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He was the one who took me away that night.

And now, here he is. Or I’m here, since I’m in his house.

“You’re the man with the knife tattoo? It’s barely fucking there!” Alessio shouts, storming forward. He grabs his dad’s arm with my hand still caught in it andyanks it up to get a better look. His eyes are locked on the ink buried beneath a mess of newer tattoos.

All flesh and blood. No longer a nightmare but standing right in front of me like fate’s playing the sickest joke ever.

“Would someone like to tell me what the fuck’s going on?” Alessio snaps, ripping our hands apart, like that’ll somehow break whatever the hell this is. Like he’s pissed he’s out of the loop.

His father,this man,exhales, looking between me and Alessio, before clasping his hands together.

“Well,” he says calmly, like we’re discussing what Stella’s making for dinner, “I suppose you have a lot of questions.”

No fucking shit…but I don’t say that because every word is now lodged in my throat, stuck behind the million thoughts racing through my head. So, I nod, with my mouth wide open in shock.

“I have one fucking question that nobody seemed to hear ten seconds ago,” Alessio barks.

But before either of us can answer, the doorbell rings, breaking me out of my mini panic-fueled trance. The man who took me from my home and brought me to Clover is standing right in front of me. And Alessio’sreaction only confirms what I already suspected, he has no fucking clue what’s going on.

From the corner of my eye, I see Stella walking toward the door.

“Lexi, Aly, go upstairs for a minute,” Alessandro Sr. says. And for a second, I almost forgot they were still here.

Then— “Livy.” I spin around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash.

Clover.

It’s been months since I’ve seen him, and without thinking, I walk straight to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. His spicy aftershave hits me, grounding me back to reality.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice muffled against his chest.

“That was my question,” Clover jokes. “But youdohave some explaining to do,” he adds, trying to sound stern, even though he’s terrible at it.

“Isn’t that my question?” I fire back, matching his tone with a smile.

“Welp,” he sighs, tilting his head. “I was told your cousin came after you, and if it weren’t for this guy—” he jerks a thumb towardAlessio, “you’d be dead right now. Your uncle knows where you are… am I missing anything?” He taps his chin, pretending to think. “Oh, right! And you’re getting married to a Gualtiero. Did I leave anything out?”

I sigh, stepping back and crossing my arms. “Nope, that pretty much sums it up.”

Clover raises a brow. “Well, that’s fucking fantastic, Liv. You know, I thought you were better than this. I thought you weretraveling the world,” he throws up air quotes, “not sneaking around with the mafia.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh, please. You act like I chose any of this.”

“That’s true, you would’ve picked different,” Clover says.

Alessio, who’s been silently watching this exchange like he’s two seconds from throwing Clover out, steps forward. “I’m standing right here, asshole.”

Clover waves him off. “Yeah, yeah, relax,Romeo.I know you saved her, and for that, I don’t hate you, yet. But I do have questions.” He turns back to me. “Starting with what the hell you’re doing here and why Alessandro-fucking-Gualtiero looks like he’s about to start a family reunion, by flying me in on his personal jet.”

My stomach twists. I glance at Alessandro Sr, who’s been watching this whole thing unfold like he’s waiting for the perfect moment to drop another bomb on me.

“I was hopingyouhad the answer to that,” I mutter, looking between Clover and Alessandro. “Because I’m still trying to figure out how the hell he was the last person I saw before I was dumped on your doorstep.”

“Livy, you were never dumped. It was for your own protection.”

“For the love of everything fucking holy, will someone please tell me what in the actual fuck is going on?” Alessio demands, yanking me backward and wrapping an arm around me like Clover isn’t the man who raised me for most of my life.

“Fuck,” Alessandro mutters under his breath as he and Clover exchange a look.