Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Lissia
I had waited such a long time for my life to feel so right. But now that I had it all, why did it seem like it could be snatched away in an instant?
Marchello loved me. As long as we had one another, no one could come between us.
At least not today.
“Ricardo.” I skipped down the hall like a giddy schoolgirl who needed to share her news. “The most amazing thing just happened to me.”
“Tell me.”
“Marchello loves me.”
“Did you recently figure this out?” he asked. “Because I knew when he was by your side waiting for you to wake up after you were shot.”
“You did?”
“Anyone could see it.” Ricardo kept pace with me as I danced through the hallway. “I mean, he was still scary and unapproachable, but when he looked at you, I saw how he felt.”
“He finally admitted his feelings today. He’d been keeping them to himself.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because of what happened with his mother. He thought that admitting how he felt would put me in some kind of danger.”
“It’s understandable.”
“No, it isn’t.” I stopped when we got to the bottom of the staircase. “I was shot before he said the words, so I convinced him that loving me was not dangerous.”
“Depends on who you asked.” Ricardo laughed.
“Hmm, true, but bad things will happen whether he loves me or not. We shouldn’t be wasting valuable time hiding our feelings. We should be embracing every second of our love together.”
“I’ll say a prayer to Saint Valentine for you.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek. “Marchello and I could use all the help we can get.”
“I don’t think you need any help at all.”
“Why not?”
“You’re the most determined woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “You never give up on Marchello, no matter what occurs in your crazy lives.”
“I never will.”
“That’s why your love will make it.”
“Come on.” I pointed up the stairs. “I need to see him. I miss him.”
“We weren’t gone that long.” Ricardo hurried after me. “I don’t think the tour is over.”
“I’m tired of the tour.” I hustled up the staircase that led to the offices. “I’d rather go for a ride in one of those cool cars. We can go find Milo after I steal a kiss from Marchello.”
The hallway that was full of people a little while ago was quiet, and strangely, no one sat at the desk around the corner from Nico’s office.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Lunch?”
“It’s ten o’clock.”
“Wait.” Ricardo grabbed my hand and put me behind him. “Let me have a look around. It is kind of desolate up here.”
“Don’t be silly.” I motioned down the steps. “There’s a ton of people in the showroom. I don’t think we’re going to get ambushed.”
“You never know around here.” He tossed a concerned look over his linebacker shoulder. “I don’t want you to get kidnapped or worse.”
“When did you become my guard again?”
“I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean Marchello doesn’t expect me to look out for you.” He stopped when we got to the empty desk. “I can’t afford another blow to my head.”
“I’ll make sure he never does that again.” I stepped around him, noting the three guards standing outside Nico’s office. “They weren’t there before. What do you think is going on?”
“We should probably go back downstairs,” Ricardo said. “Stay out of trouble and all.”
“Don’t judge me,” a familiar voice said.
“That’s my dad.” I moved toward the office. “What’s he doing here?”
“Wait.” Ricardo blocked me. “You shouldn’t interfere in this.”
“Why not? I’m part of all of this. If I can stop it, I’m going to.”
“I’ve looked out for her since the day Rosalie found out she was pregnant,” my dad said.
“I need to find out why he’s here.” I touched Ricardo’s bicep. “I have to make sure they don’t kill one another.”
“See what I mean about being determined.” Ricardo shook his head. “I don’t want it to backfire on you.”
“I don’t back down from much.” I nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”
The closer we got to Nico’s office, the more audible the words became. These were not happy voices or “inside” voices for that matter.
“Were you looking out for her when you tried to marry her off to Collins?” Marchello’s tone was laced with fury. “Did you have her best interest at heart when she called you and asked you to come and get her, and you sent Collins instead?”
Oh no. Nothing good could come from this conversation.
“I miscalculated,” my father said. “I should have come for her. If I had, she never would have gone back to you.”
