Chapter 16
Lucrezia gazed out the window of Romero”s car, watching droplets of rain race each other down the glass.
Her husband”s heavy arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
The delicate beading of her pearly white evening dress rubbed against his pants.
”Come here, you.”
He reached up to stroke her cheek, fingering her teardrop earrings.
”Where are we going? You”ve been secretive all night,” Lucrezia sighed, letting her head fall against his shoulder.
”It wouldn”t be a surprise if I told you, piccola perla. Patience.” Romero tapped her on the nose before kissing her.
Lucrezia shyly reciprocated, gesturing to Tony behind the wheel of the car.
”Easy back there, lovebirds. We just had this car detailed,” her bodyguard teased.
Romero reprimanded him in Italian, then proceeded to pull a flask from his coat pocket and take a swig.
He offered it to her, but Lucrezia gently pushed it away with a wrinkle of her nose.
When she shifted her body beside him, she was reminded that he was armed on his left side.
”You still have to bring that?” She pointed to the gun but made it clear that she wouldn”t touch it.
”Never leaves my person unless I”m asleep. But I don”t want you to worry about a thing tonight. Just have fun.”
Romero tipped her chin and kissed her again.
In minutes, they pulled up to a laundromat.
Lucrezia looked back and forth at the business and Romero.
”I”m confused.” She began to open the car door but was pulled back by his heavy hand.
”Ah, ah, ah.” He held up a finger and exited the car first, then rounded to her side and opened her door himself, leaning in close.
”You still need to learn some patience, perla. Daddy will open the car door for you and make sure you”re safe.”
Lucrezia sheepishly looked down at her lap.
”Sorry, Daddy.” She bit back a bratty retort, knowing full well Romero wasn”t above spanking her right here in the car in front of Tony, who was wisely listening to the state-of-the-art car radio.
He offered his hand and helped her out of the car, carrying her the rest of the way until they got to the entrance of the laundromat.
”Can”t have your pretty shoes ruined in the rain.”
He winked and put her down, then opened the door for her once more.
”I”m still confused. Why are we here?”
”Patience,” Romero repeated, to her slight annoyance.
Arm-in-arm, they walked through the laundromat and passed a stout male worker sorting through paperwork.
”Oh, Mr. Mancini! Ma”am.” He tipped his hat at her. ”All yours.” He extended his arm toward the back of the business, while he pulled down slide screens on the large windows.
Now, the outside was shut away.
Romero acknowledged him and stepped in front of a beautiful painting; a floral garden that matched the theme of the laundromat. There were fresh flowers in every corner and similar paintings above each machine.
Romero put his finger to his lips in a ”shh” motion, then pulled the painting away from the wall, revealing it was, in fact, a sliding door.
Lucrezia silently took her husband”s hand and walked down a short corridor, then down a flight of steps.
There was a door to their right marked ”Employees Only” and directly in front of them, seemingly nothing. A dead end.
Romero winked at her, then proceeded to knock in a specific pattern six or seven times in total.
In seconds, the wall began sliding to the left with a creak.
Music filled Lucrezia”s ears before a beautiful room with a bar came to be visible.
The man who allowed them entrance bowed his head once he laid eyes on Romero.
”Mr. Mancini, good evening. May I take your coat, sir?”
”Please.” Romero shrugged it from his shoulders and removed the flask, keeping that in his shirt pocket.
Lucrezia gulped, as his weapon was now visible for all to see. But no one in the room seemed to care.
Couples and groups sat at tables, laughing, smoking, and drinking from fancy glassware, barely giving them a second glance.
There was a band playing on the stage with a woman in a short dress singing front and center. She danced around the stage, being sure that her admirers knew she was sans stockings.
There was a fabulous bar lined with the forbidden liquor that filled her nose with varying degrees of strong scent.
”Romero...this isn”t legal.”
Lucrezia felt her eyes go big as saucers as he sat her down in a more private booth at the back of the dining area, since she was unable to take her eyes off the space for a second.
