by Ginger Ring
“You will pay for that.”
“I’m going to die anyway.” Valentina could feel the bump starting to form on the top of her head. “What does it matter?”
“That’s true. You just won’t be very pretty when your boyfriend finds you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ryan
He’d faced a few guns pointed in his direction during his career but never had he known fear like this.
“I’ve got to go.” He punched Roman’s number into his phone as he left a confused Danny sitting at her desk. She called after him but he didn’t care.
The cold chilled him to the bone as he ran to his truck. A strong north wind was nearly causing a whiteout already. He got in and the engine roared to life. He had to find her, but where was she? The others were headed to Arianne’s home. It was a good chance they wouldn’t fine either one there.
Ryan started driving toward her fitness center. It was the only place he could think of.
“Yeah.” It was Roman. He’d forgotten that he called but he welcomed any help he could get.
“Do you know where your sister is?”
“What?”
“Valentina.” He said a silent prayer that she was safe and sound with him. “Is she with you?”
“No. Don’t mince words. Tell me what’s going on now,” the man demanded.
“She sent me a text that she was with Arianne. That bitch is the Housewife Killer. I need to find Valentina now. I know you have surveillance everywhere, all of the time. Find her. Please.” His voice trembled. They had to find her. She and Arianne had to have been together for at least an hour now. Were they too late?
The sounds of a keyboard clicking echoed over the cell. “I have a tracker on her phone. If it’s with her, I should have a location in three, two, one.” Roman told him the address. It was the place near the strip mall that Arianne was renting. “Dom’s with me. We’ll be there in one minute. I’ll get back to you.”
His tires skidded through an intersection. He’d gone through the only red light in town but thankfully there were no cars in sight. Everyone had hunkered down for the storm. It seemed to take forever to get there. True to his word, Roman called him back and said to meet in the back of the building where there were no windows. He noticed a car with Wisconsin plates parked out front and one with Georgia plates in the back.
He stopped his truck and took off running. Roman and Dominic were at the back door, one on each side. Each held a gun in his hands. Roman held a finger to his lips. Luckily, the door was a weak one. A swift kick and they would be in.
Ryan took Dom’s place and on the count of three, Dom put a foot to the sweet spot by the doorknob and they all went rushing in. It was a sight he’d never forget. Valentina tied to a chair. Streams of black mascara ran down her cheeks. He rushed to her side. Arianne was on the floor with blood dripping from her mouth. His heart just about leapt from his chest. Not only was the love of his life alive, but she’d gotten in a few licks too. He couldn’t be prouder.
“Thank god you’re here,” Valentina cried.
Using a knife from his belt, he cut her wrists and ankles free. She tried to stand but all the blood had rushed from her head. Ryan held her close. Her frantic heartbeat was both hurtful yet reassuring that she was alive and well.
“Are you all right, Val?” her brother asked.
“Yes, but she was going to kill me.”
All eyes turned to the woman on the floor.
“No, no. It wasn’t me. She’s lying.” With her back against the wall, Arianne got to her feet.
“She’s insane.” Valentina pushed out of Ryan’s embrace and pointed a finger at her tormenter. “She admitted to killing all those women.”
“No, I didn’t.” To anyone just arriving at the scene, she would be believable, but they all knew better. The lady was a psychopath and would possibly even pass a lie detector test. Those were the worst type of criminals.
“How much time do we have?” Roman asked Dominic.
The cleaner checked his phone. “They haven’t even reached her house yet. The roads are getting impassable.”
“Who?” Ryan asked.
“The officers sent to that bitch’s house.” Roman glanced around the room. For what, Ryan wasn’t sure.
“You have a tracker on the police force?”
“Just the patrol cars. I like to know where they are at all times.”
“Jesus, Roman.” Dating Valentina was becoming a conflict of interest on many levels.
“What time is it?” Dominic made eye contact with Roman and the man nodded. What did they have planned?
“Almost time,” was his response.
In a flash, Arianne lunged at Valentina, a knife in her hand. Ryan jumped in front of her. Her knife plunged into his arm. It hurt like a beast but at least Valentina was unharmed. Dominic rushed his attacker and held Arianne’s arms behind her back as she screamed for him to let her go. That wasn’t happening. Valentina cried and he reassured her he was just fine. In an hour or so it would be throbbing but right now adrenaline was king.
“How much longer?” Dominic directed the question to Roman.
From off in the distance, a siren wailed.
“Soon.” It was the siren that started every day at one end of the town and traveled to the other announcing the noon hour. The alarm was also used the first Monday of every month in the summer for tornado drills. There was a speaker outside this building, and when it got there it would be deafening.
“Wait. We have to call this in and arrest her,” Ryan said.
“No.” The gun in Roman’s hand was pointed at Arianne. The siren was close. Valentina was holding her hands over her ears. It was piercing, but the shot that rang out in the room was even louder. It happened in a second but he could see it as if in slow motion. Dom dropped his hold on the Housewife Killer and stepped back. Roman shot Arianne in the head and she crumbled to the floor. Her blood spattered on the wall behind her. Between the high winds of the storm and the earsplitting siren, it was doubtful anyone outside the building would have noticed the gunfire.
