“I had to.” Luci’s voice shakes almost as much as her body does.
“What do you mean? Had to what? Leave? I’ve seen videos. Aldo basically drags you out. I don’t blame you. I came here to bring you home.”
“No. No. That’s not it. I had to Alessandro. I didn’t want to.” She refuses to brush away the tears that are now covering her face. I know instantly something’s happened and I won’t like it.
“What did you have to do?” It takes everything in me to hold back the shake that threatens to envelop my words.
“I-I-I married Elio. I had to.”
Blood rushes through my ears as I grab the closest thing to me, catapulting it across the room as Luci ducks in instinct. “You had to. You fucking had to! You fought me tooth and nail and you easily gave into him? Is he the man you’ve always wanted? If you think you will keep my child away from me and have it raised by another man, you all are insane.” Her hands cover her tear-stained face and I notice the small gold band on her ring finger replaces the ring I bought her. That’s what makes me snap. I pull out my gun as I cross the kitchen until it’s against Elio’s forehead. “You son of a bitch. You were the one who gaveher up all those years ago. Who do you think you are? Assuming you could steal her from me.”
“I didn’t want to break up with her. Things were going too far, and I had to end it. There hasn’t been a day that went by that I didn’t regret that decision. Shit, I moved across the country after high school to attempt to run away from my broken heart. I never stopped loving her. When Aldo contacted me, needing somewhere safe for Luci I jumped on it. I needed her back and I will raise our baby like I was the one who put it in her.”
“You’re talking real brave for a man who has a gun to his head.”
Aldo’s voice appears from across the kitchen. He must have taken advantage of the time I’ve been talking with Elio to move closer to his family. “Elio’s a good man. He’s the one who deserves Luci.”
I laugh and lower the gun away from Elio’s head, noticing when his body relaxes. I stare at the ground processing the words Aldo said while I face away from him. “You worked for my family and you still have the guts to say dumb shit.” I whip around, pulling the trigger at my target before fully seeing it.
Screams rush through the room, realizing I overshot and missed Aldo, hitting the last person I expected to.
“Fuck.”
Chapter 59
Luci
20 Weeks Pregnant
“Fuck.”
Alessandro’s words are muffled as pain and heat spread through my shoulder and down my arm. Nonno’s voice is going back and forth with Alessandro’s as they fight with Elio’s voice as a separate panicked murmur in the background. I stare up at Nonna and Mamma while they whisper sweet words with sadness in their eyes for what could be seconds or hours.
Sirens come closer and closer and suddenly strangers are picking me up, putting me into the back of the ambulance. They keep asking me if I know who I am, how far along I am, and what happened, but I’m convinced I’m hallucinating. Is this a feverdream? What happened before this? The walk with Mamma and Nonna, gunshots, Alessandro. Alessandro! He came for me, for our baby! Oh no! I told him about Elio, about having to marry him.
I’m held down by strong hands when I cry out as I try to sit up. Strangers’ voices tell me to lie down and that they’re trying to help me but they won’t tell me from what. My brain can’t fully process what they’re saying as I continue to fight them until I’m stuck with a needle.
A familiar sensation consumes me, the same one from months ago when Alessandro took me. Instead of panic this time, peace radiates through my body as I let unconsciousness take me.
An annoying tap arouses me from my confused state. “Wakey, wakey.” I slap away whoever is hitting my face, receiving a huff in response. “Well, that wasn’t very nice.”
That voice, I know that voice. The harsh white lights hurt my eyes when I try to open them, still confused about what happened. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital. That dumbass fiancé of yours shot you by accident. I swear, the reason we give men weapons is beyond me.”
“Dr. Rossi?” Pain shoots through me when I try to sit up and she grabs me, adjusting the bed to help me sit up.
“Who the fuck else do you think Alessandro would let take care of you? The man calls me from bumfuck Wyoming, panicking because he shot you by accident. What pissed me off the most was Aldo yelling at him in the background and somepussy of a boy was calling 911. Shit, I had to fight all of them and a few doctors to get in here. Fucking. Men.”
“Are they here?”
I can’t decide if yes or no would be the better answer.
“No one is here. I sent everyone away because they kept fighting in the ER. Your family is back at whatever house you’ve been staying at while Geno and I sent Alessandro back to Philadelphia. First, he got an ass-kicking from me and a fun conversation with Geno when I told him that Alessandro shot the woman carrying his great-grandchild. I wish I could have heard that. Basically, Alessandro is in timeout.”
She didn’t mention Elio. What did Alessandro do to him? “And what about Elio?”
“Is that the pussy boy’s name? I don’t know, he disappeared after I got here. According to Stella when I spoke to her last, he’s still MIA.” I can only assume what happened to him and hope I’m wrong. I may not want to be married to him, but I don’t want Elio dead either.
