Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

TERZO
She had me worried. The moment the gunfire erupted, she was the person I thought about. I knew my sister would not let something happen to Dani, but bullets didn’t discriminate.
I could finally breathe when Celestina called, and they made it out alive, except Dani just fainted again. Something was telling me this had happened before, and she might not be ready to share. A past trauma, maybe.
I knew trauma when I saw one. I saw it almost every day, but people handled their trauma differently. All the women in my life had experienced stress, emotional and physical trauma, and I felt useless to help them. I couldn’t even keep them safe, let alone be there for them when they needed me most.
This had to change. It couldn’t continue. The cycle must end.
“Hey.” She grabbed my hand as I stood up. “I was worried about you.”
“You have no idea what was in my head when I first heard a single gunshot. I thought someone hit a target.”
“Was there a casualty?” She sagged her back against the headboard and shut her eyes. “Oh, my God. I’m so dumb. I feel terrible right now.”
“What do you mean, Dani?” I sat back, facing her.
She cupped her face and shook her head before staring at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Even I wasn’t convinced by my own words.
“I didn’t even ask everyone earlier.” She looked at the door. The guys and my sister left us so she could rest, but I had a feeling she would resist resting. “Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone is fine. We’re more worried about you.”
“I’ll live.”
“I want more than that, Dani. I want assurance from you that we have to fix this. I don’t want this life for you, but I’m not ready to let you go.” There, I told her the truth. I was a selfish bastard when it came to her. I wanted her in life so bad I couldn’t breathe without her.
“Hey.” She cupped my face. “Look at me, bad boy.”
I chuckled.
“You called me mia bella, beautiful, sweetheart, darling, and I can’t think what to call you. Anyway, where did that come from? Why are you letting me go?”
“I can’t, even if I have to. I can’t, I don’t want to. It’s selfish—”
“Then it’s done. Don’t. I know your life is dangerous, but my life was also dangerous before we met. I really like you, Terzo.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I beamed like a kid in front of a Christmas tree.
“I felt like a girl who just has a crush for the first time. I know this isn’t a part of our agreement, but knowing what my father is planning for you and your family, now is not the time to talk about my new identity or going away.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I leaned in and kissed her lips.
She sighed as if she’d been waiting for it.
I kissed him right away, washing all tension and fear, and doubts away. I gave the last hope and cards to the kiss that melted me in.
Our kiss deepened, our tongues dueled. I knew how to take control of many things, but right now, we were a team. We were partners. We were equal. We dominated each other.
I kissed her one more time. It was soft, tender, and delicate. I kept in the position, unmoving as I relished that moment. I felt she felt the same, as if she was trying to let this moment sink in, because that was what I felt— to feel it was real and this was happening.
I then pressed my lips to her forehead and replaced them with mine. “You can still change your mind.”
“Nope.”
I laughed a silent laugh that made my body shake. “Stubborn.”
“All the women in your life are stubborn. We have characters, Terzo.”
I smiled even though it didn’t reach my eyes, but I was happy we were doing this. “I bet you all do.”
Dani then stared at me. Fuck. She hadn’t said anything, I was already shaking my head.
“No fucking way.”
“Hey. I haven’t said a word. That’s unfair.”
“You wanna meet with your father again?”
“Yes. I wanna tell him I’ve decided to be with you. He has to accept it, and we will help him find the book he’s looking for. You’ll also pay the money my brother owed to Deck. I think that’s a good start to a truce between our families.”
“You’re crazy, Dani.” I came to her side and pulled her close to me. I wanted to feel her and I needed her, too. I kissed the top of my head before I admitted, “Not a terrible idea.”
“Really?” She lifted my gaze to search for approval in my eyes, and she might just get one. Her eyes lit up. The fear and horror were still there, though, and it broke my heart that I put them there.
I shrugged. “You will still sneak out and put your life at risk. So why not work together?”
“So what’s the plan?” she asked excitedly.
“Easy now, cowgirl. You just fainted. Give it a day, then we’ll talk about it.”
“You’re not changing your mind, are you?”
“No, mia bella. It may take a lot of consideration to support your opinion, but I will always be your champion.”
“I appreciate that, Terzo.” She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my chest. “Who attacked us?”
“It was a riot.”
“What? But I thought someone was shooting at us. Tristan shot the guy.”
“Yeah. I’m glad he was there. The next time you go out, you’re not leaving this house alone.”
“Geez.”
“They’re going with you or—”
“Or I’m not leaving the house. Got it.” She patted my thigh before coming to straddle me.
“Dani, you need to rest.” My hands came to her back, feeling the warmth of her skin against my palm. “As much as I want to rip this thing off you—”
“I need to rest. Got it.”
“Are you gonna keep doing that?”
She sagged into my arms, and I wrapped her securely and possessively. “You didn’t buy a condom, so that can wait. You have to wait for ten days, remember?”
“Seven. Seven fucking days? I’m not doing that. And I bought condoms.”
She shook to laugh. “Of course you did.”
“Or I can go without condoms, but I can’t promise I can hold it.”
“Shut up.”
“On a more serious note. Do you wanna tell me why you fainted?”
“I told you low blood sugar. No more questions about it, Terzo.” I knew she would not open up, or she wasn’t ready, and I wouldn’t push it today.
“My ex doesn’t know about me and Tomas. If my father agrees with our terms, how do we pay him?”
“I’ll handle it. I’ll tell him I’m the one who pulled the trigger. I might as well trick him that I will invest in his business.”
Dani got up and looked at me. “You can’t and you won’t.”
“Dani, I have a plan. Just trust me, okay?”
“What is it?”
I thought of telling her, but we were still waiting for approval from her father.
“You can’t even tell me.” She dragged herself to the end of the bed. I knew she would be angry. I would feel the same.
“Dani, we still have a lot of things to do before my plan will work.”
“You tell me now, or you won’t.”
Fuck. “I wanna make him pay for what he did to you, and Katie is helping me with it.”