LAKE
She worried me. What she’d just witnessed was traumatizing that she shouldn’t have seen. And she just slept it off and didn’t want to talk about it.
I informed Owen. “When is the jet going to be ready? I have to take Maverick out of here.”
“I’m so sorry, boss. She must have been terrified.”
I shook my head without a word. There were no words to describe what had just happened in two days. These people were terrible for her and would do nothing but cause her pain and put her life in danger.
That was my biggest regret of digging up her family tree. I’d seen and experienced it since she learned about her father. If only I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have taken her here.
“I’ll get it done as soon as possible.” He gripped my shoulder before he left.
I went inside the room where we stayed for a night. After what happened at the compound, I wouldn’t trust a hotel room. Conti loyalists could have come after Siciliano.
I hadn’t reached the bed when Maverick started screaming and jolting up. I rushed to her, and she quickly clung to me. I wrapped my arms around her, stroking her hair, hoping to calm her down.
“It was just a bad dream.”
Her chest was still heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Once she calmed down a bit, she lifted her gaze, and it broke my heart to see her in this situation. There was so much horror in her eyes.
I hugged her tight again, kissing her head. “Baby, we should get out of here. This place is dragging you to darkness.”
She nodded, and I was internally grateful that she agreed without an argument.
“I’ll get you some water.”
She shook her head as she clung farther, resting on my shoulder. “There was a lot of blood.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.”
“No. I need this to get out of my chest and head, or I might get anxiety.”
“Okay, baby.” I pressed my lips on top of her head. “I should have been-”
“Please, stop.” She raised a hand. “You shouldn’t have been here.”
“I can’t let you come here alone.”
“I know. Now you and your family are paying the repercussions of my family history.”
“Well, I’m your family, too. Your problem is my problem. Just so you know. Everything that is happening right now is not your fault. None of this is your fault. You are innocent.”
“She lifted her head and glanced at me. “I understand why Celestina did what she did. Watching what Terzo has done is beyond what my brain could process. The pain and the rage were fueling his revenge. I understand him, too, but he went beyond what a normal human could do. It was hard to undo and unsee.”
“We’re leaving as soon as the documents and flight schedule are ready.”
“Yeah. Maybe that honeymoon is still up?” She smiled slightly.
“That’s the plan. I don’t want to go home right now. I don’t want to work and act like nothing happened here. I’ll talk to my uncle first. You wanna come with me?”
“No. I’ll stay here for a while.”
I met my uncle in the backyard. The ocean was spectacular and serene, but not what I felt at that moment. My emotions and my mind were everywhere. I was conflicted and confused.
“You’re leaving?” He saw me first.
“Yeah. Maverick might not show it, but she’s not okay, at least psychologically.”
He sighed deeply. “I figured. You should get her away from this situation and family issues. You, too, can’t be entangled in this incident or any connection to Siciliano. You have a lot to lose.”
“That’s what she said.”
My uncle stared at me for a moment. “Did she say that?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You can’t run away from your blood, your family. If she loves you enough, I’m afraid maybe she will set you free.”
“Are you kidding me?” I narrowed my eyes. “Why would she do that?”
“Her family is complicated and dangerous. If people will connect the dots, you can get in trouble.” He gripped my shoulder as if Don’the didn’t mean to hurt my feelings.” worry about it, son. I’ll take care of cleaning this shit. Just go away and spend some time with your wife. You both need it.”
***
Maverick bid her goodbye to her family. I felt like she wanted to say something to them but kept it to herself.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Celestina said casually as if she had not just experienced the pain, horror, betrayal, grief, anguish, and execution of her husband.
“Yeah. Call me,” she said, hugging her sister.
“I’ll see you soon?” Her brother smiled.
“You better not. Lie low for a while, Terzo.”
“If you say so, but if you need me, call me.”
“I know I haven’t explained and apologized, but I’m grateful to have met you,” Gaetano said.
“Yeah, me too. Well, we have to go. We have a flight to catch, and you have a business to run. Have fun coming back from the dead.”
***
Our flight to Santorini was long, but it was worth it. My family had a villa near the beach that overlooked the ocean. When we touched down, it was sunset, and Maverick had slept throughout the flight while I caught up on some work on my laptop.
We arrived at the villa. Maverick continued sleeping as soon as her head hit the pillow, which worried me. She was usually lively when getting out and having fun, but this time, I felt like I had failed her over and over again as her husband.
I let her get more sleep. Maybe she needed it and woke up energized and ready to stroll the place.
“What did you find out?”
“The incident at the compound seemed like it never happened. No news, video, or even posts on social media.” Owen grabbed a beer, opened it, and gave it to me. “You should sleep. I know it’s hard-”
“Spare me the sentiments. I’m more worried about my wife. She talked about what happened in the basement, but I have a feeling I’m just waiting for her to burst into tears and then sit in the corner and stare at nothingness.”
When Owen and Homer grabbed their beers and looked away, I knew Maverick was standing behind me.
“How much did you hear it?”
She chuckled as she joined us at the poolside. “I’m just waiting for her to burst into tears.”
“Right. You eavesdropped again.” I put my hand on her thigh. She had already changed into shorts and a white top.
“And you gossiped about me.” She grabbed my beer and drank from it. “Maybe I should see a doctor when we get back home.”
“That’s a good idea,” Homer seconded. “You’re not supposed to see what you saw, and-”
“I’m not trained for that, yes.” She pointed at me. “I said maybe. Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not sitting in the corner and staring at nothingness. It’s maybe, probably because I’m the daughter of the most notorious criminal in Italy. Imagine that. And yes, I’m still shocked and terrified. Taking a life for them feels like picking up flowers from the garden. When someone caught you, you just say, oops.”
“They live in a different world. A criminal world that if you won’t kill that person, he will kill you first.”
“Yeah,” she agreed to Owen.
“Just like in the tour. If I hesitated, I would have been dead a long time ago.”
“Glad you’re here with us, OB.” I hadn’t told her that I shot someone, and it would probably be better to keep it to myself.
She drank my beer again and looked at me. “I thought you stopped drinking.”
A small smile appeared on my lips. “You remember?”
“Yeah. How can I forget what you said to me when you got drunk?”
“Oh, boy.” Owen shook his head in amusement.
“I think we should get out of here.” Homer stood up with his beer. “The pool looks inviting, Mrs. Winston.”
“Yeah.” She stood up and took off her shirt.
I was alarmed as I stared at her. “Baby, what are you doing?”
Then she worked on the fly of her denim shorts. “The pool looks inviting.” Then that was it. She slipped off her flip-flops and just jumped into the pool.
“Shit.”