7
Giovanna
I was so angry, I could spit nails. This stubborn donkey needed stitches. His bodyguard was bleeding, too, on the back of his head. But no, Alessio needed his food more than tending to their injuries. I could kill him for his lackadaisical attitude.
By the time he received his order and we left, it had been half an hour. People watched us and whispered among themselves. Surely, they were talking about us. I was so humiliated.
The staff had been in a frenzy cleaning up Cara’s mess. Cara, the blonde bimbo who yelled disgusting things about Alessio’s and their sex life. Things I wished I never heard because the images in my mind made me want to throw up.
But I shouldn’t be surprised by anything. And I blamed Alessio. One look at Cara’s breasts falling out of her too-short dress and her red spiky heels, told me all I needed to know about my husband, and I wasn’t impressed.
The manager apologized to us multiple times. He had looked terrified, that kind of terror I’d seen before in people in my father’s area. Everybody recognized a mob boss. If something went wrong, like tonight, they feared for their lives.
“Will you talk to me,” Alessio said with a full mouth. “At least have some bread.” He dangled a breadstick in front of me.
His eyebrow wouldn’t stop bleeding, so he held the cloth napkin on it and ate bread with his other hand. He was so ridiculous, I couldn’t even look at him, sitting next to him in the back seat.
“I’m not hungry.” I turned toward the window. There wasn’t much to see at almost ten o’clock at night. The countryside didn’t have many lights like on the coast of Naples, only little spots of illumination from homes. The darkness was perfect for stargazing.
“Gia, I’m sorry your evening was ruined. Can we just move past this incident?”
“Yes, Alessio.” I sighed, staring at the stars, but I could also see his reflection in my window. He was watching me and eating. “We will move past it but you need to give me time.”
“How much time? How long will you be angry with me?”
“Do you hear yourself? Stop sounding like a child,” I snapped at him from over my shoulder.
“I don’t know how you can be so nonchalant about any of this.
The woman you love lost her mind in front of dozens of people.
You should be worried about the news spreading and your enemies hearing about it.
” Why wasn’t he thinking about the possible fallout?
“She was brokenhearted.” He smiled a little like he was oh so proud that she was devastated after losing him. Well, she can have him.
“That’s great. Make excuses for your lover.” I turned back to face the window again. “You two belong together. A perfect pair with zero class.”
“Do not talk to me that way.” He growled and threw his breadstick on the floor, and it hit my foot. “You don’t get to disrespect me. I’m your husband. Show me the proper respect I deserve.”
“Respect must be earned,” I said in a stern voice. “Or would you like me to fake it? I can certainly do that if your ego is too fragile to handle the truth.”
“Cazzo! Just be silent. I’m done trying to talk to you.”
“Good. Because I’m done too.” If he thought I wouldn’t speak my mind or correct him, he was sorely wrong. I wanted to be more than his wife. We could be a force if we worked together as a team. But tonight, he disappointed me.
His lover was heartbroken. That performance was insanity. If she was his type and who he wanted to be with, I wish them well.
In my family, we were taught to control ourselves because we were constantly being watched in our area. My parents repeated to me and my siblings dozens of times to carry yourself with dignity and respect. Apparently, Alessio hadn’t received the same teachings.
“We’re being followed,” Dino said from the driver’s seat.
I twisted around to look out the back window and saw the headlights. “I’m not surprised.”
Alessio glared at me. “It could be nothing.”
“Really? You’re not this inept, are you?” I shook my head and muttered tsk, tsk. “Your lover made a fool of you. Of us. All of Naples heard her. Now I’m going to die.”
“Jesus, Gia Don’t joke about such things.” Something in his face changed. Like a switch had flipped and a different side of him, the one I’d spent most of the day with had returned. “Dino, take an alternate route. If they follow us, Gia and I will have to run for it.”
“Sì,” Dino replied and took a sharp right turn, which made me lean into Alessio.
“Run where?” My heart jumped into my throat. I was grateful Alessio was finally taking things seriously, but now he was scaring me.
“Through the fields.” He bent over and took my heels off. “I’m sorry about all this. Please forgive me.” He cradled the side of my face with his free hand and kissed me hard.
