Seth touched Netta’s shoulder. “I’m going to give you two some alone time.”
Netta nodded and smiled at him. “Thanks, Seth.”
When they were alone, Alex nodded towards the door. “How long has that been going on?”
“Just since we came to Italy. It’s kind of been brewing for a couple of years, though.”
Alex smiled at her, his eyes tired. “I kind of guessed it might be, but then neither of you seemed to make the first move.”
Netta stroked his hair away from his temple. “I’m sorry about Maceo, Alex.”
“I can’t blame him; if the roles were reversed, I would think I was the killer. After all, Viola cheated on me … I have the perfect motive for killing her and to get revenge on Maceo, what better way than to take away the woman he loves. But I couldn’t do it either to Viola or Ori. I don’t expect anyone to believe me.”
“I believe you,” Netta said, leaning her forehead against his. “I always will. Nothing could convince me you’re a killer, Alex. Nothing.”
“That helps so much,” he said quietly. “Thank god for you … because I don’t think I have anyone else.”
New York, 18 months previously …
Viola backed away from him. “Please … please, you don’t have to do this.” The terror was overwhelming as her assailant pointed the crossbow at her. She shivered; forced outside in her underwear by him, she stumbled over the tree roots.
“I do have to do this, Viola … and you know why. Opening your legs for Maceo? Whore.”
Viola shook her head. “It was a mistake, please … ”
He fired the crossbow, and the bolt slammed into her belly. She buckled, gasping in agony, her legs giving way as she slumped to the forest floor. He gazed down at her as she struggled to breathe, and bending, he wrenched the crossbow bolt from her and reloaded it. Blood gushed from her wound. He fired the bolt into her stomach, and she vomited blood, her body jerking with the impact. Her lovely dark eyes were wide with fear, pain, and resignation.
“Why?” She managed to whisper as he pulled the bolt from her body and prepared to deliver the killer blow.
He smiled. “Because this is the way I show my love,” he said and shot her again, the bolt burying itself deep into her slim body.
Viola shuddered, choked on her own blood and then finally was quiet, her eyes open but sightless, her beautiful body blood-soaked and still.
He picked her corpse up easily and floated it into the river. The waters were high and fast today, and she floated down, her blood mixing with the fresh water.
Florence, now...
She was waking up. He had failed. Which meant he would have to risk exposure again to ensure her silence. Orianthi Roy would not recover from this; he would make certain. Even if it meant his capture. Even if it meant killing Maceo to get to her … he hoped he wouldn’t have to do that, because more than anything, more than anything in the world, he wanted Maceo Bartoli to see the woman he loved die.
The doctor shone a light in her eyes, and slowly Ori followed the light. She could hear talking, hear Maceo’s deep, silky Italian accent, but she could not quite focus on anything at the moment. Since opening her eyes, there had been a confusing blur of action in front of her that she couldn’t make sense of. Someone crying. Machinery bleeping; the annoying hiss of whatever the tube down her throat was connected to. She wanted to rip it out, but her entire body felt frozen and numb except for the burning, tormenting pain in her belly. That was the one thing she could remember. The knife. The feel of the steel slicing through her. Someone wanted her dead. Someone had tried to kill her.
A tear trickled down her cheek, and she felt Maceo’s finger sweep it away. He came closer, and his face came into focus. So beautiful, Ori thought, I love you, I love you.
“Don’t try and do too much,” he said, his chocolatey voice sending warm comfort through her. “You are doing so well, mio caro.”
Oh, she wanted his lips against hers—made impossible by the tubes. She wanted to curve her aching body into the sanctuary of his, to feel protected and loved. She tried to communicate that much with her eyes, and for a moment, she thought he might understand. Instead, he turned concerned eyes onto the doctor.
“I think she’s in pain, doctor.”
A few seconds later, she felt the numbing warmth of morphine flood through her. She wanted to keep her eyes on Maceo’s but felt them closing again. So tired. So tired.
The nightmares that came as she slept made the pain worse. Vivid, blood-drenched nightmares of being murdered over and over by the people she loved. Slashing knives, torn skin, pain, above all else, pain.