He chuckled at her silly statement.
”I know. I”m a scandalous Daddy aren”t I, sweet girl?”
He slid in right beside her, draping his arm around their booth after lighting his cigarette.
”How do you know about this place?”
He blew his smoke upward, adding to the haze in the room.
”Because it”s mine, Perla. This is a speakeasy.”
Lucrezia searched her brain for the word, sure she had read about it in the paper at some time.
”This is just one way Daddy makes his money. This place is filled almost every night. I have more in other businesses I run. Just as well hidden as this one.”
Lucrezia listened as he explained how he ran these establishments, without providing too much detail.
A sharply dressed waiter approached them, asking what they would like.
Romero ordered a strong drink for himself, asking the waiter to bring something mild for her, then listed off several food options.
”Very good, sir.” He bowed his head and turned away.
”I”m not sure what you”ll like here just yet, so the chef will prepare us small helpings of everything.”
Lucrezia nodded and began swaying her body to the colorful music, not having heard it before.
Once their finger food and drinks arrived, Romero took it upon himself to feed her, watching intently to see how she enjoyed it.
The going favorites of the night turned out to be the crabmeat, shrimp, veal cutlets, and warm rolls.
”I can feed myself, you know.” She covered her mouth as she chewed.
”I know. Just like you can open and close doors, dress yourself, etcetera. But I still want to do those things. Have you ever thought that this is what I”ve always wanted?”
”What?”
”A wife and little girl to care for and love in every way,” he said softly.
Lucrezia felt herself flush as he held a piece of truffle in front of her face, topped with powdered sugar.
He placed it on her tongue, watching her face light up.
”How did you know chocolate was my favorite?”
”Daddies know everything.”
After dinner, the band began to slow the pace of the music, opting for a more sensual rhythm to change the tone in the room.
Romero”s hand encircled her waist, hiking her dress up as he devoured her lips.
Lucrezia was helpless against his tongue demanding entry into her mouth, melting in his arms.
They separated but remained connected all the same.
A devious look spread on her Daddy”s face before his hand moved around her body again, forcing her knees open and inching to her sex.
”Daddy!” Lucrezia whisper-hissed.
Romero wordlessly spread her thighs more, keeping his hypnotic eyes on hers.
”Shhhh.” He pursed his lips into her ear.
Lucrezia then realized that this was likely the reason he chose their specific booth.
From their position, not a soul saw that his fingers were delving into her bloomers, spreading her lips.
”So, this is why you wouldn”t let me wear appropriate underwear?” Lucrezia lifted her brow, referring to Romero”s refusal to allow her a corset and garter. Only her stockings with a ribbon tied below her knee and bloomers with her slip being the only other pieces next to her skin.
”Yes. That, and I want access to you anytime I want. I don”t like hindrances to what”s mine.”
Lucrezia felt her belly seize as his fingers made contact with her womanhood, already soaking the bloomers.
She gasped, doing her best to remain as still as possible.
”Oh, God...oh, my God...” She began sinking in her seat, bucking her hips ever so slightly against his hand without shaking the table in front of them.
”S-someone will see-e-e.”
”No, they won”t. You know how to be a quiet girl for Daddy, remember?” Romero smirked as he hastened his pace on her slit.
Of course, how could she forget that day on his desk with his face between her legs; his men mere feet away on the other side of the door?
She”d certainly never forget how much she enjoyed the thrill.
”Answer Daddy, piccola perla.” He punctuated with a slight slap on her clit, making her squeal behind her fist.
”Yes, I remember.”
”You remember what?”
Lucrezia growled in frustration and need when he slowed his movements, using only the tip of his finger to barely deliver her pleasure.
Romero lifted his brow, awaiting her answer.
”I remember how to be quiet for D-daddy...”
Her reward was his fingers inside her, pumping to accumulate more of her arousal fluid.