“They’re still behind us,” Dino said.
“Get my gun, Aaron,” Alessio said, gently stroking my cheek. “I will protect you with my life.”
“Don’t be foolish. You need to stay alive. Your family needs you.” Tears pooled in my eyes. Was this how my life would end? I’d been the wife of Alessio Remotti for one day. At least I wouldn’t die a virgin.
“But I need you.”
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed. I was still angry, and if we made it back to his estate alive, I probably wouldn’t speak to him until our wedding celebration. But if this was the last time that we were together, I needed to feel his lips on mine once more.
“Get ready to run for it,” Aaron said passing a gun to Alessio. “I’m coming but you need to put distance between us and I’ll cover you.”
“Oh my God.” I wished I’d brought a pair shoes for running. If we survived tonight, every car would have an emergency bag filled with all the things that would have been useful to us now.
“Are you ready?” he asked me and took my hand.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“I’ll try to slow as much as possible, but I won’t stop so they don’t see the brake lights and you getting out,” Dino said.
Yikes. This sounded bad. Did he mean we were jumping out of a moving vehicle? I wasn’t going to ask for clarification. I’d rather not know and just react to whatever Alessio made me do.
“Let me out first.” Aaron opened his door as Dino turned left. He jumped out and the door was slammed closed.
“Oh God,” I said in a horrified voice. I didn’t mean to say it out loud.
“Shh, we’re going to be okay.” Alessio opened his door and positioned himself to jump.
“In five,” Dino said. “One. Two. Three.”
My heart hammered in my chest as he counted down to five.
“Five!” Alessio yelled, swinging his door open.
Dino slowed a bit more, but he didn’t come to a full stop.
Alessio jumped out first and I followed right behind him. My feet stumbled under me and I hit the dirt, landing on my stomach. Excruciating pain exploded in my feet, knees and arms.
“Alessio!” I called, unable to see him in the dark. Dino had sped off and I felt all alone.
“I got you.” Aaron lifted me off the ground and ran into the orchard while carrying me. The squeal of tires echoed in the darkness. Aaron picked up his pace. Not once did he look back.
“Where’s Alessio?” It was so dark I couldn’t see anything beyond a few feet. However, I smelled citrus in the air, so we had to be in an orange or lemon grove.
“Ahead of us.”
“Good.” It wasn’t lost on me whose life was more valuable in this situation. Aaron and I were expendable. Replaceable. Forgettable.
“We’ll catch up to him,” Aaron said in a tight voice as he ran unbelievably fast with me in his arms like he was a participate in the Milan Marathon.
I prayed we won the race.
I prayed Alessio made it safety.
I prayed whoever was in the car gave up on finding us.
Time seemed to stand still. We traveled through the grove, staying in the middle of the row. Aaron was quite good staying on his feet. The path was smooth, which was a blessing.
Gunshots rang out and Aaron jumped behind a tree. He dropped me and pulled out his gun. I hit the dirt and held back a cry of pain. My ankle. I couldn’t put any weight on it.
“Stay here,” Aaron said as he left.
Before I could object, he was gone. I was left with no way to defend myself and with a sprained ankle. My bare feet burned from what I assumed were cuts from when I jumped out of the car onto gravel.
I leaned against the tree and inhaled the fragrant citrus. As fear threatened to break me, the cold stole my attention. My shivering and chattering teeth were a welcome distraction to what could be my last day in this world.
If I tried to find my way out of this, it could be detrimental to my wellbeing. Aaron knew where he left me. If he came back and I was gone, he wouldn’t know what happened to me and that would be bad. A stupid move like running could lead to more harm than good, so I would stay put as ordered.
More gunshots echoed in the dark night. I slapped my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream and give my location away.
Was Aaron dead? Was Alessio? Would I be soon as well? Death would be better than being captured, where I could be tortured and raped. But I would do anything to save Alessio.
My legs gave out on me, and I landed on my bottom. Leaning against the tree, I pondered my words.
Images of my mother and father flashed behind my eyes. My papà would burndown the region if I died after he’d forced me into being Alessio Remotti’s wife.
Bright lights caught my attention. I peered around the tree and saw a car coming towards me.
Oh my God! They found me!