I scoop her into my arms. Several locks have fallen out of that tight tower she’s got her hair arranged into. Even so, she’s never looked more beautiful.
She gives me a questioning look. “Massimo?”
“We have to go.”
I stand, and carry her behind one of the pillars forming the colonnade. When I’m satisfied that no one is shooting at us, I leave the cover of the column and head onto the beach beyond. The long train of her dress drags in the sand behind us.
I bring her to a small shed and set her down. We’re far enough away from the fighting now that the gunfire sounds like harmless firecrackers in the distance.
I take up a position next to the edge of the shed and keep watch in case one of the Rizzos decides to show up.
I glance at her uncertainly for a moment, wondering how traumatized she’s been by this ordeal. “Last night, did The Cleaver… were you… I swear, I’m going to kill them all!”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t touch me. He wanted to, but his father shielded me. Though The Cleaver promised to do terrible things to me after we were married. But you saved me.” She blinks away tears, giving me a proud smile. “My dark knight. I thought you were dead.”
“I’m not so easy to kill,” I tell her grimly. “Two people have tried so far, both by throwing me into the sea. Both have failed.”
“I just wish my father wasn’t one of them,” she says bitterly.
“I’m sorry for what my brothers did to you,” I tell her. “They traded you without my permission. They woke up early, vacated you while I slept.”
She wipes a tear from her cheek. “I figured as much when you showed up in your speedboat. You patched things up, I take it?” She gestures in the direction of the estate, where gunfire continues to come sporadically. “With your brothers, I mean? I assume that’s them I’m hearing.”
I nod. “It is.” I hesitate for a moment, but I know I can’t keep the truth from her. “I also formed a temporary alliance with your father.”
Her face pales.
I could run away with her. But that would mean abandoning my brothers to the mercy of the Amatos. I have to stay.
“You should run,” she says, echoing my thoughts. “If my father is really here.”
I shake my head. “Can’t abandon my brothers.”
I see the fear on her face, the sheer worry for my well-being.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.
She hugs me again, blinking rapidly.
I give her a kiss on the forehead.
“I wish we had more time,” I whisper to her.
“So do I,” she replies.
“I love you,” I tell her.
She gasps and looks up at me. Her lower lip is quivering and her eyes shine with unshed tears.
“I always have,” I continue. “I’ve loved you for these eight years. I just never realized it.”
Her tears spill over and I press my lips against her. She returns my kiss desperately, wrapping her arms around my back and squeezing tight.
“I love you too,” she tells me, sniveling.
I smile sadly. “I just wish we could have those lost years back. Imagine what we could have accomplished together?”
She rests her head against my shoulder, weeping.
