Page 18 of Until You Break

I stare at him, unable to process what he’s saying. I spent years looking for him, hoping, believing he was still out there somewhere. And now, hearing this… it feels like losing him all over again.

“Please,” I whisper, my voice barely holding. “I just… I need to see him. Just once.”

Luca’s face hardens again, his gaze distant. “If my little brother wanted you to find him, he’d be here. But he’s not. Take that for what it’s worth.”

He turns away, effectively ending the conversation, leaving me standing there, feeling like I’ve been dropped back into that cell, surrounded by the same emptiness, the same sense of loss that’s haunted me since the day I left him behind.

I turn and walk out of the workshop, my mind spinning with Luca’s words. My heart aches with the loss all over again. A dull, hollow pain that feels sharper after hearing that he made it out but isn’t someone I’d recognize anymore.

The gravel crunches under my feet as I head toward my bike, feeling as if a part of me is still back there in the workshop, clinging to every word Luca had said. But as I reach the edge of the lot, someone steps out from around the corner, blocking my path.

I stop short, heart skipping a beat as I take him in. He’s tall, towering over me, built like he spends half his life in a gym, with tattoos covering his arms. His hair hangs past his shoulders, eyes cold and hard, assessing me with a hostility that makes my pulse race. I don’t need to ask to know who he is.

Matteo.

He doesn’t speak at first, just looks me over, his gaze sweeping up and down, and I feel like I’m being sized up, judged, like he’ssearching for a reason to toss me out on the street. I swallow hard, feeling the tension coil tighter in my stomach.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice is rough, with an edge that makes it clear he’s not interested in whatever answer I give.

“I… I was just talking to your brother,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady. “I came looking for Dominic. I… I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Matteo steps closer, his eyes narrowing as he watches me, and I instinctively take a step back, the cold look in his eyes making my skin prickle.

“Dom’s business isn’t yours,” he says, each word clipped, his tone warning me to stay away. “It hasn’t been for a long time. You shouldn’t be here after leaving him in that shithole.”

I feel the defensiveness rise up, but I keep my voice level, calm. “I spent years looking for him. I just wanted answers.”

“Well, now you’ve got them,” he says, his lip curling slightly, like he finds the whole situation amusing. “And you’re not gonna like what you find if you keep digging. Trust me on that, lady.”

There’s something in his tone, something that chills me to the core. I take a breath, steadying myself, but the way he’s looking at me makes me feel exposed, like he can see right through me, into all the memories I’ve held onto for so long.

The memories of Dominic, of what he meant to me, what he saved me from.

“I wouldn’t have made it out of there if it wasn’t for him.”

“Yeah? Well, that was five years ago,” Matteo snaps, his tone laced with sarcasm. “People change. And Dom’s not someone you’d want to know now, trust me. The best thing you can do is walk away and forget about him.”

The bluntness of his words hits me like a slap, and I take a shaky breath, fighting back the hurt. “It’s not that simple.”

Matteo’s eyes flash, something darker and sharper in his gaze. “It is that simple. Whatever you think you know about him, it’s in the past. I’m telling you right now, for your own sake—you don’t want to be dragged into whatever Dom’s dealing with. So do yourself a favor and stay gone.”

I stare at him, feeling the tension building between us, the way he towers over me, his presence alone enough to make me feel small. There’s a hardness to him, an edge that Dominic never had, and it makes me feel like I’m in over my head.

But I can’t back down, not after everything I’ve been through to get here. “You don’t get it. I just want to know if he’s okay. If he’s—”

“He’s not fucking okay,” Matteo cuts me off. “And if he was, he wouldn’t be wasting his time thinking about you after you left him there to die.”

The words sting, but before I can respond, Luca steps out of the workshop, his gaze darting between us, taking in the tension in Matteo’s posture, the hurt in my expression.

“Matteo,” Luca says, his voice a quiet command, like he’s used to reigning his brother in. “Enough.”

Matteo doesn’t look away from me, his jaw clenched, the hostility in his eyes making my stomach twist. He’s not trying to be cruel for the sake of it; he’s warning me. He wants me gone, and it’s clear he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I don’t come back.

Luca steps between us, his expression softer than his brother’s but just as firm. “You’ve got your answer, Aria. Dominic’s gone and he wants it to stay that way.”

I search his face, hoping to see something else there, some hint of understanding, some crack in the wall they’ve put up. But his gaze is steady, unwavering, and I know there’s nothing left to say.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t mean to… to bring up old wounds.”

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