Sweet Hope (Sweet Home #4)(48)

Narrowing my eyes, I shrugged and said, “Some street crew I saw near a liquor store.”

Aliyana’s eyes flared for a second, before she looked all sad again.

“What?” I snapped. I f*cking hated pity. Hatred I could deal with, pity, I couldn’t f*cking stand.

“A street crew?” she questioned, “Like the Heighters?”

My muscles tensed. “So if it was? Fuck! Why you asking anyway?”

“Axel,” she said softly, running her finger over my crucifix… the crucifix that used to be my stidda. I used to be so damn proud of that black star tattoo on my left cheek, proud that my crew had my loyalty, my trust.

“You were hurt after the game… after Levi’s public rejection… after mine…” her expression fell at that, a guilty expression on her face, “and you ran back to the only thing you know. To the only life you’ve ever lived here on the outside.”

My breathing paused at how right she read me. She always had, ever since the moment she first saw my art.

“Axel?” she pushed, waiting for my reply.

Dropping my gaze to her pink painted fingernails, I confessed, “I don’t know how to do it…”

“Do what, querido?” Ally blushed as she called me that. I had no idea what she’d said, but I’d sure as f*ck liked the way it sounded. It sounded like a term of endearment… it sounded as though she cared. Ain’t no woman ever give a shit about me before.

Lifting my hand, I pulled the chopsticks from her hair, long dark locks falling over my chest. I combed my fingers through the silky strands.

“Axel, You don’t know how to do what?”

Smelling the lavender shampoo on her hair, I said, “Be normal… get people to trust me… believe in me… give me a second chance. How do you exist in this world without having to fight? Without pain?”

Aliyana’s eyes misted over and she shifted so she was fully lying on top of me, her legs in between mine. “You’ve never known how to be pain free, have you? Have you ever been happy?”

Hating the sympathy in her gaze, I turned my head, fire burning in my gut. “Don’t,” I hissed.

But she kept going. “You were brought up fighting your whole life, joined a gang because that’s what kids did where you came from, then you spent your time caring for your sick mamma, Aust and Lev. And then…”

Swallowing my pride, I finished, “Then I got locked up.”

“Axel… You’ve never known true happiness…” A tear fell from Aliyana’s eyes. I dried it with the pad of my thumb. I couldn’t believe that she was crying for me. I couldn’t believe those tears were for me. Ain’t no one but my mamma ever cried for me before. But mamma cried for the state of my soul, for the parents of the men I’d killed… but not Aliyana, she cried for the f*cked up man that never knew happiness.

Unable to see Aliyana breaking, and for once, speaking without guard, I hushed out, “Sono felice insieme a te.”

Aliyana stilled and her brown eyes met mine, her mouth slightly open in shock. “ Axel… did you…?”

I shrugged and Aliyana pressed her hand over my racing heart. A smile twitched on her full lips clearly feeling it race and she asked, “You’re… you’re happy with me?”

Exhaling a pent up breath, I confessed, “Si.”

“Axel,” she cried and her eye lashes fluttered fast as she fought back tears. Lifting her body higher, her finger ran over my lips, and she said, “Bésame.” Before I even knew what she’d said, she crushed her mouth to mine.

Holding Aliyana to my mouth, we kissed lazily as I ran my fingers up her spine, loving the feeling of her shivering at my touch. There should be a sculpture created for her. She was perfect.

As Aliyana slid her lips from mine, I rolled us until we were facing each other and her hands ran over the nape of my neck.

Her expression changed and I could feel her fingers tracing my scar. “Axel?” I grunted in reply, my chest tightening at what I knew she was gonna ask. “How did you get this scar?”

She must have felt me tense. She pulled me closer and whispered, “Please, tell me… stop keeping everything hidden. You can trust me.”

Laying my head back against the pillow, Aliyana shuffled closer. “I got it in prison,” I said vaguely.

Aliyana’s eyes widened. “How? What happened?”

Closing my eyes, I thought of that day and without opening my lids, stayed in the darkness and said, “My old crew brothers that were inside got me alone and came at me. I knew the day would come when they’d get their revenge on me. No one turns on a crew brother, but I did, and they wanted blood for blood.”

I could hear Aliyana’s breathing quicken. But like a damn fountain, this shit just began pouring outta me. “We were in the yard, them over one side and I was keeping my head down. I’d managed to steer clear of them, for ‘bout two years, but when Alessio, the old Heighter leader’s brother got put away for life, I knew it was only a matter of time before they came to take me out. That f*cker was evil, and he wanted me dead for what happened to his little brother, Gio—”

“What happened to his brother?”

My eyes snapped open and my hands started shaking. Fuck, why were my hands shaking?