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I glanced at Slash, who shrugged in resignation. Looked like we didn’t have much of a say in the matter. I just hoped we didn’t have to tell the wedding party why we were going to be late, although I couldn’t see how we could avoid it.

“Everyone, please follow me.” Frank motioned for us to follow him out of his office.

I exhaled a deep breath, wishing I could shoot my little black cloud of trouble out of the sky or capture it in one of thoseGhostbustersmachines where it could be locked up forever. But, no, it seemed determined to follow me at every freaking turn. Maybe just once it could give me a break.

“I’m sorry,” I said to my family as we walked through the airport.

“It’s not your fault,” Slash said, pulling me to his side and kissing my temple. “Thank God no one was injured.”

“I’m in full agreement with that,” my dad said. “By the way, about that body armor, Slash, I do believe you assured me I wouldn’t need it.”

I closed my eyes, thinking it was going to be a long week if my dad kept needling Slash like this and I had to be quiet about it. Slash murmured a soft curse in Italian under his breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “Maybe it would be wise, just to be on the safe side.”

“Do I need some, too?” Mom asked.

“Put it on the list, Clarissa,” my dad said. “We’ll buy the best Italy can offer. No sense waiting until we get back. Like Slash said, just to be on the safe side.”

Chapter Five

Lexi Carmichael

If you’re going to fly to Europe and can afford it, first class is definitely the way to do it. Actually, chartering a private plane istheway to do it, but that, as well as first-class seating, was a luxury I could never have afforded before I met Slash.

In addition to his gig at the National Security Agency, Slash founded a private company in New York called Frisson that provided the government with special simulation-based training, data integration, and fusion analysis, among other things. It generated a good amount of money, so it gave us the extra funds to charter a plane to take us and my parents to Italy if we so desired. We desired, but when Slash tried to charter a flight for the dates we needed, there were no planes available. So, first class on a commercial airline became our option of choice, which was what my parents would have chosen anyway.

When Frank had someone rebook our flight two hours past the original one, I worried first-class seating wouldn’t be available for my parents. Luckily the flight had two first-class seats available, which was great for my parents, but Slash and I were relegated to economy. I didn’t complain, because I was thrilled we were able to make the flight in the first place, and that’s how I was used to flying anyway. Slash, being Slash, never complained and seemed content to sit next to me, even though his long legs were squished against the seat in front of him. I was just grateful we were in a row that had just two seats on the left-hand side of the plane, so we didn’t have to be too near any other passengers.

I gripped his hand tightly as we took off. It wasn’t until we’d reached cruising altitude that I relaxed a little. I leaned back against the seat but still held on to his hand.

“That whole Santa-shooting-up-the-airport thing was not the way I intended for this trip to start,” I said. “Do you really think Santa was just after his ex-wife?”

“That’s what he confessed,” Slash said. “Investigators confirmed she was one of the customer service agents handling the check-in and baggage at the Alitalia counter at the time of the shooting. They divorced last year, and she got the kids. She already had a restraining order against him. You bumping into him probably saved her life.”

“So, he was just going to shoot his ex-wife right there in the airport?”

“That’s debatable. He told investigators he wasn’t going to hurt her. He just wanted her to listen to him. I’m not sure I buy that.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “What person in their right mind takes a gun to an airport?”

“A person whoisn’tin his right mind,” Slash said. “Thank God no one got hurt, especially you.” He reached beneath his shirt and slipped out a small cross that had once belonged to his father and kissed it. “Now that we know the black cloud is accompanying us to Italy, we have to stay on high alert.”

As if I didn’t already have enough stress as it was. I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and tried not to think about it. “Were you able to reschedule the driver to pick us up at the airport?”

“I was. I also got a message to the boat captain. He’ll wait for us, as well.”

My eyes flew open. “Oh, I totally forgot about that. We have to take a boat to get the island, of course.”

“Sorry,cara. I know boating is not your thing. At least I was able to charter a decent one with an experienced captain. It only takes about twenty minutes to get to the castle via boat. During the day, it’s supposedly a beautiful view. Since we’ll now be coming in at dusk, I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to see from the water. Regardless, I feel fortunate we’ve been delayed by only a few hours, and I’m feeling extra lucky that they had enough seats on this flight to accommodate us, including first-class ones for your parents.”

“Me, too.” I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”

“I was also able to speak with Father Armando, and he said they’re going to hold dinner for us. So we shouldn’t miss much of the gathering. He’ll tell the others what happened and is grateful all of us are okay.”

A flight attendant walked down the aisle, stopping at our seats. “Excuse me,” she said. “My supervisor called and asked me to take care of you. We heard what you did in the airport, and we’re upgrading you, on the house. If you’d gather your things, we’ll be moving you to first class.”

“I didn’t think there were any extra first-class seats,” I said in surprise.

“We had two no-shows, so you’re in luck.”