b145.1 /b

    “Who would do this?” Dad demands.

    “Who do you think? The same fuckers who took them.”

    Gianni must not see the effect his words have on us, but Dad does. He wraps an arm around me, draping the other over Tatiana’s shoulders. She wraps her arms around herself and tucks her body close to his while I do

    the same.

    By now, Gianni’s men are swarming the house, searching for any signs of further damage. The two men posted to the front gatee running up the drive, both shouting excuses before they reach us. “It looked legit! The guy had ID and everything!”

    “It was a regr UPS truck,” the second guard insists. Both of them look scared to death, pale–faced and jumpy.

    “Oh, it looked legit? Did the person have an ID?” Gianni’s fist collides with the second man’s jaw, knocking him on his ass. Tatiana lets out a whimper while I flinch at the sound of bone crunching. I’m surprised Dad doesn’t react, but then he looks like he wants to take a turn throwing fists, too, his nostrils red beneath steely cold eyes.

    “Come on, beating the shit out of these guys isn’t going to help.” Roger pulls Gianni back while he snarls and curses at the two guards. “We’ve got to think about what to do next. Whoever did this, they’ll be in the area. They’re going to want to see the oue.”

    “A fucking bomb. They sent a fuckingbomb! To myhome! These motherfuckers. I’m going to skin them. alive.” Gianni takes Roger by the shirt cor, pulling him close. “And you’re the one who wanted to be cautious. You’re the one who thought I was moving too fast.”

    “Dad, stop!” Tatiana begs. “It’s not his fault!”

    Gianni shoves him away, snarling, but Roger only brushes himself off. “me me all you want, but that won’t change what needs to happen now. We need to make sure they’re safe.” He nods toward Tatiana and ollime. /li/ol

    “I’m not going anywhere.” I don’t know where that came from–the words poured out of me before they were a conscious thought.

    “You can’t stay here,” Dad growls. “Either of you. This ce isn’t safe right now.”

    “I don’t want to leave,” Tatiana weeps. “Dad, it’s happening again. Why is it happening again?”

    That’s what does it. That tearful, pleading question snaps Gianni out of his enraged haze. He is absolutely in anguish as he turns our way, and for a split second, I think he’s going to cry, too. I know him so well I can practically read his thoughts, and he is ming himself for this.

    “Charles’s right,” he announces. “You and Caterina should go, at least for the time being. Not forever, just for now.”

    “Should they be together, though?” Roger asks.

    Tatiana and I exchange a nce. I don’t want to leave without her. It’s bad enough I have to leave at all. This is where I belong, with the man I love. I didn’t get into this life to run away when things get bad–I might have before, but that was then. I’ve changed. I know where I belong. But I also can’t be selfish. There’s a life

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    growing inside me, and until my baby can make their own choices, I have to do what’s best for them. Theye first, then me.

    “You’re right,” Gianni decides. “Charles, I’m going to give you the address of one of our safe houses.”

    “What about me?” Tatiana whispers while her eyes well up again.

    “I’ll take you to a separate house,” Roger offers. “You’ll both be safe.”

    Safe. I’m starting to wonder if that word means anything. I’ve heard it so many times, but once again, the illusion has shattered. I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again.

    Dad pulls out his phone for Gianni to rattle off an address which he programs into his GPS. “It’s twenty minutes away. I’ll get her there in fifteen,” he vows.

    “I’m scared. I’m scared for you.”

    ((

    Gianni takes my face between his hands and touches his forehead to mind while I whisper frantically. Come with us. Please. Let your guys take care of this. I need you with me. Our baby needs its daddy.”

    “I’m going to be alright.” He presses a quick, fervent kiss against my lips and wraps his arms around me. I can feel his thundering heartbeat against my own. “I have too much to live for. I’m going to be fine. I’ll be better and able to think clearer knowing you’re safe. Your father will protect you until we’re together again. I believe that.”

    That doesn’t stop him from looking over my shoulder toward Dad. “Are you carrying?”

    “I have it in the glove box.”

    “Hopefully, you won’t need it, but I’ll feel better knowing you have it.”

