The Marriage Auction 2, Part 3

Episode 59

Episode 59

Make Her Pay

JULIANNE

Bianca screamed as I pulled the trigger and pretended to shoot her. The safety was on. I knew that when I’d taken it from Lee, but I wanted to scare the hell out of her. I’d had a lot of experience with guns, growing up with a dad who loved to hunt, and even had my own concealed carry weapons permit. Even though I kept the gun I owned in a safe in my bedroom closet, I was still very familiar with them.

I watched as Bianca slid to the floor to avoid being shot when I didn’t have any intention of actually shooting the vile woman. For one, I’d never hurt a human with a firearm unless it was a life-or-death situation. Two, she was pregnant, possibly with my husband’s baby. I wouldn’t ever risk a child’s safety.

“Get the fuck up and go stand over there.” I kept the gun pointed on her and unlocked the safety. “Lee, check on Gio. Something’s wrong with him. He hasn’t moved or made a single noise since we arrived.”

“I tired him out, and he’d had a lot to drink before we made love.” Bianca spoke in a haughty tone.

“Sexual assault is not making love, you twisted bitch.” I moved forward and kicked the bundle of her clothes closer to her. “Put your clothes on. Now!”

“Giovanni.” Lee tapped at Gio’s handsome face. He looked like he was asleep. “Wake up,” Lee encouraged. “He’s unconscious. I think he’s been drugged.”

Rage poured through my veins like liquid acid. “Did you drug and assault my husband?” I snarled and spat like a wild animal ready to rip its prey to shreds.

Bianca slid her shirt over her head, her face pale in response to the anger simmering and vibrating the air around us, ready to boil over.

“That’s absurd. Gio drank too much, and we got frisky. He used to do that a lot with me. Never able to keep his hands off.” She lifted her chin and rubbed a circle around her slightly protruding abdomen. “I’m sure it was the idea of me carrying his baby that made him so handsy.” She smiled and batted her eyelashes as though I gave two shits about any of the crap she was spewing.

Still, I clenched my teeth so hard I feared I might crack a molar. This woman was so much worse than I once thought. She seemed to believe her own lies.

“His eyes are rolling in the back of his head. He’s not responding to me at all. He’s definitely drugged,” Lee stated curtly. “I think he needs medical attention.”

“Call the cops and tell them we have someone in our custody that we believe assaulted Giovanni Falco and get an ambulance.” I moved closer to the bed, putting my hand on Gio’s foot, needing to touch a small part of him while keeping the gun trained on Bianca.

“Well, this has been fun, but I’m going to take my leave…” Bianca started to sashay forward and move past me.

Um, I don’t fucking think so!

I backed up and then pointed the gun directly between her eyes. “You’re not going anywhere, and if you so much as attempt to get away, I will shoot you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. “I don’t believe you have the balls.”

Without preamble, I pointed the gun just past her head and shot the ceramic lamp on the nightstand. I knew the wall behind the bed was extremely thick and the bullet wouldn’t go through. Not that it mattered because Giovanni’s bedroom didn’t have another apartment behind it.

The lamp shattered into a million pieces, covering the floor. The boom from the gunshot made Bianca jolt into action, bending in half and crouching closer to the ground. I pushed her the rest of the way with a forceful hand on her shoulder until she was ass to the carpet. She crawled over to the corner to escape me.

“You’re crazy!” she screeched and pulled her legs up against her chest, making her body into a tight little ball.

I could hear Lee on the phone, calling the cops. With one eye on Bianca, I approached the bed, lifted a knee, and sat down next to my man. Then I reverently cupped his cheek. “Gio, baby, I’m here. I’ve got you. Just breathe. If you can hear me, I’ve got you. We’re getting help.” I ran my fingers through his thick black hair over and over while I plotted the many ways in which I wanted to hurt the woman cowering in the corner. Once she’d had the baby first, of course.

With my husband laid out like a naked Adonis placed on an altar, I looked the rest of his body over. I lifted the sheet and saw red lipstick marks running down his pecs but stopping at his abdomen. There was a lipstick stain smeared across his mouth and jaw too, something I wanted desperately to wipe away, as if I could wipe away this entire experience for all of us.

“I’m sorry this happened. I should have come up with you…” I gulped as my nose ran, a sourness churning my gut so hard I almost vomited. Instead, I took a deep breath, assessing the situation to the best of my ability while trying to detach myself from the white-hot anger boiling inside me.

Lee came around the bed and put his hand out. I handed him the gun right as I heard the elevator ping, announcing its arrival.

“Police!” someone shouted.

“We’re in here!” I called, and two cops appeared, each with guns out as they assessed the situation.