Lucrezia found herself clawing the fine material of the table cloth, grinding her hips.
”You”re such a dirty little girl. Taking your Daddy”s fingers in his restaurant where anyone can look back at us and see what he”s doing to you. And you”ll smile and wave while you take it, won”t you?” Romero whispered filth in her ear, making her eyes roll in the back of her head, which was lolling to the side.
He fisted the ornate bun she had pulled her hair back into that night, forcing her to look forward.
”Yes, Daddy.” Lucrezia shamelessly fucked his hand, wishing he would make her come
But she knew her Daddy. He would draw it out as much as he could.
”Will your wife and yourself be needing anything more, Mr. Mancini?”
The waiter, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, jolted her from her hypnosis.
Lucrezia expected Romeo to stop, but he didn”t.
No, he”s going to keep going!
Lucrezia pasted a tight smile on her face as Romero addressed the waiter.
”Nothing for myself, thank you. What about you, sweetheart? I think you wanted more of this drink?” Romero gestured to her empty glass.
Lucrezia”s eyes bulged from her skull.
No- was he serious?
She bit back the moan that was desperate to escape her lips and sat up straight, Romero”s fingers still working between her legs.
She thanked God that the table cloth in front of them blocked the waiter from seeing.
”Yes. I-I”ll have more of this. W-what was it called again, exactly?”
She was pretty sure the waiter called it an Old Fashioned, but she couldn”t be exactly sure.
Romero was bound and determined to make her suffer.
His fingers entered her again, forcing her to lean forward and return the fancy glassware to the waiter.
”Oh, yes! That! Definitely more of that! Th-thank you, sir.”
Her cheeks puffed bright red in humiliation when he finally turned away.
”You are evil.” Lucrezia pressed herself back against the booth.
”And you”re about to come all over my hand, aren”t you, perla?”
”Yes.”
He slapped her pussy several more times. Lucrezia bit her lip too hard because she tasted blood.
”Yes, what?”
”Yes, Daddy.”
A bead of sweat trickled down her chest and between her heaving breasts.
The heat in her core began to simmer over, and she frantically reached for the material of his suspender.
If I take his suspenders off now, it”ll save me time when I tell him that I need him inside me,she thought.
”Come, baby. You”re doing so well. So obedient.”
Lucrezia let her lids fall shut, focusing on only his husky voice and the rapidly growing fire between her legs.
The pressure began to build, and she pleadingly looked up at her husband, unable to articulate what she needed.
Her mouth fell open in an ”O”, frozen. It seemed that her body wouldn”t grant her release until Romero commanded it.
”Say it. Tell me you want to come, and I”ll let you come.”
The music began to reach its crescendo, as well as Lucrezia.
She took a deep breath.
”Daddy, I have to come...” The words came out as barely a whisper, but Romero heard them loud and clear.
He pulled her roughly by the back of her neck, snarling a command to come.
Finally, her body tensed against his fingers. She came silently but violently at the same time, reaching her precipice as the song ended with a round of applause.
Lucrezia relaxed against her husband, wrapping her arms around him and taking his lips for herself.
”Is there a more private place here?” She asked between kisses.
Somehow, he knew exactly what she needed.
Romero tugged her from the booth and practically dragged her toward the kitchen.
Too turned on to balk-or even care-she averted her eyes at the cooks in the steamy room.
”Nothing to see here, gentleman. Carry on with your work. You”re all doing a wonderful job. Just need to have a moment alone with my wife.”
There was a door at the furthermost end of the kitchen. Sure enough, his name was on it.
Romero shoved her inside, slamming it shut, and locking it behind him.
He turned on only one lamp while simultaneously removing just enough of his clothing to give her access.
Lucrezia growled and did it herself, frantically pulling his suspender without his gun down and almost ripping his shirt as she untucked it from his pants.
She made swift work of his belt, pulling it from its loops so fast it made Romero”s eyes bulge.
