by Day Leclaire
“Release your seatbelt,” he shouted. “Hurry! Release it!”
It took her two tries to hit the button to open the clasp. The instant she had, he tossed her out and onto the ground, crouching in front of her. Beads burst around them, scattering. Then movement seemed to stutter, shifting to slow-motion. Even the beads appeared to slow their arching bounce and clatter.
Juice’s vehicle slewed to a stop and men piled out on all sides. A sharp ping impacted beside Ty’s head, followed by another that hit the passenger door window right where Lucia had been. An instant later, the window exploded, raining down on them, the sting of broken glass cutting his hands and the side of his face. A sea of glass shards and beads surrounded their tiny oasis of safety, and all the while one fact remained uppermost in his mind. If Lucia had still been inside, those two shots would have taken her out, no question.
He opened fire. Out of his peripheral vision he saw Juice drop to one knee, followed by the rapid pop-pop-pop of a Glock, reverberating sharply off the walls of the surrounding buildings.
“Go, go, go!” shouted Juice. “He’s down. He’s down. Benedict is down.”
Ty scooped up Lucia and ran toward the hospital with her. Security came tearing out from the building as they ran in. Sirens sounded in the distance. He ignored it all, his full focus on the woman in his arms. A number of people shouted to him from the reception area. He bypassed them, darting into a hallway out of the line of sight—and fire—of the entryway.
He crouched down, sweeping his hands over Lucia. “Are you hurt?”
She stared at him, clearly in shock, her eyes wide, pupils blown. “Shooting. He was shooting at us.”
There were minor smears of blood on her face and back. A few on her dress, along with black streaks from her contact with the road surface. But nothing that indicated a wound of any kind.
“It’s okay. Juice got him. He can’t hurt you, anymore. Just hang in there a little longer. We’ll get you checked over and make sure you’re not hurt.”
“I’m not.” She shivered. “I’m okay.”
Her shiver turned into flat-out shaking and a few remaining beads tumbled off the nearly naked string of her necklace and bounced across the floor. He took a swift peek around the corner of the hallway, reassured to see a strong police presence. They’d be coming for them in a minute and he’d rather not give anyone cause to believe him an associate of Benedict. He stripped down his Glock and set it several feet away from where they crouched. Then he pulled Lucia into his arms and held her.
“When the police come, put your hands up.” She turned glassy eyes on him and he regarded her in concern. “They’ll need to see we’re unarmed. Once they identify us, everyone will calm down. But a shootout in front of a hospital is going to put everyone on edge. Do you understand, honey?”
“Yes. Put my hands up. Just like on TV.”
“Just like that,” he confirmed. “They’re coming.”
He pulled out his ID and concealed weapons permit, and set both on the floor beside him. Raising his hands, he nodded at Lucia, who copied him. The next moment, police swarmed into the hallway. A few tense minutes followed before they sorted everything out. The instant they were satisfied and had confiscated his weapon, he asked for medical staff to examine Lucia.
The officer in charge immediately agreed. “Then we’re going to need you both to come with us.”
“We’re supposed to get married,” Lucia said. “We’re supposed to get married before Nonna—” She burst into tears.
Ty wrapped her up in a tight embrace. “Her grandmother, Julietta Dante, is in the ICU. The family has arranged for us to marry there so Nonna can witness the nuptials. Time is of the essence.”
Every last officer appeared sympathetic, but it didn’t change anything. After he and Lucia were checked by the medical staff and their various cuts and scrapes treated, they were escorted to the police precinct and made comfortable in a stark conference room.
The hours ticked by, the increasing stress on Lucia’s face keeping time with each passing minute. At long last they were interviewed, then informed that all of the gunmen from the gala were in custody or dead and Ty and Lucia were allowed to leave. The instant they stepped outside, he called Juice. When it went to voicemail, he dug out Sev’s number.
“Where are you?” Sev asked without preamble.
