𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

52

Mila

I finished putting the kids to bed and made my way to my bedroom when I heard a knock on the door.

My heart dropped as I checked the time on my phone, it was eleven o'clock at night and I wasn't expecting anyone.

I pull out one of the knives Rory gifted me from under the couch and make my way toward the door, the knocks weren't too loud but they were rapid.

"Fuck," I whisper as I inch towards the door my heart hammering against my chest as I hold the small knife up like I knew what I was doing.

I didn't.

I slowly creep closer to the door trying not to make a sound when suddenly the floorboards creak.

"Shit," I whisper.

That's what I get for booking a shitty hotel.

I walk closer and finally, I look through the peephole, and before I can see anything... I hear him.

"Mila please, I know you're in here."

It was Gio... he found me.

My heartbeat picked up and my eyes welled with tears, and not because I was scared but because deep down I knew I'd missed him too much, and hearing his voice like like finally breathing when you have been drowning, for three weeks straight.

"Please..." he whispered.

I drop the knife as I hear him again and I know he heard it. "Mila please open the door..." he starts and my heart sinks as I hear the pain in his voice. "I need you..."

I walk over to the door and unlock it before opening the door, we both stand there for a second, not saying anything as we just stare into each other's eyes. "Gio you-"

He doesn't let me finish my sentence when suddenly he steps closer and shuts the door he pulls me to him, and I stand there shocked for a second before exhaling and wrapping my arms around him.

I tightly shut my eyes to stop myself from crying.

I missed him so fucking much.

As he holds my head against his chest I hear his racing heart slow down as he breathes heavily, and suddenly he releases a sigh of relief.

Something was wrong.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he whispers. "Not ever again, in your life do you abandon me like that, you hear me?" I hear the pain in his voice and it triggers my tears as I cry into his chest. "Don't ever do that again."

"I'm sorry," I breathe. "I was scared."

His arms hold me tightly against him as his nose is nuzzled in my hair. "That was torture Mila, you can't leave me like that again."

I don't reply, because I know if it's for my kid's safety, I will have to leave over and over again.

"Gio is everything okay?"

The feeling that something was wrong would not leave my heart, his whole demeanor was off and it honestly scared me.

He stays quiet for a moment. "I killed him." He says and my heart stops at that, I rake my mind for an answer but there is only one possible person I could think of that he could be talking about.

Shit...

"He put me through hell Mila, he put me and my mother through hell my whole life... I just fucking did it I didn't even think twice about it before pulling that trigger."

His words had my heart sinking, as much as I hated hearing about the things he was capable of I couldn't find it in me to feel that he did a bad thing, his father was a horrible person, and even though Gio hasn't opened up a lot about his childhood I could tell it was bad, and the problem was his father.

My hand runs up and down his back, as my eyes stay shut, I take a deep exhale as his arms wrap around me a bit tighter.

We stand like that for a while before he begins to speak again. "It's so quiet." He whispers, my brows furrowed at that.

"Yeah, the kids are asleep and it's midnight," I tell him and he shakes his head.

"No, in my mind... it's finally quiet." His hands begin to loosen up on me as he takes one final deep breath.

I look up at him not knowing what to say to that but he beats me to it. "You bring me peace Mila, you can't leave me like that again... please.."

"I have to do anything to protect them Gio... anything."

"And so would I, don't you believe that?" He says. "I would rather die than have anything happen to them or you."

He looked into my eyes as he told me this and I believed every word that came out of his mouth. "I believe that Gio... you know I do, but Cade is.."

"The deals off." My brows furrowed at that.

"What do you mean the deal is off... you signed the papers..."

"We found a loophole."

My eyes widen at that as I take a step back. "He's out?" My eyes begin to tear up and I feel the huge pit in my stomach begin to go away as he tells me this, he nods.

"A loophole?" I ask confused. "Was... killing Marco a part of that loophole," I ask hesitantly.

He pauses at the mention of his father and I immediately regret it. "No... but it helps."

He steps up to me. "I don't want to put you or them in any more danger than I already have, I want to be a family... and I want you to be with me and to stay with me..."

I exhale a deep breath as I look at him, his words hit my heart and send them beating against my chest, I wipe the tears off of my face as I look at him. "You want to... be with me?" I ask confused.

He steps closer and uses his thumbs to rub my cheeks dry before his hands find my shoulder. "So fucking bad."

My eyes meet his. "But... this isn't r-"

"Mila don't." He says as he looks me in me eyes, the hurt in his eyes from what I almost said very evident. "Don't you dare say this isn't real because I know damn well what I feel for you is so fucking real it fucking scares me so don't," he exhaled a deep breath. "Don't say that."

I didn't want to say it because what I felt for Gio was not a fake in the slightest... I fell for the big guy and I fell hard, and now he was admitting that his feelings for me are more than what I thought they were. "What do you feel for me?" I wanted to hear it.

His hand slides up against my cheek as he looks at me, and the stare he gives me has my heart beating so much faster and the nervousness begins to build. "I love you." He whispered and my stomach began swarming with butterflies.

"Like so fucking badly it hurts when you're not around when you left it felt like I lost myself and you took a part of me away with me because I cannot stand to be away from you, I love you, I love what you have blessed me with, I love when you argue with me just because, I love your presence, I love how you look when you wake up next to me in the morning, I love your expensive habits," he says causing me to chuckle through my tears. "I love all of you and all of your fucking plants and your fucking green...." He exhales. "I love all of you."

I begin smiling through the tears that run down my face because his little speech has me sobbing. "That was a bit dramatic." I joke and he chuckles.

"I know but it's still not enough to express it." He wipes my tears again as I chuckle.

My hands find the sides of his face. "I love you too," I tell him and he gives me the most beautiful smile before his lips crash down onto mine.

His hands slide down and land on my waist as he continues to kiss me passionately before finally I pull away and wipe my face for the last time. "How did you find us?"

"Mila there isn't a single place on this earth you could hide that I would not have been able to find you, I simply cannot stay away from you."

I smile at that.