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The difference in his demeanor chills me. Ethan has just volunteered to put a bullseye on his back, but I doubt he understands the danger he now faces.
How I wish I could end Giulio’s manipulations. I would save countless lives all for the price of one asshole who has dangled my and Tácito’s life over our heads for too many years. If I do kill Giulio, I won’t be able to face Valentino again. Not when Giulio and Sansone are the only link to family Valentino allows himself. That level of betrayal is beyond my hatred for the detestable man.
I study Tácito and the bruise forming on his cheek. There is one thing within my power that I can do to protect both men. I’ll do it, even though it will rip my heart out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Tácito
After Ethan escorts Giulio off the property, I escort Hilde upstairs to reassure her and dismiss her early. She can handle her own in most cases. I’ve seen some belligerent patients become lambs after they tried her one time too many, but Giulio is another matter. What she has to put up with at the hospital where I have no control, I can accept. I won’t allow a privately contracted employee to suffer anyone’s abuse.
On my return to the basement, I catch my reflection in a hallway mirror. A large bruise the size of Giulio’s fist spreads across my jaw. The skin around my right eye bears the signs of a bruise, too. I can’t do much about the discoloration, but I can prevent the area from swelling.
I detour into the kitchen. While I’m there, I decide to prepare another dish Sloane enjoys. I’ve gotten used to cooking for her since our teenage days. Once Valentino moved, my place became our hangout spot. Sloane came by my childhood home so often, my mother started teaching us how to prepare classic Sandoval recipes.
As I rummage through the food in Valentino’s kitchen, I don’t find what I need. I improvise and put some beans on the stove to boil. This dish will take some time and requires sides. I putter around the kitchen, putting everything together. By the time the food is in the oven or simmering, I realize I haven’t checked on Sloane in hours.
Concerned by the quiet, I head to her room. Sloane has her new device. Surely, she would reach out to me if she needed anything. At the thought, my device buzzes. Instead of reassuring me, the message I decipher causes me to haul ass. When I get to the room, I stop short.
Valentino has returned, and he’s pissed. He directs a thunderous expression at me, but he doesn’t sign to explain the accusations he digitally sent me. Then again…
Sloane attempts to thrash and free herself from the binds Valentino tightens around her. I focus on her lips, since no one has clued me in.
“You goddamn son of an asshole! Let me go! Is this some messed up noble gesture? Because tying me to a bed so I won’t leave is what monsters do.” Her last dig must have gone too far.
Valentino straightens after securing a knot. He glances at me. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Cooking. I was about to check on Sloane when I got your message. Will you explain all this?” I spread my hands to encompass him and Sloane.
“Our patient thought it wise to sneak out. If I hadn’t gotten here when I did, she would have left without a word.”
“Not without a word. I wrote a note.” Sloane jerked her head toward the table near me. Her glittery eyes do a number on me, but I shake it off.
If what I’m about to read is what I suspect, no amount of manipulation will sway me. I retrieve her goodbye note, tamping down my anger and frustration. Valentino is barely containing his rage. Adding mine to it doesn’t bode well for either of us.
Valentino and Tácito,
Today reinforced all the reasons I need to walk away. I’ve agonized over this decision throughout the years and have been too cowardly to act on it. There’s no longer time to procrastinate. My presence only brings strife into your lives, and I can’t be the reason for your stress and unhappiness.
Writing this note may seem like a shitty excuse, but I’m not strong enough to walk away in person, and you two are too loyal to let me. I will always treasure our years of friendship and I wish you a bright and happy future.
Sloane
I thought I’d be angry to discover she intended to leave. What I felt was kindling compared to the forest fire burning through my body. Her written words feed the furious conflagration, and I crumple the letter in my fist. Methodical step after step, I approach the prone woman who has caused me unmistakable heartaches and joys.
Whatever is written on my face, it alarms Valentino enough that he swings his arm in my path, barring my progress and holding me back from Sloane. I shove her letter into his chest but don’t wait for him to read because I’m going to force common sense and some hard truths down Sloane’s pretty throat until she never spews her asinine reasons again.
“All this time you were looking for an excuse to abandon us? To wipe out our history as if we were nobodies?” I use my voice because signing isn’t enough to convey the depths of my fury.
“No, never that. I could never treat you like strangers. Don’t you see?”
“No, I don’t. Clarify things for me.”
“Yes, I’d like to hear what bullshit you think will ever make this alright.” Valentino lowers his arm.
We both glower at Sloane. I harden my heart to her desperate tears. She blinks them away, but new ones replace the old. She’s never liked anyone seeing her cry. The only times I witnessed her succumbing to tears were purely by accident, and she swore to make me a eunuch if I breathed a word to anyone.
She stops fighting her binds and looks to the ceiling, but she can’t hide the glassy sheen over her eyes that haven’t cleared since I walked into the room. “I’m a taker! All I’ve done our entire lives is take from you two.” She tucks her face into her shoulder to wipe the evidence of her distress away. “I can’t keep pretending that I bring anything to the table. Neither can you. I was powerless to help when Giulio attacked Tácito. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been powerless.”
