145

CATERINA

There's a ringing in my ears and a high-pitched squealing that makes it nearly impossible to hear anything. I can vaguely make out Gianni's shouting. My father shouts something back, but I can't make out the words. It's like trying to listen to someone speak while you're underwater.

The smell of smoke tickles my nostrils. What is burning? Gianni rushes towards me, his hands cup my cheeks and I want to tell him I'm okay but I can't hear my own voice.

What happened?

The look on his face is pure terror, and his hands wrap tight around my arms as he pulls me through the kitchen, my Dad close behind us. Once outside, the fresh air helps a little, but I still can't put the pieces together on what happened. All I know is that my heart's pounding out of my chest, and I think I'm going to throw up.

"Are you alright?" I can read Gianni's lips even if it sounds like he's talking to me from behind a closed door. He runs his hands over my arms, torso, face, and neck. "Were you injured?" I shake my head hard and he touches his forehead to mine for a moment before letting me go. My Dad gathers me in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice muffled. My head bobs up and down, and I lean against him when he wraps me in a protective hug. I can't get my body to stop trembling.

A minute ago, Gianni was on one knee, looking up at me with so much love I didn't know how I could take it. I was overwhelmed, overjoyed, and blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Everything was finally clicking into place; my happy ending was within sight.

Now, Gianni paces like a caged animal, shouting into his phone. He even kicks a patio chair into the pool in his rage.

"What happened?" That's all I can say, over and over, while thin wisps of smoke begin drifting out through the partly opened sliding door.

"An explosion," Dad says close to my ear. "Something exploded."

"That fucking package!" Gianni roars.

"What package?" My question is swallowed up by Gianni's continuous shouting. I've seen him like this before. He is ready to kill someone.

"There was a package." Dad is probably shouting, too, since his ears are probably ringing as bad as mine are. "It came when you were in the bathroom."

"I want you back here now!" Gianni bellows into the phone. "Right now, immediately, and on the way, call everybody in."

Then he stops in his tracks, looking at me. "You still have eyes on Tatiana, right?" he asks the person on the other end-I'm guessing Roger. I tense up, gasping, and Dad's arms tighten around me.

"She's fine," Gianni tells us before turning his attention back to the phone. "Get her here, now."

He then puts his phone away, lacing his fingers together on top of his head. "I should have known. I should have fucking known!"

"What the hell is going on?" Dad demands. "What the fuck did you get her into this time?"

"Dad, don't," I beg, but he doesn't want to hear it.

Gianni throws Dad a steely glare. "Not now." He reaches for me, yet Dad refuses to let me go.

"Please," I plead. "I'm okay. Are you?" He looks fine, uninjured like Gianni and me, although he's shaking from head to toe. I can only imagine what must be going through his head.

"I'm going back in there," Gianni decides.

"No, don't!" On impulse, I try to follow him, but Dad refuses to let me go no matter how much I twist and fight to escape his grasp. "Don't go!"

"Let him do what he needs to do," Dad insists.

"I don't understand!" Though now that the shock is starting to clear from my mind, I think I get it. Somebody bombed the house. Somebody's still trying to kill us. Trying to kill my baby.

I should be afraid-and I am. I'm scared to death that there will be another explosion while I stand here trying to make sense of the madness. I'm terrified of losing Gianni. What if he never comes back through that door? There's a thin line between fear and rage. The rage is taking over, turning the terrified pounding of my heart into something murderous.

They tried to kill my baby, again.

And I don't think it's any mystery who's behind it.

"We have to get away from the house," Dad decides, pulling me along the patio, and around the pool until we're standing at the far end. "Jesus, why do you want any part in this family?"

I ignore the question once Gianni emerges, waving at us. "Come on. I want you to get her out of here."

"Is it safe?" Dad asks.

"The box was destroyed. There's nothing left to detonate." When Dad doesn't move fast enough, Gianni charges at us, taking hold of me. "I mean it. I want her out of here, and you have to be the one to take her."

"I'm not leaving you!" I may as well be talking to myself for all the good it does. Gianni pretty much ignores me as he rushes me through the house, where the alarm is still shrieking. It's like an ice pick drilling into my eardrum. We hurry down the hall from the kitchen, where plaster dust is drifting through the air and the acrid smoke from a small fire flickering in what's left of the entry hall.

The sight of it stops me dead in my tracks. The windows to either side of the front door are blown out, and the table next to it is in pieces. The artwork blasted off the walls, and a glance toward the living room shows the same thing happened in there-even the big flat screen was knocked off its mounting and is now on the floor.

All that rushes passed me in a blur as Gianni sprints through the house with me in tow. I don't think I take a breath until we're outside again, where Roger's car is flying up the driveway.

"What the fuck happened here?" Tatiana jumps out of the passenger seat while Roger barely has the car in park before flinging the door open.

"Where were you?" I can't believe that with everything going on, that's the first question I have as Tatiana runs toward me.

"I was just out." After hugging me, she stares through the open door into the house. Her mouth hangs open briefly before she whispers, "What happened?"

Gianni clamps a hand over her shoulder and turns her toward him. "Were you expecting a package tonight?"

Her brows draw together, her gaze darting to the destruction again and again like she can't make sense of it. That makes two of us. "Yeah? I think so. It was supposed to come today."

"Where was it from? Where did you order it from?" Gianni barks.

"Are you accusing me of doing something wrong?"

"That's not what he's saying," Roger insists as he joins us, standing at her side. "Whoever sent it either made a big mistake, or they always intended to send you a bomb."

"A bomb? I ordered a couple of bras, for fuck's sake!"

