Page 93 of Shattered Hearts
Every impulse inside me wants to throw Cian against the wall and demand he reveal everything he knows. It’s obvious he knows a lot, If he’s keeping our secretthiswell, it’s obvious he knows a lot. Not only has he kept Riley out of this story, but he’s also kept out Harper’s name. Why isn’t he admitting Riley was with him? Surely he’s aware my father and Thomas were the ones who convinced Riley and me to go along with this little act.
Dad takes a puff from his cigar and surveys Cian. “Was anyone with you?”
I know that look. It’s a test. Is Cian going to admit he was with Riley? Or will he throw out Harper’s name? Maybe he’ll lie through his teeth and insist he was alone.
“I, um,” Cian’s gaze meets mine, “was picking up Riley from her job since Finn was busy.”
Rory’s jaw drops. “Riley? You mean Harper? And since when does Harper have a job outside of?—”
“No, he means Riley.” My father sighs, then fills Rory in with the details of why Riley’s impersonating her sister.
Rory leans back in his seat, not saying a word until Dad finishes. “Shit…that’s…complicated.”
Complicated is an understatement. “You have no idea.”
Dad studies me for a moment, and I can’t help but wonder if he knows there’s something going on between Riley and me. He saw us kiss at the wedding…then at the reception.
If he suspects anything, he doesn’t mention it. Just tells us we might as well let Darren in on our secret, too, before getting back to business.
“The encryption on this thing is no joke.” Rory whistles as he handles the phone. “I should have it unlocked soon, though. Hopefully by morning.”
Dad opens his mouth to say something when the cell phone rings, vibrating against the wood of his massive desk. The caller ID captures all the attention in the room.
Boss.
The answer to this mystery is reaching out to us.
Shane accepts the call and puts the phone on speaker. He listens while the person on the other end of the line yaks away.
“Say something!”The voice on the phone rumbles loud enough for all of us to hear.
“Enzo De Luca.” Dad sets his cigar in an ornate ash tray. “It’s been a long time.”
My scar pulses so hard, white spots mar my vision. I feel the cold, bitter slice of Matteo De Luca’s blade as he slashed my face. Even now, the gunshot echoes in my memory. The way it rang out—clear as a bell—when I put a bullet between his eyes.
I don’t come out of my intense flashback until after the phone call has ended. Dad’s dispensing orders, but my world stopped on its axis the instant I heard the nameDe Luca.That name binds my whole body into knots too tight for even air to slip through.
“Get all the information you can off that phone.” Shane tosses it to Rory. “Cian, call a cabinet meeting.”
“Done.” Cian and Rory disappear. Their eyes settle on me before they turn away altogether. Probably wondering if I’m okay.
“Finn, my boy.” Dad taps his cigar, the embers falling like snow. “The time has come.”
A chill whips through me, brisk enough to freeze blood. I’ve awaited this moment for three years. My time to die. Only, what should have been simple is now more complicated than anything I’ve ever imagined.
I didn’t save Brianne. Murdering her killer was the bare minimum I could do to repent. Thevery leastI could do was avenge her with an execution of my own. But the horrified defeat on Matteo De Luca’s face when I gunned him downgave me no consolation at all. There was no feeling betterafter Brianne’s death. I didn’t deserve that.
Not after what happened to her.
Not after my careless, selfish, stubborn idiocy put her in an early grave.
No, killing the man responsible for her murder did next to nothing to lessen the weight in my chest, to ease the crushing guilt that desecrated my already broken heart. I had nothing to live for. And if I didn’t think suicide too sweet an outcome for a monster like me, I would have blown my brains out right after I did the same to Matteo.
Instead, I returned to life as an enforcer, waiting on edge, knowing that when the De Luca family eventually rebounded from the death of their don, they would seek me out to have their revenge. More than expecting it, until now, I’d been prepared to welcome whatever ugly end they had planned for me.
They couldn’t do any worse to me than they’d done to Brianne. And Ideservedworse than what they did to her.
Imagine my horror when my father told me I should marry Harper Brennan. Marry a young, vivacious woman like that to a dead man like me? I acquiesced, but Harper got away from our terrible fate on her own. Or so I’ve been thinking all this time.