”Don”t let them hear us,” she commanded him.
With a chuff, he grasped her throat, causing her body to still in a state of calm.
”Who”s in charge here, piccola perla?”
Lucrezia”s knees buckled in submission. Convenient, because the floor was where she was going anyway.
”You are, Daddy. I just want to make sure no one knows what I”m doing to you.”
She innocently bit her lip and freed his cock from his pants and underwear.
Lucrezia wasted no time in taking him in her mouth, keeping her fist at the base and bobbing her head.
Only now did she notice that this was an office similar to the one he had at home, with all the decor and expensive-looking furniture, including a bookcase that he was now clinging on to as she took his length as far as she could go.
Romero let out a jumbled mess of Italian words she could barely make out, resorting to ruining her bun as he grasped her hair.
Lucrezia pulled him free from her mouth, watching the string of saliva keep her connected to his swollen head, then took him inside again.
She repeated this one too many times because her husband growled like a mad animal before fucking her flushed face.
Lucrezia let her jaw go slack, loving to see Romero lose control over his straight and severe demeanor.
She mostly loved that only she got to see him like this. It was all for her.
Only her.
Her scalp painfully screamed at his assault on her hair, but she could only angle her head to ease the pain.
When she began to taste the salty precum on her tongue, Romero reluctantly released himself from her mouth, jerking his wet cock as his pelvis heaved.
Lucrezia whined at the loss, pouting.
”I need to be inside you, perla. On the floor. Now.”
Her frown quickly turned as she happily obliged him.
Romero roughly turned her body on the ornate rug, leaving her on her stomach for a brief moment as he kneeled behind her and further hiked up her dress.
”Off. I want this off.” He grunted as he tore yet another undergarment from her body, leaving her bloomers in tatters.
He gripped her hips to pull them upwards, putting her body on all fours and leaving her obscenely exposed for her husband.
”Good girl. Just like that.”
Lucrezia grinned as she saw one of his feet planted firmly on the ground beside her as he positioned himself at her entrance.
”Like you said, don”t let them hear us,” Romero growled.
Without warning, he slammed inside her.
The wet squelch sounded loud in the otherwise quiet room, save for the muffled sound of the pots and pans in the kitchen.
Lucrezia did her best to hold herself up as he savagely took what was his.
She grinned at the sound of his pelvis smacking into her ample bottom.
If she didn”t think the workers in the kitchen would hear it, she was sure he”d spank her.
Lucrezia”s limbs began to weaken under Romero”s relentless pistoning.
”Down.” He pushed at the center of her back, pinning her to the floor and hiking one of her thighs up to give him access.
She pleaded in whispers to give her his seed. To fuck her harder, faster. Lucrezia hardly recognized the words coming out of her mouth.
The entirety of his weight was nearly crushing her as he took her body to heights she never dreamed possible.
Lucrezia”s eyes widened as she realized he was going to make her come again, whether she liked it or not.
Now, they would be in real danger of the kitchen hearing them.
With tendrils of hair bouncing, she meekly lifted her head. Lucrezia sucked in a breath as she clamped down on his ravaging length.
In broken moans and scrambled words, she told him that she was coming.
In response, Romero brutally quickened his pace, understanding that she needed him to silence her, since she was certain she wouldn”t be able to keep herself from screaming.
He covered her mouth with one hand, entwining his fingers on the other hand with hers. For Lucrezia, it meant that he was letting her know that she was still safe under his attention and care.
”Let me hear it. Let me hear Daddy”s cock inside you.”
He grunted as the room was filled with tiny squeaks behind his hand and the wet sound of their bodies being granted release. Her Daddy animalistically bit the outer shell of her ear to keep himself from being too loud.
Romero pushed himself impossibly deep inside her. The heat of his seed warmed her core, and Lucrezia found herself angling her body upward as not to waste a drop.
It seemed that every muscle in Romero”s body tightened in a vice over hers, then relaxed.
