Page 93 of Guarded

The laugh that escapes me at her serious expression startles her. She doesn’t shy away like she used to. A flirtatious smile replaces her impression of Luca Brasi.

“The Godfather?” I question. I knew the movie well, but it was the last thing I expected Ariella to put on.

“My dad used to watch this all the time. It was the only movie I could relate to.”

“You really love your dad, huh, Princess?”

“Yeah.” She says, smiling to herself.

“I found out today that my dad had another family.”

Something about confiding in her was easy. I want to get the weight of it off my chest.

“How did that make you feel?” She asks with genuine concern.

“I shouldn’t fucking care, but maybe if he had been around more, my mother wouldn’t have hated me so much.” I close my eyes again. It’s silent for a moment before Ari responds.

“Maybe. But she doesn’t deserve any excuses. You deserved so much better.” I look up to find warmth in her eyes and all the truth in her words.

She cups my face while staring down at me.

“Family can be so destructive. I know my parents love me, but the world we live in is toxic. The loyalty and the expectation is too much.”

Ariella’s gaze is sympathetic. Her green eyes a forest I want to get lost in. As cynical as I was when it came to love, there was something in me that wanted all the love she had to give. She was the wife a healed version of me deserved.

Her stare goes blank. Her disassociated form takes root, and the problems peak on the horizon of her mind. I knew she wasn’t jealous of what she saw with Preston, but I could only imagine her outlook on the future.

“I can go with you after you’re married and get a job with the security team at the Cuevas mansion.” I offer. A note of desperation sounds in my voice before I can call the words back to me.

“Why would you do that?” She questions.

“Why not?”

“No. Nero, you don’t have to do that. You have the motorcycle club, and you’re going to find your sister.” she encourages me.

It’s not the words I want to hear, but she’s right. What the hell would I do? Follow her around forever? Be her dirty little secret?

And then what? That’s what I hated because thethen whatmeant she’d either get tired of me or I’d put her into a very complicated position. One that risked her life.

Moments like this, where I felt like I could open up to her, made my heart go to war with my head. My heart was willing to avoid practicality and reason if it meant keeping her forever. My brain quickly reminds me that guys like me don’t get forever.

We roam through life on borrowed time. Forever wasn’t in the cards for us.

Chapter 27

Nero

14 YEARS OLD

Christmas in the desert of Arizona excited everyone. While the other students counted down the days to vacation, I prepared for two weeks of Evangeline’s outbursts.

The hairs on the back of my neck prick when I open the door to the apartment. Stale cigarettes make up the aroma of the apartment. Tiptoeing past the piles of trash on the kitchen floor, I make my way down the short hallway.

Charlie starts barking, excited to see me, but it startles Evangeline, who has been sleeping on the couch all day. Empty wine bottles are hidden between the piles of stacked dishes on the counter.

“Nero. Come here.” She groans. I drop my backpack and walk to the living room.

“You know what tomorrow is?” she asks.

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