“No.” I moved down another step. “I’ve got it. Ow. I think…”
“Stubborn,” he whispered.
“And don’t you forget it.”
He winked. “Never.”
We made it to the last step and I blew out a breath of relief. I had no idea how I was going to make it back up there, but now that we were downstairs, the voices were silent.
It was now or never.
I shuffled down the hallway and halted in the doorway to the living room. Aida gasped, standing from the sofa with her hand over her mouth. Lorenzo stayed seated in the seat next to her. But it wasn’t either of them I was looking for.
My head turned, searching for the man in question. And when I set eyes on him, my breathing picked up. Romeo leaned against the wall, but as our gazes met, he pushed up off it.
“Romeo,” I murmured.
His eyes shuttered down, locking himself away. But not before I saw his nerves clearly displayed.
My footsteps were slow as I crossed the room and stopped a foot away from him.
“Luna,” his tone was even, not giving anything away. I didn’t expect any different from him.
I raised my hand, placing it against his cheek, not able to find the right words for him. I swayed to the side, my pain taking me over, and he grabbed my elbow, keeping me upright.
“Thank you,” I whispered. It was the only two words that could explain how I felt. “Thank you for what you did.”
“What did I do?” he asked, not moving his eyes off of me.
The atmosphere built. Everyone in this room knew what he did, but maybe he needed me to confirm it.
“You killed her.” I whooshed out a breath. “You ended my pain. Pain I’ve spent a lifetime trying to fight against.” A tear slipped from my eye, but I didn’t move to swipe it away. “So…thank you.”
He stared at me, his brows furrowing. He may have been a hard ass, broody man, but there was part of him deep down inside that cared. It was buried so no one knew it was there. But I did now. I knew that he wasn’t just what he tried to portray. There was more to him, and I had every intention of dragging it out.
“You’re welcome,” he grunted. “You didn’t deserve what she did to you.”
I nodded, agreeing. But now it was over.
Truly over.
EPILOGUE
MATEO
I leaned against the door to the kitchen, watching as Aida and Luna made pasta with Lorenzo’s mom. They’d been in here for hours, cooking up a storm, getting ready for the traditional family dinner that happened on the first Friday of every month.
It was a tradition Aida had made after they’d gotten married, and even though Lorenzo didn’t want his house full of people, he didn’t have a choice. We may have ruled the organization, but it was the women who ruled us.
Luna’s head snapped up, her gaze meeting mine. The soft smile on her face told me that she was enjoying being in the kitchen with them, but it was also bittersweet. She’d never had a family like this, and I understood that it took time to get used to it. But she’d get there. It had taken me a while to understand that not everyone was against you. To accept the love offered freely and without conditions.
I winked at her, pushing up off the door. I’d only come up to check on them, needing a break from the basement. But now it was time to end this. We’d kept Tanner down there for three weeks, enough time to break him and to let Luna heal. I wasn’t sure she’d ever truly be the same, but she was adjusting, taking the good with the bad, and letting the people who loved her help.
She had no idea he was down there though. And she’d never find out. As far as she knew, Tanner was dead, just like her mom.
She blew me a kiss, her cheeks blushing as I caught it and placed it on my cheek. Her face had completely healed apart from a couple of scars that would fade with time. That was the thing with scars, the ones people could see were never as bad as the ones they couldn’t.
We knew that better than most.