I feel like a volcano that is ready to erupt. She is my wife, and yet, she acts as if she is disgusted by my very presence.
We walk in silence, and I use that time to let what I’m planning to say marinate in my head. I know I’m taking a leap of faith here, but if that’s what it takes to keep her by my side and happy, I’m willing to do it… ready to say the words I haven’t since I was a little boy.
Arriving on the terrace, I pull out a chair, and Elena sits down in it almost immediately. An image of Elena in her wedding dress flashes before my eyes as I look over at the spot where our wedding arch stood only a few days ago. I wish I could go back to that day.
“What is it you want to talk about?” Elena asks, her cold demeanor cracking slightly as I hear a touch of defeat in her voice.
“Elena, you are my wife because I want you to be. I didn’t lie to you, not really. When I saw you at the funeral, I knew the instant I laid eyes on you that I had to have you. Yes, I told myself that it was for revenge, and maybe that was part of it, but it wasn’t the sole reason. And now, revenge has nothing to do with me wanting you. I want you because of you. Because you’re the most important thing to me.”
“If that was true, then you wouldn’t still want to kill my father.”
“And I wouldn’t if he wasn’t actively trying to kill me and take you from me. What do you think would happen to you if I was gone? There are others, far worse than I. He sold you to me. I imagine he would sell you to someone else if I were gone. Someone like Lev.”
Just like that, the mask of anger and defiance Elena had carefully placed over her face slips away. Leaving behind nothing but acidic fear and grief.
“I don’t want you to die,” she admits, and the dread I’ve felt since that phone call finally starts to lessen. “I don’t want anyone to die.”
“You are my wife, and I will protect you at any cost. Even if that means doing something you don’t like. I will never stop making sure you are safe, and as long as your father is out there, you are not safe. He doesn’t care about you. What about when we have children? Do you think he is going to stop trying to come after me?”
“I just don’t understand.” She shakes her head, still not ready to admit her father’s fault.
“Elena, I…” The words are on the tip of my tongue. I love you.
Before I can find the courage to speak the words out loud, I hear glass shattering off in the distance. I’m up and out of my seat before I hear the first shots ring through the air. The chair clanks against the ground, and my insides twist at the sound.
Fuck! Where the hell is Lucca? Where are the guards?
I grab my gun from my holster and pull Elena up with my free hand, tugging her behind me. In that instant, my only thought is her. I need to get her somewhere safe. On the patio, we’re out in the open, and in the worst spot when under attack. Fuck!
“Stay close!” I bark over my shoulder and start walking inside.
Elena fists the fabric of my shirt as if she is afraid, her body’s close to mine as we make our way back into the house. I need to get her to my office. It doubles as a safe room, it’s fire, and bulletproof. I just need to get her inside–
We don’t even make it to the bottom of the stairs before the explosion hits, rocking us right off our axis. One second we are heading to the stairs, and the next, we are thrown to the ground from the shockwave of the explosion.
My ears ring, my head throbs, and my lungs burn, but all I can think about is Elena as I frantically try to regain my bearings. Searching around me, I’m desperate to find her, to hold her, but she isn’t there. I can’t reach her.
Where is my wife?
I can’t lose her too.
I have to save her.
43
Elena
Complete and utter chaos ensues around me. Before I know what’s happening, I’m thrown to the ground, unable to keep my grip on Julian. My hands reach for him but grasp nothing but air. I’m reeling, trying to get my bearings, but it’s like being on a boat, my body swaying back and forth with the ocean waves.
Then there is a tug on my arm, and I’m being pulled to stand. I immediately know it’s not Julian, simply by how the man’s fingers dig into my skin painfully and the way he carelessly jerks me around, not caring if I get hurt.
It takes me a moment to regain my bearings, shake away the ringing in my ear, and be stable on my legs. When the dust around us settles, and the room becomes visible again, I realize this is even worse than I could’ve imagined.
Julian is on the ground just now pushing himself up to his feet. My father is standing on the opposite side of the room, his eyes trained on Julian.
My gaze swings around the room, I don’t know most of the men, but all of them have their guns out and pointed at my husband, which tells me they’re the enemy. I twist around to look at the man who has a death grip on my arm, which sure enough will leave a lingering bruise. I’ve never seen this man either, but he looks at me like he knows who I am, almost like we have unfinished business.
“You’ll pay for what your husband did to my brother. I’ll make you pay, and I’ll make your pitiful excuse of a husband watch.” He chuckles, but it’s anything but a joyous laugh, and I know who he is—Lev’s brother.
My instincts kick in, and I tug my arm back to get away from him. I recoil just from his touch alone. Dread swirls like an impending storm above my head. I want to get away, but his grip just tightens to near pain, and the reality of the situation slams into me.
“Daddy,” I try to get my father’s attention. “Please, stop this.” My pleading falls on deaf ears, and the ground beneath my feet trembles.
“You can have her. Consider it as a gift. A life for a life. She is no longer useful to me.” My father dismisses me without a single look. I hear his words, but I don’t understand their meaning. My brain can’t comprehend what he is saying. Only when the man holding me starts pulling me away, does everything begin to sink in and make sense.
“What do you mean I’m no longer useful to you?” The words rip from my throat, and it’s like he’s shot an arrow into my chest.
He doesn’t even look at me as he speaks, he looks at the spot beside me, but not into my eyes. Coward. “I don’t need you anymore. I’ve got Julian right where I want him. You were merely a pawn to keep him in place.”
Curling my hand into a tight fist, I want to slug him.
“You weren’t supposed to fall in love, but you did. I thought you were stronger than that, more resilient.” The bitter laugh that he emits makes me want to lunge at him. “You did this to yourself.”
Julian was right. This whole time, he was right. I was just too stupid and naive to see it. My father was playing his own games, and I was just a pawn. Another piece on his chessboard that he could move exactly where he needed and sacrifice when the time came.
“Thanks, Romero, I’ll have a lot of fun with this one.”
“No!” Julian’s voice booms through the room with an authority that has everyone stopping in their tracks. All eyes are on him, including my own. “Don’t fucking touch her!”