Page 98 of Married With Malice

I’m getting out of here.

I’m going to keep my sisters safe.

I’m going to help my husband free himself from the clutches this malignant mafia cycle before it eats him alive.

With a new fire of determination warming my chilled blood, I scramble to my feet. Everywhere I look there’s a forbidding wall of white death. Tiny ice bullets sting my eyelids. I still have no idea where I am or how far I’ll need to walk. The best I can do is pick a direction and go with it.

I take a step straight ahead, then change my mind and veer sharply to the right. I can’t explain why but I’m going with the instinct. Each step is more resolute than the last. A marching cadence begins ticking in my head. One step for each syllable of his name, over and over, to bring me closer to him.

LU-CA. LU-CA. LU-CA.

The internal mantra drowns out the wind. I’m so intent on moving forward that at first I think I’m imagining the new sound.

“ANNNNNEEEEE!”

I stop breathing, not daring to hope.

He screams my name again in panicked desperation. Then again.

Do people hallucinate when they’re freezing to death? I don’t know. Faith tells me to lurch doggedly forward anyway.

Remembering the glow sticks in my purse, I haul one out, tear it open with my teeth and crack it in my stiff hands until the neon green light is blazing.

Frantically waving the stick back and forth, I scream for all I’m worth. “LUCA!”

A dark shadow bounds this way and turns into his shape.

I’m terrified he isn’t real. But if he’s an illusion then he’s the best one I could have hoped for. And he barrels this way with astonishing speed.

I’m lifted into his arms before I have time for another thought. My stiff arms circle him and my legs try to wrap around his waist. This isn’t easy with all the bulk of winter clothes and the fact that I’m half frozen.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he says. “Thank God. My Anni.”

He pulls back and kisses my cheeks, my lips. I want to cry with relief but somehow the tears are stuck. He peers into my eyes and becomes alarmed by whatever he sees.

Luca unwinds a colorful scarf from around his neck and wraps it securely around mine. He pulls a pair of thick gloves off and rolls them on over my bare hands. I don’t want him to do that. He needs to keep warm. But before I can object, he lifts me up and cradles me to his chest.

“Everything will be all right, sweetheart,” he says. “Just don’t go to sleep, you hear me?”

Speaking is difficult but I manage to nod.

“Good girl.” He kisses my forehead. “Stay awake.”

We start to move and I nestle my head in the hollow under his neck. I have faith that he has a better sense of direction than me. I believe in him. I’ll always believe in him.

Luca walks with swift confidence and less than a minute passes before he starts shouting.

“GENTRY! OVER HERE! I’VE GOT HER!”

There’s a commotion of men’s voices. The sound of crunching footsteps. A hand gives my shoulder a fatherly pat.

A deep male voice says, “No time. We need to get her indoors and get her warm.”

As I cling to Luca, I’m aware of being lifted into a vehicle. An engine burps to life and the acrid smell of gasoline tickles my nose. It’s a tight fit as we all squeeze inside and I nestle closer to Luca when we begin moving.

His arms are still securely wrapped around me and I hear him tell the driver to hurry. By now I’ve realized the other three men are the Gentry brothers. I’m sure I’ll be mortified later that they all needed to conduct a search party on my behalf but for now I’m just grateful to them, and even more grateful that Luca wasn’t alone.

A radio crackles and one of the men speaks into a receiver. There’s a smile in his voice as he broadcasts that all is well and I’ve been found.

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