AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sienna, who had forgotten Lucia was in the room, jumps a foot in the air and clutches her chest like she’s about to have a heart attack. “Oh, my god. I forgot you were here. You know,” she shifts the conversation, “you lookjust likethe pretty brother that officiated the wedding. Can you introduce me?”
“That’s my twin,” she deadpans. When Sienna continues to wait expectantly for an answer about the introduction, Lucia turns her attention to me. “YouknowNiccolo,” she emphasizes with a pointed look. “You know that if there’s a problem, he will take care of it. Luc, Sal, and even good ol’ Danny Boy will help when he gets back from wherever he went with Adalina.” Lucia calmly adds, “Whatever you do, donotget the cops involved. My brothers will handle it.”
An eerie silence settles in the room, the only sound being the faint echo of tension bouncing off the walls. Then two sharp knocks upend the stillness, echoing through the bathroom. They’re quickly followed by the quiet creak of the door opening.
A head pokes through the gap, cautiously peeking inside before fully entering the room. “Hey,” Xavier smiles awkwardly, “just checking on Kaye. Is everything alright? There’s some commotion out here. I think everyone’s being asked to leave.”
With a firm and confident tone, Lucia takes control of the situation. “Let’s go upstairs to our rooms,” she announces, eyes scanning the group for any sign of hesitation.
“I don’t have a room,” Sienna interjects. “It was expensive for one night, even with the room block. I can just?—”
But my new sister-in-law holds up her hand to cut Sienna off. “I’ll get you a room. Consider it a gift from the Terlizzis.”
“No offense, lady,” Xavier glares at Lucia, “but why should we do whatyoutell us to? Who even are you?”
“Xave!” Kaye hisses.
Lucia pulls on a patient smile, and it’s obvious that she works with kids by how she handles Xavier. “Xave, I take it?” Her voice is steady and unwavering. “I understand your skepticism because you don’t know me. However, going upstairs to our rooms will give us a chance to regroup and figure out what we’re dealing with. It’ll also allow my brothers, including Christine’s new husband, to take care of the situation. If in an hour or two you want to leave, I won’t stop you. But for everyone’s safety, especially yourpregnantgirlfriend’s, I recommend going back to your room for the night and letting this all blow over.”
The sound of her voice is like warm honey, soothing and calming the tense atmosphere in the room. A hush falls over the crowd as her words linger in the air. Her composure speaks volumes, reassuring us that while this outcome was unexpected, it will sort itself out. And she acknowledges Xavier’s need for control, giving him the opportunity to leave in a couple of hours if he still wants to.
Xavier’s anger wanes, replaced by a flicker of acceptance and reluctant respect. “Fine, but only because I want to protect Kaye and my unborn child.”
“You’ll be okay?” My best friend asks me, her eyes wavering with uncertainty.
I try to harness Lucia’s ability to remain calm under pressure, but there’s an air of doubt in my tone that rings regardless. “Of course. I’m sure Nic will be back soon.”
Lucia instructs Xavier and Kaye to take Sienna to the front desk and charge another room to her bill. “Whatever room you’d like,” she insists, “even the Presidential suite. I don’t care. I just want you to be safe.”
As they leave the bathroom, I’m left alone with my sister-in-law. The serene expression on her face gradually dissipates, revealing a well of anxiety as deep as my own.
“Everything will be alright, right?” I ask, feeling the frenetic energy in my nerves begin anew.
Lucia doesn’t pretend to know the answer; she shrugs and loops her arm through mine. “My brothers have faced worse than your uncles. They’ll be fine. But if Nic doesn’t come back tonight, don’t freak out, okay?”
Just a few hours ago, we stood together in front of all our family and friends and promised to take care of one another until the day we died.
Could Niccolo’s promise be fulfilled so soon?
Will I wake up tomorrow a widow?
Chapter 52
Niccolo
Crimson gushes from Giovanni’s fractured knee, staining the bare concrete floor beneath him. In less than a second, his face contorts through a kaleidoscope of emotions—a moment of understanding, followed by the realization that he is in excruciating pain. Agony and suffering twist his features, etching lines of fear into his once calm face. His eyes widen, and a guttural scream rips through the air, echoing off the walls around us. The sound is primal and filled with torment, sending a delightful shiver down my spine.
“Do you know how I felt when I found out Christine was in the hospital?” I don’t wait for Giovanni to respond; it’s a rhetorical question. “I thought my entire world was shattering around me. I was black with rage. I wanted to kill you.”
In a matter of hours, Dante had pieced together the events that led to Christine’s hospitalization. We anxiously waited for her to be cleared for visitors, and when the time finally came, we filed into her room in pairs.
Jackson stood mute in the corner while the love of my life lay there, hooked up to an IV and a morphine drip, trying her best to recount what happened. As she struggled to fill in the gaps, Jackson chimed in with whatever information he could offer.
Marco stands in the corner, his chest heaving with anger and frustration. His arms are bound tightly above his head, but he struggles and thrashes against the restraints like a wild animal caught in a trap. His eyes burn with a mixture of pain and fury as I monologue to his beaten brother.
Dante tells Marco to keep it down, but his efforts are futile. The enforcer kicks around like a child stomping their feet to protest being forced to eat peas.
“Let me take care of this,” I decide. Bat in hand, I approach Giovanni’s bodyguard and tap him on the chest to get his attention. “If you don’t stop in the next five seconds, I’m going to break your jaw.”
