Page 93 of Heartless Vows

Snippets of memories flutter through my mind. Giorgio and a nurse gave me a sponge bath and dressed me in clean clothes when my wounds finally stopped bleeding.

I don’t know how long it’s been since then. Pain and fear warp time until I wonder if it was all a dream.

The door opens. Giorgio and Fiero stalk in on silent feet. Other men hover like wraiths in the dark hallway.

Although moving stiffly, Fiero gives no other sign of his injury as he continues across the room toward Tristan. Giorgio flips the blanket off me and swings my feet over the side of the bed.

“Time to go,mia topolina. We’ve stayed here too long,” he says as he tucks shoes onto my feet.

They aren’t my shoes, but they fit.

I wonder why he even bothered when he scoops me into his arms and kisses my temple. My feet haven’t touched the ground since Otello Tempe shot me.

He’s dead. The man I instinctively hated my entire life, who terrorized my mother and murderedmia zia,is dead. Giorgio killed him. I don’t know what that means for my family, but I do know it means Tristan and I are much safer.

The tense atmosphere seeps through my brain fog and slowly clears away my confusion as Giorgio carries me down the hall and through the reception area. Shadows creep along the empty space and fill me with dread.

Several cars’ headlights gleam in the front roundabout. A man dressed in all black opens the glass door and ushers us toward the backseat of the nearest vehicle.

Gunshots sound as Giorgio pulls my seat belt across my lap. He curses, abandons my belt, and pushes me to lie down on theseat while reaching behind himself and tugging Tristan onto the floorboard.

“What’s happening?” I ask as I reach for him, but my husband cups my hip and grabs his pistol from his waistband.

“My uncle found us. Stay down. This’ll be over in a moment.”

He shuts the door and pats the side of the vehicle. The driver rolls forward until the car in front of us shields us from the parking lot.

Tristan lifts his head, but I push him down. He tries to rise again.

“I need to—”

“You need to stay hidden, Tristan. Our job is to be invisible. We can’t be the distraction that gets them killed,” I hiss.

His little body vibrates with fear and fury. I gentle my hand on his shoulder and lean down to whisper in his ear.

“Once Giorgio teaches you the skills you need to survive out there, I won’t stop you, but for now, we’re just a liability. Prove to him you’re smart and stay out of sight,” I say.

He blinks up at me.

“You mean it? You won’t stop me?”

I take a deep breath before responding.

“I won’t stop you. I trust Giorgio, and I trust you, so you should trust me to keep you safe right now. If he thought you were ready, he would have taken you with him, right?”

“Right,” he grumbles.

Time stretches on and on. Each heartbeat feels like a million years, so even though the fighting only lasts a few seconds, my nerves fray and fear pounds in my ears.

When the door opens and broad shoulders fill the frame, I know it’s Giorgio, despite the darkness.

“Are you okay?” I ask without thinking as I search his face and shoulders with my hands.

“I’m fine. Get up and buckle in, Tristan. We’re going home,” he says as he gathers me against his chest.

I soak up his strength as he holds me, and after a moment, an uncomfortable suspicion creeps into me, but he lifts me into the center seat and slides in beside me. He shuts the door and commands the driver into motion.

“What happened? Where’s Fiero?” Tristan asks.

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