She merely nods. What was he doing here? Why didn’t he come in? Did I want him to?

  “Why did he leave? Did he say what he wanted?”

  “He said he’d heard what Alessandro did and was checking to make sure you were all right. As for why he left? I don’t know,” Lucia shrugs. “He looked uncomfortable at the fact that I caught him standing there, though.”

  What do I say to that? I never expected he would show up. But even more so, I hate the fact he knows about Alessandro. About what he did to me. I didn’t want anyone to find out.

  “His sister is supposed to stop by soon as well.”

  My eye widens. “Mrs. Ricci? Why?”

  Lucia’s expression seems to say I’m being an idiot. “I told you. She’s like a lioness. Fierce and protective of her family, including those belonging to the syndicate, but especially of blood.”

  “We’re not related to her,” I say in disbelief.

  “No, but we are related to her husband, even if only distantly. Didn’t you hear the story about Luna Gallo?”

  “I didn’t realize I was that famous,” an amused feminine voice says from the doorway.

  Lucia and I both jerk and glance over, our mouths dropping open in surprise. A shorter than average, auburn-haired woman wearing an off-white peacoat and dark wash blue jeans comes striding into the room with a bold confidence. I get a quick view of a large, suited man stationing himself against the wall with hands clasped below his waist before the door closes behind her.

  Brenna Ricci stands regally next to my bed. Her gaze softens as she takes my battered body in from head to toe. She glances over at Lucia before meeting my eyes again. “I apologize for my unannounced visit. I’m Brenna. You must be Aurora.”

  “Um, yes, ma’am,” I stutter nervously.

  Mrs. Ricci shudders with a bit of exaggeration and smiles good-naturedly. “Please call me Brenna. We’re family after all.”

  I stare at her—at Brenna—suddenly mute. This is the most powerful woman in the entire organization. And she’s here. In my room. Telling me to call her by her first name. I didn’t know my father’s second cousin, the elder Mrs. Ricci. She died before I was born. But even with everything I heard about her, like how kind and generous she was, she’d still never invited anyone to call her by her given name to my knowledge.

  “Hi,” Lucia speaks up in my continued silence, stepping forward to shake…Brenna’s hand. “I’m Lucia Giordano. Aurora’s aunt.”

  I shake out of my fog. “Oh, god, I’m sorry. I should have introduced you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Brenna smiles politely. “It’s nice to meet you. I understand you’re visiting from England?”

  “Yes. I came back for the christening. I’m staying a little longer, though,” Lucia says with a glance in my direction. “Until Aurora is better.”

  “That’s very kind of you.”

  “Please, have a seat.” I gesture to the second chair, finally pulling myself together. And since I have, it occurs to me I have no idea why she’s here.

  “How are you feeling?” she asks once she and Lucia are seated.

  I’ve spent today not thinking about how I’m feeling. Because if I think about things, then it makes them real. I’m not sure I’m ready for real. So I give her my standard pat response. “I’m fine.”

  “Aurora,” Lucia rumbles under her breath.

  Brenna’s gaze bounces between us. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through right now. As horrible as this might sound, I wouldn’t want to. I am sorry for it. Which, of course, is easy for me to say. I wasn’t the one living it.” She scoots forward in her chair with her hands folded in front of her. “I know I’m just a stranger to you. Yet, here I am asking you personal questions. Truly, though, I’m here because I’d like to help you. I don’t want you to think you’re alone.”

  Tears well. My throat fills with rocks, and I have to clear them. “Thank you. Really. That means a lot.”

  “I’ll be honest. I don’t know what’s going to happen to your husband. There are parts of Jacob’s—Emilio’s—business I can’t get away with sticking my nose into. But he knows that I have some very strong opinions when it comes to helping women in need,” Brenna says with a small laugh. “He also knows that when it comes to that particular aspect of things, I will bulldoze my way past him before he can stop me. So, while I can’t directly interfere with your husband’s and mine’s business, I will do whatever it is I can to help you specifically. Whatever you might need, you only have to ask.”