Romero released her once he came back to his senses, frantically flipping her over and inspecting her well-used body.
”Look at me. Look at me, Perla. Are you all right?”
Lucrezia tilted her head. She was more than all right, she was still riding the high of their lovemaking, and he was examining every inch of her as if she were injured.
”I”m all right, I”m all right,” She giggled hazily, then pushed her knees toward her chest.
Not a single drop.
”Daddy was too rough. I”m sorry. I should have been more gentle.”
”Noooo.” Lucrezia pooched her lower lip. ”I loved it.”
She giggled again, pulling her worrisome Daddy against her chest and reveling in the feel for as long as she could before they would be forced to leave.
”I love you. I love you so much.” Romero pressed his face in the crook of her neck, dragging his tongue up against her slick skin.
”I don”t ever want to leave this position,” he groaned.
”I don”t ever want to leave you.” Lucrezia wrapped her legs around him.
”You never will.”
After some time, Romero made himself presentable, then undid the damage he did to Lucrezia”s hair, dress, and overall appearance. They walked back through the kitchen hand-in-hand as if nothing had happened.
Romero shot death glares to any worker who gave them a suggestive glance.
As the night grew later, couples began gathering in the center of the room to slow dance. Not quite tired yet, Lucrezia looked up at her husband.
”Can we dance, Daddy?”
”Anything you want, my girl.” He smiled and led her to the dance floor, pulling her flush to him.
Their bodies slowly swayed to the music as Lucrezia rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. It quickened when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Other couples seemed to follow them, opting for less formal slow dancing.
Here, in Romero”s arms, she felt at home. She felt the safest, most secure, and the most beautiful.
It seemed that she blinked, then it was two in the morning. Lucrezia was beyond exhausted.
Romero took note of this as her eyes began to fight, staying awake, even while dancing.
When she yawned, he smiled.
”I think it”s time to put my little girl down for bed. She”s had a very exciting night.”
Too tired to fight him, she only slightly dragged her feet back to the secret entrance of the speakeasy and watched him put on his coat.
They ascended the stairs and walked through the first secret door once more to the starkly quiet laundromat.
The worker was still busying himself behind the counter and waved them off.
”Tony will be here with the car in a minute. I told him to be ready to come get us around now.”
Romero rubbed his hands up and down her arms to warm her from the slight chill in the air.
”Did you have fun?”
”Too much fun, I think, I may fall asleep in the car.” Lucrezia rubbed her eyes.
”That wouldn”t happen to be so I”ll have no choice but to carry you inside, would it?”
”No, of course, not.” She playfully smiled.
Right on schedule, Tony pulled up in the car and exited.
”Have fun, you two lovebirds?” her body guard asked as he rounded the car.
”Lots of fun.” Lucrezia yawned again and allowed Romero to help her in the car.
She slumped against the car seat and rolled her ankle, thankful to finally be off her feet.
Her husband”s gentle smile was replaced with a scowl when the sound of a motorcycle vibrated the street in the distance.
Lucrezia craned her head, squinting at the alien noise as the motorcycle turned a corner in their direction.
In the dark of night, it blended in, as did its rider, who wore entirely black.
The identification number, which to Lucrezia”s knowledge was meant to be toward the front of the motorcycle, wasn”t there.
”Lucrezia, get down,” Romero”s panicked command sent a chill down her spine.
Barely a second later, the tires screeched as the rider halted the vehicle and pulled out a weapon.
The metal of the gun glimmered in the moonlight. It was aimed directly at them.
”GET DOWN!!”
Before he had finished the sentence, Lucrezia had already launched herself to the car floor and covered her eyes and ears.
Romero slammed the car door, and what followed next would surely come to haunt her for the remainder of her days.
Lucrezia didn”t dare look up or uncover her ears, not that it mattered. The gun fire and bullets being hammered into the side of the car could still be heard.
Romero”s booming commands followed by his own gunfire were even louder.
