Page 43 of High Stakes and Soulmates (Fanged Mistakes #3)

EZIO

Past

I feel absolutely useless when I realize that I can’t even offer my brother a proper burial. I can’t hold the spade, and with only one working arm, I can’t even dig a hole.

The townsfolk come out, but they seem wary. It’s like they know something and are afraid of dealing with the dead now that they know that Louis caused their deaths.

Thankfully, a man takes pity on me and promises he’ll help the dead find their final resting place, and as the sun peeks up from the horizon, others come out to help.

“We will bury the dead; if you want to live, you need to go,” the baker says.

I know.

I should have run.

Long before now, I should have run.

Yet here I stand, holding out until the very last minute, hoping that something will come of it. Instead, all that’s come is pain and grief.

Valley stands saddled, everything I need to flee in her saddlebags, but still I remain.

“GO!” the baker yells, and I bow my head, angry at myself for risking the very life my brother saved just for another moment to wait for Arturo.

I put my foot in the stirrup and pull myself onto Valley’s back before I turn her toward the way out of town. The way that will lead me back home… but where is home if there’s no one waiting for me?

A part of me thinks of going to the estate and burning it down.

Watching Louis die… but what will that solve?

There are many who don’t deserve to die inside the estate, people just like Arturo who have no choice but to serve a man who has enslaved them.

And I truly don’t know how I’d even trap him in the burning estate without killing innocent people.

No, I need to run.

Valley impatiently paws the ground, and I turn her back toward that tree. Just one more moment. One more…

A part of me feels confident that when I reach the tree, Arturo’s going to be waiting for me.

But that’s foolish, isn’t it? If he really was coming, he’d have come to the barn where the rest of the townspeople had gathered and not waited out there where I might never get to him.

It’s not like it would be hard to find us.

When Valley stops before the tree, I find that the spot beneath it where we’d read or shared meals countless times is empty, and the thought of never doing that again hits me so fucking hard.

Of course he wouldn’t be here. Maybe he knew it was for the best, maybe Louis was keeping him from leaving, or maybe he didn’t want to risk his life for someone like me.

“Fuck,” I whisper. “Come on, Valley. We have to go.” But even as I say the words, I can’t get myself to move this damn horse.

I can’t get myself to run. My life is here.

Part of my life is being carried off to his final resting place and the other part of my life is in that estate with a man who is not human. “We have to go. We have to go.”

Is it even worth living without trying to save Arturo? I’m an assassin. No, my style of fighting isn’t one-on-one. It’s sneaking into the homes of unsuspecting victims and killing them in the night.

That’s what I’m good at. Of course I failed yesterday… I think anyone would have. But if I were in my own element, doing what I’m successful at…

I look back at the road I should take out of here before turning Valley toward the estate.

“Don’t!”

I freeze and look back at the tree where I realize I was wrong. I wasn’t alone because Arturo is leaning against the far side of the trunk, just out of my sight…

“Don’t, don’t. Please,” he begs.

“Why…” Why what? Why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you run with me? Why won’t you let me kill him?

He runs to me as he lets out a sob. “Don’t. Please just turn around and go. Please go.”

“I want to go with you,” I say.

Arturo grabs my leg and buries his face against it. I can feel the way his fingers shake where they grip desperately on to my pants. “I’m not worth it, Ezio. I’m not worth the death of your brother. The death of your unit. I’m not worth it.”

I reach down, my fingers sliding into his hair. “I love you so much. I have nothing if I don’t have you. But I’m not going to risk your life.”

“It’s your life, Ezio! It’s your life I’m afraid of losing. I don’t give a shit about mine,” he says as he looks up at me, tears flowing down his cheeks. I swipe one off. “We could both die. But if you’re prepared to try… then take my hand.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” I tell him. “And if I take your hand… am I being selfish?”

“Care about yourself.”

“I only started caring about myself since you came into my life. I had nothing before you. I was so sick of my horrible life.”

