She doesn’t move. Looking around for her guard, I don’t see him, not anywhere. I see bags of clothes, but I don’t see him.
What the hell?
Shifting to my hands and knees, I feel around on the ground, looking for a cell phone, someone’s phone. I don’t care who’s. Mine, Luciana’s, the guard’s, who seems to have disappeared. Anyone’s.
Luciana’s purse comes into view and I reach for it. Unzipping the bag, I stick my hand inside in search of her phone. It doesn’t take me long to find it, but I can’t unlock it. Looking back at Luciana, I hear sirens in the distance.
She’s still not awake. Her eyes are still closed, her body limp and unmoving. I touch a million things on her phone until finally, finally it allows me to call her emergency contact. He doesn’t even have to say hello when he answers, not that I give him the opportunity.
I start to scream. I know that my words are probably very unrecognizable, but I can’t help myself. I can’t control myself. The words spill out of me as I ramble about gunshots and the sidewalk, about the guard being gone, and Luciana being on the ground.
Without a word, the call ends. I stay sitting on the sidewalk, unsure of what to do, where to go, what to say while there are dozens of onlookers… looking. The sirens come closer and closer, but they don’t drive as fast as I think they should—at least not like I’ve seen in the movies.
Luciana moans, but doesn’t move and I’m too afraid to try and stand on my shaky legs. The firefighters and emergency people rush toward us. I can hear them shouting and asking me a bunch of questions, but I don’t have any answers.
Then the police arrive and I’m still sitting on the ground, shaking and in pain. They start to look at my wound, then talk to one another. They start to bring a gurney over and I shake my head as I hold my hands up.
“No,” I cry.
If they take me to the hospital, they’ll know I’m undocumented and although I know that Renzo has some kind of in somewhere, I don’t think his in is with immigration.
“I’m okay,” I insist. “But she’s not.”
They narrow their eyes at me, then go over to Luciana. One police officer is breaking up the crowd, another is collecting all of my bags and gathering them. A third crouches to his haunches and places his forearms on his thighs as he looks directly into my eyes.
“You okay, doll?”
I blink, he looks a little fuzzy, but I’m not going to tell him that. Nodding my head very slowly, I give him a shaky smile. “I think so.”
“You got someone you can call?”
He seems genuine, as if he’s truly concerned. He gives me a sad smile and I notice immediately that it freely reaches his eyes. I find myself envious of his spouse, whoever she is, if he smiles this freely with me, he must light up for her.
There is a man shouting behind the police officer, but his body blocks my view. He doesn’t stop shouting, then when he’s a bit closer, I hear his voice and it’s Renzo. He appears right behind the officer with a growl.
“Step away,” he demands.
The officer looks behind him, but makes no move to stand. His gaze flicks to mine and he tilts his head to the side, watching me for a moment before he speaks.
“Thought you were an innocent bystander. Seems I was wrong.”
Then he stands and turns to Renzo. Gavino is standing next to Renzo, both of them staring with nothing but pure hot rage in their eyes. They all three start to speak, though I can’t hear them. Without any help, I roll to the side and push myself to all fours again, then force myself to stand.
My legs are wobbly, and my knees threaten to buckle as I attempt to stay standing. Inhaling a breath, I square my shoulders and attempt to take a step, but the screaming pain in my hip causes me to freeze in my spot.
“We’re done here,” Renzo growls.
“I don’t think so. There were shots fired, bullets are embedded into a stone wall. We need to get to the bottom of this,” the officer snaps.
Renzo snorts. “Cuoricino, you see anything?” Renzo calls out, not looking in my direction, but rather in a stare down with the officer.
There is only one answer to this question and I will answer it for Renzo, the way that I feel he wishes me to answer it, but after that, I have my own questions and before I marry him, I will know the fucking answers.
“I didn’t. We were just walking out of the store and I heard the noises, they sounded like fireworks.”
The officer spins around, his eyes on me and he narrows his gaze. “Where did your guard go?” he demands.
