Chapter 28 Lucia
Lucia
When I open my eyes, I’m back in my bedroom at my sister’s and brother-in-law’s.
I’m no longer in the safe house … I’m no longer with Romeo.
For a split second, I’m confused and disoriented as I blink up at the ceiling fan whirring above me, trying to remember how I got here. The sheets are cool, and the air smells like clean linen and familiarity, but it doesn’t feel right.
Then it hits me hard and fast.
The kidnapping.
The airstrip.
Romeo collapsing.
Dante desperately trying to revive him on the tarmac.
I sit up so fast that the room tilts sideways, making my head spin. There’s a dull ache behind my eyes, probably from the sedation or the blow I suffered to my forehead from the butt of the gun.
I raise my hand and gently skim my fingertips over the area, which has now been stitched and covered in gauze.
I vaguely remember the doctor coming here, but I’d emotionally checked out by then.
Not even my sister’s hug, which I’d missed so much, could bring me back.
The reality of life without Romeo was too unbearable to face. It still is.
I flick my hand around to find my wedding band still on my finger, and a whole new wave of heartache washes over me. My chest tightens and tears rise to my eyes as I’m confronted with the kind of grief I’ve never known.
I was only seven when I lost my mum, and probably too little to understand the gravity of what my new life without her held. Or maybe I just don’t remember ever feeling this kind of pain.
This is sharp. Heavy. It sinks its teeth into every part of me.
I press my hand to my mouth, trying to stifle the sob clawing its way up my throat.
“Hey, you’re awake.”
I snap my head towards the door and see Dante standing there with Caterina cradled in his arms.
This is the first time I’ve seen her since her birth, and I hate that such a joyous occasion is now shrouded in such heartache.
I stretch out my arms and wiggle my fingers, giving him grabby hands. “Gimme, gimme,” I plead, gesturing to my baby niece.
He moves to the side of the bed and stares down at me for a beat before hesitantly handing her over.
The second I have her in my arms, I pull her into my chest, bury my nose against her soft, dark hair, and inhale her sweet baby scent.
When I draw back and glance down at her sweet cherub face, she coos.
She’s clueless about the kind of world she’s been given.
The same world that swallowed Romeo whole.
I hug her further into my chest. She’s so warm and alive, while he lies cold and still.
It feels like fate gave her breath in the exact moment it stole his.
The tears I’ve been holding back since Dante entered my room break free, and I start to sob uncontrollably.
His first reaction is to reach for his daughter, but I twist my body away. I’m not ready to hand her back yet.
“For fudge’s sake, Luc. Don’t cry all over her, you’re going to give her a complex.”
If it were any other moment, and I wasn’t feeling such utter devastation, I would’ve laughed at him saying fudge instead of fuck.
“I just need to squish her a bit longer,” I say through my tears.
He instantly reaches for her again. “The fuc—udge you do.”
“Please.”
“I’m not going to stand here and let you squish her,” he growls.
“It’s a good squish, not a bad one.”
He just stands there flexing his hands like he’s debating whether to yank her away or let me fall apart with her in my arms.
“Romeo is alive,” he says, and those words stop me cold.
“What did you just say?”
“He didn’t die, Luc.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
He rolls his eyes. “No, I’m lying to you and giving you false hope. Of course, I’m telling you the truth. I have proof if you don’t believe me.”
I suck in a sharp breath and hold it as I watch him pull out his phone and run his thumb across the screen.
When he turns it towards me, the first thing I see is Romeo lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to so many machines.
“You love Lucia?” Dante asks.
“Oh, God. I love her so damn much. She makes my heart go ba-bom, ba-bom every time I see her.” Romeo’s words are a little slurred as his hand moves to cover his heart.
A heart that was no longer beating the last time I saw him.
“Every time she yells at me, I fall a little harder. It’s like music to my ears.
Beautiful, angry music. It makes my cock go rock-hard. ”
A huge, genuine smile curves my lips as I listen to him. The tears that now leak from my eyes are happy ones. He’s alive.
