Page 99 of Knot Made to Break: Part Two

Dimitri hesitated, then looked at his brothers. Each gave a small nod of agreement. He tapped at his phone, navigating to the message, then placed it on the coffee table in front of us. Hisfinger hovered over the play button for a second before pressing it.

Enzo’s voice filled the room. It was strained, breathless, as if he’d been running—hiding.

“D, I fucked up. I fucked up so bad.” A ragged breath. “You’re probably already on your way to the warehouse, and if you’re hearing this, I hope to God you find her in time.”

My throat tightened at the raw emotion in his voice. Marco’s hand found mine, squeezing tightly.

“I didn’t know how deep I was until it was too late,” Enzo continued. “Started with gambling. Stupid fucking poker games in one of Rocco’s dens. I lost big—more than I could pay back. I kept trying to win more, to dig myself out, but I just made it worse. He had me by the balls, man. Said he’d forget the debt if I fed him information. Just small stuff at first, nothing that seemed important. Then it was bigger things, and by then...” A harsh laugh that sounded more like a sob. “By then I was in too deep. I tried to say no, but then he killed Nick to warn me about what happens to guys who cross him. It was my fault that my friend—” he inhaled, sounding ragged, and he didn’t finish the thought. “I couldn’t come to you. He had shit on me that would’ve gotten me killed ten times over.”

Tommy sat up and closed the book, setting it aside. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees. His playfulness had vanished, replaced by a hard stare fixed on the phone as if it were Enzo himself.

“I made the wrong choice. I know that. I’ve lived with that guilt every single day. I know people have died because of me. Been hurt because of me—like Tommy. Like you. Fuck, even Beretta. They took a shot at your Omega because of intel I gave them and I—shit. I never meant for that to happen. Didn’t know they planned to kill her just to get to you.” Enzo’s voice cracked. “And Kit—fuck, I never wanted to hurt her. Especially once I gotto know her. She’s... she’s something else, you know? Sweet and tough at the same time. The way she looks at you guys... I didn’t think people could love like that anymore.”

I felt tears burning behind my eyes. Gio reached up, taking my hand from Marco and pressing his lips to my knuckles in silent support.

“I knew helping Rocco was signing my soul away,” Enzo admitted. “But I didn’t know how to get out. Not until...” Movement sounded through the line, as if he’d pulled the phone away only to bring it back. This time, his voice was laced with regret. “Not until Kit looked at me tonight like I was nothing. Like I’d broken something that could never be fixed. That was the moment it broke me, too.”

A muffled sound of pain came through the speaker. It was mine as Rocco threw me to the ground after catching me in his twisted maze.

I winced.

“He’s gonna kill her, man. And I can’t… I can’t let her die.” Enzo’s voice was quieter now. “Can’t stand here and watch it happen. I can’t fix what I did. Can’t erase the shit I’ve done or piece back together the lives I’ve fucked up. But I’m going to stop this. I’m gonna keep her safe. And hopefully you’ll all be safe after this, too.”

A pause, filled only with his labored breathing.

“She’s perfect for you. All of you. Take care of each other.”

The message ended with a finality that echoed through the room. The silence that followed was heavy—but not crushing. Just...real. The weight of his confession, his regret, his sacrifice hung in the air between us.

I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the warm slide of tears down my cheeks. Dimitri reached over, brushing them away with his thumb.

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “About the gambling, about Rocco blackmailing him.”

“None of us did,” Tommy said, his voice uncharacteristically somber. “He hid it well.”

“If we had, we could’ve helped,” Marco added.

Gio’s grip on my hand tightened. “He made his choices. Really fuckin’ bad ones.”

“But in the end...” I couldn’t finish the thought.

“In the end, he made the right one,” Dimitri completed for me. His expression was complicated, grief and anger warring in his eyes. “Enzo wasn’t the man we thought we knew. Not for a long time. But the one who saved you, who gave up his own life to right a wrong? That was the friend we grew up with.”

Marco shifted, sitting up to look at me directly. “We hadn’t realized he’d lost himself somewhere over the years. That’s on us, too.”

Deep down, I knew they’d never forgive him for endangering me. For causing the family so much pain. For the lives he’d destroyed. For the people he’d hurt. For almost killing our dog. For breaking the trust they’d placed in him. He’d committed so,somany wrongs against us.

But I also knew, somewhere behind all the anger, they would always be grateful that, in the end, he’d made a choice that spared my life.

A last-minute atonement for the sins he’d committed, if that were even possible.

Conflicting emotions filled the room—anger, so much anger, at his betrayal, sadness for the friend they’d lost, relief that I was safe, gratitude that it was all over. It was too much and not enough all at once. I felt it all mirrored in my own heart, radiating from each of their bonds, this tangled mess of feelings that would take time to unravel.

But time was something we had now. Time to heal. Time to comfort each other. Time to be a pack, a family.

“I’m free now,” I told them softly, the realization sweeping over me like a warm summer breeze. “We all are.”

Marco brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering on my cheek. “Yeah, Angel. We are.”

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