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"Very well," spat Rielly "What in the hell does 'very well' mean?"
"We had," Donatella slurred her words, "wild and passionate sex for many years."
Rapp cringed and waved his hands back and forth. "Don't listen to her."
Anna's skin was flushed with anger. She yelled, "Excuse me, but I was under the impression that you were going to take care of some business, and now you show up two hours late with this drunken tramp! I think you have some explaining to do!"
Rapp grabbed Anna by the shoulders. "Lower your voice."
She tried to break free from his grip, but couldn't. "Let go of me."
Rapp held her tight. "Anna, she isn't drunk. She's been shot. She's on morphine, and I think she's slipping into shock, so if it's okay with you I'd like to discuss this later." Rapp didn't wait for an answer. He released Anna and walked into the living room. He opened the mini bar and grabbed a bag of cookies and a bottle of water. He came back to the bed and propped Donatella up against the headboard. "Here." Rapp held the bottle of water to Donatella's lips. "I don't know how long it'll be until a doctor gets here." She drank half of the bottle and then Rapp handed her a cookie. When she was done with the cookie she drank the rest of the water. Rapp laid her down on the bed and shoved some pillows under her legs to get her feet elevated. He covered her with a blanket and checked her eyes again. Hovering above her face he whispered, "Everything is going to be fine. I want you to just lie here and rest. No more talking. Just rest."
Rapp turned around and found that Anna had again adopted her defiant pose. This time, however, there was a scowl on her face that told him he was in trouble. Rapp grabbed Anna by the arm and brought her into the living room. He closed the doors to the bedroom and said, "I know you're mad, but I can explain."
In an extra catty tone she said, "Please do."
"That woman and I used to work together. We were-" Anna eyed him. "Have you ever slept with her?"
Rapp looked her in the eye. The thought occurred to him that he should lie, but he knew it was wrong to keep a secret like this from her. "That's beside the point. It has nothing to do with this-"
"Answer the question." Anna took a step toward him and poked him in the chest. "Have you ever slept with her?"
"Yes, but it was-" Rapp was blinking in frustration, trying to figure out a way to make her understand.
She brought her hand up fast and slapped him across the face. "You bastard."
Rapp's demeanor changed instantly. He grabbed Rielly by the wrist and stuck his face within inches of hers. Very slowly, clearly and deliberately he said, "Don't ever hit me again! I don't hit you, you don't hit me!"
Rielly yanked her hand free. "Don't change the subject. We come to Italy to get engaged, and you take off on some meeting." Rielly mocked him by making quotation marks with her fingers. "To take care of some final business. What was that final business? One more screw with your old girlfriend?"
Rapp closed his eyes. "It wasn't like that. We used to work with each other."
"And you used to screw."
"Yes, but that was before I met you."
"Yeah, right. I screw everyone I work with."
"Stop it"
"No. Do you actually expect me to believe this crap? You keep all of these secrets from me because you say it involves national security." Rielly was getting louder. "And then you go have a drink with this gal who you used to work with. Now I'm no spy, but I sure as hell wouldn't think that the fact that you and this girl used to fuck each' other is a national secret." She folded her arms across her chest and looked at Rapp with hatred in her eyes.
"Anna, please don't do this. I love you. I have never cheated on you, and I will never cheat on you."
"Then why didn't you tell me about her?"
"She was before you. I don't ask you about any of your old boyfriends."
"Excuse me, but I don't fly to foreign countries to have secret meetings with my ex-boyfriends. I don't show up in our hotel room with one of my ex-boyfriends who just happens to have been shot!"
Rapp took a step back and tried to figure a way out of the mess. "Anna, my darling, you have to trust me on this. I did not cheat on you. I will never cheat on you. This was official business."
Rielly wasn't buying any of it. "What did you have to talk to her about?" After hesitating Rapp said, "I can't talk about it."
"How did she get shot?"
"There were some men waiting for her in her apartment."