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“It was brought back. I signed for it.” Carmine said.

Lorenzo shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. I spoke to Gino and he said it would be weeks before he could look at it…”

Giovanni frowned. Lorenzo glanced to him with a confused furrow to his brow. Without a word they both bolted out of the room.

“How could you say that to me?”

“From day one you knew what Lorenzo was. Didn’t you?”

“I suspected but—.”

“You knew! And when he offered to dig in to our affairs you rejected it. Why did you change your mind? A wink, a kiss, what the hell made you think dealing with him wouldn’t lead us here?”

“Mira, please, don’t be angry with me. I made a call, a bad call…”

Mira’s hand shot up to silence her. She then wiped the tears from her face. “We’re leaving. Now. I don’t care what the hell your motives are for helping him, and betraying me. We’ll deal with it in New York. I’m getting you the hell out of here before something bad happens. Now dammit!” she opened the car door and tossed angry words back at Fabiana. “I can’t trust you. When we get back to the states I don’t want you managing Mirabella’s business affairs anymore.”

“What?” Fabiana gasped.

“I know you’re a partner, and we’ll work it out, but if you could do this to us, it means I don’t know you at all.”

“I love you.” Fabiana pleaded. “I made a mistake.”

“Bullshit. You knew exactly what you were doing. It’s time I start taking control, hell for both our sakes.” Mira got out of the car and slammed the door. She began to walk away but her legs felt like she had anklets carved out of lead strapped to them. She was possibly too harsh, too quick to judge, but dammit lies weren’t a part of their friendship. She glanced back hoping her friend was behind her. Fabiana remained in the car. Her head pressed to the steering wheel as she wept. Mira lost her conviction at the sight of her pain. Fabiana was in trouble. Lorenzo confessed to murdering someone, and she was helping him, how? Was she going as far as to cover it up?

Dammit. In all her anger she hadn’t truly digested what her friend told her. “Fabiana!” she said about to approach the car. Loud shots erupted behind her. Confused, Mira’s head turned to see Giovanni and Lorenzo running full speed out of the villa toward her. Mira froze, not sure of why they were coming after her, she panicked.Was it because she knew about what Lorenzo had done?

She turned and started to run toward the car away from the men in pursuit of her when a bright flash exploded in front of her face, a hot white light that blinded and rendered her deaf by its force. Her body felt as if it were on fire. In a wave of heat she was airborne for what felt like an eternity. She sailed backward then crashed hard. Darkness.

They didn’t have to speak a word to each other. They knew.They knew!Giovanni and Lorenzo ran through the house shoving family members and staff out of the way. The men were behind them, still they couldn’t run faster, and they both tried. They nearly crashed through the door together. Outside in the sunlight the cars were parked in an intricate arrangement making his head spin. Precious moments ticked by before his sweeping gaze located her. Mira was walking toward Lorenzo’s car. He yelled her name. He shouted for her to get away from the car, but didn’t realize he did so in Italian. Her head turned. In that brief moment of recognition, he thought he saw fear in her pretty eyes. He yelled again, with Lorenzo yelling for Fabiana. His Bella shocked him by running away from him. He chased after her but it was too late. The car exploded. She was thrown across the lot and landed hard on her back. The explosion knocked them all on their asses. The roof and hood of the car shot through the air, caught in a bright orange and reddish yellow fireball. Every window of every car in his drive was blown out and shards of glass rained on them. Giovanni, stunned, struggled to rise on his hands and knees. He could hear Lorenzo’s groaning at his side. His head lifted, and he noticed Mira lying still on her back, just four feet in front of him.

He literally crawled to her as Lorenzo called out for Fabiana over and over. Men running with extinguishers rushed the car. Something was wrong with his hearing. It made all sounds a bit muffled at first, and then the noise level skyrocketed sending a piercing pain through his skull. One of his men shouted that the other woman was in the car. His cousin ran for the fire, and they had to tackle him to the ground. He yelled Fabiana’s name over and over.

Giovanni reached Mira. Her eyes were closed, her face red and swollen, her lip bleeding and blood spilled from one of her nostrils. The sight of her sent a shock wave of guilt and grief through him. “Bambina, Mirabella,wake… wake…” Giovanni shook her hard. She didn’t budge. He gathered her in his arms and pressed her face to his chest shouting for help.

“Now, Gio! Take her in now!” Flavio yelled at him. He hadn’t realized that Flavio had spoken to him. Apparently several were trying to take her from his arms and carry her inside. He clung to her desperately, confused. “Listen to me. There may be more bombs, get her inside! Now!”

With the help of another, he managed to rise, and then hold her steady in his arms. He carried her inside past family and others. The women inside of his home were wailing and hugging each other. Several ran over, wanting to take her from him.

“Stay the fuck back!” he yelled at them all, staggering toward the stairs. Eventually a few others swarmed him, and they helped him carry her up and into his room. He had taken a nasty fall as well. The back of his head pounded. She didn’t move. She didn’t speak. Her stillness was his madness. He pressed his ear to her chest and listened for her heart. He heard the faint beating and nearly wept in relief.

“Thedottoreis on his way,” Flavio said.

“Fabiana? She dead?” Giovanni asked.

“Yes. Lorenzo drew his weapon outside. He nearly shot one of the boys. They have him restrained inVilla Rosso. Thecarabineriandpolizia di statowill all be here soon. We have minutes.”

Giovanni swayed and one of his uncles steadied him. “Who? Angelo? The Nigerians? Who?”

“Dominic’s on it. Not sure.”

He looked back at Mira. “She alive? Is she alive?” he shouted at his aunt who was checking her. Her heartbeat was so faint he feared it had stopped altogether with how still she remained. The old woman stepped back from the bed saying a prayer. He returned to Mira’s side. He kissed her brow, her lips, but still she didn’t respond. He put his head to her chest and checked for life again. She was strong, very strong. “She’s going to be fine,” he said to himself. “I heard her heartbeat. She’s going to recover.” Giovanni said in a shaky voice.

“Gio?”

“She hit her head, that’s all. She’s going to be fine.”

“We need to talk.” Flavio said sternly. “You need to be out of the villa. Now.”