Part One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Part One Hundred and Twenty-Eight
The sniper teams had dealt with the men sent to the house so swiftly that Rafaella hadn’t even known it had happened. Hudson had given them the all clear and she’d asked about Dominic first.
“He’s fine, Rafi, I spoke to Cooper, they’re all fine,” Hudson said.
“Then this is the perfect time for us to leave,” she said.
“You got what you need?” Hudson asked her.
“Yes. Let’s go before they know we’re gone,” Rafaella said.
Hudson led Rafaella out of the house and into the garage. He took the smaller SUV and they sped away from the house. The other men were busy dealing with the dead bodies and the women were all safely in their quarters.
“You did everything I asked?”
Hudson looked at Rafaella in the rearview mirror. “I did.” She nodded her head. “Are you sure you want to do this, Rafi?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, Hudson,” she said as her hands cradled her pregnant stomach.
“Dominic’s not going to be happy about this.” She knew Hudson was right. Dominic’s temper was legendary.
“Are you getting cold feet? You don’t have to help me with this. You already did your part, Hudson. I can handle it from here,” Rafaella said.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m with you, Rafi, wherever and whatever.”
They drove the hour back toward the city and Rafaella took a deep breath. When Dominic had told her the plan she knew that her father would die as well. She wasn’t sure if she should mourn the man.
He’d never been cruel to her but he’d been absent, he’d been cold and distant too. She was sad but her grief wasn’t gut wrenching and that scared her a little. He was her father after all and knowing that he was already dead didn’t bring her to tears.
“Do you think there’s something wrong with all of us?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Like what?”
Rafaella chuckled. “The violence and the murder. We’re going to carry on with our lives like tonight never happened.”
“I’ve never thought about it much. I came from a good home. I was never abused, my siblings are doctors and lawyers. You end up where you fit in, Rafi. I don’t have regrets, maybe I regret not cutting off a few more dicks in my life, but I like where I’m at. You guys are my family and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for each and every one of you,” Hudson said.
“Even Cooper?”
“Especially Cooper. We give each other lots of shit but that man’s solid. He’s my best friend,” Hudson said.
“I love you, Hudson.”
“Fuck, Rafi. I’ve loved you since that first morning in Italy,” Hudson said with a chuckle.
Hudson parked the SUV on the side of the warehouse and opened Rafaella’s door for her. He tucked her arm into his and led her inside the building. A dim light shone over a steel cage and Rafaella looked at the body on the floor of the cell.
“Hello Isadora,” Rafaella said.
Her head jerked to the side and she looked up at Rafaella. Her eyes widened slightly but she didn’t look afraid. Hudson unlocked the cell and pulled Isadora to her feet. He led her to the two chairs that stood a few feet away from the cell and pushed her down on it.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he hissed at her.
“What do you want?” Isadora asked.
Rafaella looked intently at the woman in front of her. She’d never been jealous of another woman in her life and she still wasn’t. Though Isadora was beautiful, Rafaella didn’t worry that she might be more beautiful. In the end, Dominic had chosen her even if he hadn’t chosen to marry her, he’d still chosen her.
“You should have stayed away from him. He gave you an out and he kept his side of the bargain. He told you that you wouldn’t exist for him anymore,” Rafaella said.
“You’re a contract wife, you couldn’t possibly understand what we had,” Isadora said.
“Even if that was the extent of our feelings for each other, you would’ve never been more important than me. A wife gets the ring, the children, the holidays and birthdays. A wife gets the charity balls and the galas and the vacations abroad. A wife doesn’t get stolen moments or a night here and there.”
“He doesn’t love you,” Isadora said.
Hudson chuckled darkly. “Oh, he loves her. We all love her, you were just tolerated for Dominic.”
“So what is this? Are you here to tell me to stay away from him?”
Rafaella smiled. “No, Isadora. I don’t need to tell you to stay away from him. I’m here to make sure he never has to worry about the whore that betrayed him in the worst possible way. You came after my family, not just his. His family is my family and you went after them. That is something I can never forgive.”
Isadora’s eyes widened and their heads snapped to the side as the door was flung open. Dominic strode toward them with determined steps. Isadora’s breath of relief could be heard but it was toward Rafaella that he was headed.
“Rafi, fuck, what are you doing?” Dominic asked her.
“Making sure our problem goes away,” Rafaella said.
She stood up and Dominic wrapped himself around her and kissed the side of her head. “I love you so much, Rafi, I’d give you anything you wanted.”
“I love you, Dominic, enough to do this.” Rafaella took the 9mm from her purse and aimed it at Isadora’s head. Isadora had tears in her eyes and her bottom lip trembled as she looked at Dominic.
“I can do it, Rafi,” Dominic said.
“This is my gift to you, Dominic. No one betrays us and gets away with it.”
Rafaella pulled the trigger and Isadora’s body snapped backward with the force of the bullet entering her skull. She lowered her arm and Dominic took the gun from her. He cupped her face with one hand and kissed her.
“Fuck sakes,” Hudson muttered and adjusted himself in his pants.