Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“Yes.” I frowned and stared down at my hand. He’d slid a note into it. Neatly tucked, not normal behavior for Uncle Nixon. I held it tight.
The grave was covered in roses. It felt so final.
I would never tell my twin what I knew.
That I waited ten minutes.
And in those ten minutes my husband took my dad’s life.
I would take that to my grave.
We all had our secrets.
This was mine.
People slowly came and went and in those moments I looked down at the note in my hand and carefully unraveled it and read it to myself.
I’ve always seen you.
That’s how it starts? Really?
You’re one of the brightest spots in my life, came into this world screaming, demanding to be noticed, seen, and I knew that the biggest threat to your life would never be a gun or knife—it would be a man telling you no.
Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
Control isn’t in telling you what to do it’s in allowing you to figure it out yourself and being there when you needed me most. I knew you chose him for a reason and I knew you had your secrets too. In the end, a price was on my head and if it wasn’t him, it would have been any one of your cousins who would have had to do it. Sacrifice one, save the many, you know the rules and a long time ago I was brazen, I took an innocent life out of rage for what had been done—and I knew one day it would come back to haunt me. He had every right. A life for a life. So I’m not angry that it was Louis. I’m relieved he was able to get closure, relieved he can come to you a man broken by his past, broken by what he thinks may no longer be his future, and a woman who sees him the way she’s always wanted to be seen. His air. Become who you were born to be Tempest Alfero. You were never born to sit on the sidelines, take your position in this family, become a made woman, an underboss, help lead the Alferos with Louis’s help. It’s up to you now to do the hard thing. It’s up to you to see what others do not. The time for innocence is gone. I love you with my whole heart. You were born for such a time as this, you were born for this moment, breathe it in and make me proud. —Dad.
I couldn’t see anything. I could barely concentrate beyond his words. He knew. Dad knew. He knew everything. He saw everything. Me. God how did I get so lucky? And now he was gone.
A car pulled up. I didn’t look. I knew who it was. Slowly, Louis emerged from it and walked toward us. While he worked for Vescovi as a made man, he was still an Alfero through and through and Cassian had one stipulation upon returning to his rightful place, that Louis would remain unharmed for life.
His best friend.
Another lie.
Or maybe an omission, that the person who protected Cassian when he was young was Louis—that the reason he’d missed people breaking into his own home was from exhaustion trying to keep Cassian safe, keep everyone safe.
Because he was good.
Louis, despite every rough choice he was given—always chose to sacrifice for others, even the situation with my sister.
He abandoned his own happiness.
Whispers erupted, and then I smelled him. To my right. Louis stood in head-to-toe black. He was so handsome it hurt. His gloved hand reached into his pocket, he pulled out a white rose, stark against the sea of red. “A promise is a promise.”
“Why white?” I asked.
The corners of his mouth curled up. “You know better than anyone—how much your dad really hated red.”
“He really did.” I sniffled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“He figured you wouldn’t, that rose was from you.” He reached in and pulled out another one, this one red. “That’s for me.”
“One life,” Cassian whispered. “Buys a thousand silences. Thank you for your sacrifice.” He continued and then turned toward me and bowed, pulling my hand into his, and kissing the top of it. He’d dyed his hair, it wasn’t this beautiful red anymore, it was a dark blonde. His eyes sharp, expression cut from steel. Royalty.
He cut a path back down the hill to the waiting car. Phoenix stood there along with Uncle Chase and a few Secret Service men.
So, he would quite literally get transported back.
Flags stuck out of the black sedan, gold and white flags with a hint of black. It looked like a coin with two profiles facing a different direction.
Without thinking, I reached for Louis’s hand.
He took mine.
We walked hand in hand in silence toward the waiting cars. I took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air and finally looked up at him. “I’m ready now.”