Page 139 of Married With Malice

My eyes screw shut and instinctively I curl up into a tight ball, protecting my head as best I can.

“I SHOULD HAVE HAD SONS!” my father screams.

Terror strikes anew when I realize he’s so out of control that he may not stop at hitting me once. He might not stop at hitting me twice. He might not quit until I’ve stopped breathing.

In that split second of mortal peril, my mind grasps for comforting images of Luca. The way he sometimes smiles in his sleep. The spark of mischief in his smirk. The tenderness in his eyes when he holds my face in his hands.

I love you, Luca.

A gunshot shatters the scene.

My eyes snap open and the sight is horrible.

Though his body hasn’t yet fallen, a piece of my father’s head is missing. A strangled gurgle is the last sound that leaves his mouth. I’m sure he’s dead before he hits the floor.

Luca stands in the doorway, the calm instrument of vengeance. He lowers the gun that just shot my father.

“Anni.” He drops the gun, his face pale with horror now that he’s taken a good look at me. He dashes over and falls to the floor at my side, touching me carefully with a mix of grief and wrath written on his face.

“I’m okay,” I assure him, but now I’m crying so I probably don’t sound convincing. As I try to put my arms around him, the move makes me yelp because I can’t move my right arm without excruciating pain.

Luca tries not to break down sobbing himself and his arms gently circle me. “It’s all right, sweetheart. I’m here and he can’t hurt you anymore.”

This is very true. Just a few feet away, my father lies in a pool of blood and brain matter as his sightless, surprised eyes watch the ceiling. He definitely won’t be hurting anyone. He won’t be doing anything ever again.

Beyond his body, there’s more drama still playing out. The Castelli brothers are holding Sonny at gunpoint. My mother peers into the room containing her newly dead husband and feverishly makes the sign of the cross.

Her eyes flare with horror when she sees how battered I am. She swallows hard and beckons a hand. “Annalisa, come away from this room.”

Luca lifts me as carefully as possible and steps over my father’s dead body, carrying me into the hall. The numerous sources of pain on my body aren’t fun but they will heal. The monster is dead and I’m with the man I love.

Monte Castelli is glancing around nervously. “Guys, we’re about to get some company. There’s no chance all the soldiers outside didn’t hear that shot.”

My mother straightens up and addresses Sonny. “You. Give up your gun and come with me if you know what’s good for you. We will talk to the men together.”

She shuts the door to the bedroom, leaving my father’s body all alone. Her soft hand skims across my forehead and she gazes at me with tenderness and grief. “Bring her into my bedroom,” she says to Luca. “She’ll need a doctor.”

Luca obeys and carries me down the hall. As a child, I loved this room with the giant four poster bed, the endless satin pillows and the ornate gold touches on the antique furniture.

After setting me down cautiously on the mattress, Luca immediately begins examining my wounds. He unties my robe and with supreme gentleness, his fingertips prod to determine the extent of my injuries. When he gets to my shoulder, I can’t stifle a cry. He sucks in a sharp breath, blinking away tears.

“Your father did this to you?” he asks, scarcely able to talk through his fury.

“He’s dead now,” I remind Luca.

His jaw hardens. “If he wasn’t already dead then I would kill him slowly.”

With my good hand, I draw Luca closer. “He told me you were dead. In that moment, I thought I would die too.”

Luca presses my hand to his cheek and kisses my palm. He shudders out an emotional breath. “I’m alive, Anni. I’m with you.”

My throat is so raw that my voice sounds raspy. “What happened, Luca?”

“Bomb at the restaurant. Then a drive by shooting to pick off the survivors. Richie was hit multiple times. I don’t know if he’s alive or not right now. I hope he’s not.”

“What do we do now?”

“Don’t worry.” He brushes his lips over mine. “We’re together and we’llstaytogether. You hear me, Anni? We’re going to leave all this chaos behind and we’ll never ever be apart.”

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