“Umm,” I grumble as I’m not sure.
He wraps his arms around me. “Go to bed. I’ll be up as soon as I can.”
“All right.”
I throw on an old pair of boy shorts and a black wifebeater top, then crawl onto the humungous bed. It’s so empty without him. I need Dante beside me, because good or bad, he’s our best shot at surviving this, and I pray his brothers are safe given what’s transpired in the past. I hope Conti isn’t planning to repeat history, but I know better than to think otherwise now. It scares me to think that I’ve become so knowledgeable in such a short time.
I’m drifting in and out of sleep when I suddenly wake to the sound of shouting and crashing glass. It’s very close. I open my eyes and a man dressed in black in our room attacking Dante with a knife as Dante reaches for his gun.
I scramble out of bed, adrenaline racing, and hide behind the mattress with my knees on the tiled floor as I watch the men wrestle.
I hear a clatter and realize the intruder has knocked the gun from Dante’s hand. Quickly, I scuttle over to retrieve it and aim, firing at the intruder without thinking twice. He’s in my home and hurting my man, and all the hatred towards a father who turned my life into this is in that one squeeze of the trigger. The man drops, no longer a threat. Dante feels for a pulse, then he looks at me.
“He’s dead.”
I can’t believe I took a life. I’m not proud of it, but it was a question of survival. My instincts took over and it’s as if I wasn’t even in my body, like it was some other person who took that man’s last breath from him.
I’m still kneeling from where I took my shot when the room starts filling with Dante’s men.
I hear sirens, and I wonder if I’ll be arrested. I can’t stop shaking even though Dante’s warm arms are wrapped around me.
I almost slip into unconsciousness until a man runs smelling salts under my nose. When I come to, Dante is holding my hand and Commissioner Manara has arrived, the body has been removed from the room and I remember what transpired.
“There are warrants out for Conti’s arrest for extortion at the port and the murder of two judges in the case against his top-ranking consigliere. So, he’s like a trapped animal with nothing left to lose,” Commissioner Manara says to Dante.
“Hmm, that makes him even more dangerous than usual,” I comment.
“Exactly.” Dante kisses my head to reassure me, and I snuggle into him, trying to forget the sight of the blood-stained tile in our bedroom.
“Miss Accordi, are you sure you didn’t know the deceased? We’ve associated him with a known organized crime boss.”
“I never saw him before tonight.”
“Do you want me to call anyone for you?” The detective has seen much in what I estimate must be his twenty years of experience. He’s a handsome man with curly, thick, dark brown hair and eyes. He has a notebook in his hand and jots a few things quickly.
He already checked out our driver’s licenses and probably ran our background checks. I wonder if he knows who my intended husband is behind the façade of Micheli Enterprises.
“No, I’d rather my parents not hear that way. We just got engaged and we haven’t had time to visit them to tell them.”
He nods in understanding. “That visit might have to be postponed. I can put you in police protection, but your fiancé has declined the offer.”
“I’m fine. I trust my fiancé.”
“Have you ever met Conti?”
“Not that I know of,” I fib. I’m not sure how much they know if Conti has been under surveillance, but I’m certain they didn’t have men inside the Duomo.
“Do you have somewhere to go that’s safe, unknown to anyone?”
“Yes, I do.” Dante is quietly confident.
And that’s it. Someone packs a bag for us and we’re on the move. Dante is adamant that he’s more capable of keeping us safe than the police, but he takes the Commissioner’s business card just the same.
We’re cautioned not to leave the country and Dante carries me to the Rover as Riccardo slips behind the wheel of the car. As we pull away, the lights of every emergency vehicle except a fire truck are visible.
Dante is still talking about my great shot, amazed.
“Where did you learn to shoot? It’s not possible to shoot like that your first time.”