“What the hell, Roman?” Ryan grabbed Valentina and turned him toward her, as if shielding her from the violence would make everything okay.
“She was a rabid animal that had to be put down.” Roman handed the gun to Dom.
“I couldn’t agree more but there are laws to be followed,” he argued. “You can’t just shoot someone.”
“You can thank me later.” He winked and started giving his cleaner instructions in Italian. Then he turned back to Ryan. “Get Val out of here. Take her to my house. There will be a doctor there to see to your arm. In an hour, come back here and everything will be in place.”
“What the hell?” Could he really do that?
“Just this once, do it my way.” Roman locked eyes with him.
A multitude of conflicting emotions circled in his head. In the end, it was his love for Valentina that took over. She’d been a trooper but now it looked like she was about to pass out from the stress. Ryan got her out the door and safely to her brother’s home where Madison was waiting with a warm blanket and hot toddy for her sister-in-law. The family’s doctor stitched up his wound. After an hour, Ryan returned to the scene of the crime, but the rest of the force had beaten him to it.
The chief met him at the back door. The snow was up to his knees now, thankfully covering up all the tracks they had made before. “I was trying to reach you but with the storm the radio’s been acting up.”
“Yeah, it’s a bad one. Did you find her?”
“She’s inside.” He motioned for Ryan to enter the building he’d left not too long ago.
Arianne still lay were she was, only there was a gun in her hand. If he had to guess, the medical examiner’s report would probably say there was gun residue on her fingers. Roman didn’t miss any detail.
Danny had her camera out. The flash almost blinded him. “Where have you been?” she asked so only he cou
ld hear. The room was abuzz with activity.
“I had to check on Valentina. I was worried when I didn’t hear from her. With a nutcase on the loose, I didn’t want to leave her home alone. I picked her up and drove her to her brother’s place.”
From the stern expression on her face it was obvious that she didn’t believe him.
“How did you rip your jacket?” She waved her camera at him.
“I snagged it on a fence at their house when I slipped.” He’d never lied so much as he had in the last few hours. Was this what it was going to be like being involved with the Caponellis? As he glanced at the dead body, it didn’t seem to matter much. It could have very easily been Valentina laying there. The killer who had stolen so many innocent lives was gone. Justice had been served.
“There’s a note. Explaining why she did it. What a sick son of a bitch.” Danny’s words brought him back to the present.
When they had time to produce a note he didn’t know and didn’t care. The case was closed. The town was safe. Valentina was safe. Everything could return to normal.
“Hey, you okay, sport? You look like shit.” Danny was the only one who seemed to notice he was out of sorts.
“I’m just glad it’s over.” He looked at the chair Valentina had been bound to just an hour before. Any hint of duct tape was now gone. Their cleaner was good. The police would sweep the place and not find a trace of the Caponellis or Dominic.
He let out a deep sigh. For the first time in weeks, he could breathe easy.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Four Months Later
Spring had come early, giving them a few seventy-degree days in March. From the look on Valentina’s face when he’d given her roses for Valentine’s Day the month before, he knew she’d been hoping for an engagement ring. They’d already talked about their future and that they wanted to spend it together. Even kids were discussed. That fact both excited and scared the shit out of him. She would be an amazing mother though. He knew that.
Valentina’s business had boomed. Both of them. Firenza was booked all summer already for weddings. If they were going to get married, they’d have to do it on a Friday. He wanted to ask her but there was still something he had to do first. Her family was very traditional. Roman had already given his blessing but there was one more person he had to speak with first, her father, Joseph Caponelli.
He’d left early to drive to Chicago. Even though he’d grown up there it had no hold over him. Everything he wanted and needed was in Lake Genoa. Roman had set up the meeting but there was still a big knot in his gut about meeting one of the most feared men in the Windy City. The one whose daughter he slept with every night. He swallowed and it lodged in his throat. He wanted the man’s approval. It was important to Valentina even if she said it wasn’t.
The place was like a fortress. A big iron fence laid out the border of the estate. They’d been expecting him so he was waved right in. Ryan had worn a suit. Appearances were important to the family.
It was a shock when he rang the doorbell and it was answered by Valentina’s mother. They had similar looks.
“I’m Sophia. Welcome.” She took his hand in hers. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Valentina loves you so.”
“Thank you. I feel the same way. You probably know why I’m here.”
“Yes. Roman told us. Follow me.” Her heels echoed on the tile floor. It seemed that the woman shared the same love of shoes as her daughter. When they arrived at door, she knocked and motioned for him to go in. Sophia mouthed, “Good luck,” and patted him on the shoulder.
Behind a large wood desk sat Joseph Caponelli.
“Hello, sir.” Ryan approached him with his hand out but the man just motioned for him to take a seat.
“I understand you are interested in my daughter.” Mr. Caponelli had a commanding voice and didn’t mess around.
