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Taking my hand in hers, she smiles. It’s warm, not fake. A mother’s smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Matteo. Please, call me Char,” she says as she pulls her hand away. “I can’t thank you enough for saving our lives.” She rubs Lux’s back in an endearing way, but it causes her to wince, and Char retracts her hand quickly.
Moving behind Lux, I lift her sweatshirt to get a look at her back, immediately spotting the root of the pain. She has a line that extends from one side of her narrow back to the other. It’s about a quarter of an inch thick and is red, with the markings of a bruise already forming around it. The tender skin isbroken throughout, spilling bits of blood along her pale skin. I curse under my breath, pissed off at not getting here sooner, and pull her sweatshirt back down.
“I was thrown against the edge of that stone,” Lux says, pointing to the fireplace.
“You have a bruise, some swelling, and a few small lacerations.” She had to have been thrown hard for it to break her skin through her sweatshirt. “Come on. We should get you both home so Doc can take a look at you two.”
We exit the cabin, and the SUVs are already here. Enzo helps Char into the back of ours while I help Lux. Closing them in, I turn to my men. “Enzo and I are going to take Char and Lux back to the house so Doc can check on them. Clean this up. Save the bodies and have them sent to the family. Let them know why the fuck exactly they’re dead.”
Enzo walks around to the driver’s side, and I hop in on the passenger side. Then we quietly make our way back to our house, doing our best to give Lux and her mother some privacy as they hold one another in the back seat.
50
LUXTYN
Iwake before my mom this morning and lay in bed thinking about last night.
When we got back home, the doctor cleared us after cleaning up the cuts on our faces, the ones I had on my back, and a couple shallow ones I hadn’t realized were on my palm. I’m just so thankful nothing worse happened to my mom during the time she was at that cabin.
With it being so late and the absolute exhaustion from the night, my mom and I fell asleep in one of the spare rooms. I didn’t want her to be alone.
She begins to stir, and my heart tightens as I take in the purple, blue, and yellow of her bruised cheek. Snapping her eyes open, her frantic look tells me she thinks she’s still in that cabin in the woods.
I reach for her hand, placing mine on top of hers. “It’s okay, Mom. You’re safe. I’m here.”
Pulling her gaze to mine, the emotion washes over her face as she realizes where she is. “Oh, Lux, sweetie. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Mom.I’msorry.”
She pushes herself up to a seated position, and I follow suit, sitting across from her with my legs crossed as she sits up against the tufted headboard with her legs outstretched in front of her.
We sit in silence for a few minutes before she lets out a long, drawn-out breath. “I was just trying to protect you,” she says, her voice soft as she stares directly ahead. “When Angelo and I met, we were young, and I thought I was in love. When his father arranged for him and Elena to get married, he ended things with me. I voiced my dismay with Angelo, but he didn’t care. It was his duty as the next don of the Mancini family to get married and complete their alliance with Elena’s family.”
She brings her gaze to mine. “I’d explain to you what a don is,” she says before glancing around the ridiculously oversized spare bedroom we’re in before landing her eyes back on mine, “but something tells me you already know.”
“Mom, I?—”
She places her hand on top of mine and gives it a small squeeze, silencing me. “Let me get this out about Angelo first. Then we can talk about everything else.” I nod as she pulls her hand back.
“It was when I expressed how upset I was about the marriage that Angelo began to show his true colors. He was cold, not caring about my feelings one bit. That wasn’t who he was before.”
Tears form in her eyes. “And then I found out I was pregnant with you. It was the happiest and yet scariest moment of my life. I had no one. No family. Only a couple friends I couldn’t confide in because I knew it couldn’t get back to Angelo. I wasn’t one hundred percent certain what he would do, but I knew his family was capable of dangerous things.”
Her words tear through my heart. Knowing what she hadto endure back then, all by herself. No one to help. No one to even talk to.
“So I did the only thing I could think to do, I ran. I ran and I never looked back.” She chuckles under her breath as a tear slides down her cheek before she brushes it away.
“I was worried they’d come after us. It’s why I moved us around so often and kept us away from large cities. I wanted to keep you safe.”
Rising up on my knees, I lean forward and give my mom a hug. My tender back yells at me for the movement, but I ignore it, knowing my mom needs me right now. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I can’t begin to understand what you’ve gone through. I’m just so sorry.”
I pull away and sit on the heels of my feet. “And thank you. Thank you for always being there for me. And for saving me before I was even born.”
“I’d do everything all over again for you. I’ll always protect you, sweetie.” She gives my forearm a squeeze. “Even if you don’t need it anymore.” I take in the look in her eye and know she’s talking about Teo.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that ring on your finger last night.” She holds up her left hand and wiggles her ring finger as she raises her eyebrows at me. I’m not sure if I should interpret it as support or not, though.
“Or the way you and Matteo embraced one another like you were each other’s lifelines.” I bring my gaze to hers and recognize the solemn look, then prepare myself for the hard conversation ahead. “He’s in the Mafia, Lux. I don’t want to see you go down a dangerous path like I did.”
