20. Sal

When I get backto the hotel room, Gia is acting very, very strange.

She's almost… brittle. I feel like if I hold her too tightly, she'll shatter.

I have no idea what's wrong.

"How was the drive?" she smiles.

"Good. I didn't know what type of cake you wanted, so I got you all of them," I say with a wink.

The concierge is going to send them up soon. Six boxes of cake are too much for one person to carry, and if you're staying in a five-star hotel, what's the point of doing something as trite as carrying boxes?

"Thanks, Sal," she murmurs.

Yeah. Something is wrong.

I tilt my head and look at her as she steps out of the suite's bathroom. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she says.

It's a lie.

When Gia lies, her words are too smooth. It's almost like her body lies too well.

I know the real Gia now.

So I know she's lying.

"Gia. You know you can tell me anything," I say softly.

I probably screwed something up. She's probably panicking about the endless honeymoon we've been on. It's been a lot, I know, especially for her.

But I also thought that maybe, it was okay.

Maybe the sex was… compelling enough to keep Gia from freaking out.

Mostly, I was sure that we were having a good time.

Until this moment.

"We need to talk," Gia whispers.

That makes my heart sink. "What?"

"We need to talk, Sal. I think we should go back to New York."

"As we were planning to do."

"Tomorrow."

I blink. "What's this about, Gia?"

"Nothing. We've just been away for a long time and we need to go back. It's time," she says firmly.

"What do you mean, Gia?"

She holds her shoulders back. "I mean that we've been hanging out, and it's been fun, right?"

Fun?

That word is dangerous. It's the type of word that people use to let other people down easily when they don't want to take accountability for their own shit.

I'm just having fun right now.

We're having fun, aren't we?

Let's just have fun together.

I narrow my eyes. "Having fun," I repeat dully.

"Yeah. The past month… it's been really fun. But Sal, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean, Gia?"

She sighs and plops down on the bed. "I mean, where is this going. Because the minute we get back to New York, everything is going to go back to normal."

"What is normal?" I growl at her.

"You know," she waves a hand at me. "I'm going to take over for Elio in a month when Caterina has the babies. I need to be able to pivot. I need to be able to…"

"Flirt. Fuck. Do the things you need to in order to get what you want," I say bitterly. "I'm absolutely certain, Gia, that you've told me this before."

And I'm absolutely certain that I didn't give a fuck about it then either.

"Good. We're on the same page then."

"Tell me what page you think you're on, Gia, so I can make sure it's the page that I'm on as well."

"That we need to end this."

My heart stops.

"What?"

"We should probably do it sooner, rather than later. Before we get back so that it's not weird or anything, and we can just go back to the way things were before."

"The way things were before," I repeat.

Gia raises her eyebrow at me. "For a brilliant linguist you sure do repeat what I've already said a lot."

I'm repeating it because it's surreal to hear it. It's a statement that I can't wrap my mind around.

And, more than that, it's a lie.

"Tell me when this before is that you're alluding to, Gia," I say with a tone that I normally reserve for those I'm about to destroy. "Tell me when you think this ‘before' was. Because I will tell you what I know."

I step closer to her. Instinctively she moves back on the bed, her eyes widening.

She's afraid.

Good.

She should be.

"Before, when I asked you to have a relationship with me, and you told me no. You had to remain unattached in order to serve as Elio's spymaster. Before, when I held you as you cried yourself to sleep every night after Belarus. Before, when I pulled you from a fucking burning warehouse in Belarus. Before, when you and I chased each other around the globe, each one of us working to outwit the other."

She blinks. "Sal…"

"Before, when we knew before either one of our families did that our parents were not killed in a feud between the De Lucas and Rossi's. Before, when I saw you the night of Caterina's engagement and thought that I was standing in the presence of the most beautiful creature that the earth has ever seen. Before, when you opened your mouth to eviscerate Elio's foolish pride, and I knew that you were perfect in every way, not just your beauty."

Her eyes are wide. I know that I'm playing my hand here, and I'm putting down every card I have.

I've never told Gia about any of this.

About how I've watched her from afar… for years.

Even before Gia knew I existed, I knew she did. She's always been the sun, and I've always been in her orbit, waiting for her to shine the light she freely gives to others on me.

Except now I think that maybe, that will never happen for me.

Gia is never going to want me the way I want her to. Despite the fact that we're compatible in every way, she doesn't want me.

I'm not going to beg her.

I'm not going to force her.

I've never forced a woman to do anything in my life, and I'm not going to start now.

I snort. "Have it your way, Gia. I won't beg you. I won't tell you the reasons we're perfect for each other. I won't list out the reasons that I can see, perfectly, a future for us. And I know—" I hold up a hand as her mouth opens. "I know, talking about the future fucking terrifies you. I don't know where that comes from Gia because you won't. Let. Me," I roar.

