Chapter 34
ARIA
I take one last look in the mirror, making sure I look okay, before grabbing my purse and heading down the stairs. I’m running a little late to meet my mother-in-law for our shopping trip, all because of my husband.
Though I really don’t mind because we had a really good time this morning. My lips tip up in a smile, remembering exactly what we got up to. I honestly love waking up to Enzo taking me. It just feels so damn right.
“I don’t even want to know what that smile is about,” Giana starts with me when I make my way into the living room.
“Nothing,” I say quickly, though I know for a fact my face is on fire.
“Uh-huh, sure,” she laughs. “Do you want something to eat before we leave?”
“No. Enzo took breakfast up to bed for me this morning and I’m still good. Besides, we’re also going out to eat after we’re done shopping.”
“Come on, let’s get going then,” she tells me as we walk out of the penthouse with Bruno and Umberto ahead of us.
The guys do their usual security checks, telling us to wait in the elevator when we get to the garage while they make sure the area is clear, then usher us into the SUV.
Two other vehicles hold the rest of the guards who will be going with us today.
One is in front of ours, while the other is behind.
When we get to the Oak Street District, where some of the high-end boutiques are located, Bruno and Umberto step out of the vehicle and canvas the area to make sure there’s no danger lurking around, before Bruno walks over and opens my door for me. I get out with Giana behind me.
When I get out onto the sidewalk, I see the other guards are already out of their vehicles, also sweeping the area and making sure there’s no danger.
Two of the guards take up their positions standing in front of the boutique we’re about to head into, while the remaining four spread out. Bruno and Umberto are the only ones who follow us in.
I see some other men in suits standing the same way my guards are, and I’m assuming they’re my mother-in-law’s security. These Andretti men definitely go overboard when it comes to their women, I see.
When we step inside the boutique, I see she’s already here and has two of her own guards with her.
“Hi,” I say to her, leaning in for a hug, while giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hello, darling. How are you?” she asks, hugging and kissing my cheek as well before she turns to Giana. “Hello, Giana.”
“I’m doing well. How are you?”
“Hi, Mrs. Andretti,” Giana greets.
“Like I said before, call me Lucia,” she says to Giana, who nods before she turns back to me. “I’m doing well, too. I’ve been so excited for this shopping trip. It feels like I haven’t left the house in ages. That man has been keeping me locked up.”
I laugh at the pout in her voice. “I know exactly how you feel.”
“These Andretti men are something else,” she huffs.
“I know. But we can’t blame them for wanting to keep us safe,” I tell her, trying to be the voice of reason here.
“I know. I know. After all these years, I should be used to it already, but that man just gets on my damn nerves sometimes.”
“Again, I know exactly how you feel,” I laugh. An attendant brings over two glasses of champagne for her and Giana, while I get a glass of sparkling water. We all get snacks, too, and then we walk around the store looking at the clothes while we continue chatting.
“How has the pregnancy been going? Do you need anything?” Lucia asks.
“It’s been going well. No. I don’t need anything as of now. Enzo has been a huge help with keeping me calm while also dealing with the mood swings. Though I am ready to get this baby out of me already,” I chuckle.
“Yeah. When you get to this stage, that’s all you want, and nothing else will suffice. Leonardo and I can’t wait to meet our granddaughter.”
“I’m sure she can’t wait to meet her favorite grandparents,” I tell her, a genuine smile on my face as hers lights up at my words. Did I mention I freaking love this lady?
She comes over at least twice a week, sometimes more, when Enzo is at work, just to sit with me, or sometimes we fidget and arrange or rearrange things in the nursery.
Plus, every time she comes over, she always brings gifts for either the baby or me.
This baby is already so spoiled, and she isn’t even here yet.
We spend some time shopping, the guys putting our bags in the SUVs, and when we’re done, we head to Luigi’s Steakhouse for an early dinner. It turns out to be a good few hours away from the house, and it’s exactly what I needed to get rid of some of that grumpiness I was feeling lately.
