Page 29 of Lie to Me

Sloane chuckles. “I’ve known Izzy longer than I’ve known you, Marco.”

I shake my head. “I need a fucking drink,” I mutter and head to the kitchen, leaving Sloane to catch Izzy up on what’s been going on and giving myself a moment to compose myself. It’s hard being around Sloane, being the one to help her and not being able to tell her I’ll fix everything for her. Not being able to hold her, not being able to tell her she’s my goddamn world and that there’s so much she doesn’t know.

I may not be able to tell her how I feel, but I can sure as fuck show her.

It’s been a few days since I last saw Sloane. After Sloane told Izzy about everything that was going on and we all ate, Izzy dropped her off at home—because apparently it was pointless for me to leave the house to take her when Izzy was leaving anyways—and I haven’t seen her since. We’ve texted back andforth a little, mainly me checking in to make sure she’s okay and her replying with one-word answers, but I guess it’s better than no communication whatsoever. She promised me she would keep me updated and call me straight away if she received any more notes or if she felt like something was off, and so far, so good.

I still don’t like the fact that she’s just out in the city without a bodyguard, but I swore I wouldn’t breathe a word about what’s been going on to Finn. I also can’t force my own detail on her without her kicking me to the curb for good, so I’m just having to settle for regular check-ins.

I’ve made it a few days without having to see my brother, but unfortunately, I’m out of time. Luca climbs into the car and grunts at me in greeting. We’re heading down to the docks to check on a shipment coming in, and I just know I’m about to get the third degree.

“Why?” he demands, and I stifle a sigh.

“Why what?”

“Why the fuck do I seem to be the only one who didn’t know about this girl? I always thought we were close, but then I go and find out that you’ve been in love with her foryearsand I had no goddamn idea. Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks. I realize then he’s not only pissed, but he’shurt,too.

I sigh and look towards him apologetically before pulling into the traffic. “You have to understand, things were different then. Can you honestly tell me you would have understood if I came to you ten years ago and told you I was sneaking around withCormac O’Brien’sdaughter? You’d have lost your fucking shit, Luca. And back then, you could have never even imagined settling down with someone. You just wouldn’t have understood and I didn’t want to take that risk.”

He curses under his breath before reaching over and setting a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t cometo me, little brother. I’m here if you want to talk about it, and from what I can gather, you’re in the bad books. If you need any groveling tips, you just let me know,” he says with a smirk, and I roll my eyes.

“Let’s just hope she and Izzy get along,” he says with a chuckle, and I shake my head.

“Yeah, about that…” I say, drifting off and I watch from the corner of my eye as he tilts his head. “Turns out they’re… friends? Apparently, Izzy has known Sloane longer than I have.”

Luca hums quietly. “I think I need to have a little chat with my wife about keeping secrets.”

I grunt in acknowledgement, glad to have cleared the air between us, though we don’t have time to continue conversation as we arrive at the docks. Enzo is standing, waiting for us as I pull up, leaning back against his car with his hands in his pockets with the hood of his hoodie obscuring his face. Enzo nods to us both as we get out and I return the gesture while Luca stares at our little brother.

“What’s wrong with you?” Luca asks.

Enzo grunts. “Robyn’s hormonal as fuck and your wife is turning her against me,” he barks with a glare towards him. I just shake my head.

“Let’s get this over with,” I mutter and they both nod in agreement.

We only make it a few steps before all hell breaks loose. Two men dressed in tactical gear emerge from the side of a building, both with guns aiming towards us. Our men who were stationed around the area start closing in on them, only for two men on the left of us to go down when shots start sounding. We waste no time pulling out our own guns as Luca aims towards the two men while me and Enzo face opposite directions as we’re approached from each side. It’s fucking chaos as shots fire off inall directions, both our men and theirs dropping to the ground as we all get hits in.

“Who the fuck are they?” Enzo shouts above the noise.

Good question.

They’re trained, that’s for damn sure, but I don’t recognize a single one of them.

It dawns on me that this doesn’t seem like one of the other organizations coming down on us.

“I think they’re hired mercenaries,” I shout back.

The good thing about hired guys is that they don’t have anything to fight for. That’s proven when they see that half of their men are down and start to retreat. The noise quietens down and I take in the carnage left behind, confused as hell about what just happened.

It’s only when I spin around to take in the casualties that I see not all of them have retreated. Nope, some asshole has decided to take one last shot, one shot that’s aimed at my fucking little brother.

It’s too late to warn him, and the only thing going through my mind in that moment is my sister-in-law and their unborn baby. It’s a no brainer when I step in front of Enzo just as it reaches us, taking the bullet for myself.

Chapter Fourteen

Sloane

Past - August 2014

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