Page 65 of Tainted Princess
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Francesca
Snatching my phone off the charger beside the bed, I stuffed my sunglasses into my purse and headed for the door. I had messaged Lexi earlier, offering to pick her up, but she said she hadn’t stayed at home last night, so she was just going to meet me instead.
Staring at Enzo’s side of the bed, still neatly made from the day before, I narrowed my eyes. Lexi wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gone home last night.
After I was unceremoniously kicked out of my own interrogation, I had furiously stomped to the parking lot, grateful that Vinnie had followed us there earlier. It was nice to know at least one man in my life was turning out to be reliable, because none of the others were worth shit these days.
I hadn’t heard from anyone in New York since I had arrived in Las Vegas. Granted, it had only been a few days, but I was still unused to being ignored by my family. Six months of solitude didn’t outweigh two decades of love and inclusion.
It hurt, and I hated that they still had the power to hurt me.
So, instead of thinking about the fact that I had been thrown away by my family, I focused on the good in my life: my new friend Lexi. Although, she was going to get an earful from me this morning, that was for sure.
How could she have not thought to warn me that we were in Enzo’s club? I mean, I guess I couldn’t really blame her for not knowing the twisted dynamics of my marriage. Who would have thought that a wife wouldn’t know the extent of her husband’s business dealings? And, to be really fair, she seemed just as shocked to see him there as I had been.
Still, a heads up would have been nice.
I was still musing over all the ways I could punish Lexi for her lack of information—trying to come up with something heinous that I didn’t think her twisted self would actually enjoy was harder than you’d expect—when the elevator door opened, admitting me into the parking garage. Walking across the smooth gray concrete, my heeled boots sounding loud in the cavernous space, I glanced at my phone again, stupidly hoping for some indication of where Enzo was and how things had turned out last night. It was very unlikely he’d feel the need to keep me informed, especially after the way we had ended our evening, so unsurprisingly, there was nothing.
Fucking typical.
I could see Vinnie, standing tall and proud next to my Velar, and I sent him a smile. I was about to call out a good morning when the sound of tires squealing cut through the otherwise quiet garage. Movement to my right caught my eye, and I froze as I saw a large black van barreling toward me, the engine roaring as the driver accelerated.
I heard Vinnie shout, but it was impossible to take my eyes off the van heading my way. In what felt like slow motion, I turned, my whole body now facing the vehicle that didn’t seem to be slowing. In the dim light of the underground garage, I could see the driver, a man who looked to be in his forties with dark hair and a mustache, his face tight with determination. He had both hands wrapped around the wheel, knuckles white as we faced off, him glaring at me in undisguised hatred, and me, staring in bewilderment at the face of a stranger who was clearly trying to do me harm.
And by harm, I mean, run me the fuck over.
I might have stood there until he hit me, too lost in the shock of the situation to even think about getting out of the way, but one moment I was standing frozen, watching my death approach in the form of a van straight out of a bad eighties rock video, and the next moment I was flying, hurtling through the air as the van sped past me.
Landing on my hip with a hard thud, I groaned out loud when my head smacked against the cement floor, my teeth coming down on my tongue. A heavy weight on top of me forced the air out of my lungs, and I gasped, my vision going dark for a few seconds as my mind tried to catch up with my body.
“Francesca? Francesca!”
My head pounded with every sound Vinnie uttered, making his frantic words sound like bombs detonating inside my skull.
Blinking slowly, I peered up into the concerned face of my friend, his eyes wide as he scanned my face. “Are you alright?”
I started to nod, but my freakin’ head immediately let me know that was a terrible idea, so I pressed one hand to my temple while throwing Vinnie the least convincing thumbs up in the history of the world. I took a couple of deep breaths as the severity of what had just happened began to sink in.
Someone had tried to hit me with a van.
Not almost hit me, or even accidentally came pretty close to hitting me.
No. I remembered quite clearly the look of dogged determination on the driver’s face; he wanted to hurt me. He tried really fuckin’ hard to do it, actually.
And I had no idea why.
Vinnie continued to babble, pawing at me like his touch alone could make the situation better.
“It’s alright, Vin,” I said soothingly, my words serving to calm us both down. “It’s just a bit of a bump. Give me a minute and we’ll head out.”
“Francesca,” Vinnie pressed, his eyes wide as they continued to look me over. Sheesh, you’d think it was a gunshot wound or something with the way he was carrying on. “I really think I should take you to the hospital. I’m sorry, but when I knocked you over, you hit your head pretty hard.”
“Not your fault, Vinnie. You saved my bacon today.” I tried for a smile, but I could tell he wasn’t buying it. “I think you deserve a bonus. There should be a badge system, like in Boy Scouts. Maybe a ‘Save The Day In Your First Week’ badge?” I held my hand out, and Vinnie grasped it, gently helping me off the dusty concrete. “I bet your mom would sew it on to your uniform and everything.”
Nothing. Not even a chuckle.
