“No. The Marshal.”
His jaw tightens.
“Saul,” I continue. “He was there. They’re...” I can’t say it. Can’t make the words come out.
“They’re what?”
“Together. They’re together.” My voice comes out rough. “I watched them. She kissed him. In front of the bakery. Like they’ve been doing it for a while. Like it’s normal.”
Dario doesn’t react. Just stands there, perfectly still, the way he does when he’s trying to control something that wants to explode.
“They looked...” I run my good hand through my hair. “Comfortable. Easy. Like they belong together.”
“Good.” The word comes out flat. Dead.
“Good?” I stare at him. “That’s all you have to say? She’s fucking her Marshal and you say good?”
“What do you want me to say?” His voice is too calm. Too controlled. “She’s safe. She’s happy. She has someone. That’s what we wanted for her.”
“That’s not.” I stop. Take a breath. “That’s not what we wanted. We wanted to find her. We wanted to be with her. We wanted…”
“We wanted her alive.” He cuts me off. “We wanted her not dead in a ditch because Sal found her first. She’s alive. She’s more than alive. She’s thriving.”
“With someone else.”
“Yes.” He turns away. Walks to the window. Looks out at nothing. “With someone else. Someone who can give her a normal life. Someone who won’t get her killed.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend you’re okay with this.” I cross the room. Get in his space. “I saw your face when I told you. You’re not okay. You’re fucking dying inside, same as me.”
“What I feel doesn’t matter.”
“Bullshit.”
He spins around. And there it is, the thing he’s been hiding. The rage. The grief. The same devastation I’ve been carrying for hours.
“What do you want me to do?” His voice cracks. Actually cracks, Dario Marchetti who never loses control. “Storm into Colorado? Drag her out of her bakery? Tell her she has to choose us over the man who’s been there for her? The man who didn’t tell her to stay away because he was scared?”
The words hit like a punch.
“That’s not what happened.”
“I told you to watch her. You fell in love with her. And then you told her to stay away because Sal was getting suspicious.” He’s in my face now, closer than he’s ever been, anger radiating off him like heat. “You pushed her away. You gave her a reason to think we didn’t want her. And then you’re surprised she found someone else?”
“I was trying to protect her!”
“You were trying to protect yourself!” His hand slams against the wall beside my head. “You were scared of what Sal would do so you pushed her away and now she’s gone and it’s on you, Enzo. It’s on you.”
I snap. Don’t think. Just move.
My good hand fists in his shirt, shoves him back against the wall. He doesn’t resist, just lets me pin him there, breathing hard, both of us vibrating with something that wants to turn violent.
“I loved her,” I snarl. “I showed her that and then she was gone. I didn’t push her away. I was coming back. I was always going to come back.”
“But you weren’t there.”
