Never Ever: Damaged Hero, page 18
“I’ll help in any way that I can. I know where some of the bodies are buried.”
“He threatened to kill you, too, so I don’t want to involve you in it unless absolutely necessary.”
“I’ll give up my life if it means you can finally be free of him.”
“You’re a good friend, Luca, but I’m not about to let that happen.”
“Where am I taking you, sir?”
“To Noa.”
23
Noa
“Yes, I’ll hold,” I tell the airline while I empty Sofia’s drawers, packing her clothes in her suitcases. I don’t want to stop, or my heart will explode. I’ve already buried my husband; I can’t lose Ever in the same way…I won’t.
I’m finally taken off hold. “I need two tickets on the redeye to Logan International. I’ll take whatever seats you have left. Yes, we’ll be checking luggage.” He tells me the cost, and I give him my credit card information along with what he needs to book the tickets.
As I hang up, I hear the front door open, and I stand stock-still. Sofia wouldn’t leave the restaurant this time of day. I scan the room for anything I can use as a weapon, then I recall Sofia telling me she keeps a gun under one of her pillows. Scrambling for the bed, I find it, and when I stand, I’m face to face with Victor pointing a pistol at me.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he tisks.
“What do you want from me?” I hold the gun in the air above my head.
“What I’d like is that luscious body of yours underneath mine.” His gaze rakes over my body. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
I’d breathe a sigh of relief, but I’m terrified.
“I thought you should know before you leave town”—he points at the luggage—“who killed your husband.”
My eyes bulge, and I gulp. “Who?”
“You should really be careful who you open your legs for. You never know what they are truly capable of.” He brushes a strand of my hair over my shoulder.
“What are you insinuating?” I sputter as my heart flips over in my chest.
“Ever is the man that shot your husband.”
“You’re lying!” I scream.
“Funny how he ended up in your bed, and his guilt got the better of him, and he felt the need to bail you out financially.”
My head rattles, and I blink several times. “That’s not true. Ever wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I hate to tell you this,” he snarks, “he is a Leone, and they do what they’re told to do, or there is a high price to pay.”
“Ever didn’t even know my husband and had no reason to kill him.” I feel nauseous again.
“He didn’t have to know him. Drake saw something he shouldn’t have, and the Leones weren’t about to let him live.”
“This can’t be true.” My legs give way, and I ease myself to the edge of the bed.
“Oh, but it is. His loyalty will always go to his family first. You got caught in the crossfire. Good thing you’re leaving town.”
He turns his back to me for a moment, and I grip the gun in both hands. “Get the hell out of here.” My voice wavers, but I steady my hands.
Victor glances over his shoulder. “I was just leaving anyway. My work here is done. If you ever show your face on the Leone turf again, I’ll be obliged to taste that hot body of yours and then dump it in the river.”
My finger is on the trigger, and it twitches to pull it. As evil as he is, I can’t bring myself to do it. I go to my knees and sob. “It can’t be true.” My mind races to the first time I laid eyes on Ever. He was dining with his father and brother. Did he approach me because of his guilt? Could I have been that blind? I sit tall and inhale my cries. “I have to get the hell out of here.” Moving from my knees to my wobbly legs, I lay the gun on the dresser and stuff items in the suitcase without folding them. Hauling another suitcase out of her closet, I finish off the last set of clothes when I hear my name.
“Noa.” Ever appears in the doorway.
I eye the gun and then him. “Don’t come any closer.”
His lip is bloody, and his eye socket is red. “I ran into Victor in the stairwell. Did he hurt you?”
“What do you care?” I snap.
“I know from our interactions at my father’s office you don’t think I do, but it’s far from the truth.”
“What about the truth that you’re the one that killed my husband!” I seize the gun and point it directly at him, my hands shaking.
“Is that what Victor told you? You don’t honestly believe him, do you?”
“I don’t know what to believe,” I cry.
“It wasn’t me. My father just told me he ordered the hit, and Nick is the one that broke into your house that night. Drake witnessed my brother dumping a body in the river, and that’s why he killed him. I swear, I had nothing to do with it.” He takes two steps toward me with his hands in the air. “You know me.”
“Do I?” I lift a shoulder to wipe the tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Yes. I’ve never let anyone close to me but you.”
“Are you working for your father again?”
He inhales sharply. “It’s the only way I can protect you and your family from him.”
Deep in my stomach, I believe him, and I relent, lowering the gun. “Nick showed up at the restaurant and said he’d either kill you or frame you for Kip’s murder and Drake’s death if I didn’t give them what they wanted, and I had to leave for good.” I fall into his arms, and he kisses the top of my head.
“You have to go for now, but I can promise you, they’re going to pay for the crimes they’ve committed if it kills me, but I won’t put you in any more danger.”
“Come with me.” I scoot back enough to look into his eyes. “You’ll never be free from them if you stay here.”
“Even if I leave, they’ll hunt me down, and even worse, they’ll kill you. I’ll move heaven and hell before I’d let them get their hands on you.”
“So, this is it. I’ll never see you again?”
“Never say never. They’ll come a time that we find each other again, and when I do, I won’t let you go.” Our lips crash, and I taste his salty tears mingled with mine. “My highs with you were unstoppable, and I won’t forget them. You own my heart, but my soul belongs to the devil and has been since the day I was born.”
It guts me, but he’s right; neither one of us is safe. I step out of his arms and sniff. “As much as it pains me to say this, because I won’t risk my family to yours, I never, ever want to see you again, Ever.”
