Kiss of War

Chapter - 24

LEONARDO

She'd left everything behind.
I checked her place. Not there. Cole's? Not there.Bella's? Not there.The cabin? Not fucking here.Oh, but she could run. She could run all she wanted. The thrill of the chase made the bite of the capture juicer. And I planned on sinking my teeth in so deep, she'd have no choice but to sit and listen. Listen to the truth, she was all too eager to write off. My truth.
I burned a hole through the bedroom's carpet as I checked through her stuff. Her orange-scented body wash sat in the bathroom, her pointes were by the closet doors, and the shelves were still filled with her clothes.
I didn't know why I went through every drawer as if I was going to see anything I hadn't before. I've been checking every day for the past seven days, calling, driving to the Roux Manor. And kept finding nothing save for empty calls, barren spaces, and memories.
She just up and left and wasn't showing any signs of coming back.
I never kissed Serena. Not at her birthday party or ever before. It did cross my mind. Eliana wore her heart on her sleeve. Even when she played tough, I could see her weak spots from miles away. But I never wanted to play up that weakness all the way, not when I craved her pain, and certainly not when I couldn't fucking breathe without her.
I didn't tell her about Serena's birthday party because I didn't want her to get upset, and once
there, I figured I'd fucking wish Serena a happy birthday. I wouldn't have if I knew it'd end up with her shoving her tongue down my throat. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I had a feeling I knew who was behind all this.
The person that insisted I show up in the first place. The one that was pronouncing around with a pep in his step, acting like a twenty-year-old rather than his actual age for the past few days. My father had been all smiles and just short of farting rainbows when Eliana floored it all the way to God knows where.
On cue, I heard the door downstairs slam shut and abandoned my work in the closet, taking the stairs to the living room. Alessio was setting two cups of coffee on the kitchen counter when I appeared in the doorway.
"Oh, good, you're up already," he said, shaking his hair out of his hat and fixing up his slightly damp suit. Rain pelted over the roof of the cabin creating a rhythmic strum that rolled with the tension in the room.
"I don't know why you insist on staying here, but the hour drive from Astropolis is eating away at precious time. You're accompanying me to some of my meetings today at BB Oil's headquarters. You're a few months shy of graduating, and you're going to have to start showing up more at the company that's going to be yours one day."
"Maybe I don't want it to be," I said and he stopped dead in his tracks, holding his coat and looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. "I mean, why should I, right? That company is your pride and joy. You've been more attentive to it than your own family."
"You have no idea what you're talking about." He set his coat down, stepping closer.
"Then why don't you enlighten me?" I matched his gait, stepping in his personal space. "Where have you been for the past four years, Dad? Why are you all of a sudden making a return now? Apparently, you didn't have any mistresses, and it hasn't been work keeping you away."
"Tell me." I pushed him a step back when he took too long to answer. His nostrils flared, but I didn't stop. "Where." Shove. "Have." Shove. "You." Shove. "Been."
"Stop it," he roared, shoving me back.
"Or what? Are you going to orchestrate another scheme with Serena Laurent? Up for round number two of bullying people that are thirty years your junior?"
"If it means keeping the little whore out of our family then yes, I'd do it a thousand times over."
I didn't know what came over me. One moment, my hands were firmly planted at my sides, and the next, I'd cocked my right arm back, packing a punch with the force of an avalanche straight to my father's face. His head reared back, his body flailing to the floor as he groaned out in pain and surprise.
"Don't you ever call her that again. Her name is Eliana Roux, use it. She's a million times better than you will ever be," I spit out, fire pumping through my veins.
"What is the matter with you?" he yelled at me, blood dripping from his nose to his moving lips. "You'd hit me over her? Your own blood for a girl belonging to a family that killed Isabella? Your sister?"
"It wasn't Francis that killed Isabella," I snapped.
"Yeah, but it was her mother, wasn't it?" He threw the words at me like they weighed nothing. I stood rigid when he got back on his feet, face decorated with the color of rage, just like the rest of him. "You really want to know what I've been doing for the past four years, you ungrateful brat?"
I didn't let my shock show as Alessio's chest grazed mine with every furious breath he took. He continued talking, decorating my white dress shirt with spittle of saliva and blood.
"While you were busy fucking your little toy, I was all over the country, trying to put a cap to the mess her family started. The police couldn't be trusted, so I took matters into my own hands while trying to keep BB Oil afloat. I wanted them all to pay, every single person that was involved in my daughter's death," he raged, and I felt this sudden itch on my knuckles. My fist was begging to meet his face again.
"So you fucking knew? All this time you fucking knew that it wasn't Francis behind Isabella's death, and yet you told us nothing? Let us stew in misery and lies?"
