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I breathe a sigh of relief. "Did you shoot him?"
"Not exactly."
I stare at him. He's hiding something. "Did he fall off the dock and drown?"
Christiano's eyebrows shoot up. "That's very specific, why would you ask that?"
"Because he said he'd throw my corpse off the dock if I didn't last the night," I reply.
I watch as Christiano's jaw ticks with fury and his hand squeezes mine so tight I'm concerned I might need an orthopedic surgeon imminently. A small squeak of pain slips past my lips. He startles, instantly releasing my hand.
"Fuck, I'm sorry, Cara." He looks guilty as hell, and I smile weakly.
"It's fine. My hand will recover. Now tell me what happened to the shaved head man?"
"Given what you just told me, he got exactly what he deserved. He wasn't exactly cooperative at first, so some persuasion was needed to encourage him to talk." I'm not sure I want to know what kind of persuasion was used. Christiano sees the look on my face and his expression hardens. "He deserved every moment of the pain he suffered, and trust me, it was a lot of pain. I would happily have made him suffer for much longer before he died, but you needed medical attention, so I left him with Rico. I believe his passing wasn't easy."
Rico. The big guy who likes Taylor Swift. There's a huge disconnect there and I can't quite relate the Swifty fan with a man who's happy to torture someone to death. Then again, it's also difficult to see Christiano as a vicious killer.
A sudden wave of emotion hits me. It could be a delayed reaction to everything that's happened; I'm not sure. Tears flood down my cheeks and I can't speak. Christiano hops on the bed and pulls me into his arms. I try to pull back, but he refuses to let go. In the end, I give up struggling and relax. He feels too good.
Chapter 18
Christiano
The relief I feel when Cara finally wakes up is immense. It was touch and go for a while. The doctor told me she'd sustained a nasty blow to the head and her brain had begun to swell. They sedated her as soon as we arrived at the hospital and then did scans to assess the damage. Thankfully, once the swelling went down, she was out of danger, but the last two days have been a fucking nightmare.
Romano's kept me posted about the fallout from us taking out Dimitri. Alexei stuck to his word and hasn't retaliated, and we also recovered the weapons shipment, which Aroldo is pleased about.
There are still a couple of Dimitri's guys on the loose, but I have no doubt Alexei will round them up. He's seriously pissed about the whole episode and for once, the Bratva and our family are on the same side. It would be amusing if not for the sight of my girl lying in a hospital bed, pale as fuck.
She's terrified. I can see it written all over her face. Unlike Thalia, who doesn't seem to care about the danger that is part and parcel of being a member of a mafia family, Cara is soft and sweet. I can tell she regrets meeting me. What sane girl wouldn't? Not 24 hours after she sleeps with me, she's kidnapped by a lunatic and ends up in hospital.
A small whimper snaps me out of my maudlin musings. Cara opens her eyes and looks at me again. Unlike before, when I could see every emotion writ large, now there is a wall up. She's hiding her feelings from me. I can't describe how shit that makes me feel. I don't want a barrier between us. Fucking Dimitri. If he wasn't already buried in the foundations of our new retail development, I'd happily gut him all over again.
"Are you in pain?" I reach out and grab her small hand. "I can call the doctor and get some more painkillers if you need anything."
"I'm OK," she says, grimacing a little as she tries to sit up. "Can you pass me the water?"
I pour a small glass of water and hand it to her.
"Thanks."
We sit in silence as she sips the water. I wish I could read her mind. She's so close yet a million miles away. The intimacy we had is long gone and I don't know how to get it back. All I do know is that I can't stand the idea of letting her go.
"When can I leave here?" she asks.
"Tomorrow. You're coming back to mine. I'm not letting you stay in that apartment, it's not safe. Hamish can come too." I'm not a cat person, but for her, I will deal. I'm sure the damn cat will have a great time using my furniture as a scratching post.
"Christiano," she starts to say, and I feel a chill snake down my spine.
"Yes,tesoro?" I smile at her but we both know I'm faking it. The last thing I feel like doing is smiling.
"I need some space." She puts the plastic cup down on the side table and closes her eyes for a second. "All this," she says, with a broad sweep of her hand. "It's too much. I can't deal right now."
"Cara, I'm not letting you go," I growl, but she interrupts me.
"Just listen! Please, I can't think when I'm with you. You suck all the oxygen from the room and it's...suffocating. If Maisie is alright looking after Hamish, I'm going to visit my Aunt Jodie in Montauk. So I can get my head together."
