Page 104 of Stay Little Fighter

No one is going to disown or beat me for having emotions, and that thought only makes my chest tighter.

“She’d be proud of you, Damon.” Kingston grasps my shoulder, his own eyes misty. “And I’m proud of you too, for what it’s worth.”

Without thinking, I place the box on the floor and wrap my arms around him.

I can’t remember the last time I hugged anyone other than Chloe. Years, maybe even decades, but when his arms tighten around me, I can’t help but think about how good it feels.

He pats my back a couple of times before we pull away and he picks up the box. “You almost ready to get out of here?”

“So fucking ready,” I reply. “I just need to go up to the attic to grab the stuff I saved for Chloe.”

“I’ll drop this at the car, and then we’ll let Ryker loose with the explosives.”

I roll my eyes. “That motherfucker got a little too excited about this.”

“He’s very good at blowing stuff up, he just doesn’t get the opportunity that often.”

Shaking my head, I make my way to the back of the house and tug the hatch open. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up here, probably since I stashed this stuff, but it’s exactly where I left it ten years ago.

The memory of packing things as quickly as I could manage, trying my best not to think about why I would do something so stupid for someone I claimed to hate. I knew I wouldn’t have much time before my father’s men came in and threw everything out, and there was a voice in the back of my head telling me I couldn’t let that happen.

Photo albums and frames, along with every trophy Chloe ever won, sit in hastily packed boxes. Every gift Ronan ever bought her and sentimental things from our childhood were shoved in duffel bags. I’m so fucking glad I listened to that voice when it was drilled into me to ignore it. Having a conscience was one of the things my father loathed most about a person, but I’m grateful he never quite managed to beat mine out of me.

I carry the boxes and bags to the car with Chloe’s favorite stuffed bear under my arm. He’s a little dusty, but I’m sure we can get him cleaned up.

She’s sitting on the edge of the back seat with Kingston and Ronan piling things into the trunk.

Her eyes light up when they see me, but when they drop to the stuffy under my arm, tears burst to the surface.

“Oh my god, you kept Franklin,” she cries.

I pass off the boxes to Ronan and hold him out to her. The light brown bear has been dragged around most of her life, and knowing I picked it out for her when I was five makes my chest warm. Even after I pushed her away, seeing her with that damn bear filled me with so much damn pride I could barely contain it, but I always managed because it was what kept her safest.

Chloe holds the dusty bear against her chest, and I tug her into my arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Who’s ready to blow some shit up?” Ryker hoots as he sprints out the front door of the only home I’d ever known until recently.

We made sure to park a safe distance from the main house so we don’t bother to take cover as we each lean against the side of the car.

“You want to do it?” Ryker holds the detonator out to me but I shake my head.

“It’s all yours.”

The explosion vibrates through the ground, the heat of the flames licking against our faces even from this distance but none of us says a word as we watch it burn.

Because although we’ll be untangling webs of deals our father made for the coming months and smoothing our relationships where we can, this is the final physical part of the Lombardi empire, and I can’t help but notice how light I feel now it’s gone.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

CHLOE

NOW

Tears roll down my cheeks long before I get out of the car.

The sun is just starting to rise as Kingston pulls the car into the cemetery and toward the Lombardi section.

We’ve already decided we’re not going to bury Salvatore here. He doesn’t deserve to rest in peace in the crypt he had built for himself after I ran, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be buried beside Caroline.