Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Lissia
The ringing in my ears escalated, and my eyes flew open. Why was I on the ground, staring up at the sky?
Oh shit!
I tried to push myself into a seated position, and then searched for my phone, but the smokey air surrounding me clouded my vision. The intensity of the heat coming from the glow several feet from me warmed my body.
What is on fire? Where is Dom?
I tried to focus, but the rattling in my head distracted me. What had I been doing before…
After Angelo left, I stayed in the study a few more minutes, taking in all the memories I’d made that were lies. Once I got back from Miami, I would help my mother gut this place, and we could start fresh.
Miami…
I had to tell Marchello that Angelo knew I was going there. Was Angelo trying to threaten me? If Marchello thought it was a threat, he wouldn’t let me go with him.
I grabbed my bag and hurried down the hallway. I needed to leave before anything else happened that would get me into trouble. My mother always said trouble had a way of finding me. She wasn’t kidding.
When I got outside, Dom waited for me on the walkway.
“Did everything go okay with Angelo?” he asked.
“Define okay?”
“I should have stayed in the room with you.”
“You were right outside the room.”
I met him by the holly bushes. They had always been my favorite, especially during this time of the year. The dark green leaves and the red berries seemed so festive. I even named one of my childhood dolls Holly, and I used to imagine myself with a husband and a baby by that name.
Silly girl.
Never in my wildest dreams did my husband appear as a brutal mafia boss with a knack for shooting people. I always envisioned him as more of a prince from a fairytale.
I was glad my tastes had changed.
“Angelo is just mad that I gave the house to my mother,” I said. “He’s not thrilled that I let Marchello take all of the papers and computer out of here, but that’s Angelo’s problem.”
“You’re going to have to tell Marchello about your altercation with Angelo,” Dom said.
“What makes you think we fought?”
“When he stormed out of here, I could tell that you had gotten to him.”
“Hmm.” I smirked. “He thinks he should be managing my father’s affairs, but that’s over for him.” I motioned toward the car. “You’re right. I’ll call him and check in, then we can go.”
“Sounds good.”
“Hey,” I called after Dom headed toward the SUV.
“Hey,” I called after him. “I hope my mother didn’t give you too much of a hard time.”
He smiled and shook his head.
“Let me guess, you heard about her reputation with her guards?”
He laughed. “Call Marchello. We can discuss your mother another day.”
I dug my phone out of my bag, dropping my best lipstick on the ground in the process.
Oh, I’d missed Marchello’s call. He was probably fuming.
I dialed him before bending to pick up my lipstick.
“Lissia.” His voice was snappy and demanding. “Where are you?”
“I got your message,” I said. “I’m leaving my dad’s house now.”
“You’re with Dom?”
Where else would I be? “Yes, he’s waiting for me to get in the car.”
“Do not leave his side.”
“Is everything okay? You sound tense.”
“No more tense than usual.”
Maybe now wasn’t the time to tell him about Angelo, but if I didn’t and he found out later, that could be worse for me. I promised him I wouldn’t keep anything from him. I couldn’t go back on my word if I expected him to trust me.
“How was your meeting with your mother?” he asked.
“That went well but…” I needed to fess up. No more secrets. I had to stop trying to convince myself and just do it.
“But what?” Did the agitation in his voice mean that he already knew?
I glanced at Dom. Of course Marchello knew that Angelo had been here. That was Dom’s job. He was expected to report everything to Marchello.
“I had a run-in with Angelo today.”
“What did that scum want?”
“I’ll tell you about it when I see you. Can I come to the dealership? We could have lunch together.”
Telling him face-to-face that Angelo knew I was going to Miami, and that he may or may not have threatened me, might go better that way.
“I’d like that.” His voice softened. “Tell Dom to drive safe.”
“He doesn’t listen to me.”
“Tell him I said it.”
“I’ll be there soon.” My heart fluttered when I thought about seeing my sexy husband. “Getting in the car now. I love ? —”
Dom aimed the fob at the car and…
“Lissia!”
I glanced in the direction of Dom’s frantic shouting.
