He puffs out his chest. "And then, it was my magnanimity that allowed you to marry him so he'd trust you enough to let his guard down with you. But you made the mistake of falling for him."
"Did that make you jealous? Is that why you tried to kill him with the drone attack?"
"Drone?" He chuckles. "I think you’ve been watching too many movies. If I were going to shoot him, I'd do it the old-fashioned way, a bullet to the back of the head, and preferably, without getting my hands dirty."
Something clicks in my brain. "The shooting at the restaurant. That was you, wasn't it?"
His expression flickers for just a second, but it's enough.
"Itwasyou. Did you put theCamorraup to it?"
"Guilty as charged. Too bad thefaccia di merdaescaped."
My heart jackhammers in my chest. The pressure builds behind my eyes.
"You tried to kill him. Hell, you could have killed me while you were at it. But I guess you wanted to make enough of a statement so I’d come to you. Well, here I am."
"And now, I’m going to kill you. If I can't have you, no one else will. I’m never letting go of you Elsa. Never."
He reaches for the gun.
I shoot, or at least, try to, but the gun doesn’t fire.
His features light up and his eyes gleam. He jumps forward. I yell and dash around the table and toward the door, but he grabs hold of my shirt and pulls. I scream, then turn around and bring the gun down on his head.
I hear the sound of something cracking. He sways, then crumples to the floor. My fingers tremble. The gun slips from my grasp, hits the floor, and bounces once.
"Elsa?"
I turn to find Seb at the door.
47
Seb
"You came!" Her features crumple, Then she throws herself across the room and into my arms. I pull her close to me and lift her off the floor as I examine her features. "You’re okay? Did he hurt you? If he dared touch a hair on your head, I’m going to kill him, notwithstanding my promise to you. Elsa?"
She hiccups, opens her mouth to say something, then closes it. Tears pour down her cheeks, as she shakes her head.
"Elsa, baby?"
"I’m fine," she rasps. Then, she pushes her face into the crook of my neck and bursts out crying. "I was so scared, Seb. I thought he was going to kill me, or do something worse. You should have seen his eyes, Seb. He was crazy. I should have listened to you. I never should have come here. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you."
"It’s okay." I rub circles over her back. "It’s fine, I’ve got you. And I’m never letting you go now."
She nods, hiccups again, then pulls back. "Avery, is she—"
"She’s fine. Massimo is with her."
"How did you know where to find me?"
"I tracked your phone."
"My phone." She swallows. "You tracked my phone? Is that why you returned it to me, so you’d know where I was?"
I survey her features as she glances away, then back at me. "I’m glad you did."
"When I woke up, and you were gone… You have no idea how worried I was. If he had done anything to you—" I shake my head. "What were you thinking, coming here on your own?”