I don’t look away from him, don’t look at Renzo or Gavino, but I can feel their hot gazes on me. Smiling, I shrug a shoulder.
“What guard?”
The officer growls again, muttering something under his breath, then lifts his hands and walks away. I don’t pay attention to where he’s going, I don’t care. Instead, my eyes flick over to Renzo and my bottom lip starts to tremble.
I want him to scoop me up in his arms and carry me away from here. I want him to take me away, so far away, to disappear, but he doesn’t.
Chapter Thirty-Five
SIOBAHN
I try to take a step toward Renzo, but my knees buckle and I start to go down to the sidewalk. Without hesitation, he reaches me, wrapping his arms around my body and crushing me to his own.
“Where is she?” Gavino growls.
“The ambulance took her away, she was unconscious, but wasn’t bleeding. I think she maybe hit her head when we went down to the ground.”
Gavino doesn’t say another word, he lifts his phone to his ear and walks away. Renzo tips his chin, looking down at me, then tilts his head to the side. He doesn’t speak, just watches me for a moment. I’m not sure what he wants me to say, but it doesn’t matter.
“These bags, they’re all mine.”
He nods his head once, releasing me to collect all of the bags that are still lying around. I have no doubt that some were probably stolen by some of the onlookers. There is no way that they weren’t. There were so many people around and none of them were helping us, not at all.
Then there is the mysterious guard, who didn’t guard, he disappeared in the fray. I watch as Renzo starts to collect things, shoving things in the bags, shoes that have been knocked out of their boxes, everything everywhere. I can only be thankful that at this point, he had already taken my lingerie and my panties aren’t thrown all over the city sidewalk.
Renzo collects everything, then jerks his chin toward me. “Can you walk?” he asks.
Pressing my lips together, I nod my head once, but I’m not convinced. It doesn’t matter, I’m going to do it, because that’s what he needs me to do right now. We start to walk away, Gavino has disappeared and I assume that he’s headed to a hospital.
Renzo lifts his hand to hail a cab, when an officer jogs toward us. “Did you give a statement,” he asks.
Renzo snorts. “She didn’t see anything, there is no statement to give.”
His eyes search Renzo’s, then flick to mine and he lets out a grunt. He doesn’t say anything, but he does turn around and stomp off. I don’t know if this is normal, but it seems like in a situation like this, they would demand that I make one, but I’m glad I don’t have to.
Renzo lifts his hand and waves down a cab, without a word we climb inside and he gives the driver our address. I try not to cry or breakdown in any way, because right now I want to completely lose my shit.
When we arrive all the way in Brooklyn, I don’t even wait to hear how much the cab ride cost. I’m sure with the distance, it was a pretty penny. Instead, I just inhale a deep breath and shake my head once as I force myself to climb out of the car.
Renzo appears next to me just a moment later, but doesn’t touch me, his hands full of bags. He walks toward the front door of the building and uses the key card to open it, holding it for me with his foot as I slowly slip past him.
We don’t speak as we walk into the elevator. I watch as he extends hi
s finger and touches the button for our floor. I don’t allow myself to relax at all, holding my body stiff and upright, I close my eyes as I attempt to stay standing.
If I relax, if I even take a deep breath, I will collapse. My side aches so badly, I don’t even know how I’m standing at this point. It must be by sheer will and nothing more.
The elevator car door opens and I open my eyes, sighing in relief when he takes a step out, holding his arm across the doors so that they don’t close on me. It takes me far longer than it should to hobble out of the car and toward the front door of his condo.
He opens the door and before I can make it to the sofa, I fall down to my knees in the foyer. I hear the bags fall behind me before the door slams and then, finally, I’m scooped into his arms. Renzo carries me over to the sofa, but he doesn’t set me down, not on the cushions.
Instead, he places me on his lap as he sinks down into the seat. I hiss when I feel the pressure of my hip against his stomach. He doesn’t speak, staring at me, and his hands don’t travel anywhere, one placed at the small of my back, the other against my unhurt hip.