“Lissia! Where are you?”
“I’m here.” I rubbed my hands together, wiping away the dirt and gravel that had collected on them.
“Thank God.” He knelt down. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “What happened?”
“Let me get you inside.” He hooked his arm around my waist. “Can you stand?”
“You’re bleeding.” I touched his face as he pulled me into a standing position.
“Does anything hurt?” He guided me toward the house. “Do you think you broke anything?”
“I’m fine, but I’m worried about you.”
“The blast threw me back.” He shut the door once we were inside. “I wasn’t close enough to the car for any serious damage.”
“That’s good.” I glanced at the side of his face. “Let me get something to clean that up.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m going to call Marchello.”
“He’s probably freaking out,” I said. “He needs to hear my voice.”
“Let me check on the guys outside.” He took his phone from his pocket. “I need to make sure the grounds are secure too, but I’ll get Marchello on the phone for you.”
“Do what you have to do.”
“I’m only going to be on the porch.” He pointed outside. “If you need me.”
“Can you find my phone?” I asked as I headed into the hall bathroom. “I’m going to get a towel for you.”
“Don’t leave this area of the house. I’ll be right back.”
“Where would I go?”
I went into the bathroom, switched on the light, and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Dom wasn’t the only one who had sustained a few cuts. The scratches on my face were minor cuts at best, but things could have been more dire than some scrapes. I could have died.
I braced myself against the counter as I stared into the mirror. This was what Marchello had feared. Some psycho tried to come at me to get to him in the worst possible way.
My body trembled with anger as the enormity of this situation set in. Whoever did this was out to torment and destroy my husband. They were trying to use me to do it.
I took a washcloth from the basket of fresh linens that my father’s housekeeping staff had left on the sink and ran it under warm water. I hated being a victim. A target. I wanted this to end so Marchello and I could have a normal life.
Don’t kid yourself. You’re an Accetti. You’ll never be normal.
I wrung out the cloth and hurried down the hallway to find Dom. He was still on the porch, finishing up a call. When I joined him, he shoved the phone in his pocket.
“Marchello is en route,” he said.
“How is he?”
“Furious.” His jaw tightened. “I don’t blame him.”
“Did he take it out on you?”
“He’s frustrated and concerned about you. I told him you lost your phone in the blast.”
“He didn’t want to talk to me?” I asked. Dom could have given me his phone so Marchello could have heard my voice and known that I was alright.
“I think he needs the car ride to settle down. I’ve never heard him so distraught.”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “His mother…”
“That’s why this is so fucked up. Whoever is responsible for this knows the history.”
“That doesn’t really narrow it down, does it?”
“No.” Dom ran his hand along his jaw as he gazed out at the smoldering SUV. “This is bad.”
“I got this for you.” I held up the cloth. “Can I clean up your head?”
“I should be tending to you.” He handed me my phone. “I found this by the bushes.”
“Thank you.” I took it from him and pushed it into my pocket.
“You don’t have to.” He pointed at the cloth. “I can do it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I swiped the washcloth over the open cut on his forehead. “You look after me all the time. I want to return the favor.”
“You don’t have to fuss over me.” He backed up a bit. “I should get you inside.”
“Please let me do this,” I said. “It will make me feel useful.”
He didn’t resist when I wiped the oozing blood from his head. Dirt surrounded the cut, and I did my best to clean it up.
“Are the others okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “No one saw anything, though.”
“Does anyone ever?” The men in this business were professionally trained not to get caught. If they did, they would end up dead.
“I’m sorry this happened.”
“It isn’t your fault.” I flipped the cloth over and pressed it to the cut that still bled on his forehead. “You did everything you could to protect me.”
“I feel responsible.”
“I can assure you that you are not responsible, but the person who planted that device is going to be sorry they did that.” I gazed out at the car. “When do you think they did it? We drove here and we were fine.”
“It could have been on a timer.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was planted when I waited for Angelo to leave your father’s study. There could be several scenarios.”
“I’m really glad you weren’t seriously hurt, but I am sorry this happened to you.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” The brief smile that crossed his lips took me by surprise. I’d never seen him do that before. “It’s all part of my job.”
