Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
My heart picked up its pace, and my throat became tight, unwanted reactions I wanted to suppress.
Nevio followed my gaze, then tilted his head up to regard me with intensity. “You know what that is?”
“A beautiful phenomenon?” I didn’t want to consider why he’d tattooed said phenomenon I was named after on his chest.
“I couldn’t have said it better,” he said in a low voice that raised goose bumps all over my body.
“Did you visit them while you spend time abroad?” My voice was strangely scratchy. Nevio wasn’t the type to get tattoos of pretty travel destinations.
He shook his head, his intense gaze still on me. “No. And if I ever do, the woman who inspired this tattoo will be with me.”
“Maybe I’ll meet her one day,” I said.
He smiled strangely and moved even closer. My eyes darted to Battista, who sat on his bum and played calmly. Why couldn’t he cause trouble when I needed him to?
“You know this tattoo represents you,” he said. He was close enough that I could have touched the vibrant swirls of the northern lights on his chest. The tattoo on his chest was even more beautiful this close-up. I’d never seen a more beautiful color scheme for the lights before. Then my eyes caught on something on his wrist, a red B tattoo. I swallowed hard.
He turned his arm, showing me the tattoo. “Once I know Battista better, I want to add details representing him.”
I swallowed. “It’s not as easy as getting a tattoo. You ran because you were scared of the responsibility. Now you have to prove yourself.”
“I wasn’t scared of the responsibilities, Rory. I was fucking scared of myself, or what I was capable of.”
I searched his face. Everything about him was honest. “Then running away didn’t really make sense, did it? You can’t run away from yourself, and looking at the headlines in Italy, you kept going there where you left off here.”
“I knew I couldn’t run from myself. That wasn’t the point.”
“What was it then?” I had trouble keeping my voice down and even. I didn’t want Battista to pick up on the tension between his father and me.
“The point was that I left the people behind that I wanted to protect from myself. I didn’t care about the collateral damage I left behind in Campania.”
“So killing more people without any responsibilities in Campania made you change?” I asked doubtfully. It seemed he’d fed his demons, not starved them.
He shook his head slowly and tugged down his swim trunks a few inches. I tensed. “I just wanted to show you something.”
I remained wary until two angry red, round scars beside his hip bone and over his pubic bone came into view.
“Almost dying changed me. I was hit by two bullets about a month ago. They got me good, and I almost bled out before I reached the hospital.”
“How come your father didn’t tell anyone?” Or did they just keep it from me?
“He doesn’t know. Nobody does. Alvize was too scared of Dad’s reaction, so he was happy to keep it a secret when I asked him. When I lay there in my own blood, I realized that I’d missed so many opportunities, not to kill and torture, but to spend time with you and Battista, to show you what you mean to me, and I realized I needed to go home to you and my family.”
I licked my lips nervously. His words hit me right in the feels, but I didn’t want to dissolve into an emotional puddle.
Nevio pointed at the lights tattoo then at the B. “I didn’t get these tattoos to impress you and make you forgive me. I got them because they were my only way to take you and Battista with me safely. To remind me of why I was trying to get my demons under control.”
Battista waited beside the pool, watching us expectantly. I was glad for his presence, for the distraction it offered, because part of me wanted to sink into Nevio’s strong arms for his words.
Nevio leaned closer. “If I could have tattooed you onto my heart, I would have done it. I would have cut open my own rib cage so the tattooist could reach it,” he murmured, then pulled back and moved over to Battista, leaving me there to catch my breath.
“Do you need my help with the water wings, buddy?” Nevio asked as he squatted beside Battista, who sent me a questioning look. He’d removed his water wings as he often did. I gave him a smile then nodded, and he handed Nevio his water wings in reply. I turned my back on them, trying to calm my racing heart.
I didn’t have any tattoos of Nevio or Battista on my skin, but I carried them with me anyway.
“I’ll catch you, don’t worry,” Nevio said, followed by a loud splash and Battista’s high-pitched laughter.