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He didn’t turn around. ‘Go inside the restaurant, Annah.’
His voice was calm, but something in his tone made the hairs at her nape stand on end. ‘What’s wrong?’ she breathed, stepping sideways to see around Luca at the same instant Mario dropped her shoe and bolted to his feet.
Annah froze, her heart slamming violently against her ribs.
A man—a young man, possibly even a teenager—stood in the darkened cobblestone street about three metres from them. His face was flushed and screwed up in a grimace, but she couldn’t tell if it was rage or fear contorting his features. His right arm was fully extended in front of him. In his hand he gripped a gun—and the gun was aimed at Luca’s heart.
A terrible sound tore from Annah’s throat. She lunged for Luca, not thinking. Acting on impulse. Driven by fear and a deep, powerful instinct to protect her child’s father.
The boy’s eyes widened and the gun swung wildly towards her.
Luca threw his body in front of hers, and then an arm clamped around her waist from behind, strong as steel, dragging her backwards. Mario.
‘No!’ she cried. But he was too strong. She flailed and kicked, one foot still shoeless, as he held her off the ground, turning so that his back was between her and the shooter. He bundled her into the restaurant, drawing startled looks and exclamations from patrons and waiting staff.
After an urgent exchange with the maître d’, Mario turned to her, his hands, big as oven mitts, folding over her shoulders. ‘Stay here. I am going through the kitchen to the alley.’
She grabbed at his arm with both hands. ‘Please don’t let anything happen to him, Mario. I—’ She gulped in a breath, cutting off her sentence, but the words rang in her head regardless.
I love him.
Then Mario was gone.
Violent tremors ran through Annah’s legs. Her knees gave out and she sagged against a wall, sliding down until her bottom hit the floor. Vaguely, she was aware of restaurant staff herding diners away from the windows. Someone grabbed hold of her trembling hand and gently squeezed, murmuring words of reassurance.
Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes. Around her, everything seemed to slow, the noise growing muffled, until all she heard was the loud thud of her heartbeat pulsing in time with her thoughts.
Please, please, please don’t let him get hurt. Please, please, please—
‘Annah.’
Her eyes flew open. Frantically she blinked, trying to focus on the figure kneeling in front of her. A sob choked from her throat. ‘Luca!’ She threw her arms around him. ‘Oh, my God!’
He gathered her up, walked to a chair and sat, settling her on his lap.
She drew back, her gaze darting across his shirt front, looking for injuries. Blood. ‘Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?’
‘I’m fine,’ he said, but his voice was hoarse.
‘Mario?’
‘He’s okay. He disarmed the boy.’
‘Who was he?’
Luca shook his head. ‘Not now, cara. I’ll tell you everything later. The police are here. I need to deal with them, make a statement. Someone is going to take you home.’
Annah frowned. ‘No. I’m staying with you.’
But he gently removed her arms from around his neck and stood.
She protested all the way to the car. Luca ignored her entreaties, put her in the back seat, and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips clung for a long moment, then he pulled back.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said. And he closed the door.
CHAPTER TEN
ANNAH CREPT INTO Ethan’s room. Careful not to wake him, she lay on the big bed and curled up on her side so she could watch him sleep. She didn’t care if she creased her dress; she’d get changed in a few minutes. She just wanted to lie here first, take comfort from being near her little boy.
