Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Lissia
No. This was all happening too fast. They were going to rip Marchello from me. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Relax,” Dom whispered as he rubbed my shoulder. “You’re shaking.”
“They’re going to take him away.” I swallowed my fear and tried to formulate a plan. “Why are they doing this?”
“You have to let this play out,” he said. “Lucas is here. He’ll take care of Marchello.”
“Did they have to cuff him? Point a gun at him?” I raised my voice, earning me a few suspicious glances from the detectives.
“Marchello has a reputation. Let this situation work itself out.”
I set the bottle of prosecco I had been holding on an empty table next to me and tried to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of me.
One of the detectives removed Marchello’s gun from the back of his pants.
“You’re carrying a concealed weapon?” he asked.
“That’s not illegal in Florida,” I said.
“Lissia, please.” Marchello shot me a glare and stood as still as a statue as a detective continued to frisk him.
I wanted to stand next to him so he knew I was with him, but Dom was so close to me that he would surely grab me if I tried to move.
This wasn’t like before, when my father’s decisions controlled my life. Now I had Marchello, and he trusted me to be more. But watching him stand there like a criminal, I felt the old helplessness creeping back, threatening to undo everything I’d worked to become.
The buzzing commotion in the background caught my attention. People whispered and stared, probably making false assumptions about my husband. Lorenzo had his staff clear the lounge of on-lookers before joining us.
“What is happening?” he whispered to me.
“I don’t know.” I motioned toward Marchello, who was staring straight ahead and not answering any questions even though the detectives kept asking. “They’re arresting him.”
One of the detective’s badges glinted in the dim light, a sharp contrast to the scuffed leather of his holster. His fingers lingered near the gun, like he expected trouble.
My stomach knotted as I stepped forward, every nerve screaming at me to protect Marchello, even if it meant putting myself in harm’s way.
“What are the charges?” Lucas asked.
“Assault,” one answered. “Your client has quite the temper.”
“Diego,” Lorenzo mumbled.
“What?” I asked. Marchello’s bruised knuckles were on display for everyone to see. That was what this was about? Assaulting Diego wasn’t Marchello’s fault. “Diego threatened me, that’s why?—”
“Lissia,” Dom snapped. “Follow Marchello’s lead and stay quiet.”
“We’re taking your client to the station,” a detective said to Lucas. “We’ll sort it out there.”
“No!” I stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”
“Who are you?” the detective asked.
“His wife.” I pointed at the man in the shitty suit who was about to haul my husband out of here. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He was?—”
“Lissia,” Marchello said, his voice raised. “I don’t need your help. Dom, get her out of here.”
“I’d love to hear what Mrs. Accetti has to offer. It might make things go quicker if she would like to give a statement.” The detective motioned behind him. “We could go out to the lobby and you could answer a few questions.”
“No!” Marchello's jaw tightened. “Lissia, go back to the villa.”
“Chello,” Lucas said. “I will handle this.”
“Mrs. Accetti.” The detective blocked me from Marchello. “If you need our assistance, now would be the time to ask for it.”
“Assistance for what?” I asked. “I’m not in any danger, but you will be if you don’t stop harassing my husband.”
“Was that a threat?” he asked. “Because we can take you to the station too.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Marchello said. “My wife is going back to our villa. I intend to fully cooperate with you.”
“I’ll escort her.” Lorenzo took my arm. “Let’s go.”
When I glanced at Marchello’s expressionless face, I realized I’d done more harm than good. He was quiet for a reason. He didn’t want to say anything that could incriminate himself. I’d just needed a second to catch up, to ignore the fear I’d let seep in and control myself.
I love you, I mouthed before I let Dom and Lorenzo take me out of the room.
“You cannot be your husband’s weakness,” Lorenzo said. “When the cops are around, you have to be quiet.”
“I know but…”
“If you want to be his wife, you’re going to have to learn the rules.” Lorenzo sighed. “Marchello needs to trust that you won’t be the reason he goes to prison.”
“God! Do you think he’ll go to jail?” I held onto Dom’s strong arm as we walked down the path toward the villa.
“Not over this,” Lorenzo said. “There isn’t even any surveillance of the incident. I made sure of that already.”
“How did you know the police would come for it?”
“I didn’t, but I have to think of the bigger picture. If this situation ever happens again, and it most certainly will, you have to keep your mouth shut. Let Lucas or any other attorney figure it out. That’s what your husband pays them for.”
“I just didn’t like seeing him so vulnerable. He’s always in control,” I said. “You know that.”
“Trust me, he was in control back there too.” Lorenzo stopped when we got to the path to my villa.