  “Can you get her a divorce?” Lucia pipes up.

  A divorce? I didn’t even think that was a possibility. “Alessandro will never agree,” I tell them adamantly.

  “Can you?” my aunt pushes even harder.

  “Lucia.” There’s a note of warning in my tone.

  Brenna turns to me. “Is that something you want?”

  I never dreamed that could happen, so anytime the thought even entered my brain, I pushed it so far back into the dark. It hurts more to dream about something you know will never come true. There’s hope in dreams. I’d lost all of mine long ago.

  “You don’t have to decide now,” Brenna says in the continued silence. “But if that is something you want, I will do what I can to make it happen. And anything else you need.”

  While I appreciate Lucia, there are more immediate needs than a divorce. Like a place to live. God, I don’t even have a job. A way to support myself. My only worth has been in being a wife. A commodity, really.

  “Thank you. Truly,” I tell her.

  “I’ll leave you my phone number. Please don’t hesitate to use it.” Brenna rises from her seat. I glance around for my cell, but it’s missing.

  “Here,” Lucia hands her a notebook and pen from her purse.

  She writes down her number and with a final goodbye walks out the door.

  “What did I tell you? I knew she’d help.”

  I turn to Lucia, who’s excitement is palpable. “You know it’s not going to be that easy, right?” I truly don’t think she understands. It’s as though she has blinders on. Like being perpetually optimistic is just going to automatically make things better. I both envy and am irritated by that. Life doesn’t work that way.

  “Do you really think Alessandro is going to go against the most powerful man on the entire East Coast? Emilio Ricci is not a man you can toy with. He’s fair in all his dealings. Far more than his father ever was,” she says with confidence. “I bet Alessandro is terrified right now, which is why he’s missing.”

  Nothing I say is going to change her mind or make her see differently. I’m too tired to worry about anything else today. My arm and face hurt. I press the call button so I can ask for something for the pain. “Thank you for staying with me. I think I’m going to get some rest.”

  “Of course. While you do that, I have a couple errands to run. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you.” Lucia slings her purse over her shoulder and leans down to brush a kiss across my forehead. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Once she’s out the door, I release a sigh. My gaze latches onto the piece of paper on the table. I reach for it. Ten digits are written in bold script with a swirly signature below them.

  “I’ll do what I can to help you.” Brenna’s words seem to grow bigger each time I repeat them in my head. I want to believe it. Thoughts of her turn to thoughts of her brother. What had Jack been doing here?

  Chapter 16

  Jack

  * * *

  I sit down at the dining room table across from Paddy. None of us ever eat off it, so we designated it as the place to clean our guns. Plus, it sits right next to a window that is currently open for some ventilation and sending a freezing cold breeze through the crack. Of all of us, Padraig is the most disciplined about maintaining his weapons.

  “It calms me,” he told me once.

  He doesn’t even glance up from his task. But his jaw clenches tight. Still pissed at me, I guess.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He continues wiping all the residue from inside the barrel without even acknowledging me. Asshole. Knows I hate being ignored. He used to pull that shit with me all the time when we were kids.

  “I said, I’m sorry.”

  “Heard you,” he replies blandly.

  My eyes narrow. “Is that all you’re going to say?”

  “Yep.”

  I growl in frustration. “You’re such a dick.”

  “Likewise,” he snaps back.

  “Fine. Yes, I was a dick,” I admit.

  “I know.”

  “Are you only going to say one or two words to me all night?”

  “Maybe. Probably. I haven’t decided yet.” He finally lifts his head and glares at me. “There. That was six words. Are you happy now?”

  Then he goes back to cleaning. It’s such a Paddy thing to say and do, I can’t help but chuckle. Then, I sober. “I went to the hospital this morning.”

  He pauses what he’s doing and raises only his eyes to stare at me without blinking.

