Page 92 of Bittersweet Endings
“You’re right. I fucked up.” I sighed.
I sat there, my arm draped over Octavia as she slept against my chest. Her breath was steady, her body warm, and I finally let myself breathe. I refused to move, refused to let anything disturb this rare, fleeting calm.
Because the second we landed, it would be gone.
Lorenzo moved to the seat across from us, his usual smirk nowhere in sight. Instead, his expression was unreadable, his seriousness giving me pause. “It won’t be easy.”
My jaw ticked. “Nothing ever is.”
He leaned back, stretching out like he wasn’t about to drop a bomb. “But if we survived JP together, we can survive you knocking up an Agostino and becoming Capo.”
I exhaled slowly, looking down at the woman in my arms.My woman. My future. My family.
“Damn right, we will.”
***
The wheels touched down, the soft jolt breaking the quiet inside the cabin. Octavia stirred against me, her body shifting before her eyes fluttered open. I watched her blink away sleep, her gaze finding mine before darting to the window.
“We’re here,” I murmured, brushing my knuckles down her arm.
“I thought I dreamed it all up,” she said. “I was almost afraid to open my eyes.”
“Nah, baby. Parts might feel like a nightmare for a bit. But we’ve got this. Together.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything as the doors opened and the rush of cool night air flooded in. The second we stepped out, she was ushered into a waiting SUV. I climbed in beside her, my hand resting on her thigh as the door slammed shut.
Matteo was in the front seat, turning just enough to look at her. His mouth quirked up into a half-smile, one she returned as she reached out to clasp his shoulder.
They didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to.
I knew what was unspoken between them. That history, the bond formed when Matteo had stepped in to protect her from me. It burned in my chest, but I tamped it down. Because I trusted my brother. And I trusted that he’d continue to look out for her.
“We’re set,” Matteo confirmed. “All the families are in place. They’re waiting.”
The SUV pulled up outside the hotel, and I reached for the door, pausing for a second before looking at him. “Stay with her. I’ll text you when it’s time.”
Matteo replied with a sharp nod, his eyes flicking to Octavia. I didn’t miss the way his fingers twitched, like he was resisting the urge to reach for her again. He’d become fond of my little doll.
Octavia’s hand on my arm stopped me. “Be safe,” she whispered, and I answered with my trademark smirk.
Then I stepped out into the night, ready to take what was mine.
***
The room reeked of power and corruption, thick cigar smoke curling through the air. The clink of ice against crystal glasses, the low murmur of men who thought they ran the world. I walked in without a word. I didn’t need to say anything.
The second I stepped through the doors, their attention snapped to me. Some greeted me with tight nods, others with a handshake wrapped in caution. And fear. But there were those who sat back. Watching. Assessing. Suspicious. I could feel the weight of their scrutiny.
I didn’t give a single fuck.
Because they weren’t looking at just another man stepping into this room. They were looking at their future boss. And I’d bend every last one of them into place.
“Carmine,” one of the older men finally broke the silence. “What the hell is going on? We were told this was urgent.”
“You all look comfortable,” I mused. “Drinking, smoking, talking shit about a future that you thought you had a say in.” I eyed the ones who hadn’t spoken yet. The ones who thought silence made them dangerous. “But let’s be clear, this isn’t a discussion. You’re not here to weigh in. You’re here to listen.”
A younger man, cocky, full of himself, scoffed and took a slow sip of his drink. “And what exactly are we listening to, huh? Because last I checked, JP was still…”
