Page 115 of Dark Breaker

She smiles and slides on the ring. “I’m never taking this off again. I’m going to wear it my whole life.”

We hug once more.

I hear footsteps behind me.

Rosa freezes in my grasp and inhales in fright.

I let her go and turn around.

“They’re my men,” I reassure her.

She slumps in relief beside me.

When the men reach me I gesture at Carlo and tell them: “Clean up that mess. I don’t want his body found. Ever.”

“You got it, Boss.”

I reach the front of the log cabin. There are three cars in the driveway now in addition to the old Alfa Romeo.

Two of my men emerge from the front door of the cabin. They carry Cateno between them. Incredibly, he survived. He’s limping, though, with a tourniquet wrapped around his thigh and his chest.

“Get him to the hospital!” I shout.

“We’re on it,” my men assure me.

I watch them go, and then load into Cateno’s car to drive Rosa back.

While we’re en route to Palermo, she grips my hand and squeezes. “Thank you. For coming back for me.”

“I had to,” I tell her. “It was my duty. I took a vow when I married you.”

She nods. “So many people treat marriage lightly these days. I did, too, I admit. At least at first. I figured if things didn’t work out we’d just get divorced. But that’s the easy way out. We have to fight for each other.”

“We do indeed.” I look her in the eye. “I’ll always fight for you, Wife.”

“And I’ll always fight for you, Husband.”

She leans forward and kisses me right there on the autostrada. Our lips lock, opening and closing hungrily, and finally I release her.

I pull over to the side of the road before I get into an accident, because I know we’re not going to make it home.

The moment I put the vehicle into park we’re all over each other.

19

Rosa

Ipress my lips against his with absolute need, devouring his kisses hungrily.

His mouth feels so good, soneeded, after the events of earlier today.

Like we need to make up for the brutality we witnessed by having some soul-invigorating sex. With the potential to create life rather than destroy it.

I know that I’ve never wanted Fabio more. He saved me. Came back for me, my dark knight in shining armor.

I don’t know how he tracked me down.

But I’m grateful.