“What do you do, Renzo?” I ask.
His gaze shifts to the side, then slowly comes back to meet my own. He doesn’t speak right away, his eyes look haunted, but I don’t break contact with him. I keep my focus on his and nowhere else.
“Renzo,” I demand.
He shakes his head once. “After the—”
I don’t allow him to finish his sentence, I lift my hand and hold it to his face. “No,” I snap, then lower my palm. “No.”
He doesn’t speak, thankfully. Instead, he tilts his head to the side and watches me for a moment. He must realize that I’m very close to losing it completely. My bottom lip trembles, but I inhale a deep breath before I shake my head.
“Not after we’re married. I was shot at today, Renzo. Shot. At. I need to know what the hell is going on here.”
I can tell the moment he decides to tell me the truth and I’m thankful for it. I need it right now. I need it all. He lets out an exhale and nods his head once.
“I’m in the mafia. The Zanetti famiglia, to be precise. I’m a Button Man, or you would probably know me as a paid hitman.”
My entire body jerks, but he continues to hold me firm. “A hitman,” I breathe.
He nods his head once. “A hitman. I don’t know who shot at you, odds are it wasn’t even at you, but more precisely at Luciana.”
“And Luciana is?”
He grins before he licks his bottom lip. “Gavino is the Boss, cuoricino.”
“The Boss,” I breathe.
Renzo’s hand on my waist squeezes me gently. “The Boss. He’s in charge and he has a lot of enemies because of his position.”
“What kind of men would go after women?” I ask.
He chuckles. “Men with no scruples. Men with no codes. Desperate men, and men who are looking to start a war.”
“You know who they are?” I ask.
Renzo shrugs a shoulder. “Not for sure, I have suspicions.”
“What does this mean?” I ask.
He leans forward and touches his lips to mine. “It means nothing for you, cuoricino. You’ll continue to plan the wedding as if you know nothing. You’ll walk down the aisle and we’ll be married. Then, you’ll give me my children and we’ll live happily ever after.”
“Will we?” I ask. “Will you be happy with me?”
He presses his lips together. “This is about, Pippa, yeah?”
“Yeah, it’s about fucking, Pippa,” I snap. “It’s also about this shit. This mafia shit and the fact that we have only been together in this city for days and people are shooting at me. Shooting, Renzo.”
Renzo leans forward, his lips press against mine in a hard, claiming, owning kiss. He doesn’t say anything, not a single word. As is his way, he doesn’t talk to me. Instead, he stands and carries me into the bedroom, setting me down on the bed.
He stands in front of me, his eyes never leaving mine. “Take it off, I need to look at your injuries.”
“You need to talk to me,” I demand.
He grunts, leaning forward. “Take it the fuck off.”
RENZO
I watch as Siobahn takes her clothes off. Slowly, she strips them away, hissing when she does. I try not to look immediately, knowing that I’ll lose my shit completely when I see whatever injuries are on her. She thinks that I’m in love with Pippa, but she has no fucking clue.
None.
Once she’s completely bare, I lift my gaze from her feet and take in every inch of her body. She’s a fucking mess. Her legs are fine, but I can already see bruising on the top of her thigh.
“Turn to the side,” I demand.
She does. Immediately, I see red. Her entire hip is one gigantic bruise. It’s red and swollen and starting to turn colors. I have no doubt that it will be black, then purple and eventually turn banana yellow in color.
The actual bruise doesn’t make me as angry as the reason it’s there. It’s me. I’m the reason it’s on her skin and it’s because of me that there will no doubt be more, if not worse. Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through my hair thinking about what could have happened and what is waiting for her, for us, in the future.
Turning away from her, I stomp off into the kitchen. I hate that this happened, fucking hate it. I hate that it was probably my goddamn fault, too.
Opening the fridge, I grab a water bottle, then take a bottle of ibuprofen out of the cabinet. Twisting the lid, I tap two tablets in my hand and set it down on the counter before I turn and make my way toward her.
