Page 80 of The Fates We Tame

But no.

I don’t have a family. I’ll face a legal battle to try to reclaim what was mine. And I have no support system in place…for life or for ongoing medical treatment.

Hell, I don’t even know if I have any kind of medical coverage. I know Theo said he has lots of money, but I can’t bring myself to ask for any of it. He saved me. He shouldn’t have to fund me too.

I thought I felt lost when I first woke up in the hospital and couldn’t remember any facet of my identity. Then, as friends began to extricate themselves from my life, I thought that was as alone as I was going to feel.

But in this moment, I know this is the bottom.

I’ve never felt more alone.

And yet…

Maybe this is where I meet myself. Maybe this was what Niro was talking about.

“Soph.” It’s Alessio; he’s left my father’s side. While the bikers are focused on my father, Alessio is focused on me.

I go to walk toward him, but Niro puts his hand out to stop me. “Don’t go too close, sweetheart.”

“What?” I ask my brother.

“You would have wanted this,” he says. “I knew you better than anyone else in this family. You knew this was your destiny. You embraced it. You felt pride that you could do something for the family like this. I don’t know why you got in the car, but it wasn’t because of the prospect of marriage.”

His words seem sincere. “I find it hard to accept that.”

He runs his hand over his jaw. “I’m sure you do. Just as I find it hard to accept that you really want this. It’s going to come back to you in a flood of memories why you shouldn’t be here. And when it does, I want you to call me. I’ll come get you.”

“So you can get me on an airplane to Sicily?”

“When it comes back to you, you’ll want to go.”

I look over to Theo, who is calmly watching my father rant about getting me back, about lawyering up, about suing the Outlaws.

“I doubt it,” I reply.

“It was something else that made you run that day. You never ran, Sophia. Not once. Not even when our enemies broke into our house. You always fought. You were as ruthless as the rest of us. More accurate an aim than any of our brothers. Whatever you learned that day scared you enough to flee. It must have been serious. And I’m determined to find out what it is for the sake of our family.”

I shake my head. “I have no answers for you. But this isn’t the way you get them. And assuming everything you say is true… Who’s to say that what I heard wasn’t connected to the wedding? Who I was marrying?”

He glances in the direction of our father, then lowers his voice to a whisper. “I know it wasn’t. You said something to me that morning. Call me, Soph. There’s more I have to tell you that Papà doesn’t?—"

“Back the fuck away from the gate,” Theo says as he comes to stand by my side. He’s staring my brother down, but I put my palm to his chest.

“It’s okay, Switch,” I say. “I’m done here.”

He looks down at me. “Switch, huh?”

“I think the circumstance calls for it. I want to go back inside. Alessio, if you really care for me, you need to persuade Papà to drop this. To leave me alone and let me heal. Accept I’m married. Otherwise, you don’t really care for me at all.”

We turn to walk back inside, but my brother’s voice echoes through the lot. “Think about what I said, Sophia. You know I’m right.”

21

SWITCH

As soon as we get through the doors, I tug Sophia close and hold her tight against me. Her body shakes in my arms. I never intended to let her leave without me, to let her out of my sight even. But in situations like that, you have to be prepared for the unexpected.

“You okay?” I whisper.