Page 47 of Beguiled and Broken

A second later, Sophia was raising the gun again at all three of us. “Vinny…if I can’t have you, no one can. I’m sorry. You’re mine. You’re mine in lifeandin death.”

I covered Bianca with my body and put my head down. Then I heard the gun go off. I squeezed my eyes shut and heard scuffling and Sophia crying. When I opened my eyes, I looked up and Cole was still sitting against the wall looking stunned. I checked Bianca for gunshot wounds and asked Cole, “Cole, are you alright? Were you shot?” I reached for him.

“No. No. I’m ok. Fuck.” He was just sitting and staring. I looked up and a big guy was holding Sophia while she cried and tried to get away from him.

A third man came through the front door. He was older, surprisingly calm, and his presence commanded attention. He was clearly in charge. One of the guys that wasn’t holding Sophia went up to him and whispered something. The older man then went and kneeled down in front of Sophia, saying, “Sophia, my darling. Calm down and open your eyes.” When Sophia looked at him, her jaw dropped. “Papa?”

“Yes, baby girl. Papa is here. I’ve come to take you home.”Raffe.Raffe reached a hand up and wiped Sophia’s tears.

“But Papa, I was just trying to bring Vinny home, too.”

Raffe sighed and shook his head. “Vinny is not yours, sweetheart. He’s not yours to bring home. But you…you are mine to bring home. It’s time to come home where you belong. Your sister has missed you.”

Sophia smiled. “Elizabeth! I miss her so much! Is mama home too?”

Sophia was so twisted up, she forgot her mother was long dead. Raffe looked down and then back up at Sophia, somber, but smiled and said, “Sweet girl, your mama is in Vomero with your sister and the rest of the family. Now, are you ready to come home?”

A sad realization came over me that Raffe, technically, wasn’t lying when he said her mother was in Vomero. That’s where the family laid her to rest.

Sophia finally nodded at her father. “Yes, Papa. I’ve missed my family. I’ve missed mama and Elizabeth. I’ve missed you too, Papa.”

Sophia was a grown woman with the mind of child. They say a person’s mind can sometimes stop at the age they experienced a trauma. I believe when Sophia lost her mother, it was the beginning of the end for her. When our arranged marriage was cancelled, that sent her over the edge, because she was already standing on it.

I watched as she leaped into her father’s arms. They embraced for moment before I heard him reference Dante and hand her off to him.

I looked down at Bianca. She was stirring a bit, but I didn’t want her to move until the ambulance showed up. I knew she was dealing with a pretty intense concussion and I wouldn’t know if anything else was wrong with her until she woke up and we could get to a hospital.

Raffe came over to me as I leaned Bianca against Cole so I could stand and talk to him. “Vinny,” he said.

I nodded and said, “I’m glad you could make it here in time, Mr. Romano.”

“I hope your wife is ok. Have your mother send me the medical bills for this. I’ll take care of them. I have my daughter back and now both of them will be together, where I can make sure they’re safe and those around them are safe. When we spoke and we realized Sophia had taken her mother’s name, it wasn’t long before we tracked down this house. There really aren’t many Catarina Rossi’s roaming around Illinois.” He smiled a sad smile.

“I’m incredibly sorry for your loss, Mr. Rossi. On all fronts. You have a lot to deal with, but I will be eternally grateful that you showed up here tonight. Who knows how this could’ve ended.”

“I’m sorry my daughter caused so much pain for you and your wife. It’s my sincere hope that you all will recover from this quickly.”

Raffe shook my hand, then walked out with a big bodyguard at his side.

“Vinny…” I turned when I heard the voice of an angel, my angel.

I rushed to her and hugged her to me tight. “Bianca…I love you. Are you ok?”

“My head hurts, but I’m alright. She hit me from behind.”

“I’m sorry baby. I’m just so happy you’re ok. An ambulance is on the way so we can get you checked out. You have a decent bump on your head.”

“Where’s Sophia?” She looked around, suddenly panicked.

“Shhh. It’s ok. She’s gone now. Her father took her back to Italy where she’ll be put in a mental facility with her sister.” Bianca looked confused.

Cole piped up with, “Long fucking story, B., but she’s gone and everything is gonna be fine.”

“Thank you, Cole. You saved my wife’s life.”

Bianca said, “Thank you, Cole. Whatever you did, I’m glad you’re here.” Bianca leaned in and hugged him.

“Yeah, but I’m not really into thoseMission Impossiblemovies, so if we couldneverdothisagain, I would really appreciate it.” We all laughed and that’s when I knew we would be ok.

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