Warning, Part Two

by A. D. Justice

  She watched me dress, and I couldn’t help but notice the look of disappointment on her face when I pulled my shirt over my head and finished hiding my body from her view. But she knew I could read her like a book, so she kept her gaze anywhere except meeting mine.

  “Can I go into my bedroom and get out of my nightgown now?”

  “No need to wait until we’re in your bedroom. You can get out of that gown right here, right now. I’ll even help you.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Ha. I think that’s exactly what you meant. A little Freudian slip of the tongue. Say the word, doll, and I’ll give you a slip of my tongue you won’t ever forget.”

  Her skin flushed, her breathing hitched, and a slight tremor ran through her, causing her hands to quiver. “I need to get my clothes on. Right now.”

  Fuck if she wasn’t the most alluring woman I’d ever met. Just a few words of the right kind and she was more than ready for me.

  “Come on, doll. I’ll escort you to your bedroom.” I slowly opened the door and checked the hall before taking her hand and leading her to her room.

  Once inside, I locked the door behind us and kept watch on the windows while she stepped into her closet to dress. I heard soft sighs and muffled groans between the sounds of hangers sliding across the bar. She was still fighting her feelings for me, and I understood her hesitancy. People who gave me a reason to distrust them didn’t get a second chance…or even a second breath.

  Maybe she should’ve fallen into that category from the moment the knife in her hand was intended for me. But I knew, even at that very second, she couldn’t go through with it. She wasn’t the hardened type. She was soft and warm. Loving and giving. Feisty and full of life. Gorgeous and down to earth. And I knew, even before that fucked-up night, that I was in love with her. I just wasn’t ready to face the truth that she was the only happily ever after for me.

  I wasn’t ready to put my full trust in someone and hand my heart over to her. No reservations and no holding back. No holds barred. But that changed when I lost her, and I realized what a fucking moron I was for doubting her in the first place. The shock to my system made me realize my heart was all in with her even if my mind wasn’t ready for any of it.

  “What now? I mean, I doubt your plan involves me staying here after someone tried to break in last night.” She stepped out of her closet wearing a cotton dress that hit at mid-thigh, revealing her luscious legs and supple skin.

  “You’re exactly right. My men are watching, but it’s still too dangerous for you to stay here. They wouldn’t be able to stop a drive-by shooting or a Molotov cocktail lobbed through your front window.”

  She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her temples. “Don’t say it, Damon.”

  “You’ve only had one prenatal visit. There are plenty of great doctors there. Wonderful hospitals. Top-notch care.”

  She kept shaking her head through my every word, fighting me every step of the way. But then, she wouldn’t be Jillian if she didn’t have that independent spirit.

  “Mama and Aunt Maria are there. They can help us, give us advice, cook for us. My sister Carrie told me she wished you lived there so she could get to know you better. My whole family loves you, Jillian. Almost as much as I do.”

  “You know, Damon, you don’t fight fair at all. You just used your mother, your aunt, and your sister against me, all at once. Then you mess with my head and tell me you love me.”

  “Jillian, I’ve never declared my love for anyone outside of my immediate family before in my life. Not one single woman can claim I’ve ever said those three little words to her. You are the only one for me. You always will be.”

  She whisked a tear from the corner of her eye before it had a chance to fall on her cheek. “You want to take me back to New York, huh? I just don’t know, Damon. I’ve finally gotten settled back in here. I have a job to think of, health insurance, a routine I’m used to. Can I not just move somewhere else here?”

  “Jillian, you know better than that. This only ends one way, doll.” A thought occurred to me about her reluctance. She didn’t want to leave the area where her mom was buried. “I’ll bring you back to visit her grave as often as you want. All you have to do is tell me, and I’ll make it happen for you.”

  “Really?” Her tone was so hopeful and so surprised.

  “Of course. I’d do anything to make you happy, Jillian.”

  She nodded slowly, still deep in thought. “Let me think about it for a few minutes.”

  “Okay. You think while we eat. I still need to feed you and our baby. Come on, doll.”

  We walked to the kitchen, and I cooked a big breakfast for her, along with another piping hot cup of tea, and we ate together—enjoying each other’s company. After we worked side by side on the dishes, I took her hand in mine and led her to the living room. She said she wanted to talk and she wanted all the details, and I had every intention of answering her questions.

  But when we turned the corner, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The SUV with the blacked-out windows creeping by her house caught my eye just in time to grab her and drop to the floor with my body completely covering hers. The bullets sprayed the front of the house, sending shards of the overly large picture window and all kinds of debris hurtling toward us. She tried to be brave and weather the storm of shrapnel zinging over our heads, but the terror of the moment won. I could barely hear her shrill screams over the noise of the rapid gunfire.

  Shots rang out from a different direction, and I realized my men had flanked them, drawing fire away from the house. Still, there was no way I’d lift my head and risk moving from the relatively secluded spot where we fell. Shards of glass were stuck in my back and all down my side, but nothing I couldn’t survive. Squealing tires and familiar voices yelling my name told me the coast was clear.

