Chapter Four
Gianna
Being alone is the one thing I cherish most.
Too bad I am rarely alone. Most of my life there has been someone trailing my every move. Bodyguards or my father’s friends have been my shadow ever since I can remember. I have gotten used to it, but I still try to shake them sometimes. They’re used to it and some of them even allow it.
There was a time I thought it meant my father cared about me. That he might not be able to say it or show it the way I wished he would, but he wanted to keep me safe. Now I just think he saw me as a bargaining chip that he could pull out when he needed to save his own ass.
“Behave until the wedding, Gianna. Then you will be Santino’s problem.”
My father’s words this morning echo in my head. Mother stayed silent as she often does. He provides her with a life she cannot live on her own. He is all she has ever known so I suppose I cannot blame her. I can still hate them both and I do. All I am to them is a tool, an object they can trade off to whoever they choose.
It has been almost a week since the engagement party. I have not seen my fiancé since, and I hope it stays that way. He berated me for hours that night once he got me alone. It was not as bad as it could have been. For my act of disrespect—talking to Gabriel as he commanded I do—he could have hurt me. I could tell that he wanted to. I decided that night, as he stood there shouting, red-faced, cursing and calling me foul names.
I would die before I will be his bride.
It is a beautiful day out, so I am not thinking about death or despair. I am thinking about two-toned eyes and tousled copper hair. About a body that seemed chiseled out of perfect stone. A smile that makes me smile just thinking about it. I am thinking about my new favorite thing.
Gabriel Capelli is my new favorite thing to daydream about. He might be as dangerous as Santino and my father, but I don’t think so. At least, I don’t think he is a danger to me. Something about the way he asked me about my dreams and listened makes me think he is different.
“Stop being so childish, Gianna. He is just like the others,” I mutter this to myself as if I can rein in my delusions about Gabriel.
If he were different, why would he have left me there with Santino? Why would he have made things harder on me by demanding to speak with me? Santino called me awful things that night, claiming I had made a fool of him. Gabriel must have known talking to me alone would have upset Santino. What was his reasoning? What was the point of putting me in the crosshairs?
Glancing behind me as I hear footsteps, I pause. I snuck out of the house a few hours ago, leaving my bodyguard behind. I manage a few hours of freedom before they come looking for me. It’s a warm summer night but the sun is slowly setting. I hope to make it to the pier before I am found out.
“Cool it, G,” I whisper to myself, picking up my pace. “No one is following you. No one even knows you got out of that prison.”
Chuckling at my paranoia, I stop to pluck a pink wildflower from the sidewalk. Grabbing another white one, I weave them together and tuck them behind my ear. They smell light, summery, and it makes me smile. I love that we get all four seasons here in Silver Shores. Even if it does feel as if the summer fishing season goes on forever.
“You ought to smile more,” a man’s voice calls, the words slightly slurred. Shading my eyes from the sun, I frown at the unfamiliar face.
“Not doing it for you, buddy,” I snap back, shaking my head as I brush past him.
“No need to be a bitch, huh.”
Stopping, I turn to level him with some insults before I think better of it. With my acidic words melting on my tongue, I shake my head. Not worth it. I can’t lead with my mouth all the time. It might be how I get heard at home, but out here in the real world, it is different. If I do want to break away from them, refuse this marriage to Santino, I better start being careful.
As I am battling whether to mouth off to this jerk or not, I see him. Oh, hell. They’re meant to blend in, dressed head to toe in black, but it never works. Out here on a sunshine soaked day, they stand out. Following a few paces behind me is a guard. Only, he is not one of the guards my father has sent before. Could be Santino’s man, I can’t be sure.
All I do know is it is time to get moving.
Turning down an alley between two shops, I wait for the man to pass. Others pass by the alley but not the man in black. I am being followed. Taking a deep breath, I glance in both directions down the alley. Gathering my courage, I push off the wall and turn the opposite direction I came.
Ducking out of the alley, I curse. “You got me,” I mutter to the man in black waiting for me, looking unbothered at my attempt to shake him.
“Just here to protect you, Ms. Bianchi. I go where you go.”
“Is that so? Can’t we come to an agreement somehow? I do not need to be trailed or tracked. I am not a criminal. I am not out here breaking the law, a junkie out here looking to score, or some party girl. I just want to walk through town without a shadow following me.”