"Sal…"

"I'm done, Gia. If you insist on turning me away, then turn me away. If you insist on ending this? End it. Don't fucking drag me along, and I'm happy to be done."

She opens her mouth. "I'm not…"

"If you close this door, Gia, it's going to be closed. If you are done, then we are done. There's no going back. There's nothing to return to. End it? Okay. It ends."

I wait, looking at her.

Gia's face is pale.

She looks like she's on the verge of tears, and my instinct is to ask her what's wrong. To ask if she's okay.

I don't follow it.

Gia takes a deep breath.

Tears are in her eyes.

And she says the two words that I never wanted to hear.

"It's done."

* * *

The drive is silent.

The castle is about an hour away from Belfast. An hour of driving on narrow, winding roads that the Irish seem very fond of. An hour of silence, because after Gia told me that she was done, I didn't hesitate.

I packed the shit I needed.

I waited for her to do the same.

And I got us the hell out of there.

If Gia wants to end things and have a perfectly professional bodyguard, I can do that for her. If she wants to pursue her dreams of running the Rossi empire, I'll help her with that.

But she doesn't need my conversation to do that.

Finally, the road widens, and the lights of Belfast come into view.

We're flying out of the Belfast airport. Given the transparent border here, it's fairly easy to sneak our way back to England, and from there, to New York.

Interpol has a lighter presence in the UK, and as a result, we're going to be subjected to less scrutiny than if we flew out of, say, Rome.

Dino came up with this plan, and I hate to admit it… but it's a good one.

Belfast is an interesting city. Given the past and the political environment here, you'd think that they'd have tighter security but…

Bless the fact that they don't.

We're taking a back road into the city when I frown. There's a roadblock up ahead, and it feels…

Strange.

There are so few cars here, and I watch the one in front of us go through the barrier. I'm sure that there wasn't any roadwork marked here when I checked the map, which was not more than an hour ago.

I guess roadwork can come up in an hour.

I turn, following the detour. Seven minutes into the detour, I'm frowning again.

Something isn't right.

"Sal. Something feels weird," Gia murmurs.

"I know."

We turn again. I come to a stop and pull up my phone, ready to find another route, when ice skates down my spine.

I glance up…

Just in time to see the windshield shatter.

"Get down!" I bark at Gia.

She ducks.

Gunfire hails the windows, shattering it. Glass rains all over us, and I try to throw my hands over Gia to guard her.

"We need to get out of here," I shout.

Gia doesn't respond, but I hear the seatbelt click.

We need to wait for them to reload.

They're not shooting to kill. For whatever reason, they're shooting to intimidate, because if they were shooting to kill, we'd be dead.

This car isn't armored. It's not bulletproof in the slightest, as proven by the shattered glass. They know that if they shoot the side paneling, they'll kill us.

They're waiting for us to run.

So, we're going to have to do that.

Fast.

When the bullets stop, I look at Gia. "I'm going to pull you over to me," I whisper. "Then, we're going to run."

"Okay," she murmurs.

"Three, two…"

I grab her and pull her, opening the door in the same gesture. Gia and I tumble out of the car and sprint, running back the same direction we came from.

There's another shot. I throw Gia down, making sure that I cover her so that if anyone gets shot, it's me.

Gia can't get shot.

But whoever the shooter is… they still haven't shot us.

"They want us alive," I whisper to her.

There's a crunching sound. Boots. Coming closer to us.

I tense. "On my count. You run. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Three. Two… Go," I snap.

We move at the same time.

I'm on my feet and see immediately there's three people that I can count . I go for the biggest danger… then man with the rifle.

I slam my fist into his face.

I dodge when he throws a punch.

The first man is down. I know Gia's running away from here, so as long as I can keep fighting…

I move onto the next one.

It's familiar. My body knows how to do this. I've always been good at hand-to-hand. I can see the moves that they're making, and I'm willing to make sacrifices to get to what I need.

Another man drops.

Then, the third.

Three men on the ground. There's a ringing in my ears, and a cut above my eyebrow that's leaking blood, salty and hot, into my eye.

Done.

I grab the rifle. "Gia?" I call.

There's no sound.

She ran, sure. But she wouldn't have gone far…

"Gia?"

That's when I hear the noise that makes my blood turn to ice.

A scream.

I think it's coming from behind me. I turn and sprint, running down the road toward what might be a dock. The smell of the salt, the way the road is tapering down toward the harbor… it's definitely a dock.

That's not good.

My heart is in my chest. My feet feel thick and heavy, like I can't get them underneath me fast enough.

