I had a brother. Someone who saved me. Someone who continuously protected me. Gavriel Moretti wasn't hardwired to love, and yet he hacked his way into my heart and gave pieces of himself to me. He didn't have to, but he did.
And now he was gone.
"Why did he leave?" I asked. Why did anyone leave? Why did people die? It wasn't fucking fair.
"I'm sure it's some martyr bullshit. He's hurting, Grace. Hurt people do really stupid things."
I rolled over to face Alessandro. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. "You should go after him," I whispered. "I'll stay here."
"I'm not leaving you, Little One," he whispered before pushing a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "Nix made his decision. You once told me that everyone leaves you. I refuse to do that. I'm never going to leave."
A fresh wave of pain washed over me. "But you love Nix," I croaked. "It's okay. I understand—"
"I also love you," Alessandro pressed. "You're my best friend."
"You're staying because you feel obligated to," my insecurities roared. The doubts were like a sharp blade I gripped tightly and on purpose.
"I stopped feeling obligated a long time ago," he admitted. It had to be a lie, didn't it? I was doubting everything today.
"But it's Nix."
Alessandro wrapped his arms around me and cradled me to his chest. I sobbed against his firm muscles. I gripped his shirt and wiped my snot on him. My breakdown wasn't pretty. I felt like I could have spent a month in his arms. I melted there. I felt like a selfish crater on his heart. But still, he held me. He chose me. He supported me.
Alessandro stayed. He stayed.
I thought this journey would lead to the love of my life, but instead, it brought me to my best friend.
A knock on the door clawed me free from my torment. "Nix?" I asked. Alessandro went stiff. He cautiously set me aside and grabbed the gun from the nightstand before making his way to the door.
"If it's a Ringleader, I want you to run, Grace. Run and never look back." I wouldn't be running. Alessandro and I were in this together. To the very end. Running seemed to just prolong the inevitable, anyway.
I got out of bed. My breathing was heavy. My heart raced. But what if it was Nix?
Alessandro looked through the peephole of the door and let out a curse. "Motherfucker."
"What?" I asked. Every bone in my body shook with adrenaline. I felt a spike in anxiety wash over me. I was ready to run.
"See for yourself," Alessandro whispered before unlocking the deadbolt and turning the knob.
I peered around my best friend's bulky body, and what I saw made me gasp.
"Gavriel?" I asked.
My brother stood proudly at the threshold. One hand calmly in his pocket, another resting on the doorframe. My feet moved before my mind could comprehend what was happening. I shoved Alessandro out of the way and tackled Gavriel in a bear hug. Relief, warmth, and shock overwhelmed my system as I sobbed hard and loud. "You're alive," I yelled in disbelief. "You're fucking alive."
Gavriel awkwardly patted my back as I held him. I refused to let go. He was the only family I had. He was my hero. "I wasn't expecting this," he growled in a low voice. I squeezed him tighter as I soaked his suit jacket with my tears.
"You're alive," I cried out in disbelief. "You're really alive."
"I died, too, you know," a soft voice said. I opened my eyes and pulled away from Gavriel to look at Sunshine. She wore a timid smile, and her black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She looked exhausted and slightly pale, but she was here.
I pushed my brother aside and wrapped her up in a hug. "Are you okay?" I asked while petting her. It was like I couldn't believe she was really here. If it was possible to die from relief, then I'd be cold and stiff on the floor. Sunshine was here. She was okay.
"I'm fine. I'm puking every hour of the day, and I just want to sleep until the first trimester is done, but I'm fine."
It was such a normal thing to say. What about the plane crash? What the fuck had happened?
I pulled away and eyed her stomach, expecting to see a small bump. Naturally, there wasn't anything there. It was still too early. "Baby Moretti, I am so thankful that you're okay," I said in a high-pitched voice. "Auntie Grace has a lifetime of spoiling you to look forward to. We're going to start doing family dinners more regularly."
"I can't even think about food right now," Sunshine said before pressing her fingers to her lips. "But okay." Her voice was muffled.
I spun around to look at my brother again. "Is everyone else alright?"
"They're in the car. We need to leave soon," he answered in a monotone voice. I still couldn't believe how calm he was about all of this. Maybe that's just who he was. Maybe his care and compassion was more like a whisper.
I gulped in air. Oh shit. They were alive. "You're alive," I whispered in disbelief.
"I think we established this," my brother replied dryly.
"You asshole!" I yelled before slapping his arm. He cocked one eyebrow at me. "You made me think you were dead!"
"That was kind of the point," he replied before looking around. "Look, I don’t want to show our faces anywhere until we can get to the safe house. I’m not comfortable with my wife and child being out in the open like this. Get your reunions fucking over with so we can take this conversation to a more secure location? And make it quick, we need to go get Nix."
I turned around and saw that Alessandro was already throwing what little we had into a paper sack. Gavriel and Sunshine followed us inside the motel room. "Why?