“Did you miscalculate when you sent that fucking scum to kill my brother and me?” Marchello shouted. “Was it a mistake when your daughter, who you claim to love, got shot instead?”
“What?” My stomach churned.
“Lissia.” Ricardo took my hand. “Don’t go in there.”
“That never should have happened.” My father’s fury matched Marchello’s. “If she wasn’t with you, none of that would have happened. This is your fault.”
“I’m not the one who shot her,” Marchello said. “You get that honor all to yourself.”
“No,” I whispered. “That can’t be.”
I let go of Ricardo’s hand and stormed into the office to find Marchello in my father’s face and Milo holding him back.
“Daddy? What is he saying?”
I had to have misheard.
“Lissia,” Marchello said.
“Why would Marchello accuse you of shooting at us?” I grazed my fingers along my forehead, trying to process what they had said.
Judging from the surprised looks on their faces, none of them expected me to hear them. They should have closed the door.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What do you have to do with what happened in Miami?”
“You didn’t tell her?” my father asked Marchello.
“I didn’t have to.” The anger in Marchello’s voice startled me. “You did that by coming here.”
“Is it true?” I put myself in between them. “You were the one who shot me?”
“Lissia.” Marchello reached for my hand, but I backed away.
“You knew?” That couldn’t be right. “Marchello, how could you keep that from me?”
“I can explain,” Marchello said.
“Because he’s a liar and a thug,” my dad said. “Now do you see why I didn’t want you with him? I tried to warn you.”
My father’s presence sickened me. How could he have sent someone to shoot at me? Did he even care that I was hurt?
“I don’t want to be near either of you,” I said.
“Do you see what you’ve done?” My dad pointed at Marchello. “You took my daughter from me.”
“Don’t blame him,” I said. “You’re the one who sent a gunman to kill us.”
“Don’t be dramatic.” My father waved his hand in the air. “You weren’t the target.”
“Dramatic? Are you fucking kidding me? Dramatic is throwing a tantrum because you wouldn’t buy me a new pair of shoes. You sent someone to kill the man I love, and I was standing right next to him. It doesn’t matter if I wasn’t the intended target. If you had succeeded, you might as well have killed me anyway.”
“The man you love?” He sighed. “Lissia, I don’t know how to respond to you.”
“You know how to shoot me though.” I stood between Marchello and Milo. “Aren’t you supposed to be a professional? Didn’t your hired gun know not to fire into a crowd of people, especially when your daughter could be a victim?”
“Collins isn’t that smart,” Marchello said.
“Danny?” I raised my voice. “Danny was the shooter?”
“He was one of them.” My dad nodded at Marchello. “The man you love killed the other two.”
“And where is Danny?” I looked at Marchello. “Did you kill him too?”
“He got away, but maybe your father can tell us where to find him.” Marchello’s eyes narrowed. “I’d like a few minutes with him.”
No one should be dealing with this situation. Yet, here we were standing in the middle of a money laundering operation, discussing my father’s attempted hit. Not to mention the fact that my mobster boyfriend killed two people a few nights ago, and it didn’t appear to affect him at all.
“What is wrong with all of you?” I asked. “You know that none of this is normal.”
Marchello wouldn’t look at me, so I focused my wrath on my father.
“When is it going to end?” I trembled with outrage. “You tried to have them killed with me standing by their side. You could be burying me today.”
“You shouldn’t have been by his side.” My father glared at Marchello, then returned his gaze to me. “I’ve given you enough time to work this out, but if you don’t come home with me right now, I will have to consider you a traitor.”
“Unbelievable,” Marchello muttered.
“He’s not holding you at gunpoint now.” My father lowered his voice. He motioned between me and Marchello. “The theatrics are over. This is over. I won’t put up with it anymore.”
“What makes you think you have a say in any of this?” I paced the room. I had to do something with this negative energy flowing through my veins. “How dare you call me a traitor. You were going to force me to marry that disgusting man.”
