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His smile flashed, fierce and proud. “That we are,amore mio. Let’s go home. Benny and my men can clean up and secure the house.”
“All right.”
Still without touching her, he led the way out of the office. A dozen of Uncle Gio’s men were gathered in the entryway on their knees with their hands pinned behind their backs. Straightening her shoulders, she clasped her hands in front of her and met each of their gazes in turn.
The last gaze she met was Cesare’s stunned expression. It was there she kept her eyes locked as she spoke. “My parents were murdered by Giorgio Vitali. Giorgio is no longer in charge. Effective immediately, I will be taking my rightful place as head of the Vitali family.”
A murmur rippled through the small crowd, but her eyes never left Cesare’s. “Anyone who has a problem with this can discuss their concerns with the worms. For the rest of you, I will be taking the afternoon to celebrate my marriage to Emilio Rinaldi, but come tomorrow, we will begin the work of repairing the Vitali name.”
Because she’d kept her gaze locked with Cesare’s, she was able to see the flickers of fear and anger as she’d delivered her diatribe. Which was to be expected from Giorgio’s second in command, but it grieved her nonetheless. These were the men who had raised her, who she’d trusted with her own life. And they had betrayed her.
Forcing herself to look away, she turned back to Emilio. “Take me home.”
“Of course,amore mio.”
As she’d requested, he waited to touch her until they’d climbed into the back of the large SUV waiting out front. As soon as the doors shut behind them, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her so tightly it hurt to breathe.
And just as she’d expected, she shattered the moment his lips brushed the top of her head. Curled up on his lap, she wept. Loud, gut-wrenching sobs of grief and anger. For her parents, all over again. For the men she’d considered family, who’d seen her as nothing more than a pawn in their sick, deadly games. For the life she should have had, and for the evil she’d unknowingly helped perpetuate.
Through it all, Emilio simply held her. He offered no empty words of comfort or encouragement. He was her rock, her anchor, and she clung to him as the tears ravaged her.
When she was finally empty of them, she sagged against him, exhausted. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“I have a feeling that was a long time coming,piccolina. And that it won’t be the last.”
“You’re probably right, on both counts.” But if she had to break, at least she knew he would be there to help put her back together. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
“Yes. But it can wait twenty-four hours. Set it aside until tomorrow, and then we can begin as we mean to go on. Together.”
“Am I in trouble?”
Beneath her cheek, his chest rumbled with laughter. “You coerced a maid into helping you sneak out of the house, took on a man you knew to be a dangerous criminal all on your own, and nearly got yourself killed. What do you think?”
“I think my first night as Mrs. Rinaldi is going to be one I won’t forget.”
“If you’re not up to it tonight, we can wait a few days.”
“No. I want us to start our lives together with a clean slate. And I need...” She trailed off, struggling to find the words. “I feel so heavy. And I always feel so much lighter after you punish me. Is that weird?”
“Not at all. Alright. Tonight, then, but I reserve the right to change my mind if I think it will do more harm than good. Is there anything else I should take into consideration?”
This was it. Her moment of truth. Sitting up, she twisted to look him in the eye. “I wasn’t there to rob you that night. I was sent to kill you.”
The corners of his lips dipped down. “I had the syringe tested. It was a mild sedative. It wouldn’t have killed a mouse.”
“I know. He—Gio—set me up. He set me up to fail, and he expected you to kill me when I did.”
To her surprise, a wide grin split his face. “I guess we messed up his plans a bit, then.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Oh,amore mio, I’m furious. But I’m furious for you, not at you. You were doing what you felt you had to, for a man you believed you could trust.”
“There’s more.”
A single dark eyebrow raised in a look that had her core tightening and her stomach doing somersaults. “More?”
“I may have locked one of your maids in a closet. And I said a bad word.”
