Page 16

SIXTEEN

zina

S omething wakes me with a fright and instantly I’m aware of his body against mine.

It must’ve been him. I’m not used to sleeping next to him.

I sigh softly and close my eyes again, smiling against the pillow and I snuggle into him.

I like this.

I want more of this. This is everything I’ve ever wanted from him.

A thud from somewhere in the house makes my eyes shoot open again.

What was that?

My eyes dart to the bedside clock.

It’s past one. It could be one of the boys getting a late-night snack. But something inside me is flashing a massive warning.

Alarm bells are flaring in my mind.

Another thud. Someone whispering harshly. I sit up.

There are people in the house. People who shouldn’t be here.

Reaching over I shake Giovanni and the moment his eyes open I press my and over his mouth and whisper. “Stay quiet, someone is in the mansion.”

He understands instantly and grabs my wrists, pulling it away as he nods. His hand slips beneath his pillow and he pulls out a Glock.

“Stay here.” He demands, his voice low.

I shake my head and glare at him. Not a fuck. My son is out there. His sons are out there. They all need me. He sneers and shoots me a look of warning that I ignore. When he climbs out of bed I follow him. I grab his shirt from the floor and slip it over my lace nightie.

Tiptoeing behind him I stay close to the wall.

Downstairs gunfire erupts.

“The security team.” Giovanni shouts over the noise.

Santino runs out into the hallway. “What the fuck?” He shouts, holding a Glock as well.

I run towards Santino. “Come with me. We have to find your brothers and make sure they’re all safe.”

At first he wants to argue, but he knows I’m right. He nods stiffly.

I glance at Giovanni who nods as well before heading downstairs to help the team. My heart aches as I watch him go.

I don’t want him to get hurt.

But I need to take care of the boys.

Room by room we sweep the upstairs area and I pull each of the boys to safety. “Stay close.” I shout to Dante, shoving Romeo’s door open. He’s standing in his sweatpants, his eyes wide as he pulls his gun from his dresser. “What’s going on?” He snaps.

“Come with us, we just need to get Guido , then everyone is safe.” I say.

He glances at Santino who nods, sticking close to my side.

Once we have Guido, I breathe a massive sigh of relief.

“Santino, I need you to stay upstairs and protect your brothers.” He opens his mouth to argue and I shake my head. “Do it.” I snap.

He swallows hard. “Romeo, give me your gun.” He does as he’s told.

I glance at Guido with a tight smile, then I run out of the room and into the hallway, heading downstairs towards the gun fire.

The weight of the Glock is reassuring in my hands. I’ve never shot a gun before. But I’ve seen enough to know it’s pretty simple. As long as the safety is off - you just point and shoot.

I stay low and hidden, creeping into the living room. The security team is making quick work of the intruders.

Giovanni spins towards a shadow, taking aim and firing two shots. A man falls, but behind him another man moves from a hidden corner.

I stand up, scream Giovanni’s name and fire four shots in quick succession. The gun jolts in my hand and I fight to keep it steady.

The intruder drops to the ground. Giovanni spins towards me with his gun aimed high, then realizes it’s me. His eyes go wide, and he bolts towards me.

“You were supposed to stay upstairs.” He snarls.

“She just took out the last guy.” Fabio eyes me and instantly I feel very exposed. I grab the edges of Giovanni’s shirt and pull them tighter around my body.

Fabio still doesn’t look away. He doesn’t look impressed.

Surely he should be grateful that I just stopped Giovanni from getting shot.

Everyone gathers in the kitchen while the security teams clears up the carnage left behind by the intruders.

The coffee machine is on we’re all tense, adrenaline still rushing, and nerves frayed.

Giovanni walks in, his eyes drifting over me. I’ve buttoned his shirt up and it’s longer than most of my dresses, but he still seems unable to take his eyes off me.

“The house is clear.” He confirms, picking up a cup of coffee and taking a sip.

“What happened?” Santino demands, his arms folded across his chest.

Dante and Guido are sitting on the edge of the counter, quiet, watching everything unfold.

“We don’t know yet.” Fabio answers.

“It was her.” Santino glares at me. “She was way too calm. Way too confident the entire time. It was so fucking obviously her.”

“Santino—” Giovanni says.

“Stop being so fucking blind, dad. She’s right here - in our house. She probably unlocked the door for them. How else would they have gotten inside with all this security around?”

His eyes are on me like a hunter tracking its prey. I press my lips together. No matter what I say right now - it will sound wrong. I can tell him it wasn’t me - beg him to see reason - but it would sound desperate and fake. I could get angry, but I would sound too defensive.

