“Not long, as in one night, or not long, as in eight?” He glares at me. “Bella.”
I purse my lips. “What kind of trouble is it?”
“Just one of the patrons.”
“Can’t someone else handle it? It’s midnight, Enrico.”
“No.” He picks up his packed bag and storms from the room. I run after him. “Is this dangerous?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, his frustration obvious. “God, give me strength, Olivia.” He inhales sharply. “I have to go. Lorenzo is coming for you.”
“This is all very dramatic for something that isn’t dangerous.”
The doorbell sounds, and Enrico looks at the security screen. Lorenzo is waiting in the hall. Enrico buzzes him in.
“Hello,” Rico greets him. “Take Olivia to Ferrara House and don’t leave her side.”
“Yes, sir.”
Enrico picks up his bag, throws it over his shoulder, and lifts my face to his. “I’ll be home soon, my love.” He kisses me softly. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“Okay.” I force a smile. “Please, be careful.”
“Always.” With one last kiss, he walks out of the apartment without looking back. The door clicks quietly behind him.
I drop my shoulders, deflated. “It’s midnight, Lorenzo. It’s rude to go to Bianca’s at this hour. She’ll be fast asleep. Enrico is being dramatic. Why can’t I just stay here?”
“Olivia,” he warns in his best Italian accent. “You will follow his orders.”
* * *
The car pulls into the circular driveway of Bianca’s home.
Ferrara House.
This place is like something from a magazine. It’s over the top luxury like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. More guards are here than anywhere else, and I wonder who assigns them. Is it Enrico’s doing or was it his father’s? My mind goes off on a tangent, and I idly wonder if Angelina has this many guards at her house, too. Which partner gets better protection? More importantly, from what?
Nerves dance in my stomach as I think of Enrico on his way to Sicily.
Please, be safe.
Lorenzo opens my door and takes my overnight bag from the trunk. “I don’t want to wake anyone up,” I whisper.
“Bianca knows you’re coming.” Just as he says that, the front door opens, and Bianca comes into view. She’s wearing a cream satin nightdress and gown-as glamorous as ever.
“Hello, Olivia,” she says with a forced smile.
I clutch my handbag with white knuckle force. “Hi.” I look around nervously. “I’m sorry about this, I hate to trouble you. I really could have stayed at Enrico’s.”
“It’s fine.” She holds her hand out for me. “Come, come.” She leads me into the house. “It will make Enrico feel better if he knows you’re safe.”
I clutch my bag harder. Gah, this is awkward. “Thanks.”
“Can I get you a drink or anything?” she asks.
“No.” My eyes flick nervously to Lorenzo. “I think I will just go to bed, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” She leads me up the stairs and down a huge corridor. “This used to be Enrico’s room as a child,” she says as she opens the door. “I thought you might want to stay in here.”
I look around the luxurious furnishings. The walls are navy blue, and the furnishings are all white. To the left is a beautiful white marble bathroom.
Wow.
Who has a bedroom like this as a child? “It’s perfect, thank you.”
“Do you need anything else?” I shake my head. “No, thank you. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” With one last look and another forced smile, she leaves and closes the door behind her. I drop down on the bed before I flop onto my back. I lie for a moment and stare at the ceiling. I know there’s something I really have to do.
I’ve been putting it off for a week, but now I need to know. I dig out the pharmacy paper bag from my luggage and I read the box.
First Response Pregnancy Test
I’m on the pill. I know it can’t be positive, but for some reason I have this weird gut feeling that I am.
I mean, I did miss a pill or two a few weeks back, but I took double the next day, and I’ve always done that before with no consequences.
I study the instructions and then go and pee on the stick. I sit on the bathroom counter while I wait.
I wait.
And I wait…
And I wait.
Before my very eyes, one line appears… and then a second faint line appears not so long after.
Hmm, that’s interesting.
I frown. What does that mean? I snatch the instructions up and read them again.
Two lines indicates a positive result.
My mouth falls open in shock.
What the fuck? I’m pregnant.
Enrico
I’m livid.
Never in my life have I ever been so angry.
One of our girls has been found in a back ally in Sicily, dead.
Beaten, and then strangled-the name Lucky Lombardi carved into her face.
How fucking dare he?
She did not deserve to die like this. His fight is with me, not her. His name carved in her face is for my benefit. He wants a war, and he just got one.
“You find where he is?” I growl as I get off the plane.
“We have a location,” Sergio replies. “He’s in a bar on the South Side.”
I clench my jaw as I imagine what the girl’s family are about to go through. A new wave of anger ravages through me. “Take me to him.” I pat my suit pocket and feel the heavy weight of my gun.
“We can’t go there unmanned.”
Nobody touches a Ferrara girl… nobody.
“Then get the men,” I reply flatly.
Twenty minutes later, the car pulls to a halt in a parking lot outside a bar, and I get out of the car on autopilot.
We are in a seedy part of Sicily. The bar is loud, but the rest of the streets are quiet.
What kind of man does that to an innocent woman?
I walk across the cobblestone street to the bar. It’s been raining and the ground shimmers with the afterglow. The sound of my feet crunches on the hard surface.
I have ten men with me now, and I’m here for blood.
His blood.
I open the door and walk into the bar. The musicians instantly stop playing, and everyone falls quiet. They stop and stare. I walk in, and my shoes creak on the wooden floorboards.
I look around at the patrons. It’s filled with men of many ages. They know who I am, and it tells me a lot.
“Where is Lucky Lombardi?” I ask loudly-calmly.
Silence.
“Give him to me… or write your own death certificate.”
They all stay deathly still.
I grab the closest man to me. “Where is he?” I ask as I give him a shake. “I speak the truth. Anyone who hides him from me will meet their maker today.”