Page 53 of Overdosed: Her Dark Side
Anders locked the door to my office in the new residence where I recently moved in with my family. He then took a few steady steps and sat on the padded chair in front of the desk where I was sitting.
“Mom doesn’t want to stay in New York,” he began, leaning in the chair, his legs crossing.
“What do you mean?” My tone was low.
“She says everything reminds her of Karl.” Anders took a deep breath, his gaze dropping to the ground. “She wants to move.”
“Okay.” I cocked my head.
“After Moretti betrayed us, we don’t have a man who would be leading our businesses in Europe,” he continued. “Sergio is filling in for now, but he doesn’t want to stay in Italy. His family is here in the US.”
“You want to move to Italy?”
Anders nodded. “Yes. It would be for the best. You’d handle our businesses here, and I, in Europe. I would take Mom and Aaliyah with me.” His eyes darted between mine. “That is, if I have your permission, of course,” he added in a teasing manner.
“Of course,” I said. I leaned back in my chair, my head cocked, assessing the face of my younger brother. “Is it really about that?”
Anders let out a heaved sigh, his hands clasped. His gaze escaped, wandering everywhere but me. Before finally, he met my eyes again. “We both know the answer to that question.” His was tone low. “I have to stay away. Be far away. From her.”
I nodded, never breaking eye contact.
“Take care of her, will you?”
“I will.”
Anders nodded, and his gaze dropped again. “Will you ever forgive me for what I’ve done to make you suffer?”
I got off of my seat and, with calculated steps, walked over to my brother. I placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned into his ear. “I forgave you a long time ago. You’re my brother, Anders. I may loathe you. You may despise me. But at the end of the day, it’s you who will save me.”
“Sergio.” I extended my hand as Sergio entered the hallway of my house with his wife by his side.
Anders replaced him in Italy a few weeks ago, allowing Sergio and his family to come back to Miami a couple of days ago. I invited him to visit us here in New York. I had an offer I was sure he couldn’t quite refuse.
“It’s a pleasure to see you, my friend.”
“Shane, thank you for the invitation,” he replied.
I turned to Melanie, refusing to hide the pride glimmering in my eyes as I looked at her. “This is my fiancée and the mother of my daughter, Melanie.”
Melanie shook hands with Sergio, a soft smile gracing her lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. “We’ll be forever grateful for your help.”
“Don’t mention it, Melanie,” Sergio replied. “And this is my wife, Emily.” He gestured to the elegant blond-haired woman by his side, whose light beauty contrasted Sergio’s Colombian features. His hair was raven-black, and his eyes dark with a hint of danger.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Emily said warmly, extending her hand to me and Melanie, her blue eyes beaming.
The evening continued in a light atmosphere. Something both Melanie and I needed after the recent events filled with dread, danger, and death.
Eventually, Melanie excused herself to check on Hope, and Emily offered to accompany her, leaving Sergio and me alone.
“I’ve never had the chance to thank you, Shane. You helped me after my father passed away. You trusted me to let me run your business in Miami.”
“And as we can see, I was not wrong to do that. I owe you my life.”
“Our fathers had been friends ever since I remember, so I couldn’t have acted differently after I learned about Charles Moretti having you hostage.” He spoke with a distinct Colombian lilt. “I’m sorry for your loss, friend.”
I took a deep breath. “We’re still getting used to the fact that he’s not with us anymore.”
I had never believed it would feel so empty without Karl. The void was there. He was missed.