I fold my arms across my chest, angry to be the one under attack when I am the one who did whatever I could to keep them safe.

Giovanni walks over to Santino and puts his hand on his shoulder. His back is turned to me so I can’t hear what he’s saying. He keeps his voice low.

Santino nods, sulking, still glaring at me.

When Giovanni turns to face the rest of us again, he sighs heavily and says, “I will get to the bottom of this. I promise you, no matter who is responsible for betraying the safety of this family - I will figure it out.”

His eyes are locked onto me as he spells each word out.

My chest tightens as I fight the urge to defend myself.

If he is so determined to find out the truth - then he’ll find it - and he’ll learn I had nothing to do with this.

I have to let things happen how they need to happen. Nothing I say will change anything. He needs to find out for himself.

So does everyone else by the looks of things.

Slowly, everyone leaves and goes back to bed to try to find some sleep in the last few hours of the night.

I’m walking towards my bedroom, certain that Giovanni won’t want me in his bed anymore, but he reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me to follow him.

He tugs me into his room and gestures towards the bed.

“You don’t want to me go back to my own room?” I ask quietly, unsure.

“I want to keep an eye on you.” He says coldly.

My heart sinks.

“Ok.” I mutter, climbing into his bed. To my surprise he wraps his arm around me and pulls right up against him, holding me just as he was before.

I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

Over the next few days the estate is tense with distrust, aggression and anger.

Everyone is looking at everyone else as though they are to blame. Or maybe it’s just me they stare at in that way.

Giovanni and Fabio have set up an interrogation area in the downstairs office and one by one they are dragging every staff member and every one of the security force, into a brutal interrogation.

They aren’t holding back anything, and when I sneak close to listen, it shocks me the levels they will go to in order to extract information - especially considering that most of these people are not bad people.

I hear screaming coming from that room and sobbing and pleading.

Fabio and Giovanni aren’t letting up or showing any mercy. They are determined to find out who did this.

On one hand it terrifies me that he’s so cruel to the people who work in his home - on the other hand I am relieved that he’s looking everywhere - and not only at me.

The days go by and the tension doesn’t settle.

We have no answers.

Every night I fall asleep safely wrapped in his arms - or trapped - it’s hard to know the difference.

My eyes flicker open, the first thing that comes into focus in the darkness is the alarm clock, blinking 3am.

I groan softly, stretching my legs out as I lay on my back beneath the blankets. I turn my head, wanting to move closer to Giovanni but in fright I gasp as I find him propped on his elbow and staring at me.

“Gio?” I whisper, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dark.

“Zina.” He whispers back at me.

“Can’t you sleep?” I roll onto my side, watching him.

He sighs slowly but doesn’t answer me. His face is lined with deep thought.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask, reaching out to touch his jaw.

He takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine and pulling it close to his chest. He still doesn’t answer me though.

I shift again, moving a little closer to him.

“Why haven’t you interrogated me yet?” I ask the one question that has been burning on my lips since the day they started looking for answers. Why not me? The person they suspect the most.

Giovanni lifts my hand and presses my fingers against his lips. He doesn’t kiss me, he just lets my fingers brush over his warm, soft skin.

I’ve asked - I don’t need to repeat it - he heard me clearly. But he’s taking his time to answer.

A minutes passes and Giovanni is just watching me.

Another minute and I narrow my eyes, knotting my brows.

Resignation sinks through me. He isn’t going to answer. He has nothing to say to me. Whatever thoughts are troubling him tonight he has no intension of sharing them with someone he doesn’t trust.

“I hope you get some sleep.” I whisper quietly, closing my eyes. I can still feel the heat of his gaze on me.

“Zina.” My eyes shoot open.

He takes a deep breath. “I’ve made a decision that I hope is the right one.”

“What decision?” I ask with tension burning inside me.

“I’ve decided to give you the chance you deserved when you first walked back into my life. A real chance, to be a part of this family. I have decided to trust you.”

I let out a rushing breath of relief. Laughter spills from lips and I reach up and grab his face, pulling him down to kiss me.

He moves with a stiff reluctance, unsure of his own words, perhaps.

Maybe he needs more time to adjust to his own decision.

I’m over the moon though. It’s all I wanted - a real chance to be with him. A real chance for him to see the person I truly am.

“Thank you.” I whisper in the darkness.

He pushes me so that I roll over, then pulls my back against his chest again.

“Go to sleep.” Is all he replies with a rough edge to his voice.