Page 171 of Be With Me
The grief hovered, just beyond reach. I hadn’t let myself feel it yet. Not fully. Not with so much chaos happening around me.
“I feel a hell of a lot better now that I have you with me. I’m taking you to my place. We’ll grab your things from your apartment tomorrow. I want you somewhere safe, while my brothers and I handle the fallout.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Retaliation isn’t optional. If we don’t do anything, we’ll look weak. But there are a lot of unanswered questions.”
“Do you know who planted the bomb?”
“My aunt, but she’s long gone. We think the people behind her are the Santoros—this old mob family that’s suddenly resurfaced.” I paused, unsure if I should tell her more. I didn’t want to give her any more stress, but at the same time, she deserved the truth. “We’re almost certain they’ve been funding your dad, Mia. We don’t have proof yet, but there’s been too many signs that point that way.”
Mia was silent. She hesitated for a moment before slowly opening her palm to reveal a voice recorder. “I think I have something that can help you.”
I shot her a quick glance. “What’s on that?”
She held the recorder up. “Let me just play it for you.”
CHAPTER51
MIA
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” The harsh words rolled off Rom’s lips as he drove into the parking garage of his condominium.
I had just finished playing the recording. The one in which my father admitted to working with the same family that had killed Romolo’s dad.
“You were right,” I said softly. “And I was just too naive to even consider it.”
His hand moved to my thigh. “He hid it from you well,” he said, slowing the car to a final stop. “Even I started to doubt our suspicions after I’d spent months chasing dead ends and finding no proof.”
“Here it is now.” Dad had no idea I’d recorded his confession. He probably didn’t think I was capable of outsmarting him.
Romolo shut off the engine and the car went quiet. “What do you want to do with this?”
I turned the recorder in my palm. For such a small thing, it was surprisingly heavy. As was the decision I had to make.
“If the last twenty-four hours have taught me anything, it’s that blood doesn’t make a family,” I said. “It’s our actions, our words, and the choices we make. You had no idea what would happen when you came for me, Rom, but you did it anyway.” I rolled my lips and raised my gaze to his face.
His brow was furrowed.
“I want you to have this,” I said. “These people already tried to kill you once. I can’t just sit back and wait for them to try again. If my father gets elected, they’ll have too much power. It has to stop.”
His eyes dropped to the recorder in my hand. He didn’t take it yet. He was still giving me an out.
“Are you sure?”
“I want to keep you safe. If this helps, then it’s worth it.”
“This is enough to end your dad’s campaign and earn him jail time. Are you really ok with that?”
“It’s yours, Rom.”
His fingers brushed mine as he took the recorder. His expression softened, though I could still see the war playing out behind his eyes. He didn’t want me to regret it later.
I wouldn’t. Not for this. Everything was different now. My priorities had changed.
Doing what felt right to me wasn’t selfish—I saw that now. It just meant honoring my own truth. Listening to my gut.
And right now, my gut screamed at me to do everything I could to keep Romolo safe.
