they couldn’t pay them. So…I did. I did whatever I had to do to pay them back, normally by working for them.” I swallowed, feeling tears fill my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “It’s easier not to get caught when you’ve got a nine-year-old kid working for you.” I let go of his shirt and wrapped my arms around my stomach, wanting to keep myself together. “So when the dealer was in the apartment when I got home, I knew they’d done the same thing.”
I blinked, hating the tear that slipped free and tracked down my cheek. But Mateo was there, ready to catch it.
“I knew they didn’t have any money to pay him. They’d already stolen my laptop that I used for schoolwork and sold it. Along with most of the furniture.”
“Anything to feed their habit,” he murmured.
I nodded, agreeing with him. “Exactly.” I cleared my throat, looking back at him. “So you see, I had to steal that bag. If I didn’t then he would have…” I trailed off, not wanting to say the words.
“Which is the reason why I stepped in.” He grasped my wrists gently, pulling my arms from around my stomach. “I understand you better than anyone else ever will. Being the child of an addict isn’t easy, but we do what we have to do to survive.” His lips lifted on one side. “And that’s what we’ll do now. We’ll survive…together.”
Hope blossomed in my chest. Maybe things would be different now. Maybe I could start a life that wouldn’t be filled with chaos and darkness.
“Okay,” I whispered, not wanting to break the precarious position we were in.
“I only have one rule.” He pressed his body to mine, his hands trailing up my arms and around my back. He held me to him, and I sighed at the feel of his heart beating against my chest. I’d never felt safer than in that moment. “You have nothing to do with them again.”
My head snapped up. “What?” I tried to back out of his hold, but he held steadfast. “I can’t—”
“Yeah, you can.” He drilled his eyes down on me. “You wanted a fresh start, but you were never going to get it with them. They’ll drag you down. They’ll always drag you down.” A muscle in his jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth. “It took me eight years to realize you can’t help someone who doesn’t want the help.”
“But what if—”
“What if?” He shook his head. “What ifs will only keep you tied to them. Break the chains, Luna. Break them. Escape. And never look back.”
My heart beat wildly, the thought of turning my back on my parents something that I couldn’t comprehend. But what if he was right? I stared around the kitchen and focused on the drawings pinned to the refrigerator. This wasn’t just a house, he’d made it a home. For him. For Cardo. For Chiara. And now I was here. He’d brought me in, and yet, I still couldn’t fathom why he would do that for me.
He’d walked away after our night together. He’d acted like I didn’t exist. But tonight, he hadn’t had a choice, and now we were stuck here, whether we liked it or not. It didn’t matter what plans I tried to come up with in my head, none of them would protect him and the kids. I had the fate of their lives in my hands, and I would never cause harm to them.
I hauled in a burning breath, making the decision. I may regret it, but in that moment, I knew there was only one thing I could say. “I’ll break the chains.”
CHAPTER 12
MATEO
I idled at the end of the pathway, my stomach churning with nerves. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was picking Aida and Luna up at the same time or if it was what I planned to do afterward.
It had been three days since Romeo had dragged Luna down into the basement. Three days since she’d confessed her sins to me. Three days since she’d witnessed what my mom was like. I ground my teeth at my last thought. I should have known that my mom would use the kids against me. She’d perfected her shot over the years and never failed to hit the jugular.
But she’d made a mistake. She’d shown me her hand, and now I’d put things in motion that would have her out of our lives for good. I wasn’t even sure