I nearly bounce on the spot. I love skiing so much, it’s all I can do not to scream.
“Thanks, I will.”
We return to the others who are all waiting patiently and Giuliano hands out the keys. “Who wants to come for a ski?” I ask them.
“Today?” Giuliano frowns.
“Just a quick one.”
“Not me,” says Anna. “Don’t feel like breaking my neck today.”
Giuliano screws up his face. “I fancied a scotch by the fire in the bar to be honest.”
“You do that, I’ll meet you there. I’ll be an hour tops.” I smile.
His eyes hold mine as he contemplates his choice.
“I’ll come,” Giovanna replies.
“Me too,” Carlo chips in.
“Great. So, I’ll meet you both back here in half an hour?” I ask them.
“Sounds good,” Giovanna says.
“I guess I’ll meet the rest of you in the bar around the same time?” Giuliano asks everyone.
“Yes, sounds good.”
The ski chairlift rises high in the sky as it takes us up the mountain.
“Look.” Giovanna points. “Is that your atrium?”
I peer down below and see a glass chapel nestled into the side of the mountain, I can see an open fire flickering inside. “Yes.”
We both squeal in excitement and I turn back to Carlo and Bruno who are in the chairlift behind us. “That’s the atrium.”
They both look down. “Looks good.” Carlo laughs.
We all watch it fly by underneath as we pass over and Bruno gives me the thumbs-up.
Giovanna takes my hand in hers. “Can you believe that you are getting married in this heavenly place?”
“No.” I laugh.
She fiddles with her boot as we ride up. “Anna may have been on to something, I may break my neck too, I haven’t skied for three years.”
“It’s like riding a bike, you never forget.” I fiddle with my gloves to try to pull my fingers in properly.
“As long as you don’t break anything,” she teases. “Plaster isn’t the white you want to be wearing.”
I laugh out loud. “Don’t hex me.”
Giuliano
I sit by the open fire with Alex and Val, scotch in hand.
After the crazy week we’ve had to prepare for coming away, I’m finally beginning to unwind. I look out the window and the snow coming down. “This place is incredible, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say.” Val smiles as he stares out over the view.
My phone beeps a text, it’s from Francesca.
It’s our chapel baby
Can’t wait to marry you.
xoxox
It’s a pic of the mountain and the glass atrium below, I smile broadly. “Check this out.” I hold my phone out and the boys smile as they look at it.
We keep chatting and about fifteen minutes later another text from Francesca bounces in.
Look who I just ran into
It’s my boss.
I stare at the photo and my eyes widen.
Fuck.
I slam my drink down on the table with a thud.
The picture is of Francesca in the snow, a man has his arm around her as they pose for the photograph.
It’s Lombardi.
25
Francesca
We ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain and ski off. “Let’s go down into the next valley,” I say to the others.
“Okay.” Giovanna smiles, she’s pretty good. I can tell already.
“Let go this way.” Carlo gestures to a run that isn’t the usual one.
“Okay.” We ski down and over another hill and on for a while and we see a man standing under a tree. As we get closer I realize that I know him, that’s Mr. Carballo, the boss from the hotels. “What in the world are you doing here?” I laugh as I approach him.
“Ahh, Francesca.” He smiles. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Fancy seeing you up here?” I laugh.
“Take a quick photo?” he asks. “I will send it to the office, they won’t believe the coincidence. Fancy running into you of all people all the way in Switzerland.”
“Okay.” I laugh. “It is pretty weird, isn’t it?”
“Let me.” Carlo holds his hand out for my phone. “Open it,” he says.
I swipe my phone open and hand it over to him, I put my arm around Mr. Carballo, smile as we pose, and Carlo takes the photo.
“Do you come here often?” I ask him.
“First time.”
I see Carlo typing something into my phone and I hold my hand out for it.
“You won’t be needing your phone, Francesca,” Mr. Carballo says.
I turn my attention back to him to see he is pointing a gun at me and Giovanna. “What are you doing?” I frown.
“We haven’t been properly introduced.” He smiles and dips his head. “I’m Luciano Lombardi. Pleased to make your acquaintance”
What?
I take a step back in fear. “What are you doing?” I whisper as I take Giovanna’s hand in mine, we take another shuffle back. Bruno holds his hands up as his eyes flick to meet mine. My heart hammers in my chest and something catches my eye to the left, I turn to see five men, all with guns pointed at us. Where did they come from?
Fuck.
He smiles calmly. “You have something I want.”
“What’s that?” I whisper.
“His name is Giuliano Ferrara,” he announces loudly, he looks at his watch. “And he’ll be here in about… five minutes.”
A trap.
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m not calling him.”
What the hell? I’ve been working with him all this time.
“You already did,” he replies calmly.
“Huh?” I look around in a panic, what does he mean. “Mr. Lombardi, please…don’t do this,” I whisper in a panic. “Your war is with his father, not him. He’s not your enemy.”
“Run,” Giovanna screams, she makes a run for it and a gunshot rings out, she falls to the ground and blood splatters all over the snow.
I turn and see Carlo holding the gun that just shot her, my eyes widen in horror.
What the fuck?
“What are you doing?” I cry.
Bruno dives for him and in lightning speed, he points the gun at Bruno and without hesitation pulls the trigger, Bruno drops to the snow and blood runs out from underneath his body.
Carlo points the gun at me.
“Carlo,” I scream. “No. What are you doing?”
“What needs to be done.” He gestures up the hill with his gun. “Go.”
“Carlo!” I cry. “We trusted you.”
“Dumb move.”
I stare at him as my mind tries to catch up…what the fuck?
His eyes are cold and he’s completely detached…as if he doesn’t know me at all.
My God.
Bang, bang, bang goes my heart.
I look around frantically, I have to get out of here, I need to warn Giuliano. I slowly click my skis off and look around.