CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Vivian was shocked at how wonderful she was treated. Giorgio introduced her as his lady, which she could tell surprised some of them given what happened to his last two ladies, but it was instant respect. Men and women went out of their way to be nice to her, as if being good to Giorgio's lady would somehow redound to Giorgio being good to them. But whatever their motive, it didn't matter to Vivian. She laughed, she talked, she ate. She was paraded around from group to group as if Giorgio wanted to make it perfectly clear that he was no longer on the market and Vivian was the reason why. No man had ever been so proud to tell the world who she was and what she meant to him the way Giorgio told them that night. She'd never felt more special.

She ended up in a very boisterous ladies' group. Most were white ladies with the exception of two that were of African descent, but all were very kind to her. She stayed with that group for the balance of the evening.

"I simply must have that dress," more than a few of them kept telling her. "Is it a Janardi?"

For Vivian to say yes, it is, and that it was designed by Jonni himself and designed especially for her, filled her heart with pride. And the look of admiration on those ladies' faces when she said it was priceless. She could not recall ever having so much fun.

And by night's end, Vivian and the ladies were hanging in the massive foyer still laughing and talking while Giorgio and the men went outside to check out the new Lamborghini one of them had purchased.

Chill was in the air as Giorgio lifted his suit coat collar and followed Craig to his apple red Lambo. All of the guys were impressed. But they were all, except for Giorgio, family men. A lambo, though exotic, would not do to transport the wife and kids.

"You should get one, Jonni," said Craig. "You aren't trapped yet."

Although they all laughed, what they didn't understand was that Giorgio was at that place in his life where he wanted to be trapped. But not by anyone. He wanted Vivian. He looked at Craig, a man he respected. "What do you think about my lady?" he asked him.

But everybody else standing around Craig's car put in their two cents instead.

"She's hot," said one.

"I can work that ass all night," said another one.

But Giorgio was waiting for Craig to say. Craig was seated on the driver seat of his sportscar, and he thought about his response. Then he nodded his head. "She's very nice. I had a conversation with her and she's very smart too. But I'm not sure she's your type."

"Why would you say that?" Giorgio asked him. "Because she's not a model?"

"She's not exactly skinny, Jonni," said another one of their friends.

"And she's not tall like Pen was," said yet another friend.

But Giorgio wanted to hear from Craig because he knew Craig wasn't superficial like that. He was a thoughtful man. "Why wouldn't you think she's my type?"

"She seems like a good, decent lady. She's not going to go for open relationships or non-exclusive contracts or whatever it's called nowadays." Then he looked at Giorgio. "If you hurt her, she may fare worse than Pen did."

"You're saying she's nuts?" asked one of their friends.

"I'm saying she's in love with you, Jonni," Craig said to Giorgio. "Don't fuck that up."

Giorgio heard him. And he swallowed hard. Because he knew Craig spoke the truth. He nodded his head. "I won't," he said.

Although some of the men laughed, Craig didn't. He nodded his head.

But then another one of Giorgio's friends nudged him. "Hey, Jonni look. Look!"

Giorgio looked at his friend and then looked across the street where his friend was looking. "Isn't that Yara?" his friend asked him.

As soon as the friend said that name, Craig jumped out of his car and all of Giorgio's friends were looking too. It looked like her, but they couldn't be certain.

But Giorgio was as certain as he was stunned to see Yara coming across the highway. And she wasn't even looking his way. Her entire focus was on the club's front entrance. Did she not realize he was standing over near the end of the building by the red-hot Lambo? But her look seemed almost trance-like. And Giorgio remembered that look. It was the same crazy look she gave him at their final divorce hearing, when she knew she would eventually be on the run, and he never saw her again.

Then he quickly looked where her entire focus seemed to be. And when she saw that Vivian and the other ladies had come outside and were standing around talking, his heart began to hammer. And when he looked and saw that Yara was pulling a gun from her purse, his heart fell through his shoe.

"Vivian," he said breathlessly, and then he began running toward Vivian and screaming. VIVIAN, GET DOWN! VIVIAN, GET DOWN! GET DOWN! GET DOWN !"

But shots started ringing out before he could get to her. The ladies were screaming and scattering, but Vivian, he realized, had fallen. Had she been hit? He raced to her side.

By the time he got to her, Yara had put her gun back in her purse and was dodging cars as she tried to get back across the highway.

