at me from across the room. Callum is in charge of the faction here. He’s the reason my father even had a job defending criminals, he’s the head of the Southies.

I glance around the room, hating how unfamiliar it all feels. This used to be my father’s study. I once sat on this very couch with my books while he worked. Just two years ago Ozzy had banned me from hanging in here when he caught me snuggled up with one of Dad’s T-shirts.

I thought I’d never sit in here again, though it’s not as comforting now. Dad’s books are gone, there’s no smell of bound leather and aged pages or the sweet tang of tobacco before it's smoked. Now it just smells stale.

Benito is standing by the closed door and Alessio is beside me. He’s close enough that I can sense him, but not close enough that we come off like a couple. I can feel the warmth of his knee just centimeters from mine, and it keeps me feeling safe.

“Thank you for finding Hadley,” Ozzy says through gritted teeth. His words say one thing, his demeanor another. He’s not grateful, he’s pissed.

Callum clears his throat. “Hadley, lass. Can you tell us why you felt the need to run away?” His Irish is soothing as opposed to Ozzy’s jarring tone. For a moment I believe that the head of the Southies is grateful.

“Did you run away, Hadley?” Alessio asks me, though his intense glare never leaves Ozzy. “Or were you pushed away?”

I squeeze my eyes shut. On the drive back, he and Benito had convinced me to turn on my brother. To take what’s rightfully mine. But I don’t want this. I thought that I would. I longed to be home again, to live in the same space my parents had, the same home that I grew up in. But now that I’m here, it's not as nostalgic as I thought it would be.

I don’t want this. Ozzy can have it all. I turn to Alessio, pressure building behind my eyes. My fingers grip his knee and I shake my head. He pins me with a heated stare, and I read all the things he’s saying with just the way he looks at me.

I try to push my mantra to the forefront, but it’s no longer true. I don’t hate Alessio Ferrara. I love him. For putting me first, for looking for me no matter how fucked up this situation is, and for always making sure I do what’s best for me.

This isn’t what’s best. I’ve only had a day to think this through, but I don’t want anything Ozzy has. He can continue to replace my father for the Murphys as the family lawyer.I. Dont. Care.

And that is freeing in a way.

“Alessio,” I whisper. “Take me home.”

“What?” Ozzy asks, his finger tapping against the oak table top of my father’s desk.

Alessio dips his chin toward me, his face softening as he acknowledges my request. We weren’t going to tell them about our newly budded relationship. But here we are. Here I am, going against what we came here for. Alessio wants Ozzy to pay, but I don’t.

I want to move on so that I can finish the grieving process. I want to go home, which my heart is telling me is wherever Alessio is. He cups my face, before pressing his forehead to mine and mutters something in Italian.

Then he turns toward Callum and Ozzy. “You are so fucking lucky,” he snarls at my brother. “She just saved your fucking life.”

Callum raises a brow. “Excuse me?”

Ozzy’s two shades paler than normal as he stares wide-eyed at Alessio, who is now standing and buttoning his suit jacket. “Hadley is coming home to be with me,” he starts. “But let me make something clear.”

He walks closer to the men. “If she changes her mind, I will bring her back here and take everything you stole from her.”

“What in the bloody hell is happening?” Callum asks.

“Yourlawyeris a piece of shit.” He says the title with disgust. “Your father would be disgusted with everything you’ve done to your sister.”

Ozzy stands, his hands splayed out in a surrendering position. He knows Alessio knows the truth. But Alessio doesn’t give him the chance to make up for it. He rears back a fist and lands a punch straight at my brother’s jaw.

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