Page 97 of Of Grief And Gratitude

Deep breath.

Three… two… one…

I bolted, screaming at the top of my lungs. “Romeo!”

I glanced back, seeing the large masked man go down as I’d hoped, then ran as fast as my legs could carry me, shouting until my voice was drowned out by a loud bang and a searing pain through my arm. I stumbled and fell, hitting my head on the hard ground, my vision fuzzy. Crimson bloomed on the sleeve of my grey sweatshirt.

I’d been shot.

My vision swam as tears trailed from my eyes to mingle with cold rain drops and men shouted around me, punctuated by the staccato of gunfire. As the world went dark, I prayed to Antonella’s God that my warning had come in time to save her son—to save the man I loved.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I tested the fettucine, popping the hot noodle in my mouth and deciding it was done. I pulled the drop-in strainer from the pot, leaving all the pasta water behind in the main vessel and draining the noodles. They could rest for a minute while I finished the carbonara, adding ladles of pasta water to egg yolks and grated parmesan until it was the consistency I wanted. I tossed the noodles into the bowl, added freshly cooked bacon, and then covered it all to keep warm.

“Is Riona back yet?” Sean asked, wandering into the kitchen from the game room where we’d been playing pool before I made lunch. I’d soundly fleeced him out of three hundred dollars before he caught on to what I was doing. It was too easy to rile the cocky asshole.

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

She was late, and my cock twitched at the thought of claiming my prize. I wondered if she’d lost the bet intentionally.

“It’s raining pretty good,” he pointed out. Though the curtains were closed, I could hear the rain pelting against the windows.

“If she’s not back in ten minutes, I’ll head out and find her.” I’d waited to load her bags into the car when I saw the clouds rolling in earlier, anticipating her returning a little damp and needing to dry off and warm up before our drive home. “Grab Sam. She’ll either eat with us, or I’ll eat before another trek.”

Sean nodded and yelled across the house for his brother, making me cringe. Was his sole goal in life to be as loud and obnoxious as humanly possible?

Sam emerged from the game room and followed Sean to the table while I spooned pasta carbonara into each bowl, covering the rest to keep it warm for Riona. They dug in like starving men, even though they’d already had a full breakfast just a few hours ago.

“You know, we could take off early if you want a little more time alone,” Sean said, pointing his fork at me.

I contemplated his offer, wondering if Riona would want to stay another night. She’d seemed less than eager to return to Chicago. I nodded. “I’ll ask her when she gets back. Either way, you can head out when you want. I don’t think we need babysitters anymore.”

“We’ll wait until she’s done with her hike,” Sam added. “If she’s gotten lost out there, you might need help searching.”

The idea made me chuckle. “I don’t know how anything could happen to her on that path. I learned to walk it when I was six, so I think a grown woman can handle it just fine. Even if it gets a little wet.”

Sam shrugged and twirled his fork in the pasta. “Still. We’ll wait.”

“Suit yourself.”

We ate in silence, with only the rain on the windows and roof echoing through the expansive floor level of the cabin. Something about a rainy afternoon and homemade pasta made me long for a nap, but when Riona still wasn’t back when we finished, I knew I didn’t have time to relax. I put Riona’s lunch in a bowl and washed the dishes, ensuring everything was as clean as she’d left it earlier.

“The rain isn’t letting up,” Sam commented, looking up toward the roof. “Want me to go with you?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’ll come, too,” Sean called out, flipping the tv off and stretching as he stood. “Can't hurt to move around a little before we sit in the car all afternoon. If she takes much longer, we might as well stay the night and leave in the morning.”

That was an option, but I was still hoping to get home, so I didn’t have two possible eavesdroppers for what I intended to do to Riona. First, I’d spank her ass. Then I’d fuck it.

I looked down at my suit and dress shoes and sighed. “I should probably change if I don’t want to ruin this.”

Halfway up the stairs, a shrill scream permeated the cabin's walls. I turned and clambered back down, alarmed by the sheer terror of the sound.

Riona.

Sean and Sam were already drawing their weapons and following as I raced to the door, gun in hand.

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