As we race away in the car, a storm of anger and fear swells inside me. How could she be so reckless? How could she risk everything like that?
When the empty road stretches before us, I slam on the brakes, my heart pounding in my chest. I throw the...
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It had been a month since our world flipped on its head in Italy, and, somehow, we’d emerged from the chaos with everything I could’ve ever wanted. Back in New York, things felt strangely… settled. Gio was here, part of my life once more, not just as my brother but also as a partner in Romano SecurTech. We’d cut all ties to the underworld, leaving behind the darkness our family had lived in for generations. And Chiara, my relentless, fierce Chiara, had returned to her work as an investigative journalist. It was her way of reclaiming herself piece by piece, healing the wounds her parents had left behind.
Matteo and Fiona were finally official. Antonio had his kids here, bringing a bit of lightness to the Romano estate, and Sofia was helping Nonna Ava around the house. There was a sense of peace in our lives that I hadn’t felt before, one that felt too good to believe in fully but too real to ignore.
Tonight, Chiara was nestled beside me on the couch, her warmth a balm against the quiet. Her breathing had slowed, her head resting against my shoulder, and the feeling was enough to make me feel a gratitude I could never fully express. I was lost in that moment, in the quiet pulse of her presence, when Gio strolled in, taking one look at us and making a dramatic face.
“Ugh. Can you two not do that in public? Some of us would like to keep our dinner down,” Gio grumbled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall, feigning disgust.
Chiara lifted her head, her eyes flashing with mock indignation. “If it bothers you so much, Gio, feel free to leave,” she retorted, her voice laced with sarcasm.
He smirked, arching an eyebrow. “Sure thing, tuono. Just don’t electrocute my brother here while you’re at it.”
Chiara shot him a glare, rolling her eyes, and their bickering went back and forth, neither willing to give the other the satisfaction of silence. I watched them with a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, the comfort and familiarity of it filling me with a contentment I’d never expected. These two people, the most important people in my life, finally here with me, safe, together.
“Alright, that’s enough,” I chuckled, raising my hand in mock surrender. “Can’t you two manage five minutes without tearing into each other?”
They both threw me pointed glances but quieted down, settling onto the couch. We sat there, the three of us, and for once, everything felt exactly as it should.
Then, as if out of nowhere, Chiara turned to Gio, curiosity lighting up her eyes. “I still don’t get it, Gio,” she began, leaning forward a little. “How did you manage to work as a spy for so long in my parents’ estate? I mean… Marco and Isabelle trusted you. You even acted like you hated Gabriel.”
Gio let out a slow breath, scratching the back of his neck. “You know, it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park,” he said, glancing over at me with a wry smile. “But we knew it was the only way. We needed someone on the inside, someone Marco and Isabelle would never suspect. And that someone happened to be me.”
The memory of our initial plan flickered in my mind, bringing with it a mix of pride and lingering tension. Gio’s role had been critical—and dangerous.
He leaned back, his gaze turning distant as he continued. “I knew Marco had a certain… fascination with Gabriel’s ‘outcast’ brother. The one who’d supposedly betrayed his own family. So, I played that up. I made it clear that Gabriel and I were… not on good terms. I staged arguments in public, spread rumors. Anything I could do to make him believe I despised Gabriel.”
Chiara listened intently, her fingers laced with mine. “And it worked?”
“Oh, Marco loved it,” Gio replied, a bitter edge to his voice. “He saw me as the perfect pawn—someone with enough resentment toward my own family to be useful to him. And with Isabelle, I made sure to act like I admired her methods, like I wanted to be part of their world.” His jaw tightened, a flicker of anger in his eyes. “It took a while, but eventually, they let me in.”
I nodded, picking up the story from there. “Every move he made, every interaction he had with them, we planned together,” I explained, looking at Chiara. “We had to be careful, make sure nothing could lead back to me, or even to Gio. We had our own code, ways to communicate under the radar.”
“Wait… so you both stayed in touch this whole time?” Chiara looked between us, a mix of surprise and admiration in her gaze.
“Of course we did,” Gio smirked. “I may be good, but I’m not that good. Gabriel needed updates from the inside, and I had to let him know I was alive, that I was safe. We’d use burner phones, encrypted messages… I’d even leave notes in random places sometimes. It was a ridiculous game of cat and mouse, but it worked.”
Chiara’s eyes softened, a glimmer of realization dawning on her face. “So… did you know where I was all along?”
Gio’s face fell just slightly, the weight of the past month evident in his expression. He looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze. “I knew you were there, Chiara, but it was… difficult. They kept you under lock and key, and even for me, it was hard to get close. Vittore security is no joke. One wrong move, and they would’ve taken it out on you. That’s why Gabriel and I decided we had to wait, had to bide our time.”
Chiara’s fingers tightened around mine, and I gave her a reassuring squeeze. I knew how much it had cost her to wait, how that feeling of being trapped had almost broken her. But she’d come out of it stronger, fiercer.
“It killed me to watch it all,” Gio admitted, his tone softer than usual. “Seeing them treat you like a pawn, hearing their plans… it was all I could do to keep my cover and wait until we had the perfect chance.”
Chiara nodded slowly, her eyes shimmering with emotions I couldn’t quite read. “Thank you, Gio,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “For everything.”
He shrugged, brushing it off with a smirk. “Don’t get all sentimental on me, tuono. I did it for my idiot brother here. And, well… maybe a bit for you.”
They shared a smile, a moment of silent understanding passing between them. And I watched, realizing that in the midst of all the chaos, they’d become a part of each other’s lives as much as they were a part of mine.
“Anyway,” Gio continued, standing up and stretching with a dramatic yawn. “Now that you’ve gotten the whole tragic backstory, maybe you can give me some peace around here. And keep the PDA to a minimum.” He shot us both a playful glare, feigning disgust.
Chiara chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry, Gio. I’ll make sure to give you plenty of space. You’ve been through enough trauma for a lifetime.”
Gio smirked, but his gaze softened for just a moment. He gave us one last look, as if committing this quiet moment to memory, then strolled off, leaving us with a sarcastic wave over his shoulder.
As the door closed behind him, Chiara leaned against me, her hand warm in mine. I could feel the steady rise and fall of her breathing, a simple reminder of everything we’d fought for, everything we’d won.
The scars from the past month would always be there, a part of our story, but sitting here with her, I realized that we were moving forward. We’d built something stronger than the past, something unbreakable. And with Gio by my side, with my tuono in my arms, I knew that whatever lay ahead, we’d face it together.