It's Dad who cuts through the growing panic. "It's obvious what happened." A change comes over him-his eyes go narrow, unyielding, and now I see the longtime detective. Like he slid back into the role. "Whoever did this must have intercepted the UPS truck. It would be best if you had your men search nearby. They could have killed the driver and left the body somewhere. They placed the explosive in the box and left the mailing label intact to make it look legitimate."

With his hands on his hips, he turns in a slow circle. "You can't see this place from the street. They could have used a timer, or someone might have remotely detonated it after a certain amount of time. How long would you say it was?"

Gianni shrugs. "Five minutes?"

"That sounds about right. Was the box heavy?"

"Not very. You saw it. I practically tossed it onto the table." His eyes close, brow furrowing like he's in pain. "I fucking tossed it." My blood runs cold at the thought. What if it had detonated then and there? I could have lost the two most important men in my life.

"Who would do this?" Dad demands.

"Who do you think? The same fuckers who took them."

Gianni must not see the effect his words have on us, but Dad does. He wraps an arm around me, draping the other over Tatiana's shoulders. She wraps her arms around herself and tucks her body close to his while I do the same.

By now, Gianni's men are swarming the house, searching for any signs of further damage. The two men posted to the front gate come running up the drive, both shouting excuses before they reach us. "It looked legit! The guy had ID and everything!"

"It was a regular UPS truck," the second guard insists. Both of them look scared to death, pale-faced and jumpy.

"Oh, it looked legit? Did the person have an ID?" Gianni's fist collides with the second man's jaw, knocking him on his ass. Tatiana lets out a whimper while I flinch at the sound of bone crunching. I'm surprised Dad doesn't react, but then he looks like he wants to take a turn throwing fists, too, his nostrils flared beneath steely cold eyes.

"Come on, beating the shit out of these guys isn't going to help." Roger pulls Gianni back while he snarls and curses at the two guards. "We've got to think about what to do next. Whoever did this, they'll be in the area. They're going to want to see the outcome."

"A fucking bomb. They sent a fuckingbomb! To myhome! These motherfuckers. I'm going to skin them alive." Gianni takes Roger by the shirt collar, pulling him close. "And you're the one who wanted to be cautious. You're the one who thought I was moving too fast."

"Dad, stop!" Tatiana begs. "It's not his fault!"

Gianni shoves him away, snarling, but Roger only brushes himself off. "Blame me all you want, but that won't change what needs to happen now. We need to make sure they're safe." He nods toward Tatiana and me.

"I'm not going anywhere." I don't know where that came from-the words poured out of me before they were a conscious thought.

"You can't stay here," Dad growls. "Either of you. This place isn't safe right now."

"I don't want to leave," Tatiana weeps. "Dad, it's happening again. Why is it happening again?"

That's what does it. That tearful, pleading question snaps Gianni out of his enraged haze. He is absolutely in anguish as he turns our way, and for a split second, I think he's going to cry, too. I know him so well I can practically read his thoughts, and he is blaming himself for this.

"Charles's right," he announces. "You and Caterina should go, at least for the time being. Not forever, just for now."

"Should they be together, though?" Roger asks.

Tatiana and I exchange a glance. I don't want to leave without her. It's bad enough I have to leave at all. This is where I belong, with the man I love. I didn't get into this life to run away when things get bad-I might have before, but that was then. I've changed. I know where I belong. But I also can't be selfish. There's a life growing inside me, and until my baby can make their own choices, I have to do what's best for them. They come first, then me.

"You're right," Gianni decides. "Charles, I'm going to give you the address of one of our safe houses."

"What about me?" Tatiana whispers while her eyes well up again.

"I'll take you to a separate house," Roger offers. "You'll both be safe."

Safe. I'm starting to wonder if that word means anything. I've heard it so many times, but once again, the illusion has shattered. I don't know if I will ever feel safe again.

Dad pulls out his phone for Gianni to rattle off an address which he programs into his GPS. "It's twenty minutes away. I'll get her there in fifteen," he vows.

"I'm scared. I'm scared for you."

Gianni takes my face between his hands and touches his forehead to mind while I whisper frantically. "Come with us. Please. Let your guys take care of this. I need you with me. Our baby needs its daddy."

"I'm going to be alright." He presses a quick, fervent kiss against my lips and wraps his arms around me. I can feel his thundering heartbeat against my own. "I have too much to live for. I'm going to be fine. I'll be better and able to think clearer knowing you're safe. Your father will protect you until we're together again. I believe that."

That doesn't stop him from looking over my shoulder toward Dad. "Are you carrying?"

"I have it in the glove box."

"Hopefully, you won't need it, but I'll feel better knowing you have it."

Dad tugs my elbow. "Honey, we should go now. This won't be forever."

Right now? This second? Though I know it's the right thing to do, my feet don't want to move. "My things! I don't have anything with me!" I might as well be talking to myself as Dad drags me away toward his waiting car.

"As soon as it's safe, I'll send somebody with a bag," Gianni vows. "Everything's going to be okay." He wraps his arms around Tatiana, who I wave to before Dad practically throws me into the passenger's seat. I can't stop the sobs from tearing themselves from my chest as Dad gets in the car and turns it around, pointing it toward the road.

I twist around in my seat, desperate for one more look at Gianni before the driveway bends, and I lose sight of him, of them. When will I see them again?

"It's going to be okay," Dad grunts while he navigates the winding, gravel path. "We're going to get you through this. Everything will be fine."

If I wasn't crying so hard, I'd ask who he's trying to convince, me or himself.