Page 110 of Doll's Eye

“Don’t leave me,” I rasp.

The worry lines between her brows increase. “Leave you? Why the fuck would I leave you? If anything, you will try and send me away again for my protection.”

I shake my head and stroke her hair. “No. Never again.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” Her arms wrap around my torso.

“I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve known that Vita was up to something.”

“How could you, Massimo? She’s your sister, and it’s been no secret that she hates me, but I never would’ve thought she wascapable of anything like that. I never took her threats seriously, so it should be me that should’ve seen it coming and didn’t.”

My hackles shoot up as my face tenses. “Her threats? She’s threatened you?”

Sighing, she moves some of my hair away from my face. “That day when she showed up at the hospital.”

“When you told me you could handle her.”

“Yes, and I did. But I still should’ve told you. That’s on me.”

“Tell me now.”

“She was pissed off about your father and said that I was to blame for that. I explained to her that if it weren’t for my love for you, then we would have declared war on all of you for your father’s actions. It didn’t matter though. She still blamed me and even blamed you.”

“If you would’ve told me—”

“What would you have done, Massimo?” I don’t answer because I’m not entirely sure. “You wouldn’t kill your sister for a stupid threat that you wouldn’t have taken seriously either.”

“I would have kept my eye on her. Maybe even saw the Russians coming and…”

“And you wouldn’t have sent me away,” she says softly. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a second. “There’s no point in going back to think about what any of us could’ve done differently. We’re here now, and I am so sorry you lost your sister, but what’s done is done.” She stops and studies my face as I just stare back at her. “You’re taking the blame, and you shouldn’t.”

“How can I not? I almost lost you again today.”

“But you didn’t. I’m still here. You protected me.” She smiles. “The way you yanked me out of that pool and then wrapped your body around me.” She wiggles her hot little body under me.

I manage to crack a smile, but it quickly fades. I stroke her hair more. “I have something to tell you.” Her expression drops. “I think Sarita is playing your brother.”

A giggle bubbles inside her as she tries to choke it down. “Of course she is.” She giggles more look at her in confusion. “Look, if you did to me what Tullio did to her, I probably would’ve killed you. He’s getting far less of what he deserves for humiliating her like that and breaking his word.”

“I thought you’d be upset.”

“I’m proud of her.” She shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong here. I love my brother to death, and if she were to try and physically harm him in any way, I would, of course, go after her whether or not he deserves it. But she will just play him the way she felt he played her. Only better.”

I stare at my wife in actual awe. “How the fuck are you so cutthroat one second and so angelic the next?”

“Angels fall all the time, baby,” she muses, moving her arms around my neck. “So, what makes you think she’s playing him?”

Yesterday…

We’re finishing a nice dinner and wine tasting out in the garden, where there’s a lovely venue in the center. The sun is setting, there’s music playing, and everyone is enjoying themselves. Everyone except Vita.

“I don’t know what to do about her,” I mutter.

“Who?” Sarita, the only one near me, asks.

“Our sister.”

She sighs. “I don’t think there’s anything any of us can do.”