When Giorgio arrived at the entrance, he realized that Vivian had fallen down because Frank had knocked her down and fallen on top of her, shielding her with his body. Which gave him great relief. When he moved off of Vivian, Giorgio fell to his knees when he realized she was fine. She had not been hit. But Frank had. In the leg.

"Are you alright?" Vivian asked Frank when she saw the blood.

"I'm okay," Frank said, wrapping his handkerchief around his leg. "It's Yara, sir," he said to Giorgio. "It was Yara."

Vivian was shocked. She looked at Giorgio. "Your ex-wife?"

Giorgio was nodding. "Yes."

"You can't let her get away," Frank was saying. "You've got to stop her!" Then he handed Giorgio his gun. "You've got to stop her."

Giorgio had been so concerned about making sure Vivian was okay, that he failed to realize that the woman he'd been looking for for a decade was right across the street from him. But as soon as he realized it, he jumped up and saw her hopping into her SUV and then speeding away.

"Stay here with Frank," he said to Vivian as he began running toward the Lambo. But Vivian wasn't about to let him face that evil woman alone.

"I'm good," Frank said as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and she ran behind Giorgio. She was looking back at Frank, and also looking to see if anybody else had been shot, but Frank appeared to be the only one. And it was only because he was protecting her!

What Giorgio loved about Craig was that he didn't have to tell him a thing. He stepped away from his car, tossed the keys to Giorgio, and Giorgio hopped in. To his shock, Vivian hopped in on the passenger side.

"What are you doing? I told you to stay with Frank!"

"I'm going with you so don't argue with me. You may need me."

Giorgio had never met a woman like Vivian. Strong and beautiful. Tough as nails. She was amazing to him. And for a moment, all he could do was stare at her.

"What are you doing?" she yelled at him as he stared, turning his question back on him. "You're letting her get away!"

Giorgio, realizing it too, put the Lambo in gear, and sped off.

Although Yara had a good head start, her Passport was no match for the Lamborghini. Giorgio was able to get within a few hundred yards of her relatively quickly. But traffic was heavy for that time of night and getting right behind her, with four cars between them, was tricky.

"Why would she just start shooting like that?" Vivian asked as Giorgio drove as fast as the traffic would allow. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. But she was targeting you." He glanced at her. "That's why I didn't want you to come."

Vivian looked at him. "Why would she target me?"

"She was singularly focused on where you were standing. I saw that myself. It was no accident she hit Frank. She was aiming for you, and he was guarding you."

"Poor Frank!"

"He's a strong guy. He'll be okay. He was doing his job."

"I thought his job was to guard you."

"It was. Until you reentered my life. Then you became his primary."

Vivian was surprised to hear that. "By order of?"

"Me." Giorgio glanced at her. "Who else?" Then he looked at the Honda, saw the car directly in front of him slowing down, and was able to zoom out of lane and zoom right back in lane in front of that car. But there were three more vehicles still between him and that Honda.

But Vivian was still confused. "Why would your ex-wife target me?"

Giorgio shook his head. "Damn if I know. I told you she wasn't all there. And she's in town? Two days ago, she was Oklahoma. But now she's here?"

"Maybe she realized she was almost caught there and decided to bring the fight to you. But that still wouldn't have anything to do with me."

"Unless she arrived in town tonight, saw you leaving the house with me, and decided whatever she decided. I can't begin to imagine." Then he frowned. "I just want my son."

Vivian exhaled. "I do too," she said.

Giorgio was about to glance at her, to thank her for standing by him, but the Honda suddenly turned down a side street. He was able to swiftly turn too, and then he was on her tail. Within seconds Giorgio was so close to Yara's Honda that he was nearly kissing her bumper.

But she knew what she was doing because she blew through a stop sign, turned a quick left, and then turned a right so fast she nearly went airborne. Giorgio was still on her tail, with every turn she made, but that right turn took them down a dirt road filled with plenty of bumps and craters and potholes. The Honda flew through those holes easily. The Lambo had much more difficulty. Giorgio twice had to slow down to avoid losing traction. Yara's Honda got much farther ahead.

But Giorgio did not lose her. She turned twice more, and then up to what looked like an abandoned building of some sort, where she jumped out of her SUV and ran inside.

Giorgio sped up and stopped behind the Honda. "You stay here," he said as he started unbuckling his seatbelt. "Get behind the wheel and wait here!"

But just as he was unbuckling his seatbelt, a bullet blasted through the windshield and shattered it, causing Giorgio to violently push Vivian down. "Get down!" he yelled. "Get down!"

