Page 6 of Knot Made to Break: Part Two

I raised an eyebrow. “An hour here and there isn’t sleeping, Kit.”

She ignored me, taking a sip of her caffeine instead. Her attention fixated back on Tommy’s face, watching for any flicker of consciousness. The monitors continued their steady rhythm, each beep reassurance that he was still with us, still fighting.

I sighed and tried again. “You saved him, but he’ll straight up murder us if we don’t take care of you.”

“Except I didn’t.” Her confession was quiet, timid, and full of regret. “He wouldn’t have been hurt if it weren’t for me…”

“That’s bullshit. The Valentinos have hated us for years.”

“But they wouldn’t have come for you like that if it hadn’t been for me. Tommy got shot trying to protect me. He was dying while I was—”

“Fighting for your life. Surviving. None of this is your fault, Kitania.” I used her full name, hoping the weight of what I was saying would register and offer her some sense of comfort. I hated that she was beating herself up for things so far beyond her control. “You’re not responsible for the shitty, fucked up actions of others. Do you understand me?”

Eyes glistening with unshed tears, she nodded, finally seeming to let go of some of her misplaced guilt. “I just hate that it happened. That any of it happened. That you all were hurt. That Tommy almost died. That Beretta was shot too and might lose his leg. That you lost some of your men. That I—” She swallowed, not finishing that sentence.

“Do you regret it?” I asked after another long silence. The question that had been burning inside me since that night. “Pulling the trigger?”

Kitania went still, her breathing so shallow I could barely detect it. For a moment, I thought she might not answer, and I regretted asking, bringing it all back to the forefront.

Then she turned to me, her eyes clear despite her exhaustion.

“I would do it again.” Each word was deliberate. Succinct. Hardened with resolve. “And I would do worse to protect any of you.”

The fierce certainty in her voice was a goddamned turn-on.

This was what the Valentinos had tried to break—Kit’s strength, her capacity for loyalty, for love so deep she would kill to protect what she cherished.

But Rocco, Vincent, and Antonio had failed. Spectacularly.

Thank fuck.

And now there was only one of them left—the singular focus of my rage and retribution.

I brought her hand to my mouth and brushed a kiss along the back. “We’re going to end this,” I promised in a whisper meant only for her. “Rocco will pay for what he’s done.”

Her hand squeezed mine. “I know,” she said simply, with an absolute faith that still amazed me after everything she’d been through. “But right now, I can’t think about revenge. I just need Tommy to wake up.” Her gaze returned to my brother.

There were so many tubes and wires keeping him tethered to this world. I didn’t know what half of them did, but if they kept him alive, that was good enough for me.

The doctors and nurses continued to reassure us he would recover, given time. The bullet had missed vital organs by millimeters—another of those small mercies that stood between us and complete devastation.

“He’s strong. Stubborn as hell, too.”

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Like all of you.”

“Guilty.” I returned her smile with one of my own. “It’s genetic.”

Surprising the hell out of me, Kit leaned over and pressed her lips to mine, stealing a kiss I would have given freely.

“Love you,” she murmured.

“Fuck, Sweetness. I love you too.”

We fell into silence then, the beeping monitors and squeaking shoes in the hallway the only sounds breaking the quiet. I didn’t pull my hand from hers, instead settling deeper into the uncomfortable chair and preparing for the long wait ahead.

Because that’s what family did—they waited, they endured, they protected. They were always,alwaysthere, blood-soaked and battle-tested, holding each other up when the other couldn’t stand on their own.

three

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