Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Me too, Mama.”
She smothered my forehead with kisses and continued to weep quietly.
My father rubbed her back, watching her embrace me.
My mom pulled away minutes later, her tears done but the aftereffects still present. With red and puffy eyes, she stepped back and sniffed.
“You’re a badass, Mom,” I said. “He was twice your size, and you dragged him across the ground.”
“It’s mama bear strength,” she whispered. “Every woman has it when they think their little one is in trouble.”
“But yes,” my father said. “Your mother is a badass.”
I chuckled then patted her arm. “Thanks for taking him out. I would have done it myself, but you beat me to the punch.”
My brother came next, giving me a rare look of fondness he refused to show unless he had to. He grabbed my hand and smiled with his eyes. “You look really good. How’s your arm?”
“It’s alright,” I said. “That morphine drip is doing wonders right now…”
“Yeah, I bet,” he said with a chuckle. “You were really brave, Vanessa. Most women wouldn’t have been so fearless.”
“You’re only fearless and brave when you have so much to lose. I wasn’t going to let that weirdo keep me. And I wasn’t going to let him have Sapphire either. Father taught me well. Knuckles shouldn’t have underestimated me.”
“No.” Conway finally smiled. “You’re right. He shouldn’t have.”
Sapphire came next, her waterworks going just like with my mother. “I’m so sorry about all this. It’s all my fault and—”
“Hey, let it go,” I said quickly. “I’m glad it happened. Now he’s dead, and you never have to worry about him ever again. A lot of good came out of this. You’re my family now, Sapphire. And families do everything for each other.”
That seemed to make her tears well up, but for a whole new reason. “Thank you…”
“So I hear I’m getting a niece or nephew.”
Sapphire rubbed her hand across her tummy, feeling a nonexistent bump. “Yeah…in about nine months we’ll have another Barsetti.”
“That’s so great.” I rested my hand on hers on her stomach. “You’ve already made my brother into a man, so I know you’ll do right by his son or daughter. And I’ll spoil the hell out of them. If it’s a girl, I’ll take her to the club and get her drunk for the first time. And if it’s a boy, I’ll take him to the shooting range.”
Conway didn’t like any of that and scowled. “I liked it better when you were unconscious.”
“Funny. I liked it better when it was just Sapphire and me talking.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped away. “She’s already back to normal.”
My parents wanted me to return to Tuscany with them for my recovery, but that just didn’t seem feasible, especially since I wasn’t supposed to fly anywhere. So I stayed with Conway and Sapphire outside of Verona.
It was a three-story villa, so it wasn’t like they didn’t have the room. I pretty much had the second floor all to myself. I spent my days in bed while Sapphire kept me company. She would sit at my bedside, and we would talk. When I was finally able to get out of bed, we would walk around the house or sit in the hot tub.
It would take a few weeks for my arm to heal, and doctors were more concerned about it getting infected than anything else.
My parents stayed in Milan, so they visited me all the time, along with my aunt and uncle.
People were making a much bigger deal than they needed to.
I was fine.
My arm hurt a little. No big deal.
But it was nice to spend so much time with my family.
We were having dinner together one night in the dining room, my parents visiting for the evening. Dante had made an Italian feast, just like he did every other night because he knew it was my favorite. Fresh baked bread, pasta with fresh truffles, and the best olive oil made in Italy.
Along with the best wine.
“Now that it’s been a week, do you mind if I ask what happened?” Conway sat at the head of the table, Sapphire on his right side.
“No.” My dad’s deep voice ripped through the air like a sharpened knife. “She doesn’t have to talk about it ever if she doesn’t want to. Let’s just enjoy our dinner.”
I’d never told anyone the details because no one asked. They were just relieved I was okay, and they were probably afraid to hear what I had to say. My face was swollen from the way Knuckles hit me so many times, but that wasn’t too bad. But to a parent, that sounded like the end of the world. “I don’t mind talking about it. There’s not much to tell, honestly. I came home from school, and he was waiting for me. We exchanged a few words, and I casually went to the fridge because that’s where my steak knife was hidden. When I shut the door, I stabbed him. I was aiming for his heart, but he turned quickly, and I missed. He knocked the knife out of my hand and then took me out of the apartment.” I didn’t share the part of the story where he hit me, knowing it would hurt my parents. “Then they transferred me to one place and then another…and I ended up at that apartment near the opera house. Knuckles told me he wanted to make the trade, and all I had to do was behave and I wouldn’t get hurt. But you know me…I’m a bit of a shit talker.” I chuckled and then ripped off another piece of bread. “I tried to get them to come into the bedroom with water more often, that way they would let me use the bathroom. But one of the henchmen insulted me, so I kicked him in the shin. When he faltered, I grabbed his gun and shot him in the head.” I was craving a glass of red wine, but with my medication, I wasn’t allowed to have any. I’d just admitted to everyone at the table that I killed someone, but I still didn’t feel an ounce of contrition for what I’d done. If I hadn’t killed him, he might have killed someone I loved. Or even me.