    Dad tugs my elbow. “Honey, we should go now. This won’t be forever.b” /b

    Right now? This second? Though I know it’s the right thing to do, my feet don’t want to move. “My things! I don’t have anything with me!” I might as well be talking to myself as Dad drags me away toward his waiting car.

    “As soon as it’s safe, I’ll send somebody with a bag,” Ginni vows. “Everything’s going to be okay.” He wraps his arms around Tatiana, who I wave to before Dal practically throws me into the passenger’s seat. I can’t stop the sobs from tearing themselves from my chest as Dad gets in the car and turns it around, pointing it toward the road,

    I twist around in my seat, desperate for one more look a Gianni before the driveway bends, and I lose sight of him, of them. When will I see them again?

    “It’s going to be okay,i” /iDad grunts while he navigates the winding, gravel path. “We’re going to get you through this. Everything will be fine.”

    If I wasn’t crying so hard, I’d ask who he’s trying to convince, me or himself.

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    GIANNI

    There she goes. Theretheygo. She’s taking part of my heart with her. I doubt I could live through sending her away with anyone else. Roger, maybe, but that’s as far as it goes. Charles better hope he hasn’t gotten rusty during his time away from the job, because if anything happens to her, I will paint this town in blood.

    A cold breeze blows over me, chilling my skin. Tatiana shivers in my arms. “Dad?” Her soft voice brings my thoughts back to her. “What should I do?”

    She needs me to pull my shit together. I can’t upset her by blowing up now. As calmly as possible, I respond, “I want you to go to your room and pack a few things while Roger and I make ns. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

    “Okay. Is it safe in there?”

    I turn to the pair of men exiting the house, my brows litting in a silent question. “All clear,” one of them announces. “We got what was left of the device out through the back.”

    “Go ahead–but don’t waste any time.” With a kiss on her forehead, I send her inside with one of them while Roger mutters into his phone. I haven’t seen him this intense since our time at the hospital. He ends the call and turns to me. “I just sent out word that we want Moroni. Both of them.”

    Hearing the name twists my guts until I’m sure I’ll be sick. Sick with rage, disgust, and disbelief. “A fucking bomb. Just when I think he can’t stoop any lower.”

    “He’s a fucking animal.” Roger’s face is a mask of rage once we enter the house, and he gets a good look at the damage. “He’s going to find out how fucking animals die.”

    I still can’t make sense of it. “There was no way of knowing who would pick up that package,” I muse. There are bits of cardboard on the floor, most of it charred. At least the rm has been silenced, allowing me to hear myself think. “How long do you think it would take to get an idea of the sort of device they used?”

    “I’m sure I know somebody.” He looks at his phone again, scrolling through his contacts. “Though I have to say, I don’t know how much good it will do. I doubt we could track whoever manufactured it, and it isn’t like we have any doubt of who’s responsible.” He checks the time, grunting in frustration. “She needs to hurry. I’ll feel better once she’s out of here. For all we know, they’re nning to send guys in here now, while we’re all running around like chickens with our heads cut off.”

    And there I was, prepared to propose. Ready to eat dessert, drink some coffee, and bid my future father–in-w goodnight before taking his daughter upstairs. I was going to spend the rest of the night basking in the warmth of her love.

    The thought stirs my memory, and I dart to the kitchen, where I dropped the ring box when the bomb went off. A short search reveals it’s lying under the table. To think, I had been moments away from cing the ring on her finger. The symbol of my devotion to her.

    Now she’s on her way to a safe house, because being to lose to me is a liability, and I let Moroni go too far. I underestimated him, thinking he was nothing more than a useful idiot. I’ve done some unforgivable things in my life, but that underestimation has to be the worst

    “Boss? I have Costello on the phone.”

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    Sliding the box into my pocket, I join him in the hall. Sebastian’s voice filters through the speaker loud and clear. “A bomb? Was anyone hurt?”

    I exchange a look with Roger, that tells me he believes the concern is real. “No, everyone’s fine. There’s damage to the house but nothing severe.”