Siobahn isn’t in the room when I walk back inside, in fact, I don’t see her anywhere. I start to panic, until I hear the water running in the bathroom. Turning toward the sound, I open the door and grin at the sight of her as she sinks into the bathtub.
“Here,” I murmur as I hand her the bottle of water and the tablets. She takes them from me, then looks at the pills in her hand.
“What are these?”
With a jerk of my head, I smile down at her. “Ibuprofen, for inflammation and pain.”
“Thank you,” she exhales as her cheeks turn pink.
I watch as she takes the pills, then I strip out of my clothes and jerk my chin in a motion for her to scoot forward. She does, allowing me room to climb in behind her. I’m careful not to brush my leg against her bruises, but gently wrap my hand around her waist and pull her back slightly.
Dipping my chin down, I touch my lips to her shoulder, then use my other arm to wrap around her chest and hold her to me.
“I could have lost you today,” I rasp.
Her body twitches slightly. “I was scared,” she admits softly.
I hum, using my fingertips to draw small circles against her belly. “I was too. Getting that call…”
My words trail off. I’m not even sure what to say at this point, but I do know that I need to reassure her about Pippa. I also need to answer what questions I can about the famiglia. Though I have a feeling she’s going to be highly disappointed in the lack of answers I can actually give her.
“I don’t love Pippa. I never did. She means a lot to me, but not in that way.”
“What way then?” she asks, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice.
Humming, I touch my mouth to her neck again. “I lived with her for a while. She was young, newly married and her husband was in prison. She needed someone to protect her. I was chosen by Gavino. Her sister moved in with her as well. We spent a lot of time together, but nothing has ever happened. Not ever, and it never would.”
“I’m supposed to believe you lived with a beautiful woman while her husband was in prison and nothing ever happened?”
I could be angry at her question, and under different circumstances, I probably would, but not tonight. Not after she was hurt, not after I’ve kept part of my life a secret from her since the beginning. I’m going to tell her what I can, everything that I can.
She
needs to know me, just as I know her. Then we need to learn even more about one another, every single day.
“It didn’t, cuoricino. I wouldn’t lie to you, not about that. I hope that when you meet her, you’ll keep an open mind. She’s very important to me and I would hate to lose her friendship.”
“Lose her friendship?” she asks on a whisper.
Nipping her skin, I grunt. “If you didn’t want me to have communication with her, I wouldn’t.”
“As simple as that?” she asks, her voice sounding full of awe and surprise.
“In this instance, yes. However, it won’t always be that way, Siobahn.”
There is a moment of silence, then she turns her head, looking back at me from over her shoulder. There are unshed tears in her eyes and her bottom lip is wobbling.
“I will keep an open mind, Renzo, because you asked me to.”
Smiling, I drop my chin and touch my mouth to hers. Nothing else needs to be said, at least right now. Therefore, I say nothing. Instead, my woman and I take a bath together, enjoying one another—in every way.
Chapter Thirty-Six
SIOBAHN
Renzo sleeps. I don’t know how or why, but he does. Lying naked in his arms, I tilt my head back and look up at him. He looks different in sleep, something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do. He looks like himself, but relaxed, calm, and maybe even a little younger.
I’m afraid to move, but I lift my hand and touch his lips just the same. His beard covers most of his features, but for some reason, I can always see his lips and I love them. They feel soft and hard all at once. They also make me feel things I’ve never experienced before.
He doesn’t even twitch as I continue to explore and feel him. That is, he doesn’t even twitch at first. It takes a few beats, then his arms wrap around me. One of his hands grabs ahold of my ass, the other presses against the middle of my back.
I gasp at his sudden movements, waiting for him to open his eyes. He doesn’t, not immediately. He dips his chin, touching those lips that I had beneath my fingertips, against my forehead.
Becoming the Hitman (Zanetti Famiglia Book 5) Page 24