“Wish I could. It was made very clear to me I cannot let you out of my sight. You won’t even know I am here, Ms. Bianchi.”
“No? Because I knew you were here for the past five blocks. Knew you were outside the coffee shop. Saw you stop when I stopped to pick a flower. Just let me be. Tell my father or my fucking fiancé ....”
“I do not work for Mr. Bianchi or Mr. Marconi.”
Frowning, I cock my head at the young man. No, I have definitely never seen him before. He is not one of my father’s men, I am sure. I have been to Marconi’s home just a few times now, but I think I would remember this man. Much like Gabriel Capelli, he stands out. Very handsome, young, built as if he takes guarding bodies very seriously, and well put together.
Oh. Oh...my. Is...is he working for Gabriel?
“Uh...oh. Does that...I mean...does that mean...you won’t tell me if I ask, will you? Going to ask anyway. Is...is Gabriel Capelli your boss?”
Without a hint of reaction, no response on his face for a moment, my heart sinks. No. Of course not. Why would Gabriel send someone to look out for me? He hasn’t given me a second thought since we met. But...maybe. I glance at the young man again, just in time to see the slightest smirk.
Something flutters inside my chest. Twists my stomach in coiling, swirling knots. Gabriel Capelli sent someone to look after me? To protect me from...hell, from myself? Or from my father and my would-be husband?
“Go on about your day, Ms. Bianchi. Forget I am even here.”
Turning back to the road, I hesitate. I consider my options. I could do as he says and just pretend he is not trailing me all over town. It might be for the best. Give me some time to decide why Gabriel would have me trailed. Or...or I could try to shake him off, the way I do all the other guards, to see if it truly is Gabriel. Maybe it shakes him loose too?
Grinning back at the guard, I bounce my shoulder. I did tell Gabriel that I rarely behave. I give a laugh as I turn and sprint down the alley, making him chase me. I am fast. It is one of the few reasons I have ever been able to shake my guards. They just cannot keep up most of the time. I wonder if this one will be any different.
Laughing as I race towards the shore, I glance back just once. He is gaining on me, but I haven’t even started trying to run. I am just playing with him. Pushing it, I pick up the pace, my sneakers pounding on the pavement as I weave through the crowded streets. I hit the sand just as a huge SUV pulls up, tires screeching, make a scene on the boardwalk.
Stopping, I know my time is up. I could dart past the SUV, but I won’t have a chance against whoever is inside it. I am not sure how I know that, but I do. I imagine the huge man who found me at the party, Dario his name was, and I laugh again. As big as he was, I still don’t think I could shake him.
“I give up,” I shout, putting my hands up as I catch my breath. “I won’t run again. Not that any of you had a chance of catching me.”
A door comes open as a dark chuckle sounds. That sound does improper things to me. I heard it once before, that night on the patio. There are a dozen people watching us, but I feel as isolated with him as I did that night.
“That might be true. If I would ever give up chasing you, princess. I won’t. Come, get in. I will take you anywhere you want to go.”
Inside my chest, my heart is thundering. Not because of the little breakaway I tried to make. Because it is Gabriel, and his voice is as silky smooth as I remember it. I step towards the door, for a moment wondering if he is even real. Then he steps out slowly and I bite back a gasp. He is poured into another suit, looking even more beautiful than I remember.
“I... I can’t go anywhere with you. Santino would...he would....”
“What did I say, princess? He will do nothing ,” Gabriel hums, coming close, his hand lifting to cup my cheek. Closing my eyes, I lean into his touch, welcoming his warmth. I have dreamt of him for days now, and seeing him, feeling him, smelling him, those dreams did not do him justice.
“I... I am scared,” I whisper, horrified to realize tears flood my eyes.
Letting out a string of curses in Italian, he moves fast. Gabriel pulls me with him inside the SUV. I am cradled against his chest, his fingers tangled in my hair. It is the first time in my life I have felt safe, and I want to savor it.
“My little princess. No need for fear. They cannot touch you now.”
“But...but you can...” I whisper it, almost asking the question.
“Oh, yes. I and I alone can touch you. Once you ask me to.”
Is he...is he giving me a choice for the first time in my life?