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“Who would do this?” Dad demands.
“Who do you think? The same fuckers who took them.”
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Gianni must not see the effect his words have on us, but Dad does. He wraps an arm around me, draping the other over Tatiana’s shoulders. She wraps her arms around herself and tucks her body close to his while I do
the same.
By now, Gianni’s men are swarming the house, searching for any signs of further damage. The two men posted to the front gate come running up the drive, both shouting excuses before they reach us. “It looked legit! The guy had ID and everything!”
“It was a regular UPS truck,” the second guard insists. Both of them look scared to death, pale–faced and jumpy.
“Oh, it looked legit? Did the person have an ID?” Gianni’s fist collides with the second man’s jaw, knocking him on his ass. Tatiana lets out a whimper while I flinch at the sound of bone crunching. I’m surprised Dad doesn’t react, but then he looks like he wants to take a turn throwing fists, too, his nostrils flared beneath steely cold eyes.
“Come on, beating the shit out of these guys isn’t going to help.” Roger pulls Gianni back while he snarls and curses at the two guards. “We’ve got to think about what to do next. Whoever did this, they’ll be in the area. They’re going to want to see the outcome.”
“A fucking bomb. They sent a fuckingbomb! To myhome! These motherfuckers. I’m going to skin them. alive.” Gianni takes Roger by the shirt collar, pulling him close. “And you’re the one who wanted to be cautious. You’re the one who thought I was moving too fast.”
“Dad, stop!” Tatiana begs. “It’s not his fault!”
Gianni shoves him away, snarling, but Roger only brushes himself off. “Blame me all you want, but that won’t change what needs to happen now. We need to make sure they’re safe.” He nods toward Tatiana and
- me.
“I’m not going anywhere.” I don’t know where that came from–the words poured out of me before they were a conscious thought.
“You can’t stay here,” Dad growls. “Either of you. This place isn’t safe right now.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Tatiana weeps. “Dad, it’s happening again. Why is it happening again?”
That’s what does it. That tearful, pleading question snaps Gianni out of his enraged haze. He is absolutely in anguish as he turns our way, and for a split second, I think he’s going to cry, too. I know him so well I can practically read his thoughts, and he is blaming himself for this.
“Charles’s right,” he announces. “You and Caterina should go, at least for the time being. Not forever, just for now.”
“Should they be together, though?” Roger asks.
Tatiana and I exchange a glance. I don’t want to leave without her. It’s bad enough I have to leave at all. This is where I belong, with the man I love. I didn’t get into this life to run away when things get bad–I might have before, but that was then. I’ve changed. I know where I belong. But I also can’t be selfish. There’s a life
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growing inside me, and until my baby can make their own choices, I have to do what’s best for them. They come first, then me.
“You’re right,” Gianni decides. “Charles, I’m going to give you the address of one of our safe houses.”
“What about me?” Tatiana whispers while her eyes well up again.
“I’ll take you to a separate house,” Roger offers. “You’ll both be safe.”
Safe. I’m starting to wonder if that word means anything. I’ve heard it so many times, but once again, the illusion has shattered. I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again.
Dad pulls out his phone for Gianni to rattle off an address which he programs into his GPS. “It’s twenty minutes away. I’ll get her there in fifteen,” he vows.
“I’m scared. I’m scared for you.”
((
Gianni takes my face between his hands and touches his forehead to mind while I whisper frantically. Come with us. Please. Let your guys take care of this. I need you with me. Our baby needs its daddy.”
“I’m going to be alright.” He presses a quick, fervent kiss against my lips and wraps his arms around me. I can feel his thundering heartbeat against my own. “I have too much to live for. I’m going to be fine. I’ll be better and able to think clearer knowing you’re safe. Your father will protect you until we’re together again. I believe that.”
That doesn’t stop him from looking over my shoulder toward Dad. “Are you carrying?”
“I have it in the glove box.”
“Hopefully, you won’t need it, but I’ll feel better knowing you have it.”
Dad tugs my elbow. “Honey, we should go now. This won’t be forever.”
Right now? This second? Though I know it’s the right thing to do, my feet don’t want to move. “My things! I don’t have anything with me!” I might as well be talking to myself as Dad drags me away toward his waiting car.
“As soon as it’s safe, I’ll send somebody with a bag,” Ginni vows. “Everything’s going to be okay.” He wraps his arms around Tatiana, who I wave to before Dal practically throws me into the passenger’s seat. I can’t stop the sobs from tearing themselves from my chest as Dad gets in the car and turns it around, pointing it toward the road,
I twist around in my seat, desperate for one more look a Gianni before the driveway bends, and I lose sight of him, of them. When will I see them again?
“It’s going to be okay,” Dad grunts while he navigates the winding, gravel path. “We’re going to get you through this. Everything will be fine.”
If I wasn’t crying so hard, I’d ask who he’s trying to convince, me or himself.
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GIANNI
There she goes. Theretheygo. She’s taking part of my heart with her. I doubt I could live through sending her away with anyone else. Roger, maybe, but that’s as far as it goes. Charles better hope he hasn’t gotten rusty during his time away from the job, because if anything happens to her, I will paint this town in blood.
A cold breeze blows over me, chilling my skin. Tatiana shivers in my arms. “Dad?” Her soft voice brings my thoughts back to her. “What should I do?”
She needs me to pull my shit together. I can’t upset her by blowing up now. As calmly as possible, I respond, “I want you to go to your room and pack a few things while Roger and I make plans. Okay? Can you do that for me?”
“Okay. Is it safe in there?”
I turn to the pair of men exiting the house, my brows litting in a silent question. “All clear,” one of them announces. “We got what was left of the device out through the back.”
“Go ahead–but don’t waste any time.” With a kiss on her forehead, I send her inside with one of them while Roger mutters into his phone. I haven’t seen him this intense since our time at the hospital. He ends the call and turns to me. “I just sent out word that we want Moroni. Both of them.”
Hearing the name twists my guts until I’m sure I’ll be sick. Sick with rage, disgust, and disbelief. “A fucking bomb. Just when I think he can’t stoop any lower.”
“He’s a fucking animal.” Roger’s face is a mask of rage once we enter the house, and he gets a good look at the damage. “He’s going to find out how fucking animals die.”
I still can’t make sense of it. “There was no way of knowing who would pick up that package,” I muse. There are bits of cardboard on the floor, most of it charred. At least the alarm has been silenced, allowing me to hear myself think. “How long do you think it would take to get an idea of the sort of device they used?”
“I’m sure I know somebody.” He looks at his phone again, scrolling through his contacts. “Though I have to say, I don’t know how much good it will do. I doubt we could track whoever manufactured it, and it isn’t like we have any doubt of who’s responsible.” He checks the time, grunting in frustration. “She needs to hurry. I’ll feel better once she’s out of here. For all we know, they’re planning to send guys in here now, while we’re all running around like chickens with our heads cut off.”
And there I was, prepared to propose. Ready to eat dessert, drink some coffee, and bid my future father–in- law goodnight before taking his daughter upstairs. I was going to spend the rest of the night basking in the warmth of her love.
The thought stirs my memory, and I dart to the kitchen, where I dropped the ring box when the bomb went off. A short search reveals it’s lying under the table. To think, I had been moments away from placing the ring on her finger. The symbol of my devotion to her.
Now she’s on her way to a safe house, because being to lose to me is a liability, and I let Moroni go too far. I underestimated him, thinking he was nothing more than a useful idiot. I’ve done some unforgivable things in my life, but that underestimation has to be the worst
“Boss? I have Costello on the phone.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