"Gia!" I scream.

I don't hear anything in response… except for the sounds of people grunting and struggling.

They have her.

I've never been so sure of anything in my life, and it utterly terrifies me.

Finally, I round a warehouse and find the dock. There are another two people, hauling someone who looks horrifyingly limp onto a boat.

"Gia!"

Gunshots echo around me. I duck behind the corner of the warehouse, grabbing the rifle I took off the body and loading it.

I want to fire back.

But I can't. because if I do…

I might hit Gia.

I need to run. I turn out, ready to sprint for the boat.

But I realize in an instant that it's too late.

I'm too late.

All of the people are on the boat. The body, that I assume is an unconscious Gia, is nowhere to be seen.

The boat roars.

And Gia disappears into the darkness.

* * *

I havenothing to do except drive back to the hotel we stayed at the night before

It's a stupid idea. It feels like a stupid idea. But I have nothing else right now. My brain feels sluggish, like I took a sleeping pill, or I'm drugged or something.

Maybe I am.

Maybe that was part of the plan, to make both of us foggy with some kind of drug before taking us out.

Maybe…

The ‘maybes' are going to kill me.

There's no point to them. There are only facts. The facts are that I'm here. Gia is gone, taken by someone, either the Irish or Interpol.

And I'm… here.

I need to figure out what to do.

I steal a car. It's absolutely a way to get on Interpol's radar, but fuck it.

Maybe if they arrest me too, I'll find her.

The hour back to the castle is the longest hour I've ever experienced in my life.

Longer than the one when I found Gia in a burning building.

Longer than the one when I had her in my hands in the canals of Amsterdam, swimming to get away from a bomb.

Longer than the one to the airport in New York, after she told me that there couldn't ever be a future for us.

Why didn't I believe her?

The stolen car, I abandon one town away.

I walk into a department store and use the card linked to my accounts to buy new clothes. I clean myself up in the bathroom, throwing the bloody, shredded mess into a trash can.

I hail a cab back the rest of the way to the castle.

When I walk in, the concierge from earlier smiles at me.

It's a very knowing smile.

I nod at him.

"Congratulations, sir," he says in a very bright voice.

"I appreciate it. May I ask what for?" I say, the veneer of civilization a stark contrast to the chaos that's brewing inside me.

The concierge blinks. "Oh. I apologize. I didn't realize she hadn't told you yet."

"Told me what, sir?"

He's nervous now. "I… I told her I wouldn't tell you."

"It's okay," I ease in to a smile. "I'll find out soon enough. Your discretion will not be unrewarded. In fact," I palm my wallet, digging out any of the bills hidden there. I tuck them in my palm and reach forward to shake his hand. "I'd pay you handsomely to find out what my wife kept secret from you."

"Ah. Well. I'm not sure, one way or t'other," he says in a thick accent. "But the lady had me make a little trip to the pharmacy earlier."

"The pharmacy?"

"For some tests, sir. The type of tests a woman might find… if she was in a family way."

It takes me too long to realize what he's saying.

It takes even more effort to paste an insanely fake smile on my face. "Well. No secrets were told, then. She shared the good news with me just now."

"Oh, thank the Lord," the concierge gushes.

"Indeed. I simply am having a problem adjusting to the news."

"Ah, well. Congratulations all the same," he beams.

I nod, then head to my room.

Gia asked the concierge to bring her a pregnancy test.

And I'm going to rip this fucking room apart until I find it.

I start in the bathroom. That's the most logical place. There's nothing in the trash basket. The sinks are in a large piece of furniture, riddled with drawers.

I wonder…

I start on the far left end, then work my way right.

Each drawer has something in it, but not the thing I'm looking for.

Toothbrushes.

Toothpaste.

Condoms (the irony almost makes me laugh).

Nail polish remover.

Whoever stocked this bathroom did so with care, because every fucking thing that a person could need is in here.

Except a goddamn pregnancy test.

I'm at the last drawer, ready to rip it open, when it catches.

My eyes narrow.

I pull harder. It's clear to me that something is jammed in here, keeping the drawer from pulling back smoothly. I grip the handle and pull, putting my whole body into it.

The drawer flies out. Its contents fly out too, and land on the marble bathroom floor with a slight click.

I lean down and pick one of them up.

I don't need to get the rest. This one is obviously a pregnancy test. I turn it over in my hand, my fingers shaking.

One line is not pregnant.

Two lines… pregnant.

I shut my eyes.

I take a breath.

And when I open them, all I see are two narrow, pale, but undeniably pink, lines.

My stomach roils. I turn to throw up, but I can't.

Gia's pregnant.

Kidnapped. Possibly dead.

And…

Pregnant.