AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Had I had an accident? I lifted a hand cautiously up to my head. No injuries there. Nothing hurt. I could wriggle all ten fingers and toes.
I seemed to remember there had been something wrong with my pants. But...I was just sorting out what had happened when Imelda came in, and her face lit up in genuine happiness when she saw I was awake. She took my hand and rattled off a stream of words and explanations interspersed with questions as to how I was feeling. She told me frankly she’d just been offered a job by my new husband. And even though she thought she was good at hair and clothes, maybe I would be more comfortable withanother man. And she totally understood as the husband of the Don that I needed a professional stylist.
No, I needed a friend.
I extended my arms even though I was completely bewildered because she was upset, and she almost fell into them. I’d gathered from her babble that she was supposed to be in charge of how I looked now. “Don’t worry, I have no clue what I’m doing.” In fact I had no clue what was going on at all.
She mumbled in my neck. “But that means you need someone that does.”
“You have me.”
We both looked at Nonna who beamed and came to perch on the other side of the bed. She eyed me. “How do you feel?”
“Like I just got run over by a bus,” I said weakly, hedging my answer, not immediately willing to admit I had no idea why I was here.
Nonna inclined her head. “My grandson has that effect.”
I snorted, seeing the funny side of my situation. “What happened?”
“Porca puttana,” Nonna muttered, and I gaped. I definitely didn’t expect her to swear like that and had no clue who she meant. To call anyone a pig was the ultimate Italian insult.
“It was Drusilla,” Imelda said.
Nonna frowned. “No, it was Clarice.”
I shared a smile with Imelda, but then I remembered the fear. The press of something cold to my head. “I remember her holding a gun.” I said, completely astounded. “Then, nothing.”
“Lucio shot her, and shot Hugo,’ Imelda told me. “Hugo betrayed Signor Banetti. He stuck you with a needle, but Lucio got to you just in time.”
“He drugged me?” That made sense I supposed. It not only explained my loss of memory, but also the IV. I was very lucky. What if Lucio hadn’t gotten to me in time? Who would havelooked after Mamma then? “What about Dario’s reputation?” I blurted out.
“Don’t worry,” Imelda continued. “Signor Banetti was so clever. He came and told the guests he had expected the betrayal, and that you were already married, but the ruse was necessary to find out...” Imelda trailed off, probably at the stunned expression on my face. Ruse? It had all been an act? I fell silent, completely stunned. It hurt. But even as I acknowledged that, I immediately berated myself. What was I expecting? I was a means to an end. Dario and I had a business arrangement. Well, not even that really. I don’t suppose you should classify blackmail as a business arrangement, but this wasla famiglia. It was exactly the way they did business.
I’d wondered at Dario’s insistence on the big wedding when the threat was so real. It had seemed a senseless risk but then the risk had been mine I supposed, not his. At least I knew. At least he’d demonstrated how little I meant to him except as a bargaining chip. He hadn’t batted an eyelid at risking my life. I’d been so caught up in his charm I’d started to trust him, and that was dangerous.
“How long ago was all this?” I had no idea.
“Three hours,” Nonna said and smiled, clearly not understanding why I was upset. I imagined as she had once been married to a Don, she wouldn’t think anything was wrong. But Imelda did. I could see from her anxious expression she was worried she’d said too much. “The reception was cancelled?”
Imelda shook her head slowly.
I gazed at her. “It’s happening now?” I’d been an itchy trigger finger away from death and my new husband was so concerned with my welfare that he was partying with all his cronies? I looked around, not recognizing the room, and for the first time eyed the black satin sheets covering me, and a faint scent teased my nose. This was Dario’s room. We must have been in hisapartment, but it wasn’t the room I had gotten dressed in before. I imagined I was in here because the other suite was still full of wedding detritus. “Where’s Dario?” I asked, just in case I was wrong and he wasn’t partying.
“He is downstairs,mia nipote,” Nonna said. “After what happened, he has to establish control with both his capos andla famigliaplus the other families.”
“How is he explaining my absence?” If the question appeared cool, I wasn’t trying to hide it. Not that I blamed Nonna. She was Dario’s grandmother, not mine. I needed to remember that. I’d been swept away in romantic bullshit since early this morning, and it would end now.
“He is serving enough champagne to those that don’t deserve it,” Nonna remarked. I was saved from responding with something less than complimentary as an older man in scrubs came in who I vaguely remembered. He smiled. “Signor Banetti. I am Darren, and Signor Banetti has tasked me with your care.” He stepped closer and Imelda moved out of the way while he performed what I knew were standard cognitive tests and checked my blood pressure.
“How am I doing?”
Darren smiled...professionally. “Very well. The sedative they used was fast-acting but rapidly clears your system.”
“I feel fine,” I responded, an idea taking root. And I definitely needed to use the bathroom.
He nodded. “You will be by tomorrow.”
I met his gaze and whatever he saw made him sigh. “Child, I—”