  “Jillian, are you hurt?” I pushed up and sat back on my heels, checking her over for wounds. “Are you shot? Answer me, sweetheart!”

  “N-n-no.”

  She sat up and wrapped her arms around me, her whole body shaking violently. Her arms scraped the ends of glass that stuck out of my skin, but I ignored the pain and ran my hands over her instead. Not feeling any obvious wounds, I wrapped my arms around her protectively and shouted orders to my men.

  My only certainty was I had to get her out of that small town and under the protection of my family at a fortified safe house. That was the second attempt in as many days, and the force had increased exponentially. Their next move, if they couldn’t snatch her, would be to bomb her house and obliterate it completely.

  “Jilly, doll. We have to go right now. Do you understand?”

  “Y-y-yes. T-take me with you.”

  Chapter Five

  Jillian

  Damon took care of everything.

  He had someone pack all my clothes.

  Someone else talked to the police and gave a full account of what had happened, leaving out key names and a few details here and there. A thick envelope exchanged hands, and I assumed everything was smoothed over with the reassurance we were leaving town.

  Benny drove us to a small airstrip, and we all boarded the private jet bound for New York.

  I was silent every step of the way, other than the occasional one or two word answers I gave Damon in my house and in the car on the way to the airport when he asked if I was all right.

  Physically, I was fine, so that was how I answered.

  I’m fine.

  Mentally, I wasn’t so sure how I felt.

  Seeing his shirt and pants soaked in blood when I finally let go of him after the bullets stopped sent me into a new state of panic.

  “It’s just small cuts from glass, doll. Don’t worry about me.” He repeatedly reassured me while he changed clothes. But I saw all
the cuts and the jagged splinters of glass sticking out of his skin when he changed into the clothes Benny gave him.

  “We need to get those pieces of glass out of you, Damon.”

  “You can help with that on the plane. We have to get you out of here right now. Trust me, Jilly.”

  I noticed he had come up with a new pet name for me. Maybe it shouldn’t have pleased me as much as it did. But I couldn’t help but feel special because of the new term of endearment. He was trying to win me over. He was doing and saying all the right things. But I hadn’t forgotten what he had done that he needed to make up for in the first place, or why I was so leery of letting him back in. I decided the wait and see approach was best. If he kept up the new and improved Damon after we were back on his turf for a while, then I could start to think about letting him in again. Trust was a completely separate issue. I wasn’t sure I could ever trust him again.

  The hail of gunfire that rained down on us was beyond terrifying, and my first thought when Damon used his body to shield mine was he would die, and I’d lose him forever. I’d already witnessed him get shot once on the streets of New York. That bullet was intended for me, too. And he saved me then, too.

  Hence, my confusion. How could the man who saved my life twice be the same one who set me up and crushed me? How could he make me feel protected yet guarded toward him? How could I feel so loved and so unloved by him at the same time?

  My feelings about him and his actions were all over the board. I could chalk up the confusion to pregnancy hormones, but since I’d only found out I was pregnant a couple of days before, that was a bit of a stretch. The truth that I didn’t want to face was I still loved him after everything we’d been through. Even though I didn’t want to love him anymore. Even though I thought I’d gotten over him in the months we were apart. When I shouldn’t have had any feelings for him except contempt. When I should have been focused on putting my world back together one piece at a time and moving forward without him in it.

  But our connection was sealed for good…by the life growing inside me. Whether that meant we were a couple or not, I had to consider how my decisions would affect our baby in the long run, above how he affected me at that moment. During the ride to the airstrip, I’d make up my mind, then glance over at his side again, knowing he was in pain and needed medical attention.

  He’d catch me staring at where his wounds were, and he’d squeeze my hand reassuringly, making me think maybe he was different, then I’d change my mind again.

  The vicious circle of uncertainty felt impossible to break.

  Then I remembered my stance on what made people change—only under immense pain and pressure. I didn’t think anything Damon had experienced quite fit that bill. Perhaps he actually thought he’d changed—and it could have been that his demeanor wasn’t entirely an act—but there was also a good chance he’d go back to his old ways once we fell back into a comfortable routine. Only time would tell, but until I had definitive proof the new and improved Damon wasn’t a temporary fix, I vowed to keep my distance. Emotionally, at least.

  By the time we finally boarded the plane, I couldn’t stand the thought of his lacerations any longer.

  “Take your clothes off.”

  “Doll, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted to hear you say those words to me. Now, there are a few more I’d like to hear, along with a few moans, followed by screams loud enough to shatter my eardrums.”

  “Very funny, Damon. That’s not what I meant at all, and you know it. I assume you have a first aid kit on the plane? There’s no telling what is buried in your skin and what kind of infection you’ll get from all the debris. We have to get you cleaned up as much as we can.”

  “If that’s what it takes to get your hands on me, I’ll take it.” He winked, one side of his mouth lifted in a smug smile, and he asked the flight attendant to bring the first aid kit to us.