“Do you think they will keep him long?” I asked.
“If they feel like harassing him, they will.” Lorenzo shrugged. “When they ask for my statement, I’ll say that Diego was the instigator and that’s why I made him leave the resort.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek. “I didn’t mean to lose it.”
“Just do better next time.” He glanced at Dom. “Get her in the villa and make sure she stays there. I’ll put a few more men in her detail.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid.” I strolled down the path, berating myself for not being able to get it together in the restaurant.
“You’re trying to do too much.” Dom walked beside me.
“You think?” Wasn’t that the story of my life? I was way too extra.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Dom said. “It was upsetting to see Marchello in that situation.”
“I let him down.” I sat on the steps that led to the porch of the villa. “I keep telling him how I’m going to do better, and I’m trying, but every time I need to prove myself, I screw up.”
“That’s not true.”
I stared up at the starless, dark sky. How long would they keep Marchello? Would he come home tonight? The thought of him spending the night in a dirty jail cell with criminals made me sick.
“Do you think they would let me see him?” I asked.
“No.” Dom leaned against the railing. “And I wouldn’t take you to him even if you begged.”
“Jerk.”
He laughed.
“You must hate being stuck with me.” I slipped off my shoes and wiggled my toes, feeling the coarse remnants of sand under my feet. “Like you entered a contest and lost.”
“Tonight or always?”
I leaned my elbow on my thigh and rested my head on my hand.
“Do you want the truth?” he asked.
“Do you often lie to me?”
“Never.” He sat next to me. “When Marchello told me I was going to be your guard, I considered quitting.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so honest.” I already felt like shit. Did I want Dom, who I considered a friend, to tell me what he really thought of me?
“You had a reputation,” he said. “Even among your father’s people, you were labeled difficult.”
“None of Marchello’s men liked me except for Ricardo.”
“And look what happened to him.”
“You’re a real sweetheart, you know that?”
“All I’m saying is that we all saw how Marchello reacted when the safe house was breached. It wasn’t that an enemy had come to his territory. It was that they had you. When he found out you were gone, he spiraled. None of us had ever seen him like that.”
“That was my fault. I thought I was helping, but it was a real clusterfuck.”
“When he went after Ricardo, we all realized how valuable you were. So whoever became responsible for you had a pretty big job in front of them.”
“But no one wanted it.”
“On some level, we all wanted it.”
“Why?”
“Whoever Marchello chose would be a big deal. Trusting someone to be in charge of your safety meant that he was trusting one of us with your life, and that life meant more to him than his own.” He smiled at me. “I didn’t know if I was worthy of such a task.”
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my life.” I patted his hand. “I know I’m difficult.”
“That’s the thing.” He stretched out his legs. “You are not the same woman who came to the safe house. You’re not even the same woman who arrived at the penthouse.”
“I’m not?”
“You’ve changed,” he said. “But not in a bad way. We all laughed at Ricardo for becoming your friend because none of us saw what he saw, but I do now. You’re a good person with a big heart, and you care deeply for Marchello. You roll with all the punches.”
“I love him so much.”
“That’s why you have to follow the rules. You can’t put you or Marchello in any kind of danger. Let the people around you protect you both.”
“Thank you for protecting me.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He stood and extended his hand to help me up. “I’m going to take you inside and check all the entry points.”
“Okay.” I followed him into the villa and waited by the door as he locked it and then did a sweep of the rooms. We were on one floor, so it didn’t take that long.
“We’re good here. I’m going to check in with the guys out back and tell them Lorenzo is sending a few more men tonight.” He nodded toward the front door. “Keep that locked.”
“I will.”
“If our conversation meant anything to you tonight, please don’t try to escape and find Marchello.” He opened the back door. “Promise me.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” I waved. “I promise.”
“I’ll check in on you soon,” he said before heading outside and locking me in.
“Oh, Marchello.” I plopped down on the sofa and dropped my shoes on the floor. “This was not the way tonight was supposed to go.”
If I had to guess, I’d say there were probably many more nights like this in my future. I married the mob. When was I going to learn how to live by the code?
I didn’t mean to screw up. I was only trying to help.
I grabbed the throw pillow and flung it across the room. He doesn’t want my help! He doesn’t need it.
He did need me to keep my shit together and be there when he asked for me, though. I had to learn to understand who he needed me to be and when. Marchello had given me everything I could ever want.
Don’t I owe him the same?
My bag vibrated with a phone call. I dug inside and grabbed my phone.
I checked the caller ID before I answered. “Milo, do you have news?”