He falters backward as if I’ve shot him, and he clutches his chest. “Please don’t end things between us. Just give me some time to make them pay.”
“As much as I love you, and God knows I do, I can’t live like this. I won’t know from day to day whether you’re dead or alive. I’ve already buried a husband. I’d rather walk away loving you than see you lowered into the ground. Now, please go.”
He looks like a man that’s had all the wind knocked out of him, and he chokes on his words. “Goodbye, Noa.”
When I hear the door close behind him, I lick my wounds while I finish packing. After making phone calls to realtors and settling on one, I sign the contract via the computer and then call a cleaning company to take care of both of our apartments.
By now, the dinner crowd has died down, and it’s near closing time. I feel awkward about it, but Luca showed up and insisted on driving me where ever I needed to go. He carried all of our bags to the trunk of his car and drove me to the restaurant.
“I’ll be waiting to take the two of you to the airport when you’re done.”
“Thank you, Luca.” I step inside, and there are only a few guests left at tables. Sofia has gathered the employees at the bar. We sip on wine waiting for the customers to be cashed out, and lock the doors behind them.
“What I’m about to tell you isn’t easy for me, and it’s not at all what I planned. Those doors will not open tomorrow. I will no longer be the owner of The Italian Oven. My husband made a financial decision that I couldn’t work my way out of, so there will be new owners. I beg you not to work for them. I’ll be paying each of you severance pay for three months to give you time to find other work.”
Bruno steps up. “Who are the new owners?”
“The Leone family.” Several of them gasp, recognizing the name.
“Drake did business with them?” Bruno’s brow furrows.
“He wasn’t aware of who they were at the time. Otherwise, he would’ve never signed an agreement with them.” I run my hand down his arm, trying to ease his mind about Drake. “I’m so sorry that it’s come to this. I tried my damndest to not lose this place if nothing else but for the sake of each of you.”
Sofia chimes in. “I can attest to that.” She locks her arm with mine. “Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into this place. You’re more like a family than an employee.”
“Where will you go?” Gia asks Sofia.
“I’ll be joining my sister in Essex for a new adventure.”
“We’re going to miss you so much,” Gia sniffs and hugs her.
“I’m going to miss you too. You can always come for a visit, and if you ever want to leave New York, I’ll have a place for you to work.”
“We might just take you up on that offer.” Bruno purses his lips.
“The three of you are always welcome.” I pat Gia’s slight baby bump.
Sofia and I tell each of them thank you and goodbye individually and watch them leave.
I glance at the time. “We really need to go, or we’re going to miss our flight.”
“Did you get everything packed?”
“Yep, it’s loaded in Luca’s trunk, and he’s waiting for us out front.”
She opens the front door, and I glance over my shoulder to the table where I first noticed Ever, and my heart sinks. “Goodbye,” I whisper and walk outside and watch Sofia lock up one last time.
We both crawl in the back seat, and I see tears slip down Sofia’s cheeks. “I’m sure going to miss this place.”
“I know you will, but it will be good to have you back home.” She lays her head on my shoulder, and we’re quiet for the rest of the ride. Right before Luca pulls into the departure lane at the airport, his phone rings, and he puts it on mute.
“Yes, sir, I have it with me.”
Part of me wants to snatch the phone from him and tell Ever that I love him; the other part says it will only make things harder for both of us.
“I will,” he says, then hangs up.
He pulls up to the drop-off area, puts the car in park and gets out, popping the trunk open taking out our luggage.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I hug his neck. “And, thank you for always being there for Ever. He needs you.”
“He needs you more,” he says, then pulls an envelope out of his pocket. “He asked me to give you this.”
My hand shakes as I take it from him. I stuff it in my bag and hug him one more time. “Take care of him and yourself.”
“You have my number if you should ever need anything.”
I nod and help Sofia load our luggage on a cart. Then, I lock my arm with hers and walk through the double doors, but not without glancing over my shoulder and smiling at Luca. “Tell him I will always love him.”
For the past two years, my world has consisted of one pertinent word: After. - Continue reading …
Never Ever After
The next book in the series.
Playlist
Never Say Never by Cole Swindell, Lainey Wilson
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If You Want Love by Jon Langston
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About the Author
"This author has the magical ability to take an already strong and interesting plot and add so many unexpected twists and turns that it turns her books into a complete addiction for the reader." Dandelion Inspired Blog
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Armed with books in the crook of my elbow, I can go anywhere. That’s my philosophy! Better yet, I’ll write the books that will take me on an adventure.
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My heroes are a bit broken but will make you swoon. My heroines are their own kick-ass characters armed with humor and a plethora of sarcasm.
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If I’m not tucked away in my writing den, with coffee firmly gripped in hand, you can find me with a book propped on my pillow, a pit bull lying across my legs, a Lab on the floor next to me, and two kittens running amuck.
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My current adventure has me living in Idaho with my own gray-bearded hero, who’s put up with my shenanigans for over thirty years, and he doesn’t mind all my book boyfriends.
If you love romance, suspense, military men, lots of action and adventure infused with emotion, tear-worthy moments, and laugh-out-loud humor, dive into my books and let the world fall away at your feet.
Also by Kelly Moore
Never Ever Duet
Whiskey River West
Whiskey River Road
Elite Six Series
The Revenge You Seek
The Vigilante Hitman
August Series
Epic Love Stories
For more follow me on Amazon for a detailed list of books.
Kelly Moore, Never Ever: Damaged Hero
