Chapter 85

Chapter 85
Arianna POV: 

I felt vindicated, watching them all run around like ants under the magnifying glass. All those times that I was worried this would happen. All those moments were something whispered in my ear that he was going to pull a stunt like this. I wasn’t crazy. 

I wasn’t some traumatized little girl who was certain that the bogeyman was coming to get her. I had seen what others had not and knew what my father was capable of. 

They all ran around trying to lock down the highways, put out a search party for the radius of what? How far are they going to block things? Did they honestly think they would catch them? 

Giovanni was like a general going over possible locations with Mosley. They leaned over a map, as he listed off every single piece of property he was aware of, not to mention allies nearby. 

My father wouldn’t be that stupid. He’d go somewhere new, somewhere unexpected. He’d been held for tax evasion, a list of his assets was acquired. No piece of his property was safe, and then his business associates were next. 

He wanted time, and the element of surprise he would go somewhere remote. It would probably be some random person's cabin, or even a shack on a farm. Somewhere we wouldn’t ever think of.  

“He won’t be there,” I told them. 

Giovanni didn’t look up at me. “We have to at least try,” he sounded so defeated. 

“You’re wasting your time, we need to go somewhere safe,” if that even existed anymore. 

I had just tried to put my father in prison for life. I had taken everything he had built, and I had handed it over to the US government. He had nothing, no resources, no allies that wouldn’t be going to jail if they attempted to help him, that wouldn’t even stop some of them because they were good at this. He had built an empire in the shadows, and it had taken this long to find it. There were no doubt many holes that he could slither out of.

“We need to get out of the city, Giovanni,” I ordered him, my voice hard and angry. 

I wasn’t angry at him, but at the situation, or was I angry at him? I couldn’t tell. He had gotten my hopes up and made me fall in love with him. Now here we are waiting for the lion to kill us. 

“You can go, I'm staying,” he went off with Mosley, singling something to Marco. 

“You’re joking!” I yanked my arm away from Marco as he tried to gently take me out of the police station. “What are you going to do, sit here like a target begging to be shot?” I chased after him. 

“If I’m here, at least he’ll be arrested afterwards,” he shot back over his shoulder. 

“What about Italy? What am I supposed to do when he kills you?” I yanked on his shoulder and forced him to look at me. “You’re not thinking clearly,” I cupped his cheeks. “Come with me, we will go somewhere and lie low for a minute-“ 

“No!” He growled, yanking my hands from his face. “And then what will happen if we hit him? He hides for a while, then we get hit and hide for a while? It never ends! I’m done playing the game, I’m doing what I should have from the start,” he shouted at me. “I’m going to kill him or die trying!” 

He snapped his finger, and Marco appeared reluctantly, blocking my path, herding me away from his cousin. 

“Giovanni!” I shouted. “Giovanni!” 

I couldn’t believe he was going to abandon me like this. What was he going to do, lock me up in the townhouse? I’d be a sitting duck. 

“Marco,” I pleaded, but he didn’t hear me as he placed a hand on my back, guiding me out and to the car. He was fighting tears as we drove off. 

He had taken me to Giovanni all those months ago. Brought me to him for sanctuary, and now he took me away, claiming the same reason. What beautiful symmetry, some poet could make a beautiful soliloquy to our doomed love. 

“Are you really going to let him go on this suicide mission?” I asked Marco, but he didn’t say a word to me and just kept driving. He took me past the townhouse and out of the city. “You’re joking, he’s sending me to some little corner of the map to hide for safety while he fights the good fight?” I snapped. 

Still, he didn’t speak. 

“He will die!” Marco, I couldn’t help it. I grabbed his arm and shook him as he drove and hit his shoulder, lunging across the car to take the wheel from him, but Marco was deceptively strong. 

He pushed me back into my seat with one shove as if I were a child throwing a tantrum. “It’s what he wants,” was all I got.  

This wasn’t happening. I panicked as he pulled into an airfield. No, absolutely not. I wasn’t going to be shipped off that far away from him. I jumped out of the vehicle, turning to run, but two of Giovanni’s men were waiting for me, dragging me towards the plane. 

“Stop it, Marco, please. He needs me!” The two men took Marco’s nod and kept hauling me towards the aircraft, further away from the man I loved. 

This isn’t happening. I heaved in large and heavy breaths, my ears ringing until something whizzed by my head. One of the hands dropped beside me, then the next. 

Gunfire popping off around me, Marco ran back to his car for cover, calling out for me, I think. I stood there frozen. 

This is when it happens, my father is going to shoot me and have me killed. At least it’ll be quick. I half expected him to take his time. I didn’t leave much of him for the vultures to pick clean. Why would he give me any courtesy? 

A car whipped around a corner and drove straight for me. Marco bailed into his car for safety, and the gunfire directed itself at him. 

I should be focused on other things. I should be trying to find cover, but my mind had me locked where I was. I couldn’t move, just watching this play out like a scene from a movie. Why couldn’t I move? I looked down and realized one of the big men had his arms around my legs.

Oh, that’s why. 

I finally found some common sense and pulled myself free as the car came barreling towards me. Marco was trapped in his car as bullets pelted it like hail. 

He drove off in some direction for safety, leaving me stranded. I ran as fast as I could, hearing the inevitable sounds of my capture. 

The car slammed into me. Oh…I hadn’t expected that to happen. 

I hurled forward, skidding across the pavement, a rock on a lake, my skin scratching across the tarmac as I skipped forward. I couldn’t breathe from the pain, not able to gasp for air. I