Page 35 of Damiano De Luca (The Five Syndicates)
The larger part of me, the one that still loved Damian, refused to.
The room had gone silent, and no one knew how to react. Some tried, but they couldn’t hide their respect for Damian. Pride and melancholy warred within me as people other than me recognized the type of man Damian was. One of honor, respect, and worth.
I gathered my voice and broke the silence. “The Rossi family may begin.”
The clack of typing sounded from the transcriber again as Rafaello began to speak. “The Rossi family declines to put forth an agenda in respect for Vincent Romano’s passing.”
I clenched my free fist beneath the table to tamper my emotions. The Rossi family had followed Damian’s lead and passed on an opportunity for leverage. Vincent—the same Vincent who had watched Disney flicks with me and taught me that it was okay to cry—had managed peace, even in his death.
I nodded to Marco Camerino, who cleared his throat. “The Camerino family declines to put forth an agenda in respect for Vincent Romano’s passing.”
Damian squeezed my hand beneath the table, and I knew he understood how much this meant to me. I kept my face neutral as I nodded to Ranieri Andretti. Tension rose in the room, which I didn’t bother dissolving.
He deserved it for killing Vincent, no matter the circumstances. It might have ended the Andretti-Romano war, but the expense had been far greater than any of us wanted to pay.
Sorrow built in Ranieri’s eyes, and he gave a soft sigh. “The Andretti family declines to put forth an agenda in respect for Vincent Romano’s passing.”
I turned to Gio Romano, who didn’t need my encouragement to speak. “The Romano family declines to put forth an agenda in respect for Vincent Romano’s passing.”
And there it was.
For the first time in the history of the syndicates, no one leveraged for power. I dismissed the meeting, and an odd sense of peace gushed into me as leaders exchanged handshakes and the head of the Romano family clapped Damian on the shoulder and drew him into a hug.
The room emptied until only Damian and I remained.
I flipped through the book, so I had something to do with my hands and eyes. “Thank you.”
“Ren,” he murmured.
I refused to look at him, but my heart sped up, too quick for the emotions that clogged me.
“Ren.”
“Mhm?” I kept my eyes on the book. Being a good liar had its perks, but today, my skills evaded me. I’d bet I looked plain stupid staring at a book while Damian watched beside me. I definitely felt stupid.
Damian reached out and slammed the book shut. “Look at me, Knight.”
I dragged my eyes to his face. “I’m not good at this.”
“Using your eyes?”
I rolled my eyes and stared straight ahead. I counted backward from ten to settle my heart, which beat too quickly thanks to him.
“Shit. This isn’t going how it’s supposed to go.” He kneeled next to me, reached for my face, and gently tipped it toward him until I stared back at him. He held an earnest expression on his face. Open. Honest.
Basically, the opposite of mine.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I may have swooned a little.
“I just want to thank you, Knight.” His hand still cupped my face, and his thumb brushed my cheek. “Accept my gratitude. There’s nothing hard about it.”
But there was, because accepting gratitude felt impossible beside the guilt I felt when it came to Damian. He had nothing to thank me for after I had run away from him and left him alone in that house with his dad. If anything, I should have apologized profusely to him. Another thing I could never bring myself to do.
I stared at Damian.
Silent.
