Chapter 25: Thursday afternoon: Getting Nonna to help

“Sonia!” I called after her, but she kept on running.

Watching her retreating figure and knowing she was distraught made me want to bellow with rage. I was fuming. I didn’t know who I was more angry with at that moment, Miki for making that stupid arrangement or me for making a mess of things and contributing to her upset.

Fuck! I punched the nearest tree and winced at the pain which shot straight up my arm. I shook it out, clenching and unclenching my fist to relieve the ache.

Serves you right! The snarky little voice in my head said.

Sighing heavily, I knew it was right. I really hadn’t handled that well at all. Damn it!

I needed to fix things. Now!

There was no way she was marrying anyone else but me. I should have told her that right away. I should have made sure she understood that needing to stay didn’t mean I was giving up on us.

Turning quickly, I hurried towards the house, intent on seeking Sonia out and sorting things out with her. I couldn’t let her believe I didn’t want her. I needed to reassure her that as soon as this situation was over, I would figure out a way to get her out of this marriage to Dariusz.

Unfortunately, as soon as I entered the house, Miki came down the stairs with a scowl that rivalled my own.

“Everything set for tonight’s pretend attacks?” he asked, his gaze was sharp as his laser-focused eyes studied me.

“Yeah, all set,” I replied, returning his stare as calmly as I could.

Thankfully, he seemed satisfied enough with my response.

“Miki!” Marko called, jogging towards us.

I really wanted to go to Sonia, but with her two brothers hanging around, I couldn’t risk it. So, I abandoned the idea and headed straight to see Nonna in the kitchen instead. I needed her help.

As I walked away, the intensity of Miki’s eyes watching me burned my back, and I wondered if he was beginning to become suspicious.

Hoping I was just being paranoid, I pushed the thought aside and entered the kitchen, happy to see Nonna was there alone.

“Romi, darling, how are you?” she said.

“Not great, Nonna,” I told her truthfully.

“And I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked with genuine concern.

So, I told her everything, and when I’d finally finished, she smiled.

“I know,” she told me, patting my cheek.

“You two were always meant to be together. Anyone who has ever been in love could see that,” she told me, and my heart sang at the thought.

“Besides, Sonia already told me,” she said with a wink, and I couldn’t contain my chuckle.

Unable to see Sonia, I poured my heart out to her in a note instead.

“Thanks, Nonna,” I said, kissing her on the cheek as she tucked the note I’d written into her pocket. I grabbed the tray of food and walked with her to the small lift we had installed for her. After she had fallen, she had been unable to climb the stairs, so we had the lift put in to help her.

When she was inside, I handed her the tray and then watched as the door closed and the lift ascended. I was satisfied that if I couldn’t go to Sonia to reassure her myself, at least Nonna could.

Hoping that my note would lift Sonia’s spirits and stop her fretting over the situation so much, I left the house. I had another pretend attack to coordinate, and time was getting on.

As I drove with my men to the next prearranged target, I made plans. My new Plan A was to find an alternative to Sonia’s arranged marriage that would satisfy both Miki and Glowacki so they would call off the arrangement. Then, we would tell everyone about us and force her brothers, and in particular Miki, to accept us.

However, if I hadn’t accomplished that in the next couple of months, we would run. That was Plan B and our last resort.

In the meantime, while I attempted Plan A, I would prepare for Plan B.

Running wouldn’t be easy, and we would need to be fully prepared if we were going to do it successfully. We’d need new identities and money—lots of money.

Uncle Alexi had taught his boys to always be careful, plan and strategize, but he’d taught me that too. I had several other identities set up ready should they ever be needed, each with access to several bank accounts with decent amounts of cash in them, though probably nowhere near enough, not for two people on the run for the rest of our lives. I was going to have to liquidate some assets. And Sonia would need new identities. Luckily, I knew a man who could help with that. A forger that nobody else knew about, not even Marko, which was exactly what I needed.

Marko was a great hacker, and he would have been able to track us easily if I hadn’t covered my tracks well enough. As soon as I got back, I’d get started on doing just that. I still prayed I wouldn’t need to resort to Plan B, but if I did, I would make sure I was ready.

Whatever happened, I was not letting Sonia go.