Page 63 of Black Widow's Kiss

“What do you mean?”

Lorenzo got up and walked around the room as he thought.

“Okay, you’re saying that when we drove up there, your plan was to talk Sato out of the deal, right?”

“Right.”

“So, there was no way you could know that he was planning on marrying you right then. And if you didn’t know, Pa definitely didn’t know. So, why would he have Matteo follow you with a sharpshooter rifle in case you did something to piss him off?”

“I don’t know. Our father is fucked up,” I explained.

“He’s fucked up. But what’s the reason you needed to take control of the business?”

“Because he’s not strategic,” I realized.

“Exactly. And it would require some strategic thinking to be that many steps ahead. I could do it. You might be able to do it. But Pa and Matteo…?”

I had to admit that Lorenzo was right. I was giving Pa a lot more credit than he deserved. Yeah, Matteo might be the only one capable of making that shot. But why would he have been there to take it?

“What are you suggesting, that I made up getting shot?”

“I’m not suggesting you made up anything. But, what if the feeling in your neck wasn’t what you think it was?”

“What else could it be?”

“It could be a random nerve pinch. It could be a phantom pain. I get them all of the time. For no reason, something will hurt, then it goes away.”

“So, you think it was all in my head?”

“What I’m saying is that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one. There is only one person capable of making a shot like that and there was no reason for him to be there. That leaves the kiss from the Black Widow being the most likely cause of your crash.”

“I told you to stop with that Black Widow shit.”

“Then you give me another explanation. You’re there. He kisses you. Less than five minutes later you’re driving into a tree. What else could possibly have happened?”

I turned my attention out the window knowing there was one other thing.

“What is it?” Lorenzo asked, always the perceptive one.

“When I was in the hospital, the doctor, Sato’s doctor I’ll add, she had this crazy idea that it could be something else.”

Lorenzo tilted his head like a dog hearing something it’s never heard before.

“The doctor suggested that it wasn’t an attack on my life. She thought it was…” I paused trying to think of a reason I shouldn’t say it. I couldn’t come up with one. “…A panic attack.”

Lorenzo stared at me speechless. I could see his mind working.

“No,” he concluded as confidently as he had said anything.

“And that’s what I said. Of course it wasn’t a panic attack. I don’t get fuckin’ panic attacks.”

“You don’t.”

I stared at Lorenzo’s unwavering confidence in me.

“Right. But, how would you know that?” I asked curiously.

“What do you mean, how? I know you.”

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