“I’m sorry about this, Paolo,” I apologized as I launched my elbow back into his face. His blistering curse swallowed the crunch it made. He slammed into the door, the car shuddering. I dusted off my elbow, ignoring the throb of pain from the jab.
“Fucking hell.” The bridge of his nose darkened to a violent bruise. I looked through the window of the car, hoping the show was believable enough if Dad had someone watching me as well.
“Drive to my house. Make it fucking quick,” I shouted, spittle flying at Paolo’s shocked face.
My hands shook as he screeched out onto the road. The image of Anita, sick and pale in the tub, flashed through my mind. For a split second, I thought she was gone. My body shook uncontrollably as I struggled to keep my balance. I had no rational thoughts, only terror coursing through me. I carried her to the bed, cradling her tightly against my chest, afraid to let go for fear she would slip away from me. That same all-consuming fear was creeping back in, knowing that if my father found out about Paolo, it wouldn’t be long before he discovered Anita’s true identity. When we arrived at the house, I brandished the weapon once more.
“We need to have a little chat. Head inside the house, and don’t try anything.” I jabbed Paolo in the back with the barrel, and his hands flew up in wordless surrender.
“Romeo?” Maria wrung her hands together after she opened the door. She quickly schooled her widened eyes. She’d seen many things over the years, and this would be one more for her to file away, should anyone ask. I jerked my head to the side.
“Bring my wife to the dining room, please,” I bit out the order. Paolo was subdued, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes scanned the room, sifting through escape options. Maria spun on her heeland raced out the door. I tucked my gun into the back of my pants and waved Paolo onwards.
“You can relax. I think I put on a decent enough show should someone ask questions about what happened when you got here.”
Paolo’s eyes bugged over his swollen nose. He pinched the bridge with a tender wince.
“I’d appreciate an explanation at any point, Romeo. I thought we were family.”
Leaning against the edge of the oak table, I let silence blanket us both. There was a vase filled with flowers on the table, and I wondered if Anita had put it there. The wood dug sharply into my hip.
“Not until Anita gets here.”
“What on earth is going on, Romeo?” Anita tore into the room like a tempest. Strands of her dark hair escaped the severe bun at the back of her head. It gratified me to see color on her cheeks, even if they were flushed in anger. She gasped when she saw Paolo hurrying over to him. Her lithe fingers fussed over him in a way that made my chest burn.
I wanted her gentle touches. The soft noises of concern in the back of her throat.
I thumped my fist on the table, distracting her focus from her cousin.
“We have a problem,” I started. But Anita rounded the table, brandishing her finger like a weapon. It jabbed into my chest, sharp as a needle, as she glared up at me.
“Was it you who put those marks on my cousin?” she demanded.
I snatched her finger and held it to my chest. It rose erratically with my agitated breathing. She was wearing green overalls today, a white and peach long-sleeved shirt underneath.The knees of her trousers smudged with dark circles. What I wouldn’t give to have her kneel for me, tend me like her plants.
“For good reason, I assure you,” I explained, and she snatched her finger out of my grip and crossed her arms. When Anita had been sick, she’d been too far gone to erect her formidable walls. I’d seen a shade of vulnerability in her I’d never witnessed before. There was none of that now. Her walls stretched to the ceiling, but I was prepared to scale them.
“Go on, tell me what reason there could be to hurt Paolo. Do you want to provoke me?” she snipped.
Blood rushed through my veins, and adrenaline urged me forward. My hands whipped out, and I grabbed Anita around the waist as I used my weight to pin her to the table. Why did it always end up this way? Anita provoked me until I was crazed. I snatched at her scrabbling hands and wrenched them behind her. She let out a ferocious growl, the high-pitched challenge of a beast refusing to be caged. It only made the blood pump louder in my ears.
“Let me go, Romeo.” She wriggled in vain. My fingers tightened around her wrists, keeping her immobile. My pulse thrummed a primal drumbeat in my ear. A call to battle. I couldn’t relent, was past words. There was too much at stake.
“Enough,” I gnashed my teeth. I was a hairsbreadth from snapping. Dancing on this edge since I found her in that damn bath and thought I’d lost her. Now, my dad had become a threat, and I couldn’t have her hurt.I’d do anything.My need for her was so great it crashed over everything else. Demanding to be satisfied. More threats to her life, and she still wouldn’t listen. “We have bigger problems than your hatred of me.”
My chest ached at the admission. The truth of it was reflected on her face. Her eyes blazed with a staggering amount of disdain. I grappled with the gaping devastation. The pulsing want that floated in the ether, ignored by Anita because of my actions.
My throat cleared, breaking the battle I was waging with my wife.
“Is this a conversation you’d prefer to have in private?” Paolo offered, his eyebrows inching upwards. My hold on Anita’s wrists faltered, and she whipped away before I could protest. I leaned over the table, taking a ragged breath. My stomach cramped, and I tried to breathe to release the knots.
“If you would just let me speak.” My vocal cords ached. “You’ll see why it’s imperative you’re both here.”
Anita hiked up her nose but flicked her hand for me to go on. Some of the tension unraveled. Even in the throes of despair, her sign of defiance still thrilled me.
“My dad ordered me to kill you, Paolo.”
Paolo didn’t move, frozen, but Anita let out a sharp noise. It clashed against the walls of the room in a panicked echo.