“Officer! This woman tried to shoot me! Thankfully, she missed!” Bianca called out, tears suddenly falling down her sunken, bony cheeks.

“That’s not what happened,” Lee stated with zero emotion.

The cops glanced at Lee and holstered their guns. “Hey Lee, long time no see. Looks like you’ve got a situation here,” one of them said, obviously an acquaintance of Lee’s.

Lee lifted his chin. “This is my gun, and I have a concealed carry permit as you know. I am Mr. Falco’s driver and security guard. My client has been drugged and possibly sexually assaulted by this woman. I was with his wife when we arrived. She was naked, on top of him, while Mr. Falco was, and still is, unconscious.”

One of the cops came to the bed and evaluated my husband. He curled his hand around a speaker- looking apparatus on his chest, pressed a button, and spoke. “We need the paramedics sent up immediately. It’s all clear up here.”

“See, baby, you’re safe. Bianca can’t hurt you anymore,” I cooed, leaned forward, and pressed my lips to Gio’s temple.

Bianca was sobbing and rattling off her lies to the cops while I ignored her.

“We received a call after the first one from you Lee, that stated they heard a gunshot.”

“I did shoot the gun, but it was to keep her from running. I, too, have a permit to carry a gun and knew exactly what I was doing. She’s pregnant, so I didn’t want to accidently harm her or the baby by physically keeping her here until the authorities arrived.”

“I can confirm everything she said and go into further detail about this woman’s crimes.”

“What is he on?” one of the cops asked Bianca.

“How should I know? I didn’t drug him!” She shook her head frantically, lying through her teeth. “He had some drinks, we got intimate, and I didn’t realize he passed out. Then they arrived and threatened to kill me.”

“That is not how it happened,” I growled.

“No, it is not,” Lee confirmed. “Julianne forced Bianca to get off of her husband, put her clothes on, and wait for you to arrive. I can attest to Bianca being naked and on top of an unconscious man. Bianca tried to leave, and that’s when Julianne fired a warning shot, aiming for and hitting the lamp, not harming a soul.”

“She could have killed me and my baby!” Bianca screeched while putting a hand over her stomach protectively, really playing it up for the cops.

The elevator pinged again and one of the cops waved the two paramedics into the bedroom.

“We’ll take it from here, ma’am,” one of the paramedics said, easing me away from Gio, off the bed and out of the way. Instantly, they went into life-saving action, eventually lifting Gio onto a stretcher.

“I’m going with him, and I also want to press charges,” I told one of the cops.

“Ma’am, we still need to question you,” one of the cops responded.

I pointed at Gio who was being loaded onto the elevator. “I need to go with my husband. Follow me to the hospital, or I’ll go to the station after I’ve ensured that the man I love is safe.” I stormed into the elevator right before the doors closed, and I heard Lee say, “Don’t worry guys, I’ll answer everything and bring her to the station later.”

“Sounds good. Hope to see you at the next PD potluck. The chili your old partner makes sucks, man. You need to teach him a few things,” one of them joked. I hadn’t realized that Lee used to be a police officer.

The ride down the elevator, and then in the ambulance, was absolute torture. It felt like it took a hundred years to get to the hospital. The paramedics did their thing while I clung to Giovanni’s hand, alternating between kissing it and whispering prayers against his skin.

When we got to the hospital, we were immediately separated. A medical professional quizzed me on a bunch of insurance questions which I had to call Muriel to get. Then I was punted to a cold, bleak room filled with old, pink-fabric chairs and cracked linoleum that had seen better days. The scent of antiseptic filled the room and turned my stomach.

God, please let Gio be okay.

I don’t know how long I waited before a woman wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around her neck entered the room. “Mrs. Falco?”

“That’s me.” I stood up, my hands shaking so badly I held them both in front of me. “Is Giovanni okay?” I swallowed down the lump in my throat as my heart beat a million miles a minute.

She smiled gently. “He’s going to be just fine. He’s sleeping now. We pumped his stomach and performed a toxicology exam. The paramedics notified us that he may have been drugged and sexually assaulted so we proceeded accordingly. We should have the results of his labs soon.”

“Can I see him?”

“Of course. I’ll take you to him. He may sleep most of the day, but I’m sure he’d like to see a familiar face when he wakes. Often, with these types of drugs, the patient might not remember much after administration. Being in the hospital might surprise him,” she finished as we made it to a normal hospital room.

“When will he be able to go home?” I asked, thinking how I wanted to lie beside him in my bed and watch his chest rise and fall, safe within the comfort and protection of my own home. Our home now. I’d never step a single foot in that apartment again, and neither would Gio, if I had any say in the matter.

