Page 22 of Fierce Vows

Getting dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain black button-up shirt, I make my way down to the kitchen to grab some coffee.I am all out of things to do in Cyprus so I intend to spend these next five days catching up on my reading until Rafe and I return to the states.I know there is a shit storm waiting for us when we get there.

“Morning,” Luca says as I walk into the kitchen, before handing me a cup of coffee.

“How do you always know when I’m about to walk into the room and what I want?”

He chuckles but doesn’t tell me what I want to know before walking out to do whatever it is he does when he isn’t cooking.Sipping at my coffee, I enjoy the silence.But only for a moment before the loud ringing of my cell phone breaks through.I consider ignoring it and just enjoying my last few days in Cyprus but eventually relent and answer it.

“Yeah.”

“Willow, please,” Regina cries on the other end of the line.

“What’s wrong?”I ask in a panic.

I’m already up and moving through the house, searching for my husband.

“There’s someone in the house,” she says in a lowered tone.“I don’t know what to do.”

“Go to my room.Behind my closet is a panic room,” I explain.“Once you’re inside, call the police.”

“The police?”she questions as I listen to her walk down the hallway.

“Yes, Gina.You are in danger and more than half the fucking force is on our payroll.”

“But...”The call goes dead and my blood turns to ice.

“Rafe!”I call out as I take the stairs two at a time, glad I opted to wear flats today.

Somewhere in the bowels of this monstrosity that Armand built a gunshot goes off.I walk faster in the direction that I think it came from.Luca walks out of one of the rooms, his face a mask of shock.Everything happens in slow motion.

Luca’s hand falls away from his stomach, revealing the bloom of red he was hiding.His knees give out and he slumps to the ground in a heap.I fall to my knees beside him.

“Luca!What the hell?”

“You need to hide,” he murmurs, all the color already draining from his face.

“You need a doctor,” I argue, pressing my hand against his abdomen to stem the flow of blood.

He shakes his head, the movement sluggish.“Please.Go hide.”

I watch his eyes track something behind me before I feel the prick against my skin.Swiveling, I face a man I have never seen as my body grows heavy and my vision turns fuzzy.I want to ask who the hell he is and what the fuck he wants but my mouth won’t work.

Another shot rings through the house as the man above me smiles cruelly.His smile reminds me of my uncle and I can feel fear clawing its way up my throat.

“You’ll fetch a fine price, Mrs.Gallo.And this should be a lesson to your husband to keep his nose out of my fucking business.”

It feels like I am floating and even though I try to fight it, my eyelids fall closed and the world around me is nothing but blackness.

****

Iwake alone in anunfamiliar room.Dark furniture and robin’s egg blue bedding are the only things in this unknown space.My mouth feels like it is stuffed with cotton wool and when I stand, my legs are wobbly beneath me.I take a moment to allow my body to get used to being upright before I inspect the area.

There is a bathroom with a shower and not much else.I open the door to a wardrobe against the far wall and see nothing but lacy underwear.What the hell?Turning away, I walk toward the window and draw back the curtains to find only a wall behind it.Where the hell am I?

Panic slowly starts to envelop me and I can feel tears start to threaten.I fight back both and square my shoulders.I am Willow Hernandez fucking Gallo and I won’t allow myself to have a god damned panic attack before I even have an inkling of what the damn situation is.

A key turns in the lock of the door and I back away from it as fast as my feet will carry me until my back hits a wall.The same man from the house walks in and faces me with a shit eating grin covering his face.I watch him carefully as he studies me.Salt and pepper hair, dark eyes, and a winning smile.He is dressed in an expensive dark blue suit and carries himself with the air of someone in control of his entire universe.

“Who are you?”I ask.“And why the fuck am I here?”

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