“He’s a guy who worked like a dog for four years to hopefully earn Sophia’s hand, only to find out he was too late by the time he got here.He trusts me,” Alessandro insists.“And as far as he knows, I’m on his side.You want your wife back?I’m your best chance.”
I don’t know what’s worse.
The idea of what Enzo could do when Sophia turns him down.
Or knowing Alessandro is right.
That I need him.
I only know I need her.
She’s all that matters.
“Fine,” I grunt.“What do you have in mind?”
18
SOPHIA
“There she is.There’s my sunshine.”
I hear him, but it’s like I’m underwater.The sound is distorted.I’m rocking slightly from side to side, and the sensation would be pleasant if it weren’t for the occasional bump that makes me bounce.I’m sitting up, my head resting against something firm behind it.
“I’m sorry I had to do that.I didn’t want it to be this way, really.I wanted to take you last night,” the voice continues.I recognize it, and I’m not even surprised, but part of me still doesn’t want to accept this.
It can’t be happening.
He wouldn’t go this far.
But I don’t really know him anymore, do I?We’re both different people.The Enzo I knew, the boy who won my heart and left me yearning for him over long, lonely years, would never set off an explosion in front of my home.He would never abduct me like this.
“It’s a good thing you’re so light, or I would’ve had trouble carrying you over my shoulder up and down the ladders,” he jokes.There’s glee in his voice.He’s so proud of himself.
I have no idea what he’s going to do next, and the thought makes me shiver before I force my eyes open, because let’s face it, keeping them closed isn’t going to help me.Avoiding reality is useless.
“Tell me something,” I whisper while the world comes into focus.We’re on a highway, with bright sunshine practically blinding me, making me blink hard as I try to figure out where we are.How far away has he taken me already?“Did you send that bouquet?The eyes?”
“I couldn’t exactly sign my name to the note, could I?”he asks, chuckling.I have to force myself to look at him, and his disheveled appearance doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.His cheeks are scruffy like he didn’t shave today.His hair looks like he’s raked his hand through it enough times that it sticks up at odd angles, a darker shade of blond thanks to the sweat he’s shed.
“Didn’t you know how it would scare me to get something like that?”I’m not trying to set him off, but I have to ask.
“That’s exactly what I thought wouldn’t happen.”He glances toward me before turning his attention back to the road.We’re going far enough beyond the speed limit to leave the cars around us in the dust.Maybe a cop will stop us?I can’t believe I’m actually hoping for a traffic stop.
“I don’t understand,” I admit, and that goes for pretty much every aspect of this situation.
“Alessandro is the last person who would want to hurt you.Well, besides me,” he adds.“I figured if you thought it came from him, you would know you weren’t in any danger.”
I guess his twisted logic makes sense.“That was a pretty big gamble,” I muse.Everything is in one piece, right?Nothing feels bruised or broken.He hasn’t harmed me except to knock me out, and even that didn’t hurt.
“Yeah, and it cost me today.Well, not me directly, but the courier I was using as a drop-off.”He sighs, then shrugs.“The bomb went off too soon.These things happen.”
Don’t.You’re smarter than this.Thank God that thought comes along when it does, making me bite my tongue before I can ask what the hell happened to him.What robbed him of his humanity?How can he be so like this?
“You think the guy died?”I ask as casually as possible.
“He hasn’t answered my calls.I’m guessing he was injured at least.”With a soft growl, he mutters, “He had better keep his mouth shut if he did live.”
Maybe he was always like this, and I didn’t see it.Too blinded by young love, remembering him as a sweet, eager-to-please kid.For all I know, he showed me what he thought I wanted to see so I would love him.And it worked, didn’t it?
