The Quiet between
407 Words
The cemetery was nearly empty.
Gray skies stretched overhead like a shroud, and the wind danced through the trees with a mournful sigh. Dominic kept his head down as he walked between the rows, the crunch of gravel beneath his boots the only sound besides the wind.
He found her there, just as he knew he would.
Allegra stood in front of Luca’s grave, arms crossed tight over her chest, her coat wrapped around her like armor. Her hair blew loose in the breeze, and she didn’t look at him as he approached.
He didn’t speak. Not right away. There was too much between them for words to fix.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Dominic stopped beside her, hands in his pockets, his voice low. “I didn’t come for forgiveness.”
“Good,” she said. “You won’t get it.”
He nodded once, accepting that. He deserved it.
They stood there for a long moment, just the two of them and the stone that bore Luca’s name.
“I didn’t want to kill him,” Dominic said eventually. “But I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Allegra said, turning toward him, her eyes sharp. “You just didn’t pick me.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?” Her voice cracked. “Because it sure as hell felt like it in that room.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened. “I was trying to protect you.”
“By making sure there’s no one left to protect?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
Allegra shook her head, stepping closer, her voice dropping. “You think ending Salvatore ended the war? It didn’t. You just took off the leash.”
“I know.”
“So what now, Dominic?” she asked, voice trembling. “You keep killing until there’s nothing left? Until you’re just another ghost standing over another grave?”
He looked at her then, really looked at her. The anger. The grief. The love she was trying so hard to bury.
“I don’t want to lose you,” he said softly.
“Then stop,” she whispered, stepping in until they were only inches apart. “Just stop.”
“I don’t know how.”
She reached up slowly, brushed a fleck of dried blood from his jaw. Her hand lingered there, trembling.
“Then let me show you.”
- Writer
