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My head stops working and my instincts take over completely. I run as fast as I can on the wet ground. Neither of them have seen me yet, both of them stare at each other with pure hatred in their eyes. It takes me only a few seconds to get to them and still I fear that I might be too late.
Without giving it much thought, I put my body between theirs, and both their weapons are now pointed at me.
“Stop!” I scream.
Chapter 24
Edoardo
Everypossibleoutcomeforthis situation crosses my mind as I stare into the barrel of Gabriele’s gun. At any moment now, he’ll pull the trigger. Only a second has passed, but it feels like a complete eternity. I no longer know what is happening around me as my mind races to decide what I should do next.
I think I should pull the trigger. Aria is still my main priority, and I cannot risk this. Even if it means that we need to flee for a couple of years. Gabriele will be out of our lives, the rest we can figure out later. My fingers tighten slightly, and I am about to fire my weapon when Aria steps in between us.
“Stop!” she screams.
I was so close to firing; had I done it only a split second earlier, it would have gone through her head and I would have killed her instead of Gabriele. My heart sinks into the bottom of my shoes at the thought of it and I immediately loosen my grip on my weapon.
And Gabriele loosens his grip too. He might have treated Aria badly, but in his mind, he was still doing what he believed was best for her. I know there has to be some love left for her somewhere inside of him. I think she knows it too.
“Stay out of this, Aria,” Gabriele says. “Let the big boys sort this out.”
“Aria, please step away,” I beg.
My emotions feel so large that I worry they might come bursting out of me in ways that I cannot anticipate. Never have I been so torn over a decision to make. The sound of her screaming at us has alerted the men around us.
As each of them understands the situation we’re in, they lower their arms. They are smart enough to know that their fighting cannot change a thing anymore. Aria, the only person they were tasked with protecting, stands between two loaded guns that are pointed to her head.
I hate Gabriele, but not as much as I want to protect Aria. So, I lower my weapon, but I keep it ready to fire.
“The two of you seem to know nothing about how to handle this,” Aria says angrily. “You’re going about this the wrong way!”
“Stop it!” Gabriele growls. “What do you understand about any of this?”
Aria tears up as she looks at both of us. “There is a world in which we can deal with this without death and violence,” she says. “Like ordinary families, living ordinary lives.”
“Those families aren’t like ours,” Gabriele barks. “They have small minds, and it shows in their small houses and their small incomes.”
Gabriele will not lower his weapon yet, and it makes me nervous. Does he really hate his daughter so much that he will risk her life? Or will he really kill me in front of her just to prove his point?”
“Why?” she asks. “Why does it have to be this way?”
“That’s beyond your understanding,” her father answers.
“Is it?” she asks. “There is a way that we can do this that is better for everyone. The alternative is that one of you will die, and right now it isn’t clear who. So, are you willing to take that gamble?”
Aria’s voice is hoarse with frustration. She is soaked from the rain and she looks more tired than I have ever seen her. She put herself in such danger for me, trusting that this would all come to an end. I thought I was doing the right thing by coming here like this to save her. But now, I am not so sure.
“Your father doesn’t know anything but violence,” I bargain with her. “It’s the only way he has ever settled his disputes. I’ve always tried to play fair, and he hasn’t honored me with the same attempts. I tried to bargain with him and he had me locked away, just like last time”
Gabriele clenches his jaw.
“You’re naïve, Aria,” he says. “I did not get to this position by bargaining and compromising. I took what I have, and I made it happen for myself, and nothing will get in the way of that, especially not Edoardo.”
“It has never been my intention to take what you already have,” I say. “Auriet was meant to be fair game, and you didn’t play fair. That was a lifetime ago. Aria does not deserve to be caught in the middle of all of this.”
Gabriele rolls his eyes and forces a laugh. “Oh, please!” he cries. “I know you did all of this just to get back at me.”
As he’s going on with his delusional theory, he waves his weapon in the direction of Aria’s stomach and my nerves are fried. That weapon is hot; loaded and ready to fire. If he isn’t careful, he could pull the trigger and that bullet would travel right through her.
