I giggled and ran my hands through his black hair, wondering how we could make that possible. He reluctantly peeled himself off me and sat up, glancing down my body to where we were still connected.
“I reckon I could ride home with my dick still buried inside you.”
I burst out laughing at how serious he was. If I agreed to it, I had no doubt he would try. But I’d narrowly escaped death enough times for one day. The memories of everything I’d felt over the last two days came flooding back. How scared I’d been that I might have lost him, that there was a chance I’d never see him again. I tilted my head to the side, resting against one handlebar, and waited for him to look at me.
“This life scares me,” I choked, causing his eyebrows to furrow with concern. He swallowed and glanced away to look over the city. I could see his mind turning, panic swirling inside at my admission. He turned back and exhaled.
“Do you want me to give it up? It will be hard to do, but not impossible.”
I blinked at him and suddenly sat upright in surprise, resting my hands against the leather seat as I searched his face, wondering if that was really a serious question.
“Because I would,” he said quietly, placing his hands on my thighs. “If I had to choose between you and anything else in the world, I’d always choose you.” An ache tightened beneath my ribs as I reached up to caress the side of his face. He was serious. “I can’t lose you, Arianna.”
“No.” I smiled and shook my head. “I don’t want you to give it up. I know how much you love this life. Your family. It’s in your blood. It’s a part of who you are. I’d never ask you to give it up.”
He frowned. “But you said–”
“It only frightens me because I am so scared of losing you. I have seen how dangerous your world is and how every day you choose it could mean it’s your last. That’s what terrifies me. But no one knows when their last day on Earth will be. That’s the beauty of living, and we all take it for granted.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I know. And I can’t promise you I’ll live forever. But I can promise you that as long as my heart beats, it will always beat for you.”
I pressed my lips to his and whispered, “As mine does for you. And that’s more than enough for me.”
Games
Throwing the file onto my desk, I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. Was now the right moment to tell Aria that her mother had been murdered after her own near-death experience? Probably not. But there would never be a perfect time for something so devastating.
I rubbed at the sharp ache in my chest. Even though I had Aria home and safe by my side, the fact that Callum was stupid or desperate enough to kidnap her in the first place didn’t sit well with me. Why? What did he gain from taking my wife out of Italy? He spent years calculating and manipulating the mayor to take me down, and when he thought he’d finally achieved it… he was going to run? What was the point of it all? It wasn’t making sense to me.
Exhaling, I threw my phone onto my desk after reading the encrypted message from Alessio, telling me Callum’s disappearance from Rome was already being dealt with. Fortunately, since the man had already planned to leave the country, it wouldn’t be hard to prove he was responsible for the explosion and fleeing. I dragged both hands down my face. Callum was the only man who could give me the answers I needed, and he was locked up in one of my cells, waiting to be tortured for the information. I’d never felt so riled up to make a man bleed and beg for mercy that it was actually painful to keep the darkness at bay for a little longer. But Aria came first.
I heard her sweet voice drifting down the corridor as she finished her call with the hospital. Adjusting myself higher in my chair, I waited for her to appear in the doorway, my heart pounding and stomach twisting at what I had to do: break my wife’s heart.
“Ciao,” she said, smiling as she hung up the phone and breezed straight into my office. She looked adorable with her hair piled on top of her head from the bath she’d just had and a fluffy dressing gown wrapped around her body. “They are waking mypapitomorrow. They’re positive he’ll make a full recovery.”
“That’s amazing news, Ribelle.” My smile felt forced even though I was genuinely relieved.
She paused as she reached the corner of my desk, the frown line between her eyebrows deepening. “What’s wrong?”
“Come here.” I reached for her hand, pulling her to me until she fell onto my lap. With a deep breath, I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes, burying my face against her shoulder.
“Sani?” Running her fingers through my hair, she forced my head back to look at her. “You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”
“There’s something I need to show you.”
She stared at me, her body turning to stone on my lap as she waited for me to continue.
“I had Nero look into your parents’ backgrounds.”
“Okay. Why?”
“Because I wanted to be certain your father was truly innocent in all this mess with Callum. And after what you told me about how your mother died… I grew suspicious.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Suspicious? Of what?”
“That her death might not have been an accident.”
She swallowed, her pupils dilating. I reached around her and carefully placed the file in her hands. “It’s all in there. Nero gave it to me the day before the gala, but I wanted to wait until I’d spoken to Piero before showing you, in case he knew about any of this.”