But when he looked up and saw Yara with her gun aimed at his car, and that she was running toward them as if she was going to finish the job, he knew he had no other option. His anger took over and he floored that Lambo and headed straight for her. She could have killed Vivian twice. He wasn't letting her try a third time!

She started firing, but her shots went badly awry when she was forced to move out of the path of his car. He didn't want to kill her, he needed her to give him answers, but he knew he had to dislodge that gun from her hand. He hit her, and she flipped up onto the hood of his car, her gun flying in the opposite direction, and then she rolled to the ground.

Vivian was down in the car with her head covered up. She was trembling so bad she could hardly breathe.

"You're okay?" Giorgio was asking as he was getting out of the car.

"I'm fine. Is she dead?"

"I don't know," he said as he got out and ran over to Yara.

Vivian got out and ran over to her too.

To their relief, she was still alive. But barely.

"Where is my son?" Giorgio asked her with panic in his voice. He got down on his knees. "Where is he, Yara?"

She was looking at him. She was in the last moments of her life. But to Vivian's shock, she started grinning. "I did it," she said.

"You did what?" Giorgio asked her.

"I ruined your life. Would have ruined hers, too," she added, looking at Vivian, "if I was a better shot."

"What do you have against her?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said. "It's you I hate. I wanted you to see her die the way that other girl died. Her blood is on your hands too. All because she loved you." She was looking hard at Giorgio. "All those women. Even some of my friends, you bastard. And then you had the nerve to try to declare me an unfit mother after the shame, the pain, you put me through." She closed her eyes briefly, as if she was trying to find the strength to continue.

She was in tremendous pain, Vivian could tell she was, but her hatred of Giorgio was overriding all else.

"Where's my son?" Giorgio asked again, a plea in his voice. "Just tell me, Yara."

That was when Vivian saw the hurt in her eyes. "There is no son," Yara said, and then started grinning again. "I was never even pregnant," she said and laughed. "I told my maid to tell you I had the baby when I was never even pregnant!"

Vivian, floored, looked at Giorgio. This man had been searching for a decade for a son that never existed? She could see the confusion, the anguish, the devastation all over Giorgio's face. "What do you mean you weren't pregnant?" he asked her. "I saw you!"

"I was never pregnant," Yara said again. "I faked it all. I can't get pregnant. I can't have children. I never could. But I knew you'd believe me. I knew you'd never bother to come to the doctor with me or check on anything I told you. Because you were certain no woman would ever cheat on the great Giorgio Janardi. Or lie to you. Or make a fool out of you." She grinned again. "You thought you were such a catch that nobody would ever dare to do you dirt the way you did me. You never paid attention to me. You never cared enough to bother."

They could hear what sounded like an army of sirens heading their way. But Giorgio needed answers before they got there. He had to know the truth! "Why would you tell me you were having a child when you weren't, Yara? Why would you do that?"

"Because I wanted to torment you the way you tormented me. I loved you!" The pain in her voice was excruciating. "But you cheated on me with woman after woman after woman and treated me like I was nothing to you. Like I was dirt to you. That's why I did it. I made you dirt to me."

"Why did you go on the run? This is insane!"

Yara grinned. "You said I was crazy. So I gave you crazy. I wanted you to suffer. I made sure there were sightings of me all over the country, and I was laughing every time your goons showed up. And you came running after every sighting too." Then she looked at Giorgio. "You tormented me for three years. I tormented you for a decade. I won," she said.

"You married him when you knew he wanted children, and you knew you couldn't have children," Vivian said. "You were as wrong as he was."

Yara looked at Vivian. "He never cared about no children. He never cared about anybody but himself. He don't love you. Watch and see. Just watch and see."

She tried to say more, but it was taking too much for her to breathe. And then she started slowing drifting away. She sounded as if she was snoring. As if she was sleeping. And then everything stopped, and she was gone.

Giorgio sat there, as if he still could not believe what she'd just told him, then he stood to his feet. But he was still staring at her.

Then he looked at Vivian. And the sincerity on his face stunned her. "I want you to watch and see too," he said to her. "Because I've changed, Vivian. I'm not the man I used to be. I was everything Yara said. But I'm not that man anymore. Watch and see."

Vivian knew it was a crapshoot. She knew the odds of Giorgio being this changed person were probably one-in-a-million. And as he held her while the police cars arrived, and as they stood in the wreckage that in a lot of ways was of his own making, she wasn't at all sure if taking that kind of risk could ever be worth it.

She knew, in her heart, he was her safe place. But she also knew, in her head, he wasn't safe.