Chapter 40

Mia

Dante nonchalantly opened his suit coat. He removed his gun from the holster.

My mouth grew instantly dry as my heart rate accelerated. “No. There’s no danger.” My volume rose. “No one knows about this transaction.” Fidgeting, I twisted my wedding rings. My hands trembled and my knee bounced, wanting and needing to move.

Dante’s hand again came to my thigh. “Sit still, Mia. If we’re being watched, we need to appear calm.”

“I’m not calm,” I growled in a low whisper.

The click as Dante released the safety on his gun reverberated like thunder through the car, competing with the thumping in my ears.

“Where is Giovanni?”

“He went to check on something.”

“What if…?” I had too many questions to finish this one. What if someone shot Giovanni? “Should one of us get in the driver’s seat?”

“Probably, but I’d rather concentrate on my target if I need to shoot.”

“I can drive.”

Dante turned toward me for a millisecond and then back to the view ahead. “Since when?”

“Aléjandro’s been teaching me.”

“License?”

“No, but so what? You’re ready to shoot somebody. I think driving without a license is the least of our concerns.” As I spoke, I contemplated my ability to climb into the front seat. The skirt of my dress wouldn’t help, but if flashing my brother saved our lives, I’d worry about his therapy another day.

I slipped my feet from my pumps.

“Wait,” Dante said. “Giovanni is coming back.”

“How can you…?” I realized my brother was watching the mirrors, seeing in all directions.

Giovanni opened the driver’s door, bringing an acid scent with him as he laid his gun equipped with a silencer on the front seat, sat down, and closed the door. His eyes met Dante’s.

“Go,” Dante said.

Giovanni calmly started the car, backed out of the parking space, and drove around the back of the building. There were fewer cars on this side. We exited the lot from a different place than where we’d entered, merging into traffic.

“Someone talk to me. What about our meeting? What about the building?”

Dante still had his gun in his lap as he quickly typed out a text message.

Giovanni was silent, his attention on the city streets.

Finally, my brother spoke. “I texted Lombardi. He’s up in the title office.”

“Don’t we need to sign?”

“He’s taking care of it.”

“How? What happened?”

Dante looked around, seeing that Giovanni had managed to get us back on the highway, headed north toward my home. My brother locked the safety on his gun and placed it back in the holster. He shrugged his suit coat back into place and turned my direction. “Someone found out about your plan.”

“Bratva?”

Dante looked up at Giovanni.

He nodded. “I’d say yes. Two of them.”

My mind was having difficulty comprehending. “Did you shoot them?” My voice went higher. “Are there two dead men in the parking lot?”

“Not for long. Mr. Roríguez called for a cleanup crew,” Giovanni said.

“Aléjandro. He knew that someone was there.” I turned my attention on Dante. “That’s why he wanted to talk to you.”

“He was tipped off. One of his men reported a suspicious car.”

“Oh my God. He knew and he let us go...like bait?”

“No. You were never in danger.” Dante laid his hand on my thigh. “We had to show up to find out if they were a threat. If we never arrived, we’d never know.”

Laying my head back on the seat, I exhaled. “How? This whole thing was planned as recently as the last few days. Only the men you brought with you and Aléjandro’s most trusted men were informed.” Tears stung the back of my eyes. I’d wanted to help the workers. “What about the school?”

Dante looked at his phone. “Lombardi will make an excuse for our absence from the closing. He has people faxing power-of-attorney paperwork. He won’t need us. He can act in our stead with the POA.”

My brother’s smile broke through. “Were you really going to drive us out of there? Bonnie-and-Clyde style?”

“I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.” My phone rang. The trembling in my hands was gone, leaving them cold as ice. Seeing my husband’s number released the dam I’d put on my tears. “Aléjandro?”

“You were always safe, Mia. I want you to know that. You were safe. You are.”

Tears slid down my cheeks as I nodded.

“If I could have stopped them without the two of you…but we needed to know.”

“Who?” I asked. “Who tipped off the bratva?”

“We have fewer possibilities.”

This was too real. My thoughts went to my husband. “We’re okay. What about you? Are you safe? Rei? Diego and Felipe?”

“We’re all good, and you are too. I wish it had been me, but Dante knew what could happen. He was ready.”

I looked over at my brother, grateful that he was here and spoke into the phone, “Come home when you can.”

“Mia, I’d never let anything happen to you. That’s why we had so many eyes on both buildings. I’ll fucking find the mole and when I do, I’ll lay his head at your feet.”

Swallowing my tears, I scoffed. “I don’t want that. I just want us to be…”

What was the next word?

Happy?

In love?

“…to be safe,” I said.

“I’m calling a meeting at our house tonight. I’ll tell Silas to be ready.” The call disconnected.

I turned to Dante. “Aléjandro is calling a meeting. Will you stay?”

Dante nodded. “I’m not leaving until Aléjandro has his answer. If I did, I’d take you with me, and I would suspect your husband wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

“I’m not leaving him.”

“Mia, you’re still famiglia.” He nodded. “I know how this works, you and Catalina. You’re both important to both sides of this alliance. Hurting either one of you would hurt the alliance. It sucks and I’m sorry you’re in this position, but you are. You were the target today.”

My stomach churned as acid made its way up my throat. We rode in silence as Giovanni drove us back to my home. My turbulent thoughts added to my distress. Today’s meetings were supposed to be safe. It was all about helping the workers at Wanderland, and in the process, I’d been targeted. I didn’t relish hearing Dante’s truth. Who would? Yet he was right. Hurting Catalina or me would result in fracturing our alliance.

I kept my composure as Giovanni pulled the car beyond the first gate and into the driveway. Not waiting for anyone to help, I opened the car door and made my way inside, not stopping until I was upstairs, my head over the toilet bowl, expelling what was left of my breakfast.

Perspiration dotted my skin and the permeating odor of the school lingered on my clothes. Quickly, I stripped, pushing everything I’d worn into the corner and stepping into the shower. More tears coated my cheeks as I stood beneath the hot spray.

I was a target.

Aléjandro had mentioned the possibility. Today was more than a possibility; it was reality.

Scrubbing my skin raw and washing my hair multiple times, didn’t fully cleanse me of the smell. I was pouring more bodywash onto the washcloth when the bathroom door opened. Aléjandro didn’t slow. He came straight for the shower, opening the glass door, and stepping under the spray fully clothed.

I crumpled against him, my body trembling and sobs coming from my chest.

One hand came to my hair as he held me upright with the other. “You are safe.”

“I’ll never be.”

He turned off the shower and helped me from the enclosure. I shivered at the loss of heat. My husband wrapped me with a towel and lifted me to his chest. His canvas loafers squeaked over the bamboo flooring as he carried me into the bedroom. “Mia, you said something a while ago that has stuck with me. The only reason I allowed you to be out today and part of this plan was because I knew you were protected.”

I leaned my aching head against his chest.

Aléjandro threw back the blankets on the bed and laid me on the sheets. After covering me, he sat at my side. Droplets dripped from his dark hair, and his features were stark with emotion. The furrow of his forehead and sharpness of his jawline displayed his concern. His black t-shirt was wet and plastered to his muscles, and without seeing them, I knew his jeans and shoes were also wet. “Someone wants me back in México. They’ve decided to fuck up my plans, maybe to make me look incompetent so mi padre would call me home. In case that didn’t work, their plan B is to take away my ability to stay in the States.”

“Me,” I said, my voice hoarse.