71
Daniela
Cristiano barrels in, gently pulling me to my feet and helping Lydia, who is bleeding from her forehead.
“Have you seen Antonio?” I ask, coughing.
He drags us to the center of the room, away from the walls.
“Antonio and Edward?” Lydia cries. “Samantha’s here too.” She tugs on Cristiano’s jacket. “Find them.”
“Antonio can take care of himself. He has Lucas and Rafael with him, and others. I’m staying here with you. That’s what he would want. He’ll make sure they’re protected.”
The words are barely out of Cristiano’s mouth when Antonio storms into the chapel.“What the hell happened?” he yells in Cristiano’s direction.
I release a loud sob I’ve been holding back.
“Are you hurt?” he asks me softly, taking the handkerchief square from his lapel pocket and holding it to his mother’s bloody forehead.
I shake my head. “No.”
I glance at Cristiano. “Your mother?” I see the worry in his eyes, but he doesn’t respond.
“Edward and Samantha?” Lydia mutters.
“Everyone inside the main church is fine. Including Alma,” Antonio adds. “They’re in the process of being evacuated. The explosion occurred in this part of the church.”
In this part of the church? Who would do this?Maybe it was an accident. This is the oldest part of the building, and it’s vulnerable.
Another piece of the wall crumbles. Antonio glances at Cristiano. He’s calm, but I see the trepidation.
“We need to stay here until it’s safe to leave—just a few more minutes. This could be a diversion to draw us out.”
A diversion?Cristiano doesn’t believe it’s an accident.
I glance at stones on the floor that were once part of the wall and then at Lydia. She’s not young, and if we need to get out quickly, she won’t be able to—not like the three of us. “Maybe we should leave the building.”
Antonio runs a palm over my bare arm. “Right now, this is probably the safest place. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m sure.”
“What happened?” his mother asks in a shaky voice.
“We’re figuring that out as we speak.”
Each word vibrates with an intensity that makes me shiver. If this was done on purpose, whoever is responsible is going to experience hell at Antonio’s hand. I’m sure of it.
“Tell me everything you remember,” Cristiano says to me, “starting right before you came into the chapel.”
I try to remember exactly what happened. I know the details are important, and I struggle to get them right. “I wanted a few minutes alone, and I gave Paula my bouquet to safeguard.”
My eyes dart from Cristiano to Antonio. “Is everyone in the bride’s parlor safe? Where’s Pinto?”
“Who else was in the bride’s parlor?” Antonio asks without answering me. “That information is important.”
“Paula and Nelia. The makeup artist, Monica, and the seamstress, Lourdes. That’s all.”
“You handed Paula the bouquet,” Cristiano prods. “Then what happened?”