Page 24 of Winter Love

I can feel the tears trying to force their way out.

“T-there was a guy I dated when Lukas and I first broke up. William Rockton. Do you remember him? He seemed like a normal guy, he was nice, we went on dates. Dinner, movies, drives, and I never saw a bad side to him. Until one day I did.”

My papa takes a step towards me.

“What did he do to you, mon ange?” he asks me softly.

My tears win and start streaming down my face.

“I’m so sorry, Papa. I should’ve told you before, but I was so ashamed.”

“Tell me.”

“He hit me the first time because I refused to cook him dinner. I was tired from being on shift, we had a busy night and I got no sleep. He swore he’d never do it again. That he loved me and it just made him so mad. I forgave him and things went back to normal. The second time, we saw a classmate of mine, Justin, and he got jealous. I left him after that and I thought it was over. But now he’s back and threatening me—and Lukas.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” my papa says as he hugs me tight.

“I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

“Mon ange, why would we be disappointed?” Maman asks.

“Because I stayed after the first time. I gave him another chance to do it again.”

“Oh baby, that is not your fault. Never your fault. You gave him another chance because you’re a good person. You wantedto see the good side of him. And he showed you that he was a bad person,” Papa says, still holding me.

My tears are soaking my papa’s shirt as I sob. I don’t know why I was so worried about telling them. I feel my whole family surround me as they all wrap their arms around me. I cry even harder.

Lukas

My heart is full as I watch Emma and her family. I knew they’d understand why she didn’t tell them. But to watch her tell them now and feel their love makes me so happy. Now we have to explain the Mancinis and Bastianinis to them. I guess it’s my turn to do some explaining.

“We have one more thing to tell you—” I start to say just as Noah and Celestino drive up to the house.

“Who is that?” Emma’s sister Noëlle asks.

“This is Noah Mancini and Celestino Bastianini. They’re here to help us with this situation. Let’s go inside so you can meet everyone and they can explain what’s going on.”

We lead them all inside, Noah and Celestino help bring their bags in. It takes almost an hour for Giacomo to explain what they know and what they suspect about William and Richard. Reynaud had a lot of questions for them and they answered all of them. Reynaud didn’t even blink when Enea talked about the mafia and their background. He just looked relieved that we have help to get through this.

“So how are you going to keep our daughter safe? Or should we take her back to Storyville?”

“I wish I could say that getting out of Wintervale would solve the problem. But it won’t, they’ll follow you wherever you go.Now, Giacomo has dealt with Richard before. Richard knows that we will figure out what he’s up to. As for William? I think he just wants revenge. It was fine when Emma was single and just dating. But now that she’s back with Lukas, he knows he’s lost and he doesn’t like it,” Enea says.

“So he’s just doing this because he’s a sore loser?” Emma’s brother, Michel asks.

“Essentially, yes. He’s like a child that lost a toy he liked playing with.”

“He’s a horrible human. So is Pink-Rex.” Celestino frowns.

I chuckle. “‘Pink-Rex’?”

“Oh we have a ton of names for Richard. His road name is T-Rex, and he has a pink mohawk. Or he did when we met him. He was pretty proud of it, so I’m sure he has it again now that he’s out of prison,” Celestino tells us.

“What’s a ‘road name’?” Noëlle asks.

“In a motorcycle club, when you become a patched member, which means you’re a permanent member, you get a road name. My granda gave all of us our names. My papà is Forza, Francesco is Bestia and I am Giustizia. Richard’s is T-Rex and it’s a name he gave himself. He’s a joke in our world. Especially after he came for my sister. He was stupid enough to think that he could take her and win.”

“He took your sister? And if he was deported, how did he get back into the country?” Juliette asks.

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