“Maybe you should find a new line of work.”
“Are you kidding? And pass up the opportunity to see you every day?”
“Dom? Am I growing on you?”
“Let’s just say I’m really happy nothing happened to you.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of me. I’m going to let your boss know how wonderful you are.” I smirked. “I happen to have plenty of sway with him.”
“Well.” He nodded toward the entourage of sleek black SUVs with the Accetti car dealer logo adorning the frame of each license plate making their way into the driveway. “It looks like you’re going to get your chance.”
“Here.” I handed him the washcloth before hurrying down the porch steps. “Keep that on your head until the bleeding stops.”
With each step forward my heart rate increased until Marchello climbed out of the first SUV and stared at me. Gazing into his dark, malicious eyes stopped me in my tracks. Even with ten feet between us, I could sense the void in his soul. The regret in every fiber of his being.
He looked at what was left of my SUV, clenching his fists by his sides.
I wanted to run to him, but the torment in his expression warned me to back off. He needed time to process that I was standing in front of him. I hadn’t met the same fate his mother had.
I didn’t leave you.
After a few excruciating seconds, he walked toward me. His pace was slower than I would have liked, but he was coming to me. I fought the urge to launch myself into his arms.
Once we were face-to-face, his usually steady touch shook when he stroked my cheek. He pulled back and examined the blood from the cuts that had transferred onto his fingertips.
“I’m okay,” I whispered. “I’m right here.”
He yanked me to him, hugging me against his chest so tight that I could hardly breathe, but I didn’t care. He ran his fingers through the sides of my hair and looked into my eyes.
“I thought…” He swallowed hard. “I thought you left me.”
“I would never do that.” I gazed into his eyes, surprised by the wetness welling inside them. It took me a moment to gather myself after witnessing his display of unexpected emotion. “We’re forever.”
With his hands still twisted in my hair, he brought his lips to mine and kissed me slowly. His tortured mood evaporated into love and affection. His rigid body relaxed when I wrapped my arms around him and held him close.
After a few moments, he released me but kept me close to his side when the rest of the team, including Milo, dispersed from the SUVs. Dom joined us at the bottom of the steps.
“What the fuck happened?” Marchello asked.
“Dom did everything he could but?—”
Marchello’s stern look shut down my explanation.
“I was talking to Dom,” Marchello said.
“The device was either set to go off on a timer or it was planted when I was in the house when Angelo came.” Dom nodded toward me. “I’m thankful she’s okay.”
“She doesn’t look okay.” He gently took my chin and studied my face. “We need to get you cleaned up.”
“I’m more concerned about the cut on Dom’s head,” I said. “I tried to stop the bleeding.”
“It’s not bleeding anymore.” Dom smiled. “But Marchello is right, you need to take care of your cuts.”
Marchello patted Dom’s shoulder. “Go in the house and get yourself together. And thank you for looking after Lissia. I know you did everything you could.”
“I wish I knew what happened and how.” Dom looked at me. “I take this job very seriously.”
“We’re going to figure it out,” Marchello said. “Milo, let’s get a team in to get this car out of here.”
“Already on it.” Milo leaned in and hugged me. “You scared the shit out of us.”
“It’s been a few days since I put you to work.” I held onto him. “I like to keep you on your toes.”
“What are you thinking about the explosion?” Milo asked Marchello as he released me. “I can call our IT guy and see what he thinks about a timed device, but I don’t think that’s what happened.”
“Neither do I,” Marchello said. “That’s too risky.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because whoever did this was sending a message.” Marchello glanced at me. “They didn’t want to kill you.”
“Why would they botch this on purpose?” I asked.
“They wanted me to know they could get to you if they wanted.”
“And they showed us in the most brutal way,” Milo said. “That was a ballsy fucking move.”
“It was a stupid move,” Marchello snapped. “Bring Angelo to me. I have a message of my own to send.”
I inched closer to my husband’s side and took his hand in mine as an undeniable truth invaded my thoughts. Once that message was sent, our lives would never be the same.