Page 65 of The Reaper's Bride

Sixteen hours later, I’m disembarking at Harry Reid International when I get a call from home. Not from Armando and not from Caterina but from our home telephone line which no one uses except the servants and…

“Valdo?”

My little brother is whispering, making it difficult to make out his words in the noisy airport. “You need to come home, Alessio. Caterina needs you.” Every hair on the back of my neck is suddenly standing on end.

“I’ll be there in forty min-”

“That’s too long! You need to be herenow.Father is going to hurt her.”

“Hurt Caterina? He’s… he came home?”

Our father said he’d stay in New York making sure the Vicinis kept the peace until Sofia was found. I told Armando to watch over the girls but that was when I figured Rocco was the only potential threat there. If I’d thought my father would change his plans, I would’ve skipped my trek to Europe in a heartbeat.

“I don’t think she meant to kill him, but he probably deserved it.”

“Wait…what?Valdo, who killed who? Where’s Armando? Tell him to-”

“Hurry home. He says he’s going to punish her.”

The line goes dead, and I try calling Caterina, Armando and even my father. No one picks up. A helplessness I’ve not felt since I was nine years old sweeps through me.‘He says he’s going to punish her.’

He’s wanted this from the night he arranged my marriage, his fucked-up way of getting back at Nico for killing one of the sons he didn’t even truly love. My father knows nothing of love, only hate and greed, torture and lust. He’s nothing like my wife and… I’m not him either.

I didn’t even care what he wanted of me at the time, too blinded by my own desire for revenge. But I care now. The thought of anyone hurting Caterina drives me out of my mind. I race toward the exit, searching for a fast car to steal.

34

Caterina

We’ve been staying in Frankie’s room, but Valdo comes around early asking us to go swimming with him. Armando agrees, saying he’ll watch over us and that the exercise will do us some good. “If you’re guarding us all the time, when do you sleep?” I ask him after Valdo hurries off toward his room to change. I’ve never seen my bodyguard looking this exhausted.

He gives me a wry smile and doesn’t bother with an answer. “I was told to fetch this for you earlier.”

From under his jacket, he passes me Mr. Whiskers. My heart constricts painfully. Only Alessio would’ve told him to do this. “When did you speak to him? Where is he? Is he alright? Has he…”Has he asked about me? Do you know what he’s been doing? And with who?I don’t ask those particular questions. Armando is Alessio’s friend and soldier, not mine.

“I spoke to him about six hours ago. He’s safe and he’s in Calabria. He…” Armando scrubs at his stubbled jaw before quietly admitting, “He’s concerned about you.” He wouldn’thave asked Armando to fetch my stuffed animal to comfort me if he wasn’t. It doesn't lay all my heartache from the past week to rest but it’s something. “Get changed, and I’ll escort you both to the pool.”

“I’ll have to go to my room to fetch my bikini. I’ll be right back,” I promise, seeing the torn look in his tired eyes.

“No, I’ll go with you. Stay in your room until we return,” he tells Frankie, locking the door and refusing to let me wander alone.

It’s a chilling sensation, knowing my bodyguard doesn’t believe I’m safe even for a few minutes in my own home. It settles a decision for me. When we reach my bedroom, I will put Mr. Whiskers back where he belongs, and I’ll fetch my little knife. Then, I decide to fetch something else for protection.

As we walk down the hall, it occurs to me this is the first time we’ve been alone together since New York. My stomach twists with nerves, but it must be addressed. “Armando, about last week…”

“I’m sorry I frightened you, Caterina.”

I give him a quick nod, knowing from experience how rarely Made Men make apologies. “I didn’t intend to betray anyone. I only want my sisters to be happy. I know they are not my blood but-”

“They are still like sisters to you, I know. Your husband knows it, too. I mean to be a good friend and a good soldier. Sometimes, it’s hard to be both in our world. The darker half is always there, always pushing me further, but I never intended for you to see that side of me.”

His admittance is unsettling, but I trust that his words are sincere. “Then, we go back to how things were between us?”

He shrugs, giving me that familiar smirk of his. I suppose that settles it.

We walk further down the hall in silence until we reach my bedroom door. “If Alessio had really told you to hurt me to get information, would you have done that?”

“He will never ask that of me. Not with you. Not ever. Hurry and change.”