    “I’m d to hear that. It’s a good thing Moroni’s a fuck up, or else it might have been worse.”

    “If you know anything…”

    “I swear, I didn’t know a thing. I would’ve warned you immediately if I had. I assumed it was Moroni because, you know. Everything that’s been going on.”

    I’m going to have to take his word for it. “Does he still consider you a friend?” I can’t bring myself to say the bastard’s name.

    “He’s dragging his feet on the deal, but we’re cordial.”

    “Call him up. Tell him you heard there was an explosion but you don’t have any details on the extent of the damage. I want confirmation, and I want to know where the fuck we can pick them up and yank their beating hearts from their chests.”

    “Got it. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know something

    Roger locks eyes with me upon ending the call. “Do you trust him?”

    “You heard him. He was ready to piss his pants.” My answer seems to be sufficient enough, as he nods before moving on to the next phone call.

    It’s only been a few minutes since I watched Caterina drive away. The fear in her eyes, the worry shing at the forefront of my thoughts when I need to focus on ending this shit.Ending them, both of them, father and son. All the while, though, I receive updates from my men and wonder what the hell is taking Tatiana so long.

    My thoughts keep returning to my little bird. Is Caterina d she didn’t have the chance to give me an official answer before the bomb went off? I can’t afford to think that way, yet I can’t help it. She has the baby to think about now, as do I.

    But while I want nothing more than to keep her close, she could very well decide this is the final straw. I believe she loves me, that she knows as well as I do that there’s no killing what’s between us.

    However, she’s also a realist.

    Get it together. Whatever she’s thinking, we can work it out, but not until I know both Moroni men are dead and buried six feet deep. I won’t be taking chances with my family again.

    “Where’s Tatiana?” Roger mutters between phone calls “I would like to get out of here with her like tive minutes ago.”

    “I’ll light a fire under heri./ii” /iI have no doubt she understands how crucial it is to leave now. It I were in her shoes, I’d be packed and out the door by now. This is not the time for her stubbornness.

    “Tatiana! Let’s go!” Her bedroom door is open, and I hear the argument going on inside as I approach. ” What is taking you so long?” I demand, entering the room.

    “I’m not loving without her.”

    Craig scratches his headi, /igroaning “I don’t know if you can keep it safe. It’s better to leave something important like that here for now.

    He reaches for her, and she jerks herself away. “I’ll cut your fucking hands off.”

    “What the hell is going on?” bark, startling them both “We don’t have time for this, Tatiana.”

    She whirls on me, holding Amalia’s urn, clutching it to her chest like a shield. “I’m bringing this.

    For tuck’s sake, Nobody has ever less deserved this level of devotion.

    My jaw aches from the effort of grinding my teeth. “Honey. He’s right. What it something happened to it? It’s safer to leave it here. And it isn’t like you’ll never return.”

    I shouldn’t be surprised when she barks out a disbelievingugh. “How do you know? There’s no such thing as protection.”

    I need this like I need a hole in the head. “Fine,” I grit through my teeth. “Take it with you.” The moment Craig grimaces, the look I give him clears it up on the spot. This is not the time for him to be squeamish.

    “Where am I going?” she asks, trotting beside me down the hall. With her bag slung over one shoulder and Amalia’s ashes still bclutched /blike a teddy bear, she’s never looked so much like a little girl. A lost, confused little girl.

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    “Roger will take care of everything.” At a time like this, hate to lose him. However, there is no one else I trust more guarding my daughter. “Just do me a favor and go along with what he says. No arguing.”

    Roger’s still on the phone. He looks her up and down–no reaction to the urn–before jerking his head toward the courtyard. “Go wait in the car. I’ll be out in a minute.”

    “Is this really necessary? What, are they going to bomb the house again?”

    “Listen to me.” I grab her by the shoulders and even shake her a little because, damn it, I need her to understand. “I can’t do what I need to do if I’m worried about you being here. I don’t know what their next move is, that’s the problem. Having you safely tucked away somewhere is the only way I can focus on what needs to be done. Do you understand? I don’t ask much from you, but I need you to do as Roger says. Get in the car, and we’ll talk it out once youe home.”