When we leave the restaurant, I give her a hug, and she promises to see me soon. I see our SUV is already here, idling at the curb, waiting. Bruno gets into the driver’s seat, while Umberto gets into the passenger’s side with Giana and I get into the back.
Bruno pulls into traffic, and I glance out the window, watching as the city passes by. I enjoyed today, but, man, am I tired now. I hate that I get so tired easily these days.
I’m going to need Enzo to give me a massage later tonight, since my feet are aching a bit, too. Think of the devil, and he shall appear, I think, just as my phone begins to buzz in my purse.
“Hello?”
“Hi, baby,” he greets.
“Hi,” I reply, a smile instantly forming on my face. “Aren’t you supposed to be busy right now?”
“I’m always busy, babe. But never too busy to give my wife a call,” he says, and I melt at his words.
“Aw. You are such a romantic,” I tease.
“Only for you, babe,” he says, and I can tell he’s smiling from his tone. “Where are you?”
“We just left the restaurant, and we’re heading home now. Why?”
“Just wanted to check in and see what you were up to. I miss you already,” he murmurs as butterflies fill my stomach at his words.
“I miss you too, husband,” I sigh, happily.
“Say it again,” he commands, sexily, I might add.
“I miss you, husband.”
“Mmm. That ass is mine again tonight,” he growls.
“You are such a horn dog,” I quietly say into the phone with a chuckle.
“It’s all your fault, babe. Did you have fun shopping with my mother?”
“Yes. I always have fun whenever she’s around. She really is great,” I tell him, honestly. “She’s like the mother I always wished I had.”
“I’m glad you had a good time. She’s your mom now, too, just so you know. And I know for a fact that she absolutely loves and adores you,” he says, and a happy smile crosses my face.
Even though we were rival families—well, they still are with my father—they have been nothing but welcoming. This family has brightened my life and filled it with happiness on a level I’ve never known before.
“You guys are seriously the best,” I tell him, emotion filling my voice.
“I have to go now. I’ll see you at home tonight. I love you, baby.”
“Okay. Be safe. I love you too, babe.”
“Always,” he says before he cuts the call off.
We continue driving for a few minutes, and I see the traffic has already thinned out. Chicago traffic is always unpredictable. Sometimes it’s so backed up, and other times you get lucky, and there’s barely any.
A moment later, I suddenly don’t feel so well. A weird sensation ghosts over me, almost like unease prickling at the back of my neck. I shift in my seat, my eyes scanning the road ahead.
“Are you okay?” Giana asks from beside me.
“Yeah. I just—” I start, but don’t get to continue because my words are cut off when Bruno lets out a curse from the front seat.
“What the fuck?!”
I look up just in time to see a black sedan slam into the SUV in front of ours.
“Fuck! We’re being attacked! Get down!” Umberto yells to Giana and me just as Bruno swerves to avoid hitting the SUV and sedan in front of us.
I try to stay down as much as I can with a big belly in the way, but it’s difficult. I hear gunshots coming from behind us, and when I manage to lift my head and peek through the back glass, I see our men leaning out the window while shooting behind them.
They swerve, and I see at least four other sedans following us. Shit! This does not look good. Umberto leans out of the passenger seat and begins to shoot as well.
Fuck! I’m so scared and not just for myself but for my baby, Giana, and all our guards. I grab my purse and manage to pull my phone out to call Enzo, but as soon as it’s in my hand, something slams into our SUV from the back, knocking it out of my hand.
I hear it clatter to the floor and have no idea where it went. But before I can even look for it, another violent jolt slams into the side of the SUV, and all that can be heard is the sound of metal crunching and glass shattering.
I let out a scream as my body is thrown sideways, causing my head to slam against the door, a gasp tearing from me as my world tilts sideways for a second.
I look over at Giana; there’s fear in her eyes, and I’m pretty sure the same is reflected in mine as I try to protect my stomach as much as I can.
I cannot freaking lose my baby! I’ll fucking die if that happens…
Bruno manages to right the SUV, but then we take another hit. The tires screech as he loses control. My pulse is thundering in my ears. I have no idea what is happening or why.
