Rage flows through me now as I retreat into my master bathroom to wash away the worst of the blood. My sink and vanity get splattered pink. I strip off my shirt and throw it into the tub. I don’t give a shit. I keep seeing her down on the ground, beautiful lips puckered, swollen, and cracked, her eyes bloodshot and tear-covered, fear clenching her body into a ball.
My phone rings. I stare at the screen before answering. “Took you long enough to call.”
Raf Serrano sounds pissed. “Where’s my sister?”
“She’s cleaning the blood off her face.”
A short pause. “What happened?”
I give him the abridged version, watching her from afar, only realizing something was wrong when her radio turned off. “I got there in time.”
Raf lets out a long breath. “Fuck. I can’t believe this.”
“Can you really not? I tried to warn you two weeks ago. I told you there was a fucking threat.” I pace back and forth in the bathroom.
“You told me there was a threat, but you didn’t say from whom. You didn’t give me fuckinganything.”
“I gave you enough to make sure she was protected,” I snarl at him, breathing hard. “You should’ve kept your sister in the house until I figured out who was behind the attacks.”
“Obviously, it’s someone that wants to stop our alliance.”
“I don’t give a shit about that. You failed her.”
“You must be some naive idiot if you think I have any control over Fiorella. She does what she wants when she wants to.”
“No wonder your business is failing. You can’t even protect your own family.”
“Fuck you, Luca. You don’t get to talk to me that way.”
“Mywifenearly fucking died.”
“You’re not married to her yet,” he says coolly. “And she’s still my sister.”
I grip the phone hard enough to make the frame creak. He’s right; I’m not married to her yet. And if this is all about making sure we don’t walk down the aisle together?—
“Tomorrow morning,” I say through my teeth.
“What the fuck are you talking about now?”
“I know a friendly judge. We’ll go to his office and make it official.”
Raf sounds hesitant. “You want to marry her tomorrow morning? We were planning a wedding. We wanted to make it an event.”
“I don’t care what you wanted. This is about her safety now. I can protect her if she’s my wife.”
Another pause. But when he speaks, I can tell he’s not against it. “Are you sure the judge can make it happen?”
“If he can’t, someone else will. I’m marrying her tomorrow morning.”
“Did you tell her that yet?”
I look back over my shoulder. “Just tell your father the plan. I’m keeping her here with me tonight.”
I hang up and shove my phone into my pocket.
Fuck. I’m doing this. I’m really doing this. I thought I had more time, but now it’s happening.
Fiorella’s going to be my wife.