“Not just interested in, but in love. I am here to ask for your blessing in asking for her hand in marriage.” Sure, it was the twenty-first century, but behind these walls and in their world, tradition and respect took precedence.
Joseph leaned back in his chair, the smell of leather in the air. “That I cannot give.”
“Why?” Ryan’s world came crashing down. He would never let anything come between them but this was going to make things so much harder.
“I don’t need to give you a reason, but if you must know, you’re Irish, we are Italian. You are the law, we are,” he searched for a word, “on the edge of that, so to speak.”
“I don’t care about any of those things, only Valentina and her happiness.”
“As do I, that is why I cannot allow her to marry someone whose father killed his wife.”
There it was. The one thing he’d feared all his life would come back to haunt him. “I was just a kid at the time. You can’t blame me for something I have nothing to do with.”
“I can and I do. I’ll give you one more chance, otherwise get out.”
His behavior irked Ryan. So much for playing nice. The man didn’t deserve such a sweet girl as his daughter. But then maybe it was just a test to see how far he was willing to go to fight for her.
“You heard about the Housewife Killer?” Ryan rested his elbows on the arms of his chair.
Joseph nodded and narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”
“She took Valentina. I stepped in front of her and took the knife that was meant for your daughter. I can show you the scar if you like.” It was just a nick but it could have been much worse.
“Any man of worth would do that same thing.” Joseph leaned forward in his chair. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Wait.” Ryan thought fast. He’d rehearsed a dozen different responses but none of those would work. The man wanted something else from him. Joseph didn’t want him to beg but to fight. What had Lucky Bauer said to him? Give the man something he couldn’t refuse.
“I’ve waited long enough.” Mr. Caponelli stood and so did Ryan.
“Hear me out. I was there when your son shot the Housewife Killer in the head. She was unarmed and not a threat. He shot her in cold blood.”
“I don’t care. The woman deserved it.”
“It was against the law and he could serve time. They also covered it up. I have it all on the body camera I was wearing.” The department didn’t have them but hopefully the man wouldn’t know that.
Joseph took a gun out of his desk and laid it on top. “So I could just shoot you now and take care of that problem myself.”
“I’m smart enough to have a copy, and that copy will be made public if something happens to me. Look, I love your daughter with all my heart. I would die for her, but then she would hate you and Roman would go to prison. It’s your choice. Gain a son-in-law or lose a son.”
Mr. Caponelli grumbled under his breath but finally walked around the desk and held out his hand. “Welcome to the family. I’ll be watching you.”
Ryan exhaled for what seemed like the first time since he’d entered the office and shook his hand. He’d just lied again but it was worth it. Was this what Roman had meant when he said he could thank him later? When he got back to Genoa, he was going to find out.
Valentina
Ryan had been bursting with energy ever since he got home. He was full of surprises and he had a big one for her right now. When he showed up with a black silk blindfold, going for a ride was that last thing she thought her love had in mind. “Can I peek?” He reached for her hand before she could pull at her blindfold.
“No. Just be patient, we’re almost there.” They hadn’t driven far, but without being able to see it seemed much longer.
The car finally slowed. The tires were on crushed rock. Where in the world are we?
“Now?”
“Nope.” He put the car in park, turned off the engine, and got out of the car. As soon as her door opened, the scent of pine permeated the air. She wondered if they were in the forest. Ryan unbuckled her seatbelt and helped her from the car.<
br />
The blindfold was removed and her eyes adjusted to the light. They were at Black Point, the estate they’d visited on their first date. He led her to the fountain where they’d shared a wonderful kiss. The place wasn’t usually open for visitors this early in the season.
“I don’t understand.” It was a lovely place, but why were they there?
“This place has been here over a hundred years. I know I won’t live that long, but the love I feel for you will last an eternity. When I kissed you here, I knew we were destined to be together.” He got down on one knee and revealed the box he’d been hiding behind his back. Instead of the usual single solitary, there was a huge ruby surrounded by diamonds. It was perfect. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?”
Valentina bounced on her toes. “Yes, yes, yes.”
He got to his feet and nearly hugged the air from her lungs.
She slowly slid down his body and framed his face in her hands. “And you’ve made me the happiest woman in the world.” He kissed her again in front of the fountain. One day they would bring their children there. Maybe have a picnic on the lawn. Ryan held the ring out and she slipped it on her finger. A perfect fit, just like they were. “I love it. I couldn’t have imagined anything more beautiful.”
“That’s what I think every time I see you,” her fiancé replied. “So, my future wife. How soon do you want to get hitched?”
“The sooner the better, and I know just the right place.”
They couldn’t have asked for better weather on the second Friday of June. The sun sparkled on the lake. It would be a private wedding with less than fifty people at Roman Caponelli’s home. Already the chairs, flowers, and crisp white runner were in place. The guests had arrived and more would be waiting later at Firenza to join in the festivities.
Sophia fought back tears as she watched Madison adjust Valentina’s veil. “My beautiful daughter.”