  When she returned with a full medical bag, my eyes bugged out of my head and my jaw dropped open. But, of course, he’d have a full range of supplies on board—occupational hazards and all.

  “I’m not sure I’m qualified to use all of this—actually, most of this equipment. I’m not a flight surgeon, you know?” I chuckled to myself, though I wasn’t sure if it was out of humor or the last step before a complete and total mental breakdown. Focusing on helping Damon allowed me to avoid processing the events for a short time. The nightmares to come would force the issue later.

  “Not to worry, my love. We only need a few items out of there.” He pulled out what looked like a skinny pair of scissors. “Hemostats. Here’s the rubbing alcohol. A little peroxide to make things interesting. And some gauze. That should do it.”

  “No bandages? Magnifying glass?”

  He rooted through the bag and found the magnifying glass, then handed me a box of various sized bandages. “Doubt we’ll need them, but just in case. Where do you want me, Dr. Hart?”

  “Is there a bed on this plane?” I looked around him, toward the closed door at the back of the plane.

  “There sure is. Is this your subtle way of trying to get me into bed, Jillian?”

  “I’m not being subtle about it all. Take your clothes off and go lie on the bed.”

  His dark laugh rumbled through his chest when he turned toward the bedroom. The pure masculine allure of it crashed into me like a tsunami, forcing me to fight the carnal urges trying to overtake my logical side. Being near that man was dangerous in so many ways—to my mind, body, life—and libido. We reached the bedroom and he stood to the side, extending his arm into the room.

  “Ladies first.” Then he closed and locked the door behind him.

  Damon Marchetti would be the death of me one day, one way or another, I was sure of it.

  With my pursed lips, arched eyebrow, and hand on my hip, I was sure my disbelief was written all over me. I didn’t even have to ask the question—he knew instinctively what was on my mind.

  “You can’t blame a guy for hoping, doll.”

  I put the supplies on the bed and crossed my arms over my chest. My foot tapped lightly. I’m waiting…

  His outburst of laughter didn’t help. “All right, doll. I’m kidding with you. We still need to have that talk you wanted, because I’m ready to move past all this and get on with our lives together. Now we won’t be disturbed, and we can kill two birds with one stone. Actually, we can kill three birds.”

  “What three would that be?”

  “Having our talk, removing the glass from my skin, and having your hands all over my naked body. Winning combination if you ask me.”

  He simply refused to let me stay mad at him.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. “On the bed, Marchetti. On your good side.”

  He fully undressed, and I couldn’t help but notice how careful his movements were when he removed his shirt and pants. The wounds hurt more than he showed; I already knew that, but seeing it all over again sent feelings of gratitude and empathy coursing through me. Just when he stretched out in the middle of the king-size bed, the captain came over the intercom to announce our impending takeoff. I sat behind Damon with the provisions at my side and began working on his injuries.

  “I had a long talk with your mom yesterday afternoon.” I waited for his reaction. Would he be surprised? Did he already know?

  “Yeah, I heard about that after the fact. Seems she and my dad planned that visit behind my back. They didn’t want me involved at all.”

  “Did that bother you when you found out? Being left out of the loop on important information?”

  He waited a couple of extra seconds before he replied. “Yes, it bothered me a lot. At first, I felt betrayed by my own family and my men. I wanted to break everything in sight.”

  “But you had to deal with it because the order came from your father, right?”

&n
bsp; “That’s exactly right. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t go against his orders in front of my men. I have to show him the same respect they do because one day I’ll take over the family from him. If my men saw me go against the head of the family, they’d go against me when I’m in his position.”

  “Your mom explained some of that to me during our visit. She said any sign of disobedience made the family look weak to your rivals, and a weak family wouldn’t last long. If several smaller rivals banded together against a large but weak family, they could sway the allegiance of your men to get them to turn against you.”

  “Exactly. The balance has to be maintained so the family’s strength and integrity remain intact. It’s the cardinal rule of our world.”

  “But you broke it for me.”

  “I had to, with the way the events unfolded. It was my fault. I took responsibility for it with my father. Thankfully, only he and I knew what went down, so my actions didn’t harm his reputation in the rank and file of the family. I was lucky in that. Even Benny doesn’t know everything.”

  “What would’ve happened to you if the others had known?” I paused my work for a moment, genuinely curious about the inner workings of his family business.

  “I would’ve been excommunicated from the family. Exiled to survive on my own.”

  “Cast you out to fend for yourself? Against Lorenzo and anyone else who had a grudge against you? Your parents would’ve done that to you?” My head reeled, and my heart pounded against my chest.

  “To protect the family, yes. They wouldn’t have had a choice.” His tone was matter-of-fact, but I could feel the undertow of conflicting emotions in his tensed muscles. Facing that possibility wasn’t as easy for him as it appeared.

  “You risked that for me? I don’t understand any of this, Damon.” My frustration mixed with my anguish, making tears sting my eyes.

  “What do you not understand, doll? Ask me whatever’s on your mind. I’m an open book.”