    Her angry snarl drops away before her chin starts to tremble. “I’m afraid for you. I don’t want to leave you.”

    “I know.” It’s a struggle to stay calm for her sake when what I want is to push her out the door. “It’s not easy for me to send you away, either. I need to trust that things will be alright–and they will. You have to believe I’m doing this for the right reason. Can you do that for me?”

    “Yes,” she decides, squaring her shoulders. “Can you do something for me?”

    “What would that be?”

    “Kill them.”

    “That’s my n.” Satisfied, she finally follows Roger’s orders, walking out the door with her head held. high.

    Now that she’s out of the way, my thoughts return to Donovan and Jack. Sebastian has been wrong about many things but made a good point earlier. We’re lucky they are both a couple of fuck ups. That bomb could easily have destroyed the house, and all of us with it.

    Couldn’t it?

    “I’ll stay in contact,” Roger promises. “The minute I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

    I hardly hear him over the thundering in my ears. Something’s wrong with all of this. We’ve been too busy reacting in a panic ito /istep back and look at the entire situation. “It didn’t do much damage, did it?”

    “What are you saying?”

    Looking around at the cracked ster and broken ss. I murmur, “It didn’t do as much damage as it could have, the bomb.”

    “Yeah, and good thing.i” /i

    He’s practically halfway out the door before I grab hold of him, forcing him to listen. “You’re not hearing me.”

    “Alright, alright. What are you thinking?”

    “One thing about this doesn’t make sense.” I walk up and down the hall, toward the stairs, toward the kitchen, following the path of the damage, “There’s not an impressive radius to the damage. Did you notice

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    that?”

    “I haven’t had time to pull out my tape measure just yet!

    “Listen to me. Hear what I’m saying. The bomb wasn’t very powerful.” He’s still looking at me like I’ve grown two heads. I wouldn’t normally have to exin myself like this, but this is hardly a normal situation. “A powerful bomb could have torn this ce to shreds. It didn’t.”

    Understanding dawns on me all at once. “Why didn’t it do more damage?” he whispers. “Why set off a bomb that was never meant to kill anyone?”

    His phone rings, and he answers without looking at it, too busy staring at the house like he’s seeing it for the first time. “Yeah?” he barks before hearing something on the other end that makes him turn on the speaker.

    “It’s a fucking trap.” Sebastian, his voice tight, the wordsing so fast they almost ovep. “Donovan did it. It was a distraction. He’s out there somewhere, nearby. You’ve gotta stay where you are and keep a watch out for him. I can send my guys to help.”

    There’s another bomb–the one that’s now going off inside my head, tearing everything I thought I knew to pieces. It’s all so fucking obvious now that the panic has worn off. “He knew I would send her away. Fuck!”

    All it takes is one look exchanged between us before I bolt, running for the car and throwing myself behind the wheel.

    This is what he wanted. He wanted her away from the house. He was looking to flush her out much in the same way we’ve been trying to flush him out all this time.

    And as I tear down the driveway, I can almost imagine Donovan sitting in a car down the road, watching everything unfold. Waiting for the truck to returnb, /bcounting down the seconds before detonation. After that, it was only a matter of time before I sent my little bird to safety.

    I fumble with the phone, eyes on the road as I swing the car around. Tires squeal, and I almost lose control before righting the vehicle and flooring the gas pedal.

    Caterina’s phone rings with no answer. “Pick up!” My roar fills the car with no one to hear it except me. Fuck, did she even bring her phone? Was it on her when Charles took her away?

    I know he’s got his phone, since I gave him the address and he plugged it into GPS.

    Yet it, too, keeps ringing. Every unanswered ring is a knife to my chest.

    The gas pedal is almost touching the floor by the time bI /breach the interstate. The ring of horns fades to the background as I weave fromne tone, the cars around me blurring while I speed past them.

    They’re out there somewhere.

    Possibly caught in the trap set for them.

    A trap I pushed them into in an effort to protect her and our unborn child.

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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!