Christian stepped carefully through the graveyard. He found the gravestones, sitting side by side. His father and his mother. Even though he was rarely in town, he made sure he was always here twice a year—on his mother’s birthday and on the anniversary of her death. Today marked seven years since the day he’d gotten the call.

The “accident” that had taken her life had been anything but accidental. He’d gotten his revenge, though. Everyone involved in his father’s and mother’s deaths was now dead as well. The best was when he finally put a bullet in that asshole, Mark’s, head and watched him die. Since that day, he’d systematically taken over every area of his father’s business that had been stolen. He hadn’t stopped there. He’d kept going, taking more and more territory and becoming even more successful than his father ever had. The difference between them was that Christian had nothing to lose.

His father had been tied down with a wife and kid, but Christian had no one to worry about but himself. It was best that way. Even Giorgio—the boss who Christian hadn’t been able to take down yet—had more to lose than Christian. It was just a matter of time until Christian took Giorgio out, too, and became the only boss left. Then he’d finally have taken care of everyone who had ever wronged him or his family.

He set the flowers down on his mother’s grave. He wished he could have just one more conversation with her. He’d had no choice but to focus on his work for the last few years, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t lonely. He’d filled the empty space with drinking or paid women, but none of that made him happy. The money and his work didn’t make him happy, either. He still hated all of it, even if he was good at it.

It still bothered him when people got hurt. He knew that because of him and his orders, innocent people had been intimidated, hurt, or killed. Even if he wasn’t the one who did the beatings and killings, he felt them all like he had. The only person he’d directly killed was Mark, and that was more about the pure revenge of it. He hadn’t minded that one. He knew Mark was far from innocent. It was business, and that was the part he loathed. Now that he’d become a boss, it was part of him, and his loathing toward himself only helped to make him hard enough to do what had to be done.

He could argue that even if the punishment was harsher than called for, those people had been punished for a reason. Most of them had deserved some form of what they got. But all the drugs and money and crime he’d been part of over the years had to have hurt more people than he would ever know about. No matter how he tried to justify it, nothing lasted for long. The guilt returned and so did the pain.

He thought back through his life. Like often happened, his mind landed on the time before his parents’ deaths. Before everything had gone so wrong. It was the last time he was happy. The last time he felt like a good person or at least not a horrible one. When he was with Delilah, it had been the best time of his life. He hadn’t felt right since the day he made her leave him.

That moment in the hospital played out again and again in his mind. Each time, it brought the pain that had built for seven years. Seven years of missing her and wanting her. Seven years of being alone and knowing he’d ended the best thing in his life. He’d hurt her. And she’d been completely innocent. She was the person he regretting hurting worse than anyone else.

Many times, he’d almost called her. He’d almost stopped by her house. But he feared she would have moved on, and he didn’t want to know if she had. He couldn’t stand the thought of finding out she was married. Probably had a wonderful husband and a household full of kids and was doing exactly what she wanted to do. She had no reason to forgive him for what he’d done to her. The fear of her rejection kept him far from her.

He stood and turned to walk from the graveyard. As he made his way out, his gaze fell over the stones and names. He saw her last name—Argentums—and his heart skipped. For a horrified moment, he thought she might be dead. But he realized it was not her. Her mother had died. He recalled Delilah telling him that she had many health problems. The stone beside her had the same last name. Her father. Delilah was without parents just like he was.

He reached his limo and got inside when his driver opened the door. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He had to see what she was up to, even if it was as he feared. He didn’t have to talk to her, he told himself. Just make sure she was doing okay.

He turned to his assistant. “Sam, I wanted you to look up someone for me. Delilah Argentums. Find out all you can.”