“You didn’t even give Danny a chance before you went running off with an Accetti heir.” My father followed me to the window. “You betrayed me. You ran off with the enemy, but I’m still willing to forgive you.”
“I betrayed you?” When I held out my hand to back him off, Marchello came to stand next to me. “How about when I asked you to come and get me? You sent Danny instead when you knew I didn’t want anything to do with him. He put his hands on me. He knocked me out.”
“He shouldn’t have done that,” my dad said.
“She should never have been in that position.” Marchello inched close enough that I could feel him against me. As angry as I was, I still wanted him to protect me. I still needed him to stand with me. “She shouldn’t have been shot at either.”
“That was a mistake,” my dad shouted. “Do you think I meant to hurt my daughter?”
“But you did hurt me.” My eyes stung as I tried to hold back the tears. I don’t cry. I don’t cry. “You didn’t listen to me when I told you I wouldn’t marry Danny. You didn’t hear me when I called you and asked for your help.”
My dad’s nostrils flared. I wasn’t a stranger to that look, but this time I wasn’t asking for a new dress or an expensive trip. What I wanted was more important than anything I had ever asked of him before. I wanted to be free to love Marchello.
“You’re definitely not paying attention if you think I’m leaving here with you,” I said.
“I’m paying attention.” My father looked between Milo and Marchello. “You will be coming home with me today. I will not have you in the middle of this war.”
“Stop the war.” I looked into Marchello’s eyes. “Please.”
“Lissia,” my father said. “I’m going to present this in a way I know you’ll understand.”
“I already said I’m not going with you.”
“If you don’t, I will cut you off.”
Did he really think this was about money? How insulting for him to believe that I would walk out of here so he wouldn’t cut me out of his will.
“Fine.” I turned and faced him, placing my hand on my hip. “Cut me off. I don’t care. I don’t want anything from you.”
“How do you expect to survive?” he asked.
“I’ll manage.”
“How long do you think your thug boyfriend will support you?” He motioned between me and Marchello. “What are you going to do when he tosses you out on the street because he’s tired of you?”
“That will never happen.” Marchello stepped toward my father. “It’s time for you to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere without her.” My dad reached for my arm.
Marchello got in between us and shoved my father back, causing him to stumble and release me.
“Don’t you ever touch her.” Marchello pointed at my dad. “I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you ever do.”
“You’re going to regret that.” My father reached inside his jacket, but before things could escalate any further, two of the guards from the hall stepped inside the room and stood in front of me, Marchello, and Milo.
“Were you seriously going to pull your weapon with Lissia standing between us?” Marchello pushed me to stand behind him. “Did you learn nothing from your botched hit?”
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same if I had put my hands on you, Accetti.” My father straightened his tie. “Lissia, you chose the wrong side.”
I leaned against the window, gripping the sill for support. My legs wobbled as tears spilled from my eyes. My father had no regard for me when he pointed his gun at Marchello.
“Stay away from her.” Marchello’s jaw tightened. “I won’t be so controlled next time.”
“You’ll see his true colors,” my dad said to me. “Then who will protect you?”
“Get him out of here.” Marchello nodded to his guards. “Now.”
Milo followed the guards who forced my father out of the room, shoving his gun back in his waistband.
When had he taken it out?
As he shut the door, I caught a glimpse of Ricardo in the hall.
I should have listened to him when he told me to stay out of this.
Marchello took a breath and moved his neck from side to side before facing me.
“Are you okay?” He looked me over. “I’m sorry.”
“What was that?” I wiped the tears from my face, trying to make sense of a senseless situation.
“Unnecessary.” He reached for my hand. “You’re shaking.”
“Don’t.” I swatted him away. “I don’t want you to touch me.”
“I know that was difficult for you.” When he stepped toward me, I moved across the room. “What the hell, Lissia? Stop moving away from me.”
“You knew and you didn’t tell me.” I swiped the hair from my eyes. “How can I ever forgive you for that?”