Before we can get safely inside, a slew of bullets flies at us from the side garden, and everyone drops to the ground.
“Ree-ree,” a man with a familiar voice hollers, and I squeeze my eyes shut, pretending like I didn’t hear it.
If Renzo is really here, his fate is no longer in my hands.
“Get the fuck away from me,” Renzo roars.
I climb to my feet and run toward the sound of his voice because I can’t see him yet.
“Rina!” Massimo shouts, racing after me. He grabs my elbow and pulls me back as Renzo continues to scream my name in between muffled shouts. “Are you fucking insane?” my husband shouts. “You can’t go out there! He’s unhinged and as liable to kill you by mistake as to kill me by desire.”
“Tell them not to kill him, Massimo.” I send him a challenging look. “Do it now. I need to speak to him.”
“No, sweetheart. You really don’t. Let it go. Let him go. You knew it would come to this.” His face falls and I see it.
“You know something, and you haven’t told me.”
“It only fell into place today. I was planning on telling you tomorrow.”
I jerk out of his arm and take a step back. “We said no more secrets, Massimo.” Ingrained mistrust surges to the surface as I take another step back. “I want to speak to Renzo now. Give the order, Massimo.”
He hesitates, and anxious butterflies swoop into my chest.
“If you truly have nothing to hide, you’ll bring him to me.”
“I don’t have anything to hide, Rina. I’m trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need your fucking protection!” I scream. “When I want it, I’ll ask for it. Until then, you treat me like an equal, or I walk away. I mean it, Massimo.”
“Okay, okay. Relax. I’ll give the order.” He speaks into his cell and repeats the order through a walkie-talkie handed to him by one of his men.
Tension leaks into the space between us as we stare at one another. “I’m not your enemy,mia amata. I’m your husband, and I love you. You have to let me protect you and trust I’ll tell you when the time is right. This past week has been a shit show. I know you’re strong. So fucking strong. But you haven’t dealt with any of your emotions yet, and I didn’t want to add this to it.”
“So, what? You were going to kill him and tell me after the fact?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t flinch or attempt to deny it, reminding me of who my husband is.
It’s a struggle to hold myself together as Renzo appears in my line of sight. He’s dressed head to toe in black, and it’s hard to make out his features. But the string of colorful expletives littering the air as Massimo’s men escort him across the lawn is undeniably Renzo.
“You don’t have to do this,” Massimo says, moving in closer when he sees how I’m trembling. “You don’t always have to be strong. Lean on me. Please.”
I stare up at him with tears shining in my eyes. “You know this has to be me. This is not something I can delegate.”
“This will hurt,mia amata. Please, I’m begging you. Let me handle it.”
I shake my head. “I don’t shirk my responsibilities, Massimo, and I need to understand why.”
Resignation crests over his face as he nods. “As you wish,mia regina.” He steps up behind me, placing his hand on my quivering lower back. Warmth seeps from his hand to my skin, minimizing the tremors. “I am here for you. Whatever you need, just ask.”
I blink successively as Renzo comes closer, sure my eyes must be deceiving me. “Is that…a wetsuit?” Disbelief threads through my tone.
“It fucking is. The crazy bastard swam up to my beach.”
It shows how desperate he is. Renzo knows he wouldn’t get near the house from the road, but he also knows Massimo has men stationed along his property and a security system with trip wires and cameras all over the grounds.
He knew he’d be caught, but he still came, which can only mean one thing: he needs to tell me something or he wants to confess and die at my hands.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” Renzo snarls, fighting the men holding him, but it’s pointless. He’s outnumbered. There are armed men surrounding us on both sides. If he makes one false move, they’ll riddle him with bullets.