When she woke, her whole body was drenched in sweat, and despite the tube in her throat, she was screaming. Another sedative.
In the morning, she awoke to the sunshine and to fresh air. The tube had gone. She almost wanted to sob with relief. She made her eyes focus on Maceo; his head was lying on the bed by her right hand, and she slid her fingers into his dark curls, feeling the soft hair on her skin, so warm, so familiar. Maceo opened his green eyes and looked at her and smiled.
“Good morning, my love.” He sat up, bringing her hand to his lips. She tried to speak, but her throat was tinder dry. Seeing this, Maceo sat up, pouring her a glass of water and helping her sip some through a straw. When she had drunk enough, she pulled away but kept her gaze locked on his.
“Kiss me,” she croaked and, smiling, tears dripping down his face, Maceo pressed his lips gently to hers. The soothing warmth of his mouth against hers was better than any morphine. Ori gave a soft moan, not wanting him to stop, and Maceo, chuckling, brushed his lips across her cheek, her forehead, her throat, kissing each of her eyelids.
“Ti amo, ti amo, ti amo,” he murmured, and Ori leaned into him, wincing at the pain but wanting to be in his arms. Maceo wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head in his hands.
“Thank you for coming back to me,” he said, his voice breaking. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Lucia, exhausted and ready to go back to the hotel after such an emotional day, was walking out of the entrance when she saw her and stopped.
“Cassie?”
The blonde woman stopped and Lucia was shocked to see how thin she had gotten. Cassie came over to her. “Thank god, Lucia. I only just found out what happened.”
Lucia regarded her former friend coolly. “It was all over the news, Cassie.”
Cassie looked uncomfortable. “I’ve been away, Lucia. I came as soon as I heard.”
Lucia sighed. “You should have stayed home. Maceo is not in the right headspace to deal with you, Cassie.”
Cassie flinched. “Does that mean … I mean, is Ori …?.”
“Ori is recovering,” Lucia didn’t care if she bit Cassie’s head off; she was reviled by the hope in Cassie’s eyes that Ori had died.
Cassie obviously realized how she had sounded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean …”
“You meant that maybe, in his grief, Maceo would finally lean on you and see you, finally.” Lucia’s hurt and anger had finally found a place to vent itself. “That he would come to rely on you and maybe in a few months, you could finally get him into your bed, Cassie, is that it? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Maceo’s fiancée, the love of his life, and my best friend, is going to be okay. Ori’s a survivor; she always has been, always will be, and she’s worth a million of a sly skank like you.”
Cassie, her face pale, tried to push past her, but Lucia blocked her. “You are not going into that hospital,” she growled at her.
“You can’t stop me,” Cassie griped, then gasped as Lucia grabbed her and propelled her back towards the street.
“Do you really want to cross me right now, you revolting little sneak?” Lucia was wild with anger. “Do you know what Maceo would do if he saw you? Stay away, Cassie. Your worthless ass is not wanted around here.”
Lucia turned on her heel and stalked back into the hospital, leaving Cassie to stare open mo
uthed at her retreating form.
Shocked, angry, and humiliated, Cassie pulled her phone from her purse and dialed. Hearing his voice on the other end of the phone, she cursed softly.
“And hello to you too.”
“I can’t get into the hospital,” she said. “That fucking bitch Lucia is blocking me.”
He sighed. “That’s unfortunate.”
Cassie grunted. “Look, you’ve gotten to her before … you’ll figure out a way to kill Orianthi Roy, right? Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Of course. And yes, I will figure out a way to kill her, but you disappoint me, Cassandra. I thought you had more about you than to be bullied into retreat.”
“You don’t know what that bitch Lucia can be like. Look, I want out of this. If anything happens to Ori now, Lucia will look at me for sure.”
He was silent. Then finally, “If that’s what you want. But listen, I’ve been too hard on you. At least let me buy you dinner tonight to say thank you for trying.”
Cassie smiled. “That’s more like it.”