The best that she could guess, Tony was also returning fire.
She heard a grunt that was unmistakably Romero, followed by a brief silence. The only thing she could hear was her heart thrumming rapidly in her chest, so hard that she swore it was going to explode.
Lucrezia found herself exhaling a breath she hadn”t realized she was holding as she just barely lifted her head. She couldn”t see Tony or Romero for a moment, and a dead weight settled on her chest.
No..no, please, don”t let them be hurt.
Lucrezia jumped when the men reappeared on one side of the car, aiming their guns again at the assailant on the other side, who then returned gunfire.
She squeezed her lids closed, whispering a prayer to herself while still tucked away in the smallest ball she could curl herself up in.
The shootout seemed to go on forever until the sound of the motorcycle engine began to disappear in the distance.
Footsteps followed it, then three or four more shots rang out as the car door flew open.
Lucrezia weighed her options if it were the gunman. Play dead or face her demise bravely. She felt her blood curdle in her veins as rough hands fell on her.
”Lucrezia, are you all right? Look at me, look at me! Perla, please, look at me.”
It was Romero, thank God, it was Romero. He was frantically running his hands up and down her body, which was still curled up on the car floor.
She couldn”t will herself to obey him. The world around her went numb, and her body went cold. Her words turned to dust in her mouth as she tried to swallow and soothe her dry throat.
”Tony!! We need to get out of here!” Romero pounded against the roof of the car and hollered at her bodyguard, who briskly returned behind the wheel.
Lucrezia began to uncontrollably shake as her brain tried to process what just transpired. She heard the two men exchange words, but it turned into a jumbled mess in her mind.
Romero shook her, trying to rouse her from her hiding spot. But a ringing in her ears began to overtake any and every other sense around her.
Her husband resorted to forcing her from the floor and propping her next to him in the car to further examine her.
His lips clearly read her name. He even shook her by the shoulders to make her snap out of it.
As much as her brain was screaming to recognize him, speak, or even move, her body would not bend. Lucrezia could barely feel the warmth of his hands.
Lights from varying businesses shone in the car and temporarily aggravated her vision, making her blink it away. Her eyes fell on her husband”s panicked face as he cupped both of her cheeks.
”Come on, perla! Talk to me!”
Romero”s hands were sweating, trembling. Too tight on her face, making her back away.
Her senses seemed to all come flooding back at once.
Tony was shouting at other drivers and laying on the horn. Romero was pleading with her in Italian to come back to him. More lights irritated her tired eyes, making her turn her head away and scoot as far away from Romero as possible.
Again, he pulled her close to him.
Lucrezia gasped at his rough hands around her body and physically fought his protection. The same protection that she had come to crave.
”Tony, get us home! Something isn”t right with Lucrezia.”
”What? Is she shot?” Tony”s head craned to the back seat.
”No, but she needs Doc.”
Romero dodged her flying fists as she began hyperventilating. What if the shooter was just waiting the next block over, gun in hand, and ready to strike again?
What if she was actually shot and had not yet registered it? Maybe she had been killed and this was just her transport to the afterlife.
What if Romero and Tony had been killed, and she was hallucinating?
The overwhelming fear became too much, and Lucrezia sank back on the car floor in a fetal position, covering her head.
Tears began blinding her as Romero followed her to the ground, shielding her with his body.
”He”s gone, sweet heart. All gone. It”s over.”
Lucrezia began to sob, crying out hundreds of ‘No”s’ when Romero attempted to soothe her.
”Tony, I don”t care how you get us there, but you need to get us there!”
”I”m trying, boss!” She heard her bodyguard snap.
After what seemed like eons, the car abruptly halted. The guards posted around the house surrounded them.
”Lucrezia, come on,” Romero grunted as he forcibly pulled her from the car with little to no help from her and carried her in the house.
Romero barked orders at his men along with Tony, giving them the story along with the type of motorcycle. Lucrezia knew she would never remember the name of it. She never wanted to for as long as she lived.