“We’ll keep him overnight for observation, and if all is well, he’ll be released in the morning.”

“Can I stay with him?” I croaked, reaching for his hand and holding it with both of mine. Instantly, the rapid-fire beat of my heart calmed down, simply by being near him. I sat in the chair closest to the bed and lifted his hand to my cheek, holding it there.

“As long as the nurses can tend to their patient without issue, that chair folds into a flat surface for sleeping.” She pointed to a large, pleather-covered, boxy chair in the corner of the room.

“I’ll stay out of their way, I promise. Thank you, Doctor.”

She smiled and took her leave.

I closed my eyes and breathed Gio in, remembering how very different this day started out. We’d been in bed together, talking, kissing, and being playful. Sharing bagels and coffee while laughing and catching up with the little things couples usually already knew about one another when they got married. Like how his hair sticks up in every direction possible when he wakes. I swore the man went through a tornado as he slept. I wanted to go back to the peace I felt during those moments.

Now, I was on total and complete emotional burnout, and I still needed to talk to the police. Hopefully, Lee would hold them off until they could speak to Gio directly, and we could make our official statements at the same time, provided he remembered any of it.

For the next few hours, I held Gio’s hand and rested my head against the bed, watching him sleep. I must have dozed off, because I woke suddenly to fingers running through my hair soothingly. I opened my eyes, and our gazes met. Instantly, tears filled mine and started to fall.

“Hey now, none of that,” he murmured, his voice sounding like sandpaper scraped over concrete.

I sat up, clutching his hand to my chest and kissing the top of his knuckles. “How are you feeling?”

He frowned. “Groggy. Throat hurts. A little dizzy. My stomach is tight, and I’m so tired.”

“You should rest. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

He licked his dry lips, and I got up, filled up a cup of water and placed the straw in it, then brought it to him. He sipped greedily as I held the cup and straw.

“Thank you. What happened?” he asked.

“What do you remember?”

He blinked a few times and glanced at the wall behind me. “I had a conversation with Tony, my doorman. Texted you about grilling dinner.”

I nodded. “And?”

He inhaled a long slow breath. Then his eyes widened. “Bianca,” he snarled. “Bianca was in my apartment. They must have let her up. I hadn’t been home in months to tell them to take her off the list of approved visitors. Stupid,” he grated.

I held his hand and shook my head. “No, it’s not. You thought she’d moved on. Apparently not. Then what do you remember after that?”

“Pouring a glass of whiskey and telling her to leave. I think we fought, but I can’t really recall the details.” He frowned deeply. “I remember being in bed, and calling for you, but seeing her.” He shivered. “I couldn’t move.” He swallowed. “She was, she was naked…but Jules, I would never cheat on you. Not in a million years. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know!” His voice rose along with his agitation.

I moved to sit on the bed, cupping both of his cheeks. “She drugged you. None of what happened was your fault.”

“But what if I—” He gagged but got it under control.

I shook my head. “You didn’t. I think she was trying to seduce you, but you were too drugged.” I bit down on my bottom lip.

He reached out his hand, cupped my cheek and wiped away a stray tear I didn’t realize had fallen.

“Tell me…tell me everything,” he pleaded.

I swallowed down the need to scream and took a breath. “When Lee and I arrived, she was naked and straddling you.”

He turned his head as though suddenly not able to look at me.

“But, Gio, she wanted me to see that, because she texted me to come to your apartment, and she did so from your phone.” I cupped his jaw and eased his head forward to look at me. I would not have him feeling ashamed of something he had no control over.

He clamped his jaw shut, and his nostrils flared. “How did she get into my phone?”

“I imagine she used your thumb print when you were out of it.”

“I want her punished,” he snapped angrily. “Did she get away?”

“No, honey, she didn’t. Lee’s at the station now explaining what happened. They want to talk to me, and I’m sure you, but she’s definitely being locked up for drugging you and attempted sexual assault.”

He reached out and tugged me down to the bed. I stretched my legs out alongside him and cuddled into his chest. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner,” I whispered, my stomach in knots at the thought I could have helped prevent this. “I’m sorry I didn’t go into the apartment with you. I was too set on shoving everything in Brenden’s face, I never thought you’d be attacked like that…”

Gio wrapped me in his embrace and kissed the crown of my head while whispering sweet nothings against my hair.

“I’m so sorry,” I cried against his chest.

“Shhh, shh, none of this is your fault, Jules, nor is it mine. It’s Bianca’s.”

I sniffed against his chest and held him tighter. “What are you going to do?”

He took a full minute and a long, tortured breath before saying, “I’m going to make her pay.”