Page 37 of Sicilian Savior

“I think I need a little quiet time to process... you know... what happened.”

That I slaughtered a bunch of guys in front of you. Yeah. That.

“Of course,” I answered quickly. “Totally respect that. I’ll just be outside.”

“Thanks.” Her sweet smile lifted her lips and caused my stomach to drop.

I hauled ass out of the kitchen and away from her, grateful for the space. Spending all day with her had been torture enough, but the knowledge she was in imminent danger? Damn. I’d never felt so protective of anything in my life. I wasn’t even sure if those guys had recognized her, but to hell if I was leaving that up to chance.

It had felt good killing bad men again. Not as good as it would feel killing Victor, but good nonetheless. Anyone who posed a risk to Lucia was fair game in my book, and Mario just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. One less threat in her life. Just too bad she had to witness it firsthand.

I found a little grassy spot overlooking the vineyard and settled in with my wine. Twenty minutes later, Lucia’s soft footsteps cut through the grass behind me.

“Pasta Alla Norma coming right up.” She appeared in front of me holding two oversized bowls in her hand, a glass of wine tucked carefully in her arm, and a blanket folded over her elbow.

“Oh, hell yeah.” I stood up and took a bowl and then blanket from her. “Thank you.”

I fanned out the blanket before sitting down. She sat beside me, putting her wine on the open spot beside mine.

“Nonna’s recipe?” I took a long inhale of the fragrant dish.

“Yep. Although, she used to make the noodles from scratch. I had to use dried ones from the cupboard since I lost my fresh ingredients today, but it’s pretty close.”

I took a big bite and moaned. “This is amazing. You are amazing.”

“Thanks,” she said sweetly, then ate as well.

“Do you still have contact with your family now that you’ve changed your identity? I mean, have you ever reached out?”

Pain twisted up her face as she shook her head. “No. When I had to run, I knew I had to cut ties with them all. It’s unbearable not being able to pick up the phone and call my family, but I can’t take the chance of tipping Victor off. I’m sure he has them all under surveillance.”

“Do they know what happened to you?”

She shook her head. “No. I just sent a letter when I left telling my family I loved them and not to look for me. Nothing else.”

My heart squeezed in my chest. “I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”

Lucia’s eyes welled up. “I miss my sister so much. We were best friends. She lives in Florida, but we talked every single day. I can’t imagine how worried they must all be.”

“Did they know about Victor? About what he did?”

“I told my family I was divorcing Victor and that he was dangerous, but I never got into details. They were suspicious when he got custody since they all knew I would never hurt Luca like the courts said I did. There was nothing any of them could have done, and I didn’t want to put their lives at risk too, so I said nothing.”

“You were very brave. A lot of people would have broken down and reached out to their family. You stayed away to keep them safe and to get yourself safe so you could get Luca back. You’re so strong, Lucia. I hope you know that. And it makes me happy knowing that once we take care of Victor for good, you’ll be able to see your family again.”

When I said those words, her eyes lifted with a renewed spark. “I can’t even imagine. I honestly thought I’d never see them again.”

“You will,” I promised. “You have my word.”

We finished eating in silence, my moans and groans the only soundtrack to our meal. The timing worked out perfect, and the sun set over the vineyard as we finished up the authentic Sicilian dish.

“Thank you for dinner, Lucia.”

“We have a deal. You fix things for me; I cook for you.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly repairing your sink when I fixed things today. I’m really sorry you had to see that.”

She lifted her eyebrows and looked out over the sky, now deep shades of orange and pink. “Yeah. That was a different kind of fixing for sure, but I get it. You did what you had to do.”