Page 36 of His Angel

“I can’t lose you, Isaia.” The desperation in her voice brushes against my soul. She glances at me. “You know me. I’m not a selfish person. But my confrontation with Everly was out of purely selfish reasons, and nothing more.”

“Leandra—”

“You are the one person I can turn to whenever the responsibility of being a Del Rossa becomes too heavy. The one person who?—”

“—gets you?”

She smiles. “Yes. Who gets me.”

“And you’re the one person who understands me,” I say. “Which is why you of all people should know I won’t risk the lives of my family for just anyone. I won’t go around slaughtering people, painting a church red, if I didn’t love this woman. And I do, Leandra. I love her so much it scares me, keeps me up at night, because for the first time in my life, I have a taste of what it feels like to be happy, and what happens if she gets taken away from me? Just the thought of it chokes me.”

“We all live with that fear, Isaia. God, I livedthroughit, remember? When I thought I was going to lose Alexius. When we weren’t sure he’d pull through, it felt like I was holding my breath the entire time until it burned.”

“I remember.” I reach up and brush my thumb up her cheek. “Everly? She’s my burn, Leandra. My fight. And just like I know Alexius will fight until death for you, I’ll fight until I drown…for her.”

Her lips part, letting out a soft sound, placing her hand on my chest where my heart is, feeling the chaos beneath. “Do you truly love her, Isaia?”

I place my hand over hers. “My mom had this saying, that love isn’t the butterflies you feel when you’re together. But the emptiness you feel when you’re apart.”

Leandra smiles at that.

“And when they took her from me, I felt that emptiness, Leandra. I felt so fucking deep, it pulled me under, into a void where nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but her.”

The warmest smile spreads along her beautiful face, her kindness, her heart shining through as it always does. “Then I support you.”

“That’s all I’m asking for.”

“Just please don’t make me bury you.”

“I won't promise you that,” I confess. “Because if it comes to choosing between my life and hers, there won't be a moment's hesitation.”

Something between sadness and understanding flashes in her eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Leandra—”

“But,” she presses, “it’s my fear. My worry. And I can’t make that your problem. You deserve to find love, even if it cuts deep. And if your love for her is just a fraction of the love I share with your brother, it’ll be worth bleeding for.”

She leans in, wrapping her arms around me in a comforting hug. “If Everly is what will keep you alive, then fight for her. Just come back to us, okay?”

“That’s the plan, Mrs. Del Rossa.” I squeeze her back. “That’s the plan.”

Chapter11

EVERLY

Out on the deck, Isaia paces while Leandra leans against the rail, sage dress rippling, her hair a black storm whipping loose. My chest tightens. Not sharp, not burning, just a dull pinch.

He’s coiled, shoulders taut, pacing like a caged beast, and she’s steady—unmoving, elegant—until she turns, green eyes cutting into him. Her hand lifts, brushing his arm—light, familiar—and he stops, leaning into it, just a breath.

The pinch deepens, a quiet twist I can’t shake. There’s a rhythm between them, a hum that’s real and beautiful.

Her palm slides to his chest, resting over his heart, and my fingers curl against the glass of orange juice I’m holding, chill biting my skin. My throat knots—not rage, not heat—just a flicker of something green, watching them together.

Footsteps echo behind me, and I turn to find Alexius looming in the doorway, collar unbuttoned, sleeves rolled, a cigarette dangling from his lips, cold authority radiating even in the haze. His blue eyes flick to the deck, then me. “Spying, huh?”

“Observing.”

He smirks, stepping closer, lighting the cigarette. “Same difference.” Taking a drag, he nods toward them, Isaia leaning beside Leandra now, shoulders brushing. “It’ll take some time getting used to.”

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