“I just block it out.” I shrugged and heard her let out a little sigh. “But that’s not what’s on my mind.” I kept my back turned, unsure I wanted to even touch this topic.
“You’ll feel better if you talk it out.”
“I’m not sure if I will.” I moved to the window and watched the breeze push the blowup swan around the pool.
“Ahh.” I caught her reflection in the window and saw her sit up a little straighter. “Sienna, come sit here. We should have this talk now.”
I turned and immediately felt uneasy. Of course, Andrea had figured it out.
As I sat across from her, she took my hand and rubbed gently over my engagement ring. “There are two types of Dons. There are the ones who think they’re gods, rule with an iron fist, and sleep around with whoever they wish until they get a son. After that, their wives take care of whoever that child came from and act like it’s their own.” My throat felt like sandpaper. “Then there are the Pieros and Elios, who find the person they’re supposed to be with, then hold tight with every fiber of their being and rule with love and respect. Not that,” she smiled, “they don’t still have that iron fist when they feel they need it. When their loved ones have a son, or a daughter, they’ll raise that baby together no matter what as a solid unit.”
I nodded and looked down, knowing she was right, but…
“It’s okay to be nervous of this life, Sienna.” She tucked my hair behind my ear. “No one is expecting you to not have doubts or fears. Just know you can talk to me about anything. Besides,” she smiled, “Elio knows I would splash bleach on one of his beloved suits if he even entertained those kinds of thoughts.” She winked, making me laugh.
“He does love his fashion, doesn’t he?”
“He had his first Armani suit at six.” She laughed harder. “I swear we had no idea what we were creating.”
Elio snickered from the hallway clearly eavesdropping. “A suit speaks volumes about a man. Cheap suits are a disgrace.” He shut the door behind him and joined us.
Andrea rolled her eyes and tilted her head at me. “Do you feel better now?”
“I do. Thank you.” She reached out and cupped my chin tenderly.
Suddenly, the door opened and one of the house staff rushed in. We all jumped to our feet.
“What the hell happened to him?” Niccola’s voice found us as he rushed by.
“He’s okay,” Vinni shouted as we all ran out of the room and into the hallway where we found a battered Wyatt. Andrea rushed in the opposite direction.
“Oh, my God!” I rushed to my best friend and helped him into the room and onto a chair. “What on Earth happened?”
Elio was on my heels asking the same question while Andrea returned a moment later and handed him a glass of water.
“Thank you.” He took a few sips and swallowed down the pain killers she offered him.
I bent down in front of him and inspected his bruised face. I also suspected a few cracked ribs as well by the way he held his arms around himself. “Wyatt, tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m all right,” he assured me as he glanced over at Vinni, who looked noticeably uneasy.
“What?” I looked from Wyatt to Vinni. I wanted to know what the hell was going on. “Who did this to you?”
“Mariano,” Vinni said, and Elio shot up straight to his feet. “Wyatt had just gotten back to the hotel after the interview, and they jumped him there in the parking lot. He’s bruised, his ribs and back, but all things considered…” He trailed off.
“What did Marino want?” Elio asked as I inspected his cut cheek.
“He wanted me to relay a message to Sienna.” He lowered his voice and put a hand on my shoulder. “That if she doesn’t return to him, he’s going to publish some video he has of her and Anna in a hot tub.” I blinked at what he’d said. I always thought I’d felt someone watching me that day, but I never imagined they were filming me. “He also said something about her father and some alliance they had with your family, Elio.”
I stood quickly and started to think of a way out of this. “It had to be either Rosa Coppola or Salvo who took that video.”
“What happened in the hot tub?” Niccola stepped farther into the room.
“I held her underwater until she stopped breathing.” I looked at Elio, who was deep in thought. “I should’ve known to be more careful.”
“Don’t you have the police paid to look the other way?” Wyatt tried to help, but it was more complicated than that.
“If the video gets out, there’s no stopping the repercussions,” Vinni explained.