“Just leaving the precinct. We’re going to catch a cab back to the hospital.” He spared Lucia a brief glance. “Nonna?”
“Holding her own. The priest is on his way.” Realizing how that might be misinterpreted, he added, “To perform the wedding ceremony.”
“Got it.” After giving Lucia the thumbs up, Ty waved down a cab and helped her in. “Is Juice okay?”
“Fine. Just finishing up with the police.”
“That’s a relief. We should be there in thirty.”
The instant he closed the cab door, he pulled Lucia into his arms and simply held her. His name escaped her in a pained whisper, and he lifted her face to his and tenderly kissed her. “It’s going to work out.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“I know, but we’ll figure it out as we go along.” He shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry your beautiful dress is wrecked.”
She plucked at a rip along her hip and touched the dried smatter of blood and streaks of dirt marring the pleated skirt. Then she shoved at her hair. The pretty knot hung halfway down her back. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re definitely a mess,” he confirmed with a tender smile. “So am I. The important thing is that we’re both alive. I’m sure you can borrow a comb and maybe wash some of that blood out.”
“We’re going to shock the priest.”
“I guarantee, we won’t. I can also guarantee he’s witnessed worse.” He kissed her again, needing the constant reassurance that she remained safe and unharmed within his hold. “Even after everything you’ve been through, you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Doubt filled Lucia’s eyes and Ty realized she needed more reassurance. He could think of only one way to convince her. Without a word, he lifted her face to his and kissed her again, instantly taking her under.
He kissed her as though she were his everything. As though she were the light, his light, in a sea of darkness. His moon and stars and sun. The very air he breathed.
He consumed her. Marked her. Turned their world upside down and right side up again, so there was no beginning. No end. Just the two of them forged into one. She surrendered to him. Or did he surrender to her? In that moment, a single truth crystalized, slicing straight through to his very soul.
No matter what he’d told her earlier, he loved her. Now and always, she was his.
Chapter Nine
Lucia hurried into Nonna’s hospital cubicle, Ty’s kiss a hot brand on her lips and on her heart. Even on her very soul. As much as she wanted to consider all the implications of that thought, worry scraped like a dull blade over her emotions. The instant she saw her grandmother, her tension dissipated.
Though she remained pale and frail, she didn’t appear to have gone any further downhill. Her breathing remained steady, the blip of her heartbeat on the machine by her bed sounding normal and regular. Primo dozed in a lounger beside her bed and Lucia almost melted to see their hands clasped tight. Ty came to stand behind her, a massive, warm bulwark. Her protector.
For the first time a tiny fragment of hope blossomed within. Maybe, just maybe, Nonna would survive. It happened. People who’d been deemed terminal or on the verge of death had made miraculous recoveries. If anyone were capable of that sort of turnaround, Lucia would bet every dollar in her bank account, Nonna was one.
At their advent, Primo blinked, jackknifing upright. “You have returned.” His brows drew together at the sight of them. “A bit the worse for wear, yes? Why is this?”
Ty responded for them both. “Let’s just say that the men who attacked the gala are no longer a probl
em.”
Primo nodded repeatedly and the muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched from the effort it took to maintain a stoic facade. “Okay. This is good,” he said at long last, his voice far gruffer than usual. “This is very good. Now they will pay for what they did to my Nonna.”
A moment later the priest entered, and to Lucia’s shocked delight, her brother followed right behind, one arm in a sling. “Gabe!” Fighting tears, she started to hug him, then hesitated.
“Come here.” He threw his good arm around her and pulled her tight. She hadn’t realized how badly she needed to see and touch him until he walked into the room.
“I can’t believe you came,” she whispered against his broad chest.
“Thank God you’re all right. Juice just finished filling me in about everything.” He lifted his gaze to Ty’s and instantly stuck out his good hand. “Thank you for protecting my sister. And thank you for letting me know about today. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Lucia glanced over her shoulder. “You contacted Gabe?”
