I drove home, my heart thumping against my chest with the anticipation of seeing Zara.
I couldn't drive fast enough to see her.
To finally hold her and be able to tell her that it was over.
That she was safe now…
And she didn't have to worry anymore.
I peered over my shoulder from the corner of my eye and realized that my arm was still gushing out blood from the crash.
"Motherfucker," I gritted, applying pressure on the open wound to stop it from bleeding.
Before long, I'd arrived back at the mansion. I made my way inside, allowing my car to screech to a halt.
"Fizz, I'm here," I said down the phone. "Open the fucking door."
I waited for several moments, before the front door burst open, and Fizz stood there, with a worried expression on his face.
"Jesus, bro," he commented, nodding towards the bandage. "What the fuck happened?"
I sighed agitatedly, before rolling my eyes. "The fuckers tried smashing against my car, taking me out. But I dealt with it."
Fizz nodded. "We'll get the doctor to take a look at you straight away. Those wounds look pretty fucking nasty."
I let out a low chuckle. "I'm fine Fizz, shut the fuck up. It'll take more than a few cuts and bruises to bring a motherfucker like me down."
Fizz laughed, amused. "Did you manage to get to Marcello then?"
"Yeah," I confirmed. "Shot his whole family dead. Did you get the men to catch up with the list of people I sent you?"
"It's all taken care of, bro," Fizz reassured me.
Some of the men walked to the living room.
"Thank you. I won't forget this favour you've done for me," I sighed heavily, nodding towards them.
"It's us that should be thanking you," one of the men, Vito, replied. "You gave us The Camorra's on a silver fucking platter. Now that we've taken all the bastards out, their territory is ours for the taking."
I nodded in approval. "I won't be staying for much longer, though. I want to go back to the UK soon."
I heaved my chest, as I thought about Zara more and more.
And I realized what was at stake today.
She could have died.
Some motherfuckers could have killed her…
And then I never would have been able to fucking live with myself.
I just wanted her safe, in my arms.
Not having to worry for her life.
She'd come to Italy a normal woman…
When I returned to the UK with her, I wanted her to leave a normal woman, too.
To not have to get caught up in the mafia lifestyle.
To not have to constantly pay the price for her father's mistakes.
For her not to constantly be hounded by the memory of Marcello, and what the fucker did to her.
For all of this to just be a figment of her imagination…
A nightmare that she could shut off, and not constantly have to be reminded of, day by day.
I let out a sigh that I didn't know I was holding, before swallowing down a lump in my throat.
"Fizz, you want to keep your family safe, right?" I mumbled.
"Yeah, I do," he shrugged.
I turned back to Vito. "Since this is such a huge favour that's been done for the Cosa Nostra… I need a little favour from you."
Vito narrowed his eyes. "I'm listening."
"I don't want to take care of the organized crime operations back in England anymore," I admitted. "Neither does Fizz. We were wondering if you could pass on the responsibility to somebody else."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Vito scoffed. "You can't just pick up and leave the mafia. This is your blood. Live by the sword… Die by the sword."
He furrowed his eyebrows.
"No, I'm not talking about leaving," I shrugged. "I just want the responsibilities to be lifted off of us. We've spent our entire lives serving the Cosa Nostra, and now… We just want to serve ourselves."
I heaved my chest upwards and downwards.
"I just want some normality in my life. We've been through so much, suffered so fucking much. Obviously, if there's an emergency that needs taking care of, we'll be at your service… But as for the day-to-day stuff. The assassinating, bombing, blackmailing, selling drugs. I want no part in it anymore. Do you, Fizz?"
Fizz swallowed, sweating profusely. "I don't want any part in it anymore, either. I just want to settle and look after my family as my kids are growing up… And not have to worry about their life being in danger."
Vito's eyes burned into mine, with an unreadable expression plastered all over his face. He cocked his head to the side – it was almost impossible to wonder what he was thinking. How he was going to react to this information.
This revelation.
"You know what? Fair enough, boys," he said finally. "You've proven your loyalty to this family time and time again. As long as you remain loyal to the Cosa Nostra for the remainder of your lives… We will get somebody else to take care of the operations in Manchester now."
I let out a relieved sigh, not expecting him to react this way.
"Peace at last, bro…" Fizz murmured.
"Yeah," I nodded.
My eyes darted to the direction of the stairs, my heart pounding against my chest.
"She's in the bedroom upstairs on the left," Fizz shrugged, reading my mind. "She's been worried sick about you. She's a keeper for sure, Luca."
I nodded towards him, before making my way up the stairs.
Ready to finally speak to Zara.