”I want whoever was on that bike brought to me!! I don”t care who”s door you need to knock down. I don”t care how far you need to search. You”ll be lucky if you aren”t dredging the Hudson. If that son of a bitch isn”t brought here, I swear to God, I will put you all in the ground with him when I find him myself. GO!”
He began screaming when the soldiers wouldn”t move fast enough.
”Tony, get Doc on the phone for Lucrezia. Wake up anyone you can reach; I want guards doubled up here and at my mother”s.”
Tony nodded his head in understanding, passing a sorrowful glance at Lucrezia as she numbly rested her head on Romero”s shoulder.
”It”s all right, sweet girl. I”m here. I”m here.”
He kicked the door of their bedroom open, and then kicked it shut again.
Daddy. Your daddy is here, let him take care of you!Her brain was screaming at her.
But every instinct in her body was telling her to find the nearest hiding spot and crawl into it.
Romero deposited her on the bathroom counter, but the second his hands left her body, Lucrezia was shimmying off and already on the move.
”No, Lucrezia. I need you to stay here.” He calmly but firmly put her back where he wanted her, standing between her thighs as he wet a washcloth and began cleaning her face.
Tears began streaming down her cheeks, assisting in the removal of her makeup.
”I can”t...I can”t...” Were the only words that Lucrezia managed to croak, and she didn”t even know what she was referring to.
Romero nodded, gently attending to her.
”I know, baby. I”m right here. You”re safe. Daddy”s got you.”
He finished cleaning her face, then tugged her dress over her head and pulled her stockings off her legs. This left her in her chemise with goosebumps spreading over her arms.
Once he took her hair down and shook out the tendrils, he nodded his head and began removing his own clothing.
”I have to step away from you for a minute, sweetheart. Stay right here with me.”
Romero reluctantly released her and made quick work of his own clothes.
When he peeled his shirt away from his torso and shoulders, Lucrezia noticed blood smeared over his left upper arm.
He winced in sudden pain, looking down at the source.
Lucrezia”s eyes welled up again with fresh tears.
”He hurt you...he got you!” She pointed a shaky finger at the fresh wound.
Romero scowled as he brought his other hand to the blood and pulled it away. It wasn”t a round opening, like the other scars that he sported, but a horizontal one about four inches long.
”Oh, perla, I”m all right it”s just a graze wound. See? I”ll wrap it up, and it”ll be as good as new once the doctor looks at it.”
Romero pulled open a drawer and grabbed some dressing gauze. He wrapped his arm tightly, using his teeth to break it off.
”B-but how didn”t you feel it? It could have been your chest...your head! Oh, my God-” Lucrezia jumped off the counter and began pacing.
Romero had come this close to being killed tonight. Tony as well.
Then she thought of the sound of the bullets rapidly hitting the rear passenger side of the car, where Lucrezia would have been sitting had they not realized what was going on. None of the bullets penetrated, but it was an attempt on her life as well.
The thought made her mouth fill with saliva and her stomach lurch. Lucrezia hurried to the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach while Romero rubbed her back.
”Lucrezia, look at me.”
Romero took her face in both hands as they both knelt on the bathroom floor.
When she looked up at him, uncontrollable wails escaped her throat.
His face, his very presence had been her rock these past months of their marriage.
And just like that, he could have been taken away from her tonight. Similarly to how he rid the world of her first husband.
Suddenly, her mind began conjuring up sickening images of a deceased Romero in a coffin. No longer her rock. No longer the light that had illuminated her life but a cold reminder of what once was.
Lucrezia felt an overwhelming urge to wrap him up in protective material and shield him from the world; shield him from this life that he had been born into.
”Please, don”t leave me, please, don”t leave me!”
Lucrezia screamed into his chest and clutched him tight, unsure if she was pleading with him not to leave her arms or pleading with him not to die.