My gaze darts up to Dante, and there’s a bemused look on his face.
Romeo keeps going, he talks about Big-O and the assassination, and I find myself hoping that everything he says about me, about how he feels, is real. Because he’s never said those words out loud before.
When he confesses he’s my husband, I gasp. “He told you we got married?”
Dante lets out a dry chuckle. “He was high as a kite and barely making sense.”
For some reason, his eyes drop to my hand and his brow furrows. He does a double take, then actually steps back like he’s seen a ghost.
The hand that’s holding the phone drops down by his side, and although I can no longer see the screen, I can still hear Romeo talking.
“Why the hell is there a wedding band on your finger?”
I swore to Romeo I’d keep our union a secret, but now that he’s let the cat out of the bag, I guess that vow’s moot now.
“We got married.” I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face. “He’s my husband and I’m his wife. I’m Mrs Romeo De Luca.”
The colour drains from my brother-in-law’s face as he retreats another step. “You two got married? When?”
I’m the one frowning now. “Does it really matter when?”
“Yes, it does,” he growls through gritted teeth. “He had no right. You’re my family.” Dante jabs a finger into his chest as he speaks. “And he is my underboss. He doesn’t get to marry you without my permission.”
“Well, sucks to be you then,” I shoot back. “Because he did.”
For a second, we stare each other down, then Dante turns on his heels and storms out of my room.
“Arabella!” he shouts down the hall. “Arabella!”
Little Caterina jolts in my arms, so I lean down and sink my lips into her chubby cheeks. Cheeks, I’ve been dying to kiss ever since I moved to the safe house.
“It’s okay, baby girl,” I whisper. “Your daddy is just being a butthead.”
By the time I manage to get off the bed, with my baby niece still cradled in my arms, my sister comes flying into my room.
“You and Romeo got married, and you never told me?” she shrieks.
“Oh God, not you too.”
“We tell each other everything. I can’t believe you kept something this monumental from me. And Romeo should’ve known better … you both should have. You know how the Cosa Nostra works.”
“He married me so Giuseppe couldn’t,” I say, rushing to his defence. “He wasn’t trying to deceive anyone. He did a noble thing … an honourable thing. He was protecting me. Once that madman was out of the picture, we were going to get a divorce or an annulment. That was Romeo’s plan all along.”
“He was going to divorce you?” she shrieks.
I take a steadying breath and lift one shoulder. “That was his plan, but I was never going to let that happen.” I meet her gaze. “And now that I know he feels the same way about me, I’m going to fight for this marriage.”
She exhales sharply. “Well, you better get out there and explain all that to Dante, because he’s in the kitchen about to have a coronary.”
I am currently en route to the hospital to see Romeo. My brother-in-law is taking me. When I explained why we got married, it didn’t help. If anything, it made him more enraged.
His jaw is tight, ticking with tension, and he’s currently gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles have turned white.
Not a single word has been spoken on the entire drive. He’s obviously not talking to me, but I don’t care. I’m not talking to him either.
When we reach our destination, I quickly scramble out of the car before Dante can open my door. I’m in no mood for his chivalry.
I should’ve left him at home to mope in his own misery. But I refuse to let his sour mood take away from my joyous reunion.
My husband is alive, and he loves me back. Nothing and nobody is going to ruin this moment for me.
I let Dante lead, because I have no idea where I’m going. And by the time we reach the ICU, I’m giddy.
“Give me a moment with him,” Dante says, pausing at the door to Romeo’s room, and giving me one of his ‘don’t fuck with me’ looks.
If I didn’t want more squishy nieces and nephews in the future, I swear I’d kick him in the nuts right now.
I cross my arms over my chest and give him a look of my own. One that has tiny daggers shooting from my eyeballs.
“If you hurt him … if you so much as upset him,” I say, pointing my finger in his face, “you’ll have me to deal with.”
He rolls his eyes, spins around, and gives me his back. “Ooh, I’m shaking in my boots, Lucia,” he grumbles before pushing open the door and disappearing inside.