I fell into thought, gazing at Massimo. “Is that so easy to you? To kill a man?”
“It’s never easy, but if there’s a reason, it becomes bearable.”
“Let me talk to him.”
Massimo took a deep breath and rolled onto his back.
“Massimo. I love you. Just—” I stopped abruptly, suddenly realizing what I said.
He sat up, his eyes studying me carefully. I faced him, closed my eyes, and dropped my head. I wasn’t ready for that, but I said it and it was the truth.
With a finger, he raised my chin and said in a serious, controlled voice, “Say it again.”
For a long while I tried to catch my breath, but the words stuck in my throat.
“I… I love you, Massimo,” I managed finally. “I first felt it when you left me on Lido, and then I grew absolutely certain when I learned you’d been killed. I’ve been pushing it away, because you kidnapped me and kept me against my will, blackmailing me… But when you allowed me to go, the only thing I could think of was how to stay with you.”
As soon as I finished talking, I felt my eyes well up with tears. It was such a relief, telling him that.
Massimo stood up without a word and left the room, vanishing in the closet. Great, I thought, now he’s going to pack his things and leave me. I sat on the edge of the bed and covered myself with a towel I grabbed from the floor. When Massimo arrived again, he was wearing joggers and held something in his hand.
“It wasn’t supposed to go like this,” he said, kneeling in front of me. “Laura, I’d like you to marry me.” His fist opened, revealing a little black box.
Inside was the largest diamond I’ve seen in my entire life. Shocked, I gaped at it, unable to utter a word. I felt my blood pressure rising and my heart thumping dangerously fast. A wave of nausea overcame me. Massimo quickly realized what was happening, reached to the end table, and stuck a pill under my tongue.
“I won’t let you die before you accept,” he said in a whisper, pushing the ring onto my finger.
I felt the tension leaving my body and I felt better by the minute. Massimo wouldn’t back down, though. Still kneeling, he waited for my decision.
“But I’m…” I stammered, without a clue what to say next. “It’s too soon. We don’t know each other, and we’ve started out on the wrong…” I was babbling.
“I love you, baby girl. I’ll always protect you and I’ll never allow anyone to take you away from me. I’ll do everything to make you happy and you won’t ever have to worry about anything. If I’m not with you, Laura, I’ll never be with anyone else.”
I believed his every word. I knew it all to be true, and I knew how much all that romantic openness was costing him. Did I have anything to lose? For my whole life I had been doing what others expected of me, or what was the most appropriate. I never took risks, fearing changes and afraid of letting others down. Besides, it’s a long way from a proposal to a wedding.
“Yes,” I breathed, falling to my knees, too. “I’ll marry you, Massimo.”
The Man in Black dropped his head and exhaled.
“Jesus, what am I doing?” I asked myself, leaning my back against the bed. “We’re complicating things a lot with this, you know?”
He didn’t respond, and his head didn’t even twitch.
“Listen to me now, Massimo. I need to finish saying what I started. Martin and his life mean nothing to me now, but I still don’t want you to make unnecessary mistakes on my account. You have me, I’m yours and only yours, and only I can make him understand that. A relationship should be about trust and sincerity. So if you trust me, you’ll allow me to talk to him.”
Massimo lifted his head and sent me an impassive look. “Even now. Even at a time like this, this goddamned piece of shit is between us. I’ll only allow you to see him to get rid of that maggot once and for all. If you fail, we’ll do it my way.”
I knew he was being serious. I had exactly one chance to save the life of my ex-boyfriend. Or Massimo would take it.
“Thank you, darling,” I said, kissing him softly. “Now come. As my fiancé, you have a lot more duties.”
We didn’t make love that night, but it wasn’t necessary. Closeness and love were all we needed.
CHAPTER 16
I didn’t like getting up early, but I had to. The Man in Black wouldn’t let me stay. I dragged myself out of bed, went to the bathroom, and made myself ready in about twenty minutes. Massimo sat on the sofa with a laptop on his knees and a cell phone in hand, focused and composed. He wore the clothes I had gotten used to—a black shirt and dark pants—looking really dapper. I watched him, peeking around the wall and playing with the ring on my finger. This is going to be my husband, I thought, and I’ll spend the rest of my life with him. One thing was for sure: this wouldn’t be an ordinary, boring life—more like a gangster movie sprinkled with some porn. After some time studying Massimo, I went to the closet and picked an outfit that would fit his attire, packing a small suitcase. As I took the stairs down to the living room, Massimo raised his head and sent me an appraising look. My dark gray high-hipped pants and the impossibly high stilettos hidden beneath the loose legs made me look taller and thinner. To top the outfit off, I’d picked a cashmere sweater in a brighter hue of gray. I looked elegant and matched my fiancé very well.
“You look very attractive, Mrs. Torricelli,” Massimo said, putting down the computer and drawing near me. “I hope those pants aren’t hard to take off and don’t crumple easily. Otherwise you might end up looking a little less ritzy when we arrive.”
I smiled and returned his look.
“First, don Massimo, your wonderful Ferrari isn’t well suited for what you’re suggesting. It’s not too comfortable even when you’re fully clothed. Second, I’d be a bit distracted by your bodyguards. So forget it.”
“Who said we’re taking the Ferrari?”
Massimo raised his brows and fished out another car key from the drawer.
“Please,” he said, opening the door for me and pointing me toward it.
Four men accompanied us on our way to the garage, so the elevator got a bit cramped. We must have been quite a sight—five guys, most of them well over two hundred pounds, and one petite blonde. The Man in Black spoke to the men in Italian, instructing them.
When the door slid open on the lower level, the entire security team got into two BMWs parked by the gate, while we went deeper into the garage. Don Massimo pressed a button on the remote, while I was trying to guess which car blinked its headlights in response this time. It was a Porsche Panamera, its windows tinted. I breathed with relief—the prospect of having sex in the Ferrari was a bit too much, even for someone as flexible as me. Massimo headed to the passenger door and opened it for me. As I stepped inside, he leaned over, drawing his face right up to mine, and said, “Every couple dozen miles I’ll fuck you on the back seat, so I hope you like the car.”
He always turned me on when he was so commanding. I liked it that he didn’t ask my permission, instead just telling me what he’d do. Besides, I loved teasing him. I made myself comfortable in the seat, and said, “It’s nearly four hundred miles. You think you’ll manage that much fucking?”