Unbroken (The Protectors 12)

Or to beg Luca to turn the plane around and take me back to Vaughn.

I hadn’t actually made the decision to help Luca find his son until I’d been lying in bed with Vaughn and he’d talked about staying in the life he’d had to take on to look for the boy. It was the part when he’d admitted he and his family couldn’t come back from what they’d been through that I’d known what I needed to do. I’d already been mulling over what it would mean to try and help Luca find Gio but knowing Vaughn would go back to that life and do it alone, without his brother and friends, had made me realize Gio wasn’t the only one who needed to go home.

They all did.

Just like Dante had needed to go home.

My brother had been lucky because he’d had Remy to help him and me. And of course, Vaughn had saved us all.

I needed to give that back to Vaughn and his family, and I needed to help Gio because I was Gio and Gio was me. There were hundreds of Gios out there, thousands even, and they were all waiting for someone to come for them.

I couldn’t save them all, but I wouldn’t let my fear keep me from trying to save at least one.

Would Vaughn understand that?

Would he forgive me?

Was he even going to come?

“He knows we’re here?” I asked, my voice cracking a bit. “Not in the city?”

Luca nodded, his expression softening a bit. “He knows we’re in the Hamptons and he knows how to get here. We spent most of our childhood in this house because our mother preferred it to the city.”

I managed another nod. I couldn’t stop shaking so I tucked my hands under my legs so it wouldn’t be as obvious.

Then I remembered the dirt on my fingers. “I’m sorry,” I cried as I yanked my hands from beneath my legs and jumped to my feet to see if I’d stained the pretty fabric.

“Aleks—”

“I should have washed my hands better,” I said, completely horrified. “Those men took me from work so my hands were still dirty and I was too upset to really scrub them but I should have when I got here—”

Terror began to skate through my system. What kind of punishment would I have to endure for staining the cold man’s expensive couch?

“Aleks!” Luca called and I snapped my eyes to him. King and Con were both standing now. They looked worried.

“Aleks, the couch is fine and your hands aren’t dirty. Even if you rolled around in mud and then on this couch, I swear to you, I wouldn’t care. It’s okay.”

Luca seemed tense and I realized he was probably waiting for me to slip into another one of my blackouts.

Part of me kind of wished that would happen. I forced myself to take several deep breaths as I tried to accept that I wasn’t in trouble. But I couldn’t find any sense of calm.

Oh God, I couldn’t do this.

“Where’s Vaughn, Luca?” I whispered.

Luca carefully reached out to touch my upper arm. It was all I could do not to pull away. “He’s coming, Aleks. I swear he is.”

“He’s here,” King said softly. I jerked my head to look at him and saw him holding his phone out so Luca could see the screen. “My guy says he just pulled up.”

“Make sure your guys stay out of his way,” Luca said as he stepped back from me.

“Luca, not even you could pay them enough to get in his way,” King said as he put his phone away. There was a hint of humor in his voice, but I didn’t understand it.

Vaughn was here.

He’d come.

Luca moved away from me and then Con was at my side. I was shocked when he actually put his body between me and the big door that led into the hallway.

“Con?” I said softly in confusion.

“He’s gonna need a minute, Aleks. Just stay behind me, okay?”

“I should tell him I’m sorry,” I said. “I… I should take my punishment without argument.”

Con looked over his shoulder at me. “Aleks, the only thing you need to worry about is him hugging you a little too tight,” he said with a little grin. “You’re not the one whose ass he’s going to kick.” He motioned to King. “Why do you think I called King in for backup?”

I looked toward the other two men and saw that King was standing just a few feet from Luca. And Luca actually looked a little nervous.

“Vaughn said you try to make them talk things out before they fight,” I said.

Con chuckled. “Even I’m not that good,” he said.

The huge door suddenly flew open with violent force. Vaughn’s eyes swung to mine and I swore I saw the slightest bit of relief in them. Then it was like he forgot all about me and he was on Luca without a word.