I couldn't look at him, because if I did, I was afraid he'd end up in a grave and I, behind bars for patricide. I stepped away, raking my hands through my hair. All this time Eliana and I spent searching for answers he knew all along. My mother became a shell of a person because my father was too busy hiding the world from us.
"I suspected. What motive could Francis Roux possibly have to abduct four young girls and kill one of them? Money wasn't a problem for him, and the story of Francis being mentally ill sounded like folklore. How could one person pull this off, and where did the other three girls wind up?"
A sour taste filled my mouth at his words, and I wanted to bring down every wall in this cabin. "And why didn't you make us privy to your suspicions? Were mom and I too stupid to grasp what you had to say?"
"I wanted to protect you." He followed as I stepped out to the balcony. Harsh raindrops soaked me to the bone, yet I didn't care. I needed some air. "I came across people viler than you could ever dream of when I started digging deeper into this case. Dirty cops, sex traffickers, murderers. I never want you to come across people like that, and for as long as I am alive, you and your mother never will."
"It was up to us to decide if we want your protection or not," I screamed over the sound of the rainfall, turning to look at his slouched form. "Keeping someone in the dark is more hurtful than sharing the fucking truth. We deserved the truth."
"You want to fucking know what the truth is? Want to see what I've seen?" my father scoffed, darkness permeating his eyes. "Victims, beaten bloody and raped right in front of me while I couldn't do anything? Force-fed drugs, so they weren't lucid enough to fight back? I couldn't get them out of the hellholes they were imprisoned in until I had sufficient evidence. Until I'd found the other three girls that went missing right along with Isabella."
Bile rose up my throat at his words and the visuals that overtook my brain. And maybe I was naïve and wouldn't have lasted a day, but I wanted justice for my sister. I would've done it for her.
"And did you? Did you find them?" I swallowed my fury and disgust down, moving to the most pressing matter at hand.
"I did. Kira, Zena, and Emily. I will never forget their names. The first thing that popped in my head when we finally found them in a ratty Brooklyn whore house was 'I'm glad Isabella died before they'd killed her soul too'." His voice cracked, and my eyes stung as the rain washed away some of my anger.
I didn't want my sister dead. I wished no one had touched her in the first place, wished I'd been more fucking attentive. But unfortunately, I had to live with my bastard ways for the rest of my life. If what he was saying was true then I was thankful she escaped a fate worse than death too.
Dad's head snapped up when I placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing. I couldn't forgive him just yet, the need for revenge thrummed through my veins and seeped through my pores, and he'd taken that option away from me.
"I want everyone that was involved to suffer." My voice was low, threatening.
"They paid the price. I made sure that everyone involved in Isabella's case was put away for
good. There's still a long way to go, but I can't do it anymore, Leo. I did my part for my daughter and pointed the police in the right direction for future cases, but after that, I had to get out. I was suffocating, and now I have to see a therapist regularly to lessen the burn of the memories," he admitted, his voice barely audible.
Even my jackassery knew an end, and I couldn't help bringing him in for a hug. Dad sighed over my shoulder as I slapped his back. "I see you have no shortage of white knight syndrome." I tried to lighten the mood and he released a huff.
Tough crowd.
"There're only two people left that have yet to receive any form of punishment, save from their miserable existence," he said once we came apart. "I'm pretty sure you know who they are."
"Carter Laurent and Claire Roux."
He nodded, confirming my statement. His jaw locked tight at my mention of Eliana's mother. That didn't deter me though. My mind was set. Her egg donor's actions didn't define her. I didn't give a shit about how forbidden or scandalous us being together was.
Eliana Roux was it for me.
I wanted to see my ring on her finger one day.
Her walking down the aisle to me.
And eventually, my baby rounding her tummy.
She might not see it yet, but there would be no version of our story where she didn't end up with
me. I might be a bastard, but I'm her bastard. And she might be a bitch, but she's my bitch.
"You love her, don't you?" Alessio asked, sorrow lacing his voice.
"I do," I answered without hesitation. "I've loved her ever since the first time I saw her. Eliana is
nothing like her mother, and she has been with me every step of the way since I started looking for answers."
I could tell he wasn't satisfied with my answer. His shoulders remained drooped, like they carried the weight of the world on them. He'd adjust though, all in due time.
"Alright." He heaved a sigh. "If that's who you truly want, I can't do anything about it. Well, not without getting punched again." Dad cringed, pressing his hand on his nose. "I guess I taught you well, you've got a fucking mean right hook."
I shrugged. "You deserved it, old man. Now let's go inside before you catch pneumonia and we have to rush you to the hospital."
He came at me with a mock punch and I side-stepped him, laughing. "Do you think we could pay the little lovebirds a visit before the police get involved?" I raised a brow.