Page 52 of Borrowed Bride

The carnage is never-ending, but we gain the upper hand through sheer numbers. My father brought an entire army.

I fight alongside my men until Leo’s numbers start to trickle down. Once I am sure victory is secured, I trudge to the back room with a doctor in tow for my father.

Only when I open the door, my heart crumbles to ash.

The room is empty.

Gianna and my father are gone.

20

GIANNA

We are meant to stay and wait for Marco to return, but no sooner has he left than Freya begins crying loudly from all of the noise. As soon as the shooting happened, I tucked her into her bassinet and hid her in the closet in the hopes of saving her life.

My eyes lock with Dante as the wails of a baby fill the air, and I find myself hoping that he will bleed out so my baby will remain a secret for a little while longer. As it turns out, his wound is only superficial. He stands strong and I have no choice but to show him Freya.

He takes one look at her, and then suddenly he’s carrying her and dragging me out of the church through the back door. He tells me over and over that it’s not safe and we need to get away from here because no one in that church will pale at harming a baby.

When I try to fight him, he grabs my arm and tells me to listen to him, as a father speaking to a mother. He can’t protect his own son, so he will help me protect my daughter. I try to lie and tell him that the baby isn’t mine, but he doesn’t fall for it.“Your eyes,” he tells me. “I can tell by your eyes that you would die for this child.”

A few hours later, Dante is true to his word. Freya ends up with Tara and Dante at a safe house in the city, and reuniting with Tara is more overwhelming than I can put into words. Tara brings me a change of clothes and I dress in jeans and a T-shirt while warning Dante that Leo suspected I would leave him. This whole thing looks like an elaborate plan from the outside and he will come for me.

Dante assures me it won’t come to that, and to prove to me that he’s trying to end the war and keep everyone alive, he then takes me to a safe house on the outskirts of the city to face Marco. With Freya safe with Tara, the only person I trust without a doubt, I tell myself that no matter how this goes, it will be worth it to finally get answers.

Which is why, five hours after the carnage of my supposed wedding, I stand in the lounge of a run-down building eyeing Marco as he walks through from the kitchen.

He stops dead in his tracks when he sees me, and the glass of water in his hand slips from his grasp. It crashes to the floor and shatters, sending glass and water over his bare feet but he doesn’t even flinch. His naked torso is wrapped in a multitude of bandages and part of his face is swollen from too many punches.

And just like in the church, my heart throbs like a bruise at the sight of him. Love and doubt war with each other inside my chest and I almost can’t breathe when he locks eyes with me.

“Gianna,” he says, and I nearly melt for him right there and then.

“Marco,” I reply.

There’s a moment when time freezes, and we both stare at one another, waiting for the other to move or speak first. The air is thick with tension and the sharp scent of antiseptic.

Then Marco rushes toward me, scoops me up into his arms and kisses me so hungrily that I momentarily forget my own name. Nothing exists but the firm press of his body and his hot lips crashing into mine over and over. He kisses me like he’s trying to consume me, and I give in to it for a few desperate minutes.

My hunger and love for this man haven’t faded one bit.

Then I push him away, and we stumble apart as reality crashes back into my mind. No matter how I feel, no matter how I yearn for him, it’s not worth it if he is the monster in the dark.

“I missed you,” Marco croaks, dragging one hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you are here.”

“I told you,” I say shakily, fighting to remain confident. “I need answers.”

“Anything,” he says, and his voice is soft. “I will tell you anything.”

“I learned some…horrifying things about you, Marco.” My voice trembles. “I need to know if they are true.”

“Is that why you left?” he asks, taking a step forward.

I take a step back. “One thing at a time.”

He nods. “Okay. Ask me.”

I spent twenty minutes telling him everything about Fawn. His shock is visible on his face as I explain how she came to me in the hospital after an accident and how she presented me with an ultimatum to protect myself. I tell him everything she told me, and Marco’s face is a flip book of horror, pain, and sadness.

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