Since resolve probably means murder I know I can't let this man take me out of the house.
When he reaches for my arm, I don't stop to think. I've spent three years on the run waiting for someone to grab me like this. Though I wouldn't exactly say I've trained for this moment I have had various scenarios play out in my head.
I twist away from his grip and bring my elbow up into his face. His nose doesn't break, more's the pity, but he screams something at me and lets go. I try to dart past but he catches hold of my shirt and pulls me back.
Spinning around, I raise my knee and kick him in the groin. He doubles over and I run. I'm almost at the door when he reaches me.
Snatching a handful of my ponytail he pulls my head back and drives my face into the door. Pain explodes across my cheekbone and blood pours from my nose.
For a minute, as everything goes white, I think I’m going to pass out. Then it clears leaving me angry more than afraid.
Despite the dangerous turns my life has taken nobody has ever hurt me like this. How dare this lowlife come into Adriano fucking Volante’s house and do this to his woman.
My attacker spins me around and raises his fist. I duck the blow and he strikes the door. Somehow I get it open and I start to run.
Voices call out, one of them Simone's, instructing the others to grab Bruno. That tells me two things. The first is that my assailant’s name is Bruno and the second is that these men know him.
Is he a known enemy of the Volantes? A traitor in their ranks? Why the fuck do I care?
I keep running. The gate ahead of me is closing slowly but I pick up my pace and squeeze through just in time. Simone yells my name but I keep running.
As I see the village up ahead I stop. Bracing my hands on my knees I bend over and catch my breath.
Blood is dripping from my nose onto the road and my face is starting to throb. The village bar is up ahead. I could walk in there, phone the police and be done with Adriano, Vida, the whole sorry mess.
Only I don't trust the police to sort it all out. They won't go after Adriano because the Volante name carries too much weight. They'll tell me Vida's outside of their jurisdiction, maybe they pass something on to the Hungarian authorities but who knows where their priorities lie.
I could slip into the forest to my left and disappear again. My father's friend Giuseppe who made my fake passports could make another for me. My parents would wire me money like they did the last time and I could run.
Only I've been there and done that. Staying makes more sense. Adriano can protect me. But it's not just about protection anymore, is it?
Before Bruno tried to take me I was resolved to make Adriano face what he feels. Now here I am running away from our fucked up relationship. I'm not a damned coward.
This ends here. I need to go back there, tell Adriano about the past, admit what I feel for him and face Gabriele. Well, maybe that can wait a while.
Turning, I start to walk back along the road to the house. I get about fifty feet before a car comes toward me, blinding me with its headlights. As it pulls up I prepare to run again. Then Simone gets out of the driver's side.
"Need a ride, signorina?"
"No, I'd rather walk back to the house in socks." Fuck. How am I only just noticing I'm not wearing shoes? Adrenaline, I suppose. Simone shoots a sympathetic look as I hobble toward him.
He winces as he sees the state of my face. It’s the most extreme reaction I’ve ever seen from this cool, collectedbodyguard. That doesn’t fill me with confidence about what I look like.
"I'll call a doctor, signorina. When we get back to the house.”
I could refuse. The blood I can deal with myself but right now I want painkillers. Maximum strength painkillers. I get in the car and rest my head back against the seat.
"Bruno?" I ask as he turns the car around.
“Dealt with.”
I don’t ask him what that means. The grim tone of his voice tells me enough.
“Are you going to tell Adriano?”
"Yes, Signorina, I'm afraid I must.”
“Will you tell him I ran?”