I hear more gunshots around us and duck down instinctively. I turn to look behind us, but don’t see the SUV following us. Well, that’s not good…
A moment later, I have to move quickly, bracing my hands against the seat in front of me as another sedan cuts us off from the front, and Bruno slams on the brakes. Fuck! They have us boxed in.
A dozen or more men—I can’t really tell—step out of the sedans, surrounding us. Jesus Christ! This attack was precise and coordinated. Somebody planned this shit! But how did they even know I was going out?
I mean, they had to have been watching to know I was out today, since I rarely leave the penthouse. Two of the men in front of us lift their rifles and begin shooting.
A scream leaves me when the front windshield explodes inward, covering Bruno and Umberto in glass.
The assholes don’t stop there because they keep shooting.
Both guys shoot back, but from the groans they’re both letting out, I can tell they’ve been shot.
I try to make my body as small as possible, hiding behind Umberto’s seat so I don’t get hit with a bullet.
I take stock of myself. I think I may have sprained my wrist and even somewhere on my foot because it hurts like a son of a bitch! It also hurts to breathe a little, and my chest feels kind of sore. I hear a groan from next to me, and when I look over at Giana, I see red seeping into her top.
“Oh my God! Giana!” I scream, tears pouring down my face as I slip off my seatbelt and scoot over to her.
I try to press my uninjured hand against her abdomen, wanting to put pressure on her wound, but I don’t know if it will help.
My hand is shaking so bad, and I’m starting to feel a bit dizzy.
“Please be okay. You have to be okay. You can’t die and leave me! ” I sob.
I’m not sure if she can hear me because her eyes are closed now, and she’s no longer making any sounds. She’s either passed out or d-dead.
I don’t hear a sound from Bruno or Umberto either. God! I hope they’re still alive. Before I can even think about what to do next—not that there’s anything I can do since I’m surrounded—the door to my side of the SUV is wrenched open.
Hands grab for me, the asshole rough as hell as I kick and scream, twisting while trying to get away from him, but he uses his strength to drag me backward.
“Get off me, you asshole!” I scream, my nails digging into the fabric of his jacket, but it’s no use. The brute doesn’t seem to be affected at all.
“Move!” he snaps, angrily. His face is nothing but a mask of coldness, as if he has no soul.
“No!” I snap. Even though he looks like he really wants to kill me right this second, I can’t just make it easy for him and go with him, you know?
I should have known the asshole would use brute force, though. My heart slams against my ribs—which is currently hurting—as he hauls me out of the vehicle. I scream at the top of my lungs, begging for someone to help.
“Scream as much as you want. No one is here to help you,” my attacker sneers.
“Wait. Please! You don’t have to do this! Please let me go, and I’ll pay you whatever you want,” I try to reason with him.
“I’m already being paid generously for taking you,” he says, a sinister smile on his face.
“I can pay you more,” I say. I mean I know for a fact Enzo would pay as much as this asshole wants just to get me back.
“No thanks. Now, let’s go before the cops show up. My boss has been waiting for this day for quite a while.”
“What does he want with me?”
“Stop fucking asking questions and walk!” he snaps.
I feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack as my breath starts to come out fast and uneven.
Without thinking, I bite the asshole on the arm.
He lets out a grunt, letting go of me for a second, and I take the opportunity to run.
Though I’m not successful because something is wrong with one of my legs.
Trying to run while eight and a half months pregnant and injured… I do not recommend. As you can tell, I don’t get very far. He catches up to me in two strides and grabs me by the hair before slamming his fist into my face.
I’m dazed and dizzy, feeling like I’m about to throw up. Fuck! I think the earlier adrenaline has worn off, and now I’m feeling all the pain in my body. Dear God, please let my baby be okay.
I pray those words as the asshole pushes me into one of their sedans before getting in next to me. A second later, the driver is speeding away, carrying me to an unknown location.
My energy is fading now, my vision going dark, and the last thing I think about before everything goes black is that Enzo is going to tear this city apart when he realizes that I’m missing. I just hope he finds me in time to save our little girl and me before it’s too late.