Page 107 of Sin & Secrets

I turn on him in irritation. “And say what? That was actually Bellini who shot him in the back of the head?”

“I meant maybe double down on the ‘he was working with the Cartel and also probably the rat’ thing, but sure, I guess.”

I don’t bother replying as I pick up the bag and hang it back up.

“We need to do damage control here. You know what they’re like. One sniff of blood and those sharks will descend on you.”

I keep throwing out my punches, keeping a steady rhythm.

“Marco is here. So is Martino and Dante. They want to discuss the attack in more detail.”

One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

“They’re worried about you, Rocco. I’m worried about you.”

Two, two, three. Two, two, three. Two, two, three.

“Fuck it. I know where she is.”

My punch misses the bag entirely.

We stand in silence while I wait for Teo to continue. But when I turn to look at him, he’s staring at me with crossed arms. He’s going to wait for me to ask.

I take a long, steadying breath. “Where?”

“Come to the meeting, and I’ll tell you.”

“Don’t piss me off right now.”

“Or what?”

I crack my neck, ready to square up to him if I have to. Teo sniffs, sensing the incoming attack, and matches my stance.

But before either of us can land a blow, Donatella steps between us.

“Enough of this nonsense, you stupid boys!” She gives us both a stern look before turning on me specifically. “You. Let your friends help you, dammit. I cannot spend another day dealing with your sulking, and you will lose everything you’ve spent five years building if you don’t clean up your act. Do you hear me?”

God, if that woman doesn’t terrify me.

“And you!” She turns on Teo. “Tell the poor man where Cassandra is. He’s literally going out of his mind with worry. Look at the state of him. So don’t be such a dick.”

Teo murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like an apology as he looks down at his feet.

For a moment, we’re just two teenagers again, causing havoc and getting into fights for no reason. Teo must think it, too, because he shoots me a sheepish look.

“I’ll meet with them,” I declare, a peace offering if there ever was one.

Teo nods. “She’s with Mia, staying at her place by the looks of things. Chiavari…senior…has more details.”

The relief that floods through me is only a splash of respite in the face of the fire of despair that has consumed me these last forty-eight hours. But it’s enough to make the walk to my private study more bearable.

After so long of having her near-constant presence in my life, her absence feels like I’m missing a limb.

It’s more than just the overwhelming heartache and depression spiral of having hurt her irreparably. I miss her companionship, her sarcasm, her seemingly unending determination to mess with me. Her laughter haunts this house like a ghost.

But her lips haunt my memories like a parasite, sucking every ounce of feeling and joy from me to the point where I don’t know if I even remember what it’s like to be happy.

Nothing matters anymore. There’s no way to fix this. No way I can atone for what I’ve done.

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