“You could pretend to have died with your brother. You could start again. The man I told you about, he has an escape set for you. He’s prepared to take you. Go to him.”

“Will you be with me?” I ask. “Or will I be alone again?”

“Fuck,” Arturo cries before giving me his hand. “Fast. We have to move quickly. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. I couldn’t get out, and when I saw you coming, I panicked and hid behind the tree as I realized how selfish I was for running to you. But if you’re prepared, we have to go.”

My stomach flutters as I realize what he’s saying. “You’ll go with me?”

“We have to move. There’s no time to delay. He can’t travel in the daylight, but he has his ways to move by carriage or boat. We have until darkness descends upon us before he can reach us, and I’m not sure we can make it.”

“We’ll be ahead of him,” I say.

“That’s my hope,” he whispers as he lets me pull him up onto Valley’s back with my one good hand. I debate whether we should find another horse, but I’ve never met another horse that could keep up with Valley’s stamina. She’s a big mare and Arturo doesn’t weigh much.

“Drop the weight from the saddlebags. We don’t need it,” I say, grabbing the one bag that has my necessities in it, along with money and a pocket watch that was my brother’s. I hope to give it to his daughter who will never get the chance to meet him.

As Valley moves, Arturo unties the saddlebag and drops it to the ground before sliding up into its place.

He wraps his arms around me. “Head south. The port here is ruled by Louis. The ones you met last night aren’t the only monsters about.

There are monsters that can walk in the daylight and they guard his port, so we have to go to another.

If we can’t make it before nightfall… we’re probably not going to make it at all. ”

“If he can’t move during the day, how do you think he’d reach us?”

“He could leave from his port and beat us there,” he says, anxiety filling his words. “We have to move.”

His arms wrap around my torso when Valley bolts, hooves striking off cobblestone as she carries us away from the town and toward freedom.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, his grip crushingly tight. “Your brother is dead because of me. I’m so sorry.”

“How is it your fault?”

“I should have pushed you away. I should have kept you away. I knew the risk, and still, I was so fucking selfish.”

“You told me the risk again and again; you can’t blame yourself.” Dropping the reins for a moment, I reach down and pull his hand free from where his fingers dig into my shirt until his knuckles have turned white. I pull his hand up and kiss his fingers.

“It was all a trap. Who knows how long he was planning this. To him, it was more fun for him to wait until I loved you so much I’d do anything for you before he’d rip you from my life.

His punishments weren’t enough. He could hit me, beat me, break my bones, but he knew nothing would hurt worse than killing you.

” His hand squeezes tightly over mine. “I love you so much. But if I die, please promise me that you will keep moving. You will fight to get away from him. You’ll find a new home, a new life.

Promise that you will love again and find yourself a reason to live. ”

My throat feels tight. I don’t even know how to give him that promise. “Let’s just… worry about what’s ahead of us.”

“No! You fucking promise me or I’m not going with you.” Arturo’s voice is sharp and determined.

“Are you going to promise me the same thing?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“Yes? You’ll be dragged back to that monster. You’ll be there until the day you die. You’ll never be free of him.”

“I don’t know what I’ll be, but I’ll be nothing if you don’t promise me that you’ll live a good life. I don’t know what tonight will bring, but I know that I need you to keep living. I love you so fucking much.”

“I promise,” I whisper. “I promise.”

“Don’t break that promise, you hear me? You can’t fucking break it. I’m positive there’s someone out there better than I am,” he teases.

I say nothing, since I’m positive whatever I might say wouldn’t be the truth. So instead, I just nod because it feels like the only thing I can do.

“Let me see your other hand.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, you can’t even move it.”

“It’s fine.”

“And your leg?”

“It’s fine as well.”

“It’s bleeding. Why didn’t you bandage it better? Why can’t you take care of the thing I love most?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

Arturo kisses my shoulder and squeezes me tightly. “No. I’m sorry.”

“What is that man?”

“He’s a vampire.”

“Vampires aren’t real. They’re folklore. They’re tales told to spook little kids.”