Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“It’s not a lie,” Damian says in disgust.
Julian waves his hand angrily. “Look at you both,” he snaps. “You expect me to believe that this has been going on for days? That you weren’t sneaking around long before you helped with his wounds, Celine? Really?”
“It’s the truth,” Damian says, matter of fact. “Life isn’t a fairytale. I’m too old, and life has beaten me up too many times to believe in love at first sight…” His voice grows husky. “But if I said we didn’t have something real, I’d be lying.”
Julian looks at me expectantly.
The stress and the emotion catches up and tears prick my eyes. “Oh, we’ve got something,” I murmur, struggling to hold back a sob. Julian has never been able to see me cry without comforting me, and I don’t want to manipulate him. “You want to know what this is? There are no simple answers. But we have something, something real.”
Julian groans and leans against the counter, massaging his jaw. “This is still so damn surreal for me, seeing you two like this… but I know you both. And I’ve never seen you so content before, so sure. Either of you. Damian, you’ve never dated, never thought you were worth it. And Celine, you’ve been so busy and, let’s face it…”
“Go on,” I whisper.
“Self-conscious,” he says with a shrug.
“I don’t feel that way with Damian,” I tell him honestly.
How could I?
Every time he looks at me, it’s like the first time, like my undeniable beauty is crashing into him.
Every time he looks at me, I learn the meaning of the word obsession.
“If we’re going to do this,” he says. “If we’re going to gear up and go to war against the mob, if we’re going to take out the Don and his fucked-up goons, then I have to be okay with this. I can’t go in there with this hanging over me. I have to put your happiness before this weird feeling.”
A shudder escapes me, a sob finally breaking like a wave on a beach. With the hand that isn’t glued to Damian’s like I’m holding on for dear life, I wipe a tear from my cheek.
“It’s not easy,” Julian says. “But I accept this–accept you two together.”
“Don’t feel like you have to,” I whisper, not daring to get my hopes up too fast.
“I mean it,” Julian says passionately.
Damian lets go of my hand, approaches his friend, my brother. “If we’re going to do this, there’s something I need to say too.” He rests his hand on Julian’s arm. “I forgive you.”
Julian turns his head to cover the glimmer in his eyes. I cover my mouth with my hands as emotion surges up inside me.
“I forgive you,” Damian says again, voice firm and heavy with feeling. “You were scared. You had the weight of the Family bearing down on you. And in the end, you made the right choice. So I’ll say it again, Julian, because we’ve been through too much to end things here. I forgive you, man.”
Julian turns back, eyes shiny. He nods. “Thank you,” he pushes the words out.
I walk over to them, knowing that many people would find this strange, not caring even a tiny bit. I wrap one arm around my brother and the other around his best friend and pull myself in for a hug.
It begins to snow as we drive out of the city, a blanket of it thickening on country fields. Damian drives, and Julian sits in the passenger seat. I hug my knees to my chest, trying not to relive what happened in the basement, trying – and failing – not to think about the fact I could lose them both if this goes wrong.
“I’ve called my contact,” Damian says. “When we leave you at the safe house, you’ll stay in the secure room. It’d take a nuke to get in there. There’s supplies, facilities, and everything you need. If we’re not back by a certain time, get in the car we left for you and drive west. We’ll leave the address in the glovebox. You’ll be safe.”
I bite my lip.
But I won’t be with you.
Even with Julian’s tentative approval, I don’t let these words out.
The safe house is a sleek home, all glass, beside a frozen lake, built so that it’s raised off the ground with a garage beneath it. The snowfall has picked up, becoming a thick shield that hides the scrub by the time we pull into the garage.
Damian takes me to the safe room at the rear of the house. It has a door like a bank vault and is built like a mini apartment. He nods towards the door. “It’s easy enough to open from the inside. Don’t open it for anyone except for us.”
I rush to him, throwing myself into his arms. “Please come back.”