“Mr. and Mrs. Bernardi. We’ll be landing shortly. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for touch ground.” Cara awoke to the announcement from the pilot, letting out a big yawn.
Had they reached already?
She looked to her side to see Adonis passing the last of some orders on his phone before he ended the call and adjusted himself.
“You’re up.”
A simple statement. No emotion whatsoever.
“Yes. Is there a problem?” She asked.
“No. I just wanted the men to be ready for anything.”
“You have men in Italy too?”
“I told you, Cara. It’s home.” He dipped his head to the side, a smug look on his face. “You know what? Why don’t I show you around on the first day? We can explore after that.”
Cara couldn’t help the giddiness she felt.
“You have time for that?”
“Like I said, we’re on our honeymoon. We might as well act like it.” His voice went dangerously low, and she didn’t miss the implication behind his last words.
Before she knew it, they were landing, and excitement bubbled up within her.
She was going to see Italy. A for real vacation. One she hadn’t had in years.
“Come on,” Adonis called as he unbuckled his seat belt, and she followed after. A tall man in a black suit and three huge men were waiting beside a black limousine, and an Audi packed about 30 meters away from the jet.
Cara wondered if they all used steroids, as she had yet to see anyone who wasn’t huge.
“Adonis, benvenuto (welcome, Adonis)”, the tall man in a black suit said with a smile on his face.
“Ah Domenico, come stai? (Ah, Dominic, how have you been?” Adonis brought him in for a hug, and Cara’s jaw nearly dropped.
It was the first time she had seen Adonis being affectionate, and she concluded there must be a special relationship between them.
That. Or Adonis was bisexual.
“Non sono mai stato meglio. Congratulazioni per il tuo matrimonio (Never been better, congratulations on your wedding.)” He replied, then turned to speak to her in a heavy Italian accent.
“You must be my sister-in-law. Hello. I’m Dominic.” He grinned flashing a smile that must have brought thousands of women to their knees.
Dominic was easy on the eyes but not her type.
Cara looked between him and Adonis. There was barely any resemblance.
“Oh. I’m his distant cousin.” She nodded in agreement.
That explains it.
“Hi. I’m Cara.”
“I heard. Cara Camila Rodriguez. You’re the pretty little thing that swiped up my cousin, yeah?”
Cara eyed him with an apprehensive look.
“Pretty little thing?”
“Dominic is a shameless flirt. Ignore him.” Adonis advised.
“What? What if she ended up with you because she hadn’t met the cooler brother?”
“Stai lontano da mia moglie Dom (Stay away from my wife Dom).”
Cara watched as they bantered back and forth, and Dominic ultimately raised his hands in mock surrender. Adonis was a bit more carefree than usual compared to when they were at the mansion, and she wondered if coming home had something to do with it.
“Give me the keys. I’ll be driving.” He snatched the keys to the small, two-seater, sleek Audi out of Dominic’s hands and helped her in before driving off.
“Aren’t you going to wait for the rest?”
“They’ll catch up.”
And truthfully, they did catch up after a few minutes, as their silent drive was interrupted by a phone call from Dominic.
“Sei seguito, fratello (you’re being followed, brother).
Cara didn’t understand what it meant and couldn’t read the meaning due to Adonis’s expressionless face, but the subtle change in his posture and quick shifting of gears gave him away.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Recline into your seat.”
Cara peeked out the window but saw nothing.
“Adonis, what’s going on?” She asked again, but before he could give an answer to her question, Dominic’s voice broke through.
“Watch out, Adonis.”
The car jerked to the front as another car slammed into its side.
Cara peeked out of the window once again, and this time, her eyes widened in fear.
“Adonis. They have a gun. Adonis, they have a gun.” she rushed out.
“Calm down, Cara. The car’s bulletproof. Quanti sono Dom. (How many are they, Dom?)” He asked.
“For now two. The guys are taking care of the rest.”
“In total?”
“Five.”
“Sh*t,” Adonis cursed as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel in anger. He knew something was wrong, but his grandfather didn’t want him to know. He turned to Cara, who hadn’t taken her eyes off their pursuers, a horrific guise all over her face.
“Cara, look at me.” She didn’t respond. She couldn’t take her eyes off them, and Adonis was unable to blame her.
It was, after all, her first time in a situation like this.
“Bel. Bel, come on, I want you to take your eyes off the road. Nothing’s going to happen. My men are on it already.”
She turned to him.
“You expect me to believe that. Who decides to have a freaking shootout on the streets in broad daylight?”
Adonis chuckled.
“Is this funny to you?” Cara croaked
“Calm down. This is normal, remember? It’ll go away after the coronation.”
“So we’ll experience this a lot during the next one week?”
Adonis nodded.
“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but the words were immediately replaced with a shrill.
“Adonis, he’s pointing the gun at me. Adonis, what do I do? Adonis, he’s driving closer.”
Adonis swerved to the other side, and she lurched to the front, almost hitting her head on the dashboard. He took her hand in his and gave it a little reassuring squeeze.
“I’m here, Cara; look at me. Look away from the window.”
But how could she? With a gun to her face?
She fretted about more.
“Cara, calm down!” Adonis reassured again. He was already over the limit and didn’t want to take his eyes off the road.
“If you tell me to calm down one more time, I’ll kill you.” She snapped her head to him with a glare and snapped it back to the window.
“Oh my God! Oh my God, Adonis, he’s closer than before. Oh my God, Adonis, I don’t want to die.”
Adonis silently stifled a burst of laughter at her actions. She held onto his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
“Adonis go faster. Adonis, he’s closer. Adonis, step on it.”
“I’m already on it except you want me to get off it.”
She jerked her head towards him for a moment.
“Don’t you dare?” Then back at their pursuers. “Adonis. Adonis. Adonis look. Adonis!”
And then he felt the hold on his hand slacken.
“Cara?”
There was no reply. He took his eyes off the road for a split second, and an involuntary snort escaped him. He felt a peal of laughter threatening to break free through his stoic face at the sight beside him
She had passed out.