Ty nodded. “I asked Juice to do it. You’d have regretted it if Gabe hadn’t attended our wedding.”
Until that moment, it hadn’t even occurred to her. And yet, he was absolutely correct. It wouldn’t be the same without her brother.
“We’ve been given special permission for everyone to be here,” the priest offered. “But the hospital staff is not happy. They’ve asked us to make the ceremony as brief as possible.”
Primo stood and kissed Nonna’s forehead. She woke with a smile, her gaze going straight to his. Her breath escaped in a long sigh. “I am still here, I see.”
“You are still here, tesoro.”
She peered around the room, taking in all those gathered around her bed. “It is my hope you are all here for a wedding and not a funeral.”
Lucia choked, fighting back tears. “A wedding, Nonna. Definitely a wedding.”
Nonna smiled gently at her. “Do you think I am afraid to die?” She shook her head, the motion barely visible. “I am not afraid. The only thing that will be difficult to bear is leaving my Primo behind. He has been at my side from the time I was but an eighteen-year-old girl. But even our parting is only temporary. We will be together again. We all will. Of this I am certain.”
“But not yet,” Primo insisted gently. Then he looked around the room with a hint of alarm. “Rings? Do you have rings?
Ty reached beneath his shirt and removed the chain he wore. Unlinking the ends, he allowed the ring his mother had given him to drop into his palm. It rested there, a protective circle of gold and diamonds surrounding the odd half-moon swirl centered in the middle of his hand.
Primo inhaled sharply. “What is this?” he demanded.
Ty eyed him warily. “The ring?”
“The ring, yes. And this mark you bear?”
“The mark just showed up recently,” he reluctantly admitted. “Lucia has one, too.”
“Show me.” Ty crossed to the old man’s side, hand outstretched. Primo took the ring and gave it a swift, startled look. Then he examined the mark, retaining the ring. “And yours, Lucia?”
“They’re the same,” she offered, holding her hand out, as well. “I guess we touched something we shouldn’t have.”
“Or something you should have,” Primo murmured. He patted her hand and turned his attention to the ring, lifting an eyebrow. “And this, Ty Masterson? Tell me how you came to have this ring in your possession?”
“My mother said it belonged to my father.”
Primo backed away, dropping into the lounge chair by Nonna’s bed, holding out his hand. “Look, amore mio. Look at the ring.”
She studied it for a moment, then lifted her gaze to Primo’s. Lucia would have sworn they conducted a lengthy and detailed conversation with that one look. To Lucia’s shock and amusement, he pulled out a loupe and examined the ring with meticulous care. “Really, Primo? You’re going to check to see if the diamonds are real? Here? Now?”
“Oh, they are real.”
He took a deep breath and pocketed the loupe, then leaned in close to Nonna, whispering a question in her ear. After a long moment, she nodded. “I have seen it. They may marry.”
“Very well.” He spared Ty a brief, fierce look, his golden eyes flashing like fire, then repeated. “Very well, though you both should know, I do not believe this marriage will take.”
Beside her, Ty bristled. “Just what the hell do you mean by that?”
Primo shrugged, his mouth curving into an enigmatic smile. “I meant what I have said. And I will say no more.” He waved his hand toward the priest. “Please proceed, Father Benito.”
The priest hesitated, frowning. “Do you object to this wedding, Primo?”
“I do not.” He returned the ring to Ty. “And Nonna insists on it.”
Lucia eye-hopped from one man to the other. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Ty released a slow breath. “I don’t either, but I suggest we get this done before anything else happens.”
The priest performed the ceremony in record time. At the appropriate moment, Ty slipped the ring on Lucia’s finger. To her delight, it fit as though made for her. When it came time for her to do the same for Ty, she realized she didn’t have a ring for him.
Gabe came to the rescue. “I thought you might need this,” he said, handing her a plain gold band.
