He doesn’t listen to either of us, letting go of one of my wrists to reach for something at his side. All I catch from the corner of my eye is the glint of steel before he touches the cold switchblade to my throat. I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything but lie here, helpless, afraid of what will happen next.
“I’d rather see her dead than let you put your hands on her again,” he snarls at Gianni.
It all happens so fast. The boom of the gun as it goes off. The spray of warm blood across my face. The sudden release of my wrist. He drops the blade before falling onto his side. For a moment, I can’t comprehend what has happened.
A scream rips from my throat.There’s so much blood. His blood.
Gianni’s hands roam my body, touching my face, arms, and legs. All I can see is his face filling my vision. His hands cup my cheeks, and they’re warm, so warm.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?”
He’s here. I’m safe.There’s so much blood. Luciano is dead, but I’m safe. My screams fade to gasps as I try to suck in enough air to clear my head. I’m okay. It’s over.
There’s a dead body sprawled across my leg. Bile rises up my throat. I startle when Roger comes in, but Gianni’s arms hold me in place.
“All clear,” he says, looking around the room. “Is she okay?”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I can speak. All I can do is keep my eyes away from Luciano. He’s dead, and his blood is on my face. It mixes with the raindrops that soak Gianni and drip down onto me.
Roger pulls out his phone and starts barking instructions while Gianni lifts me out of bed. “We need to go.”
“But…”
He turns my face away from the bed and angles me toward the door. “Now. We’re leaving. I’m taking you home, and Roger will take care of this. We’ll make it look like a suicide.”
I hear him, but nothing he’s saying sinks in. Like my subconscious doesn’t want to accept what’s happening.
Gianni guides me to the stairs, but my feet won’t take me down. I can’t move anymore. I can hardly breathe; there’s no air in the room. Why am I so cold? My teeth are chattering.
I hardly notice him picking me up and carrying me down the stairs. Only the rain pelting my face once we’re outside snaps me out of the worst of the shock. Lightning zigzags across the sky, and I bury my face against Gianni’s neck until we reach the car, where he lowers me into the passenger seat and buckles the seatbelt for me.
The rain sounds like hundreds of little gunshots going off at once as it pounds against the roof. I fight off the urge to cover my ears while Gianni gets behind the wheel and starts the engine.
“Roger?” I murmur, looking back at the cabin. How many other cabins around the lake are being used right now? Did anyone hear the shot? Maybe not over the thunder.
“He’s staying behind. He’ll get a ride back with the cleanup crew.”
He pulls away, and soon we’re rolling down the muddy road. The tires send jets of water shooting up both sides of the car, and lightning highlights the dark, towering trees.
Dead. Dead. He’s dead.
Gianni killed him.
Gianni saved me.
“You’re safe now.” Gianni’s calm voice slices through the fog in my head, the way lightning slices through the sky. “I’m sorry, little bird. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
I’m too exhausted to speak. All I see is the blood. It all happened so fast. One minute he was there, and the next, he was…
“I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
I want to tell him I believe him but can’t make my mouth work.
He was alive, and then he wasn’t.
I must zone out for a while because, the next thing I know, the car is swinging through the front gate of the compound. We haven’t reached the courtyard yet when the front door flies open, and Tatiana comes running down the front steps in the rain.
“Oh, my god!” She practically pulls me out of the car before squeezing me hard enough to make my ribs ache. “Thank God! Are you okay? Did he—”
“Get her inside,” Gianni urges, before nudging us both toward the house. “She needs to get cleaned up.”
He touches my shoulder, and I don’t know what makes me do it. The memory of the gunshot, or how easy it was for him to blow a man’s brains out. He didn’t even hesitate. How could he end someone’s life so easily? Whatever the reason, I flinch away from his hand and cling to Tatiana. His jaw works, but he doesn’t say a word.
“I’ll take care of it.” She steers me toward her wing once we’re inside, and I’m glad to let her take the lead. I can barely think, much less anything else. I’m numb. Why can’t I feel anything?
“Come on, sweetie. You need a shower, clean pajamas, and a few days in bed.” Tatiana’s voice is soothing. It brings tears to my eyes. At least something’s getting through to me.
If she notices the blood on my face, she ignores it once we’re in the bathroom. She turns the shower on, and it doesn’t take long for steam to fill the space. I peel off my torn, soaked dress and let it fall in a sodden heap at my feet.
She helps me under the water and closes the shower door while I tip my head back to let what’s left of Luciano’s blood run over my skin and down the drain. The longer I stand here, the clearer I can think. The world comes back to me.