“I’ll send a car at eight.”
Cassie clicked off her phone and squinted up at the lighted windows of the hospital. Enjoy the time you have left with her, Maceo. Ori will be dead before the week is out. I’m sure of it.
Smirking, she turned and skipped down the steps, hailing a cab to drive her back to her hotel.
Kate was scribbling notes down as she tried to make times and dates fit the movements of The Midnight Club but, frustrated, she threw her pad across the room, barely missing Lisander, who came into the room just then.
He grinned at her. “Problems?”
Kate sighed. “I give up. I might be a lawyer, but I’d be a useless detective.”
He helped her up off the floor and took her in his arms. “Then let’s leave the detecting to them and let’s do something we know we’re good at.”
He began to kiss her, and she sank into the embrace, feeling his fingers slide under her T-shirt and lift it over her head. He bent his head to take her nipple into his mouth, and Kate closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations he sent shivering up and down her body.
His hand slipped into her panties and began to caress her clit as he backed her toward the bed, and as they tumbled down and began to strip each other, Kate wondered how she had ever thought that life before Lisander had been exciting.
They made love until the sun set, and Kate was just falling asleep when she felt Lisander get out of bed. She grumbled, but he laughed softly. “I just have a couple of errands to do and I’ll be back, impatient girl. Get some sleep.”
She was already asleep by the time he left the suite.
Tired from the testing her surgeon had put her through, Ori was finally glad to be alone with Maceo, despite barely being able to keep her eyes open. Maceo smiled as she mumbled to him.
“You know you’re making no sense now, mio caro,” he said fondly, as he stroked the hair back from her face. Ori just gazed at him, drinking in every detail of his handsome face, the green eyes, the half-moon shaped scar on his right eye, the beautifully shaped lips.
“I love you so much,” she mumbled, and he grinned, brushing his lips against hers.
“As I love you, bella.”
Her mouth curved up into a smile against his. “I want to marry you, Maceo, I really want to be your wife, right now, this minute …”
He chuckled. “Mio caro, as far I am concerned, we can get married anytime you want; I would marry you yesterday if I could. But surely you want to wait until you’re out of here?”
Ori shook her head. “No. I don’t want to wait, Maceo … I’m tired of being made to wait.”
Maceo kissed her. “Then I will make the arrangements, my darling. Just promise me one thing?”
“Anything.”
He grinned. “That when you’re recovered, we’ll marry again, in front of all our friends and family, that I’ll be able to show you off to the world, tell them how proud I am to be your husband.”
Ori smiled. “Maceo Bartoli, how do you always manage to say the right thing? Of course, of course.”
Maceo kissed her again. “I can’t wait, mio amore.”
When Ori had fallen asleep, Maceo went to find some coffee and found Lucia waiting outside. He looked at her in surprise. ’I thought you had gone home hours ago, Lucia.”
Lucia, tired and edgy, shook her head. “I was on my way out, and I ran into Cassie.”
Maceo rocked back. “Cassie? What the hell is she doing in Florence?”
Lucia gave him a grim smile. “She came to see if Ori was dead yet.”
Maceo winced, shaking his head. “God.”
“I’m sorry to put it so harshly, but there it is. I told her to stay away from the hospital, from Ori, from you. I hope I didn’t overstep.”
“Not at all. Thank you, Lucia. The last thing we need is Cassie … I just don’t understand her thinking.”
“That bitch has always had a thing for you, Maceo. She couldn’t stand that you never made a move on her. Even when Ori was friendly with her, I knew Cassie was faking. Ugh,” Lucia almost spat then rubbed her eyes. “Anyway, I thought I’d better both tell you and make sure she didn’t sneak in.”
Maceo smiled at her. “I’m going to put you in a cab now,” he said gently. “Thank you for being Ori’s bodyguard, but you need sleep.”
“So do you. Have you slept at all this last week?”
“Better since Ori woke up, but not a lot. I’ll catch up when she’s better.”
