Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 163540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 818(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 818(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
“I look forward to hearing his screams.” He chuckles.
I smile. Gabriel is the only civilian I know who can deal with my lifestyle.
He gets it.
Nothing comes as a shock to him. He is a Ferrara, after all. “Thank you. I’ll let you know if I’m sending Olivia. If she does come, I may send her friend or her mother with her so that she’s not alone.”
“Send whoever you want. Speak soon.”
I hang up and sit in the silence of my office for a while. I go over the last forty-eight hours in my mind.
A whirlwind of emotions rush through me.
I’m marrying the love of my life. We’ve been blessed with a child. There’s so much love and light in my life, and yet all I can feel is an overwhelming fear that I’m about to lose everything.
An eerie sense of calm hangs in the air. I can feel it—like a storm brewing on a mountain ready to fall. Something is coming.
I close my eyes. Please… don’t let it be that.
Olivia. My darling Olivia.
“Rici?” I hear her call from the stairs. “Where are you, baby?”
“Here, my love.” I jump to my feet and rush out into the living area. I find her coming down the steps in her nightgown.
Her face lights up when she sees me. “I didn’t know where you were.”
“I had to take a call.” I put my arm around her and lead her back up the stairs. “Come… back to bed.” I kiss her temple. “We have a doctor’s appointment in the morning, remember?”
She looks up at me with a beautiful smile. “How could I forget?”
Olivia
I roll over in the darkness. It’s late… or should I say early? With the shutters down I have no idea. I hear a creak and I frown.
I know that creak.
That’s the creak of the bottom step.
I sit up in bed.
Someone’s in the house.
30
Olivia
I sit still in the darkness and listen. I glance over to Enrico who is fast asleep beside me. He’s been restless all night and has only just drifted off.
Silence.
I slowly get up and tiptoe over to the door. I quietly close it and flick the lock.
My heart is hammering hard in my chest. I stand and listen.
I hear another creak and I know that creak is near the top step.
I run to Enrico. “Wake up.”
“Huh?”
“Someone’s in the house.”
“Huh?”
“I heard the step creak.”
He launches out of bed and grabs a gun from his top drawer. “Get dressed.” He quickly dials a number on his phone.
I look down to see I’m naked.
Shit.
I’m running into my wardrobe when I hear him whisper, “C’è qualcuno in casa.” Translation: Someone’s in the house.
He walks up behind me. “Go into the bathroom and lock the door. Do not come out,” he whispers.
“Yes, let’s go.” I grab my nightgown and run to the bathroom. He hands me a gun.
“Keep the door locked, and if anyone comes in here, don’t ask questions. You shoot to kill.”
“What? Where are you going?” I look down at the gun in my hand with wide eyes. It’s heavy, made of cold, black metal. It’s designed to take a life.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
“What? No, you stay here, too,” I whisper. I grab his arm, suddenly frantic. “Stay here. Don’t you go out there. Please don’t go out there.”
He pushes me into the bathroom and closes the door. “Lock it,” he snaps angrily through the heavy wood.
My face scrunches up and tears fill my eyes as I flick the lock. I begin to pace. Oh my God, what is happening. I hear our bedroom door open and I hold my breath as I listen. My heart is hammering hard in my chest.
I wait… and I wait… and I wait.
Eventually, I hear voices I recognize.
Marley and Maso.
I hear Enrico say something from up the hall. I open the bathroom door and peer around the side of it. What’s happening out there?
“Libero,” someone yells. Translation: Clear.
The house is a hive of activity. There must be ten men inside searching it. I can hear them walking through and banging around.
Enrico comes into the bedroom.
“Why do you have the door unlocked?” he barks.
My face crumbles, and his falls as he sees my tears and my shaking hand holding the heavy guy. I’m a nervous wreck.
“Olivia,” he says softly as he takes the gun from me and wraps me in his arms. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He holds me against his chest. “What did you hear?”
“I heard the step creak.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, and I heard the top one creak a few moments later.”
He frowns as he holds me tight.
“What’s going on?” Sergio asks as he comes into the room. “I was in the boathouse and heard the commotion.”
We both turn toward him, surprised. “What are you doing here?” Enrico snaps.
“I was covering a shift for someone who called in sick.”