“What?” He cleared his throat. “Where is my brother? He’s not answering his phone, and I need to talk to him.”
“He’s being detained.” I tossed my bag in the corner of the sofa.
“By who?”
“Police.”
“What the fuck happened?”
“He got into an altercation with a man named Diego.” I clenched the phone. “He’s the one who bought me in that auction.”
“I’m up to speed on that.”
“I wasn’t there for the fight, but that scum filed a report and the cops approached Marchello.” I hopped off the sofa and paced the villa. “We have to get him back. What should I do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “You are to do nothing but sit there and wait until Marchello comes back. Paint your fucking nails. Give yourself a facial. Max out Marchello’s credit card.”
“Milo, I’m freaking out over here, but I’m not going to do anything stupid.” I kind of already did.
“I want to believe you.”
“It was tough seeing him being arrested.”
“I’m sure it was,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“If you called my phone, it’s important.” I stopped pacing and gazed out the patio windows, waving to Dom and a few other men. “What’s happened?”
“I’m in Miami. I just landed.”
“But we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Plans may have changed.”
“You were headed here before you knew Marchello got arrested.” Something was off. “Why did you come to Florida?”
“I’ll fill Marchello in when I arrive.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Would I be here if it wasn’t?”
“Milo, just tell me what it is.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I’m his wife. I should know what’s going on. What if I need to?—”
“Help?” he asked. “Listen to me, and I really need you to hear this. I am not my brother.”
“I know that.”
“You’re not listening.” He sighed. “You love him with everything you have, and he feels the same way, which is why he doesn’t always use his best judgment when it comes to you. I’ve come to love you like a sister.”
“You have?” I whispered.
“I can protect you in ways my brother can’t because I’m not sleeping next to you every night. Chello told you that you’re on a need-to-know basis. That’s for good reason.”
“So I don’t act on impulse and open my mouth when I shouldn’t.”
“Exactly.” He paused for a moment. “I have a feeling you didn’t keep quiet when he got arrested.”
“I thought if I told the police that the altercation happened because of me, they would let him go.”
“How did that work out for you?” he asked.
“I get why I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Then you also get why you’re on a need-to-know basis.” The slam of a car door sounded in the distance. “I have to go. I’ll see you soon. Stay out of trouble.”
“Bye,” I said into the dead line. “Trouble keeps finding me.”
I dropped my phone on the coffee table, swiped my shoes off the floor, and headed to the bedroom. While I changed into my pajamas and took off my makeup, I tried not to think about what Marchello was doing. I wasn’t successful.
Did they fingerprint him? Were they interrogating him? Did he get a mugshot taken?
This situation was my father’s fault. If he hadn’t sold me to Diego, none of this would be happening. Marchello and I would be in bed, waiting for room service and watching a movie like a normal married couple.
Except we weren’t a normal married couple. Marchello was running an illegal business and dealing with dangerous cartels and enemies in his own territory. He constantly worried about his father and the future of their empire. Then he had to keep me safe and out of the hands of men like Danny and Diego.
I had given him nothing but stress since the day he took me hostage.
He could have let me go long ago, but he didn’t. Instead, he gave me his last name and loved me more than anyone ever had. The trust he placed in me knew no bounds.
It was time for me to step up and do my part. I had to stop creating havoc for him. He needed me to be stable and in control. I had to prove I was worthy of being an Accetti.
After I tossed my hair in a messy bun and brushed my teeth, I stared at the bed .
No way.
I wasn’t getting between the sheets until Marchello was back.
Calling Ricardo would be my best bet. He would talk me off the ledge and keep me from acting on impulse.
I hurried out of the bedroom to get my phone, but as I hustled down the short, dimly lit hallway, a rustling outside caught my attention. The only way anyone could have access to the villa was with a keycard.
Dom and Marchello were the only two who had one. I didn’t have my own because I was always with one of them.
I leaned against the wall as my heart pounded against my chest. Much like the other night when I gazed out into the darkness of the beach, an odd sensation, almost like a premonition that something was coming for me, took over.
Dom was outside the back of the villa, but he could have come around. It was probably him.
But what if it wasn’t? Marchello couldn’t be back from the station already. Could he?
I grabbed the vase off the table by the door, being careful not to get too close to the windows in case I didn’t know the person on the porch.
The clicking of the automatic lock pushed the fear from my stomach to my throat.
I tried to call out, but like in a nightmare, I had no voice. I clutched the vase and raised it over my head.
When the front door opened, a warm breeze swept in behind the large, imposing figure heading toward me.
A loud scream emerged from deep inside my chest as I hurled the heavy porcelain vase in the direction of my attacker.