Lucia pursed her lips but said nothing. She hugged Maceo goodbye before hopping in the waiting cab. Maceo drew in a deep lungful of night air and sighed. Cassie. Goddamn it. Why couldn’t the rest of the world leave him and Ori alone? Just for one day?
Doesn’t work that way, Maceo.
“Yeah, I know,” he muttered to himself. Inside, he found coffee and went to sit with Ori again, before pulling out his phone. As he gazed at his love sleeping peacefully, he smiled, and when Lisander answered his call, he began to speak, to ask Lisander for help.
Alex found Netta at breakfast and told her that he planned to fly back to America. “I’ve talked to the police; they’re not asking me to stay in Italy. I can’t be here, Netta, knowing what Maceo thinks of me, what he thinks I’ve done. I just can’t bear it.”
Netta nodded sadly. “I know, Alex, and I don’t blame you. For what it’s worth, none of the others think you did it either.” Even to her own ears, she sounded fake, and Alex tried to smile at her.
“I don’t blame them, Nets. I just can’t face them anymore.”
Netta was sad that he seemed to have given up and said as much to Seth later. Seth sighed.
“I don’t know what to say, Netta,” he said softly. “I think he should stay, but he’s a free man.”
“So, you think he did it?”
He took her in his arms, cupping her face in his big hand. “I don’t want to think that, but I can’t honestly think who else it could be.”
Netta sighed and leaned against him. “I can’t bear it, Seth.”
“I know.”
Seth told Maceo that Alex was going back to America and was surprised when Maceo took it so well. “Good,” his Italian friend said abruptly, “I want him a million miles away from Ori.”
“How is she?”
Maceo’s expression softened. “She’s perfect. The doctor says she’s improving, although he has warned us not to rush things. She’s still sick, very sick, and exhausted. I think, what with everything else that’s happened as well as being stabbed, she’s finally feeling everything. AJ’s death, Janek’s abuse … it’s all hit her.”
Seth hesitated, then smiled. “Maceo … may I go visit with her? I know that out of all of us I know her the least, but I would like to get to know her better. Maybe I could be your relief; you look like you could do with a good meal and a long sleep. I’d be happy to sit with her.”
Maceo nodded gratefully. “I’d like that, Seth.
I won’t need long, just a couple of hours, maybe.”
Ori was happy that Maceo was going to get some much-needed rest. “Baby, take as long as you need; I’ll be fine here with Seth.”
When Maceo had at last been persuaded to leave, Seth grinned at her. “I hope you don’t mind me offering to sit with you.”
“Not at all. Maceo is about ready to drop, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.” Ori smiled at the thought of her lover. “He’s very protective.”
“As he should be,” Seth’s smile faded. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Ori.”
Ori flushed. “Thank you. But, hey, I’m still here and,” she said grinning at him, “it’ll be nice to spend some time with you.”
They chatted easily. Ori found Seth to be erudite and charming underneath his shyness and they were soon laughing and ribbing each other gently.
“Maceo tells me you had a long-term girlfriend?”
Seth nodded. “Irina. Yeah … that ended a few months ago after she cheated on me.”
Ori looked alarmed. “Please tell me she didn’t cheat with Maceo?”
Seth half-smiled. “No, it wasn’t Maceo or anyone I know. She was very open and apologetic, but the trust had gone and the relationship just sort of petered out.”
“I’m sorry.”
Seth smiled. “Don’t be. I think it may have been for the best, I really do. And besides, now that Netta and I …”
“What?” Ori interrupted him, her eyes wide with excitement and Seth couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah … it’s new, very new, but we’ve been friends forever and it just kind of happened.”
Ori grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m so glad, Seth, I really am.”
“Thanks. Look, can I get you anything? I’m just going to grab some water.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Ori lay back as Seth left the room. Netta and Seth. Such an unlikely match up; Netta’s bohemian sensibilities with Seth’s practicality … Ori couldn’t imagine it. But she did think that, after Maceo, Seth was the sexiest of the Midnight Club. His tall, broad frame, taller than even Maceo and Alex, his Roman god face, his kind hazel eyes. She liked him immensely.
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