  I rub a hand down my face. “I know. It was dumb. You were right. I need to let Emilio handle things.”

  Paddy sighs and sets down his weapon. “For the last couple years—ever since you, Nathan, and I moved in here—I’ve watched you change. You’ve always kept yourself a bit closed off from the rest of us. You and Da would talk about this or that, but then you’d shut yourself in your room. It’s gotten even worse.”

  My mouth opens as though to dispute his claim, but I close it, because he isn’t wrong. “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel a certain way. Like I was keeping secrets from you. Or that I didn’t care about you guys.”

  He shakes his head. “It was nothing like that. We all knew—know—you love us. It was more like you weren’t really satisfied with your life. This life. Do you realize that until this morning, I’ve never seen you as passionate about something as you were about what happened to that woman—Aurora?”

  I blink quickly a few times. That can’t be right. Bloodlust has flowed through my veins countless times. I’ve killed dozens of our enemy’s men.

  “You don’t believe me.” It’s not a question. Paddy continues. “Tell me one other thing, just a single thing, that you’ve ever been truly passionate about?”

  His question gives me pause. My mind goes completely blank. Being put on the spot like this makes me shift uncomfortably. Why don’t I have an answer? “What about you? What are you passionate about, then?”

  Paddy grins broadly. “I’m passionate about having fun. I grew up watching Grand-da do nothing but bring misery to everyone around him. He was mean. Spiteful. Vicious. Always angry. Everything I never wanted to be. He was a lonely old man who I don’t remember seeing smile one time. Everyone hated him, including his own family.”

  I study my brother. He just changed the entire way I look at him. At his actions. Why he’s always making jokes. I’ve always thought him shallow. Flighty. But there’s a lot more substance to him than I ever noticed.

  “I’m the one who’s sorry,” Paddy finally says. “We’ve seen some shit since we initiated into the organization. Even more so the last three years rescuing women from the Polish. The abuse they’ve suffered. It wears on you after a while. But then you also become almost immune. Desensitized. Not you, though. I’ve watched the women respond to you in a way they don’t anyone else despite the terror they must be going through.”

  He leans onto his forearms. “I don’t know if your passion comes from the fact it’s a woman in general being abused or if it’s because it’s Aurora. If it’s the latter, then you should do whatever you can to make the man who hurt her pay.”

  Jaysus. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Nothing to say. But you need to figure out what it is about that woman that has you willing to take on Emilio and the whole fucking Italian syndicate.” Paddy’s expression shifts intensely. “You and I are brothers. Whatever happens, and whatever you decide, I have your back.”

  He stares a second longer, picks up his discarded weapon, and returns to meticulously cleaning it. I sit in stunned silence for several minutes, waiting for him to glance up again. To say something else. Even to make a joke. But it seems he’s said all he’s going to. I have a lot of fucking thinking to do.

  I make my way out of the dining room, softly sliding closed the double pocket doors behind me. A quick glance at my watch confirms it’s still early. Before I can question my decision, I grab my keys off the side table and head out to my car.

  For the second time today, I’m standing outside Aurora’s hospital room. This time, I knock. A muffled reply comes from inside. I open the door and meet her shocked gaze as her single visible eye widens at the sight of me. The other one is hidden behind a massive bandage.

  Guilt floods me. Is this my fault, because I spoke to her at the christening? A stronger emotion takes hold. Murderous fury rises up from inside my gut and into my chest. It gets stuck in my throat in the form of a deep growl.

  Aurora jerks back at the emerged sound, and I curse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “You didn’t,” she lies smoothly.

  I take one step forward and stop. “Is it okay if I come in?”

  There’s only a slight pause before she nods shallowly. “Of course.”

  Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, I keep the door partially open and move to stand awkwardly near the foot of her bed. My gaze takes her in from the bright white bandage over the left side of her face to the bruises that cover the rest of it. Her casted arm rests on top of the blanket.

