By Virtue I Fall (Sins of the Fathers #3)(73)

What was I doing?

Santino didn’t say anything.

“So you’ll have a sleepover with Mrs. Clark tonight?”

Why couldn’t I shut up? I had been the one who wanted to end things and now I was clinging to Santino.

“She’s probably found a replacement. I’ll have to find a new lonely wife to service.”

“There are plenty to choose from.”

“In a few years, you’ll be one of them and I can be your closet lover.”

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, Sonny, but if I go looking for a lover when I’m a married woman, it’ll be a younger, less jaded man.”

I hated this. But it was for the best.

I couldn’t wait for the airplane doors to open. I wanted to get away. I couldn’t take any more of this.

Mom and Dad waited at the airport and I rushed toward them. Mom hugged me too tightly and Dad scanned me from head to top as if he wanted to determine I was really in one piece. He’d done it during each of my visits. He nodded at Santino as if he was silently praising him for keeping me safe. If Dad knew half the things that Santino and I had done…

It was better if I didn’t think about it. It was over now.

Santino gave me a cool nod before he said to Dad, “I’m heading home now to catch up on sleep.”

“I’m here to protect them, go ahead,” Dad said.

Without another word, Santino walked off. I swallowed, forcing my gaze away from his leaving form. Was this our final goodbye?





Dad picked me up at the airport. One look at my face and his expression filled with concern.

I sagged into the passenger seat, feeling like someone had used me as their mental punching bag. I’d always been good at casual sex, at keeping emotions out of the mix, but Anna had shown me the limitations of my control.

“You can tell me anything, son, you know that. Do I have to worry?”

I sighed. “I suppose you don’t have to worry anymore.”

Dad tore his gaze away from the street. He was usually a very vigilant driver and didn’t let anything distract him, so this meant I had to really worry him.

“Anna and I have been together for the last three years.”

I could see the color drain from Dad’s face, but he didn’t interrupt me for which I was grateful. I needed to get this off my chest.

I needed to share this with someone. Maybe because it made it more real, made it seem like more than a figment of my imagination. Sometimes the last three years had seemed like a dream. I didn’t have a single photo of Anna and me together, not a single proof, which was for the best but at the same time, it made it feel like the last three years hadn’t happened, as if I was waking from a coma and life had passed me by.

“But it’s over now.”

Dad cleared his throat, probably trying to stop himself from giving me a tongue-lashing. “That’s the right decision.”

“It wasn’t mine,” I said.

“Anna ended things?”

“She did, because she’s loyal to her family and the Outfit.”

Dad pulled up in front of my apartment building but we didn’t get out of the car. He regarded me silently. “You never wanted me to look for a wife for you, but there are many families who’d gladly give their daughters to you.”

“You never dated seriously after Mom died.”

Dad searched my eyes then touched my shoulder. “Sonny, I always feared one day you’d lose your heart to a married woman.”

“See, I knew better and chose an engaged woman.”

Dad didn’t smile. “You have to accept Anna’s decision for both your sakes.”

“I know,” I said. And I fucking did.





The next day, Dante asked me to come over for a final conversation about my Paris assignment. I’d already called Arturo for a meet-up in the evening and chat about us working together again. Anna moved on with her life, and I would too.

I entered through the guard house entrance and headed through the underground corridor toward the mansion. I felt fucking anxious.

The second I entered the house, I knew why. Anna lingered in the corridor in front of Dante’s office. That was definitely not a coincidence.

I strolled toward her, trying to keep my cool, but my heartbeat sped up as it always did when I saw her. She wore the last dress she’d sewed in Paris, a form-fitting, long-sleeved mini-dress with an asymmetric neckline. It was the first time I saw it on her. She looked marvelous in it.

Our eyes locked. “Ready to resign?” she said quietly.

I didn’t say anything, only walked past her and knocked at the office door. Anna walked off without another word. It took all my self-control not to chase after her and kiss her.

During our meeting, Dante expressed his gratitude and satisfaction over the work I’d done in Paris. I couldn’t deny it. I felt guilty for betraying my Capo, but I knew I’d do it all over again, even knowing the end result. I didn’t want to miss a single moment I’d spent with Anna.

Dante browsed through a few papers on his desk, only briefly glancing up to ask, “I assume you still want to put down your position as bodyguard and return to working as an Enforcer?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I won’t lie. I’d prefer to have you as Anna’s bodyguard. I trust you. But I’ll honor my promise, so if you want to be Enforcer, the job’s yours again.”