Page 48 of Scars
“Don’t leave me,” I whisper. “Please… I won’t survive it.”
“Never, Tesoro. You’re mine. Fino al tuo ultimo respiro, e anche allora, non sfuggirai alla mia pretesa su di te.”
“How can you say that when I’m such a fucking failure? I failed at making sure Benjamin was right for you. I failed Lio and Allesandro. Hell, I even failed Roman. The only one I haven’tfailed is Jude, but it’s only a matter of time before he gets tired of my claim on him.”
“Never, Hol. That will never happen. You’re the very heart of us. I don’t think you realize the power you hold over us all.”
“That’s the problem! I…I lost Emilio because of the power. Because I let my fear get the better of me.”
He shakes his head. “No, you haven’t lost him. He may have walked away, but we both know he only did that as a last resort. We know how it killed him to lose Sandro. He is only trying to fight for you and him, while protecting himself.”
“Can you go to him? Make sure he’s okay? I…I hate the idea of him being alone during this.”
“I will. But…I want to get you to Doc first.”
I shake my head.
“Yes, Hol. It…it’s time.”
“No. I…I have something to do first.” He goes to argue, but I press my fingers to his lips. “I need to…to speak to Sandro before I can go to Doc. If…if I’m going to move forward, I can’t go in there without doing this.”
“Hollis, it can wait.”
“No, it can’t. You and I both know, I can’t leave Lio in limbo. It’s unfair to the Boy who has given meeverything.”
I can see the war in his eyes, the need to make sure I’m safe, while also knowing this needs to happen.
“Fine.” Ten stands again, this time reaching for me.
I let him lead me, keeping my head down so I don’t have to face anyone else. We stop at a door, and he hesitates, his gaze burning into my downturned head.
“Please, Ten.”
He opens the door and leads me inside. I look up enough to see we’re in the library. Sandro is sitting in one of the armchairs, seemingly lost in thought. When he sees us, he jumps up. “What happened?”
“I…I need to talk to you.” I straighten up as much as I can, though the weight of my failure makes me feel so fucking small.
“Do you want me to stay, Tesoro?”
I shake my head, looking at Tennant, my rock, the pillar who’s held me up for so many years now.
“No. I…no. Go check on the cucciolo. Please.”
He kisses me firmly. When he pulls back, he goes over to Allesandro, whispering something to him before planting a claiming kiss on him. “Call if you need me, Hol.”
I nod, but my focus is on the man standing just feet away. His vivid blue eyes are wary, and his body language screams that he'd rather be anywhere but here. I don’t blame him one bit. If the roles were reversed, I probably never would have stepped foot in the same house as him. Not after all that’s been said and done.
“I’m assuming you talked to Emilio,” he says softly.
I bark out a harsh laugh, and wrap one arm around myself, clutching at my shirt to ignore the throbbing need to hurt myself. “More like he walked away from me.”
Sandro’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head. “It was the right thing for him to do. I…failed. As an Owner, I fucking failed, and these are the consequences of my actions.”
“He loves you. He’s loved you for a very long time now.”
“But love isn’t always enough, is it?” I ask quietly. “After all, you loved him when you raped him.”