  My fists clench and unclench inside my pants pockets. I try to discreetly open them fully to get the blood flowing again.

  “I stopped—”

  “Lucia said—”

  I hold out a hand. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

  Aurora smiles almost nervously. “I was just going to say that Lucia told me you were here earlier.”

  Heat climbs up my neck. “I’d stopped by to see how you were doing. If you were okay, I mean.”

  Considering I hauled ass out of here without actually finding out, it sounds ridiculous.

  “Yeah, that’s what she said.”

  There’s an uncomfortably long lull between us. I’ve never had this much trouble talking to a woman.

  “Your sister—Brenna—was here. Right after you left,” Aurora finally says.

  I shouldn’t be surprised. “No doubt she came in like a force of nature.”

  Aurora chuckles. “Maybe just a little. She was very kind, though.”

  If anyone deserves kindness, especially after what she’s been through, it’s this woman here. “So Alessandro was the grand-da your father arranged for you to marry.”

  She turns away from me, and I curse my stupid tongue. Why the hell did you bring that up?

  “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry,” I tell her.

  Her gaze returns to me, this time a bit sadder. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s not as though it’s some big secret.”

  “Still, it wasn’t necessary for me to bring it up.” Jesus, this keeps getting worse. I glance away and focus on the red jagged line moving across the screen on the wall above Aurora’s head.

  “Why are you here, Jack?”

  My gaze jerks to meet hers. There’s a wariness in her eyes. Fatigue is written all over her face. She looks so defeated lying there. So helpless.

  Small.

  Fragile.

  I slowly take a seat and lean onto my forearms, staring at the yellowed tile floor. “The honest answer is that I don’t know. I can’t really explain it. Neither of us knows the other. Not really.” I raise my head to look straight at Aurora’s face. “Yet, for some reason or another, I had to come.”

  Chapter 17

  Aurora

  * * *

  Jack, sitting in front of me, is nothing but a reminder of all the things that have gone wrong in my life. The childish part inside me rails against how unfair it is. Then there’s another insidious little voice that sounds eerily like Alessandro telling me I deserve what’s happened to me. That it’s my fault. If only I was prettier.

  Skinnier.

  Smarter.

  If I hadn’t had the audacity to wish for more. My eyes burn. I could hate Jack for showing up. I do hate him.

  “I wish you wouldn’t have come.” I speak quietly, but the flash of hurt that crosses his face tells me it isn’t as quiet as I’d hoped.

  “You’re probably right. But I did. I think there’s a reason for that.”

  “A reason? For what? To torment me? To show me what could have been if my father hadn’t sold me off? Or maybe if I’d met you six months earlier than I had? Or someone else who might have saved me from years of beatings?” I shake my head at his casual cruelty, no matter how unintended. “Whatever those reasons are, they don’t matter. Like you said. We don’t know each other. Besides, I’m a married woman. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “You’re married to a man who beat you so bad you almost died,” he raises his voice in fury, his expression twisted to match. “Somebody has to do something. Can’t Brenna help you get a divorce?”

  A mirthless laugh bubbles out of me. Is everyone in this world that naive? “Let’s say that this magical thing everyone keeps telling me is going to happen happens. Let’s just imagine, for a second, that Alessandro is going to happily sign divorce papers. Then what? What happens next?”

  “I don’t know,” he yells back, running a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to help you.”

  “Help me? Do you have some hero complex?” I ask bitterly.

  “What? No, it’s nothing like that,” Jack sputters.

  Anger has been slowly rising since he sat down. It’s like red-hot lava churning inside me, singeing every surface it touches as it builds and grows in strength. The eruption is imminent. “What is it like then? Please, tell me. Because everyone seems to know my life better than me. They seem to know my husband, a man I’ve had to live with, better than me. So, please, tell me how things are going to be perfect and wonderful and easy. You think Alessandro will just sign papers declaring I’m not his wife anymore? And then all will be well with the world?”