“Some Bratva asshole has shown up asking for you. He says he has intel you need to hear. He refuses to speak to anyone but you, and he’ll leave if you aren’t there in five minutes.” He repockets his cell. “You go. Take Ricardo with you. I’ll free Massimo.”
Rina climbs to her feet, pushing her face all up in his. “Do not harm one hair on my husband’s head. Untie him and then wait for me in the office. That is an order.”
“Of course.” He flashes her an insincere smile as he moves to my right ankle and begins unraveling the rope.
Catarina glances at me briefly before stepping out of the room.
The door has only just closed when Renzo removes a knife from his back pocket and grins at me like the sly fucker he is.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Catarina
Ican’t leave like this. Not without apologizing to Massimo. I am ashamed of how I treated him, especially now I know the full story. Turning around, I reenter the room, reacting immediately when I see what’s going down. My hand finds my dagger in a split second, and I hurl it across the room as Renzo raises his knife to my husband’s neck. My dagger hits the target, embedding in Renzo’s hand, and he instantly drops his knife, falling back as he howls in pain.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell, racing across the room and throwing myself in front of Massimo. Bending down, I pick up Renzo’s discarded knife, waving it in front of me.
“He needs to die!” Renzo barks, yanking my dagger from his hand with a yelp of pain. “He is manipulating you, and you can’t see it, or are you truly telling me you buy that load of crap he just fed you?”
I quickly tap out a message on my phone as I text for help.
“I’m not the one who is lying and manipulating,” Massimo calmly says from behind me. I step slightly to the side, still holding the knife and prepared to drive it into Renzo’s heart should he make one more move toward my husband.
“You know me.” Renzo pleads with his eyes, switching the dagger around and offering the handle end to me. I take the dagger from him and hold on to his knife. “You have known me a long time, Ree-ree. Everything I do is for you. You are not thinking clearly right now.”
I watch him carefully as I unknot the rope binding Massimo’s right wrist to the chair. “I know my own mind, Ren. I also know you just disobeyed a direct order, and it’s not the first time.” I free Massimo’s wrist and straighten up, leaving him to untie his other wrist and remaining ankle. I stay close to my husband’s side, on guard, ready to act should Renzo try anything else.
“I’m doing it in your best interests. You’ll thank me later.”
“I love my husband,” I say as the door opens and Ricardo enters the room with two of Massimo’s men. “I love him, and I’m planning a future with him. The past is dead and buried now, and that’s where it needs to stay.” I jerk my head at Ricardo. “Cuff Renzo and remove his gun and any other weapons.”
Ricardo looks blindsided, but he doesn’t hesitate to follow orders. Renzo doesn’t protest as Ricardo cuffs his hands behind his back and frisks him, confiscating the two guns he finds. Renzo stares at me, looking like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“What now, boss?” Ric asks. “What do you want us to do with him?”
“Take him to one of the safe houses. I want him guarded twenty-four-seven. All men report to you. He is not to be allowed to leave until I say.”
“Ree-ree, please.”
“Stop with the name!” I shout, losing control of my emotions. “That’s a clear case of manipulation! You cannot fall back on what we used to mean to one another to talk your way out of this, Ren. You just tried to murder my husband. That is the ultimate betrayal.”
“You can’t see what is right in front of your face! Please, my donna, cut him loose before he takes you down with him. Nothing good can come from associating with a Greco! Remember who you are! Remember the things that matter.”
He is beginning to sound like a crazy person, and I am done entertaining his bullshit. Nic and Massimo were right. He hasn’t been able to let go of me, and it’s obviously killing him seeing me happy and in love with a man who isn’t him. Attempting to remove the competition is futile when I don’t share his feelings, but I’m not so sure Renzo is thinking rationally anymore. I school my features into a neutral line and stab him with a cold look. “I will ensure Maria and the kids are looked after. I’ll tell them you needed to go overseas on a business trip.”
“They are on vacation in Mexico,” he replies, looking and sounding defeated. I’m surprised to hear this news because he never mentioned anything to me. It only serves to remind me how far we have drifted apart. “Please don’t say anything. It will only worry them unnecessarily.”
I give him a terse nod before turning my head to my bodyguard. “Take him away.”
“As you wish, Donna Greco.”
Massimo stands, placing his hand on my hip as we watch Ricardo and my husband’s men steer Renzo outside. Renzo glances over his shoulder from the doorway, slanting me with pleading eyes. “I am only trying to protect you. That is all I have ever done.”
Ricardo drags him out into the hallway and closes the door, leaving us alone.
Massimo drops his head onto my shoulder, and I lean back against him for a moment before shucking out of his hold. I turn around so I’m facing him. “I’m so sorry, Massimo.” I pick up his wrist, gently rubbing my thumb across the indents left on his skin from the ropes. “I didn’t even give you a chance to explain.” My fingers reach up, tentatively touching the bruise on his temple from where I knocked him out with the butt of a gun.
“It’s okay.” He circles his hand around my wrist.