Minutes later, the priest blessed the union, then took a moment to sit beside Nonna and pray with her. Gabe gave Lucia a fierce hug and a few minutes later, he and the priest departed, though she noticed her brother shot Primo a curious look. Okay, so it wasn’t just her.
Ty gave a subtle jerk of his head, indicating it was time for them to leave, as well. Without a word, she crossed to Primo’s side and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t understand any of this. Not why Nonna would insist they marry and Primo act as though it were the worst idea, ever. But she’d hold fire until she learned all the facts. Releasing her grandfather, she leaned down and kissed her grandmother.
“Today is your wedding day, so you will celebrate.” Primo announced. He leveled Ty with a hard look. “Tomorrow, we will talk.”
“What will we be talking about?” her brand-new husband asked, his voice deceptively mild.
“I would know who you really are, Ty Masterson.” Primo’s mouth compressed. “And more, I would know how that ring came to be in your possession.”
Ty stiffened. “I already told you how I came to have the ring.”
“And I tell you, that is not possible. So. We will talk, you and I. We will talk and we will get to the bottom of my questions.”
Ty’s mouth compressed. “Fine. We’ll talk. It’s not going to change my answers or anything I’ve already told you.”
Primo lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “We shall each speak frank words and the truth will come. Non avere peli sulla lingua.”
Ty just shook his head at the bizarre slang directive, to have no hair on his tongue. He’d only heard it once before and understood it to mean they’d speak honestly with one another. Fair enough.
Crossing to Nonna’s bed, he touched her shoulder. “We’ve done as you asked, Nonna. Lucia and I are married. Now you must do your part. Please fight to get better. Our children need to know their great-grandmother.”
He turned and took Lucia’s hand and drew her from the room. She shot a final look over her shoulder and he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be her last glimpse of her grandmother. With a soft sigh, she turned away and walked hand-in-hand with Ty out of the ICU. He didn’t say a word until they exited the hospital and were waiting for a cab.
“Okay, what was that all about?” His question sounded terse and vaguely offended. “What the hell did Primo mean, he wants to know who I really am?”
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” she offered.
True. That didn’t mean he had to like the delay. Setting the issue aside, Ty glanced down at her. “You do realiz
e it’s our wedding night?”
She fought back a smile. “Why, yes. It is.”
“You’re Mrs. Masterson now.”
“Why, yes. I am.”
He relaxed enough to chuckle. “We have a small problem.”
“Where are we spending the night, tonight?” she asked.
He sighed. “That.”
She gave it a moment’s thought. “Would you mind if we just crash at your place? I feel like someone has beaten me from head to toe with a big stick. All I want to do is make love, take a long, hot shower, make love, sleep the clock around, and—”
“Make love?”
She slanted him a swift, teasing look. “That.”
A cab pulled up and Ty helped her in. He rattled off the address and settled back against the seat, wrapping an arm around his wife. “So there’s a slight catch if we spend the night at my place.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“I don’t think Joe’s available to cook for us. We won’t starve. I’m pretty sure I have a jar of peanut butter somewhere.”
“Pizza it is.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What? You don’t like peanut butter?”
She snuggled close. “I gather you do?”
“Confession time. I have a serious love affair with peanut butter. I think it was because my mother never let me eat it. For years she told me I would die if I ate peanuts or peanut butter. The only time she ever hit me was when she caught me sneaking some.”
“Were you okay?” she asked in concern.
“As it turned out, I was fine. She rushed me to the hospital, sure I’d go into anaphylaxis and stop breathing at any moment. I didn’t, though even the doctors were surprised the allergy had gone away. Apparently, that doesn’t happen very often.”
“Are you sure you really had an allergy?”
“According to the doctors, I did. She had to call for an ambulance once before after I ate peanut butter. I don’t recall the incident. I gather I was pretty little. I have to say, I’m glad I grew out of it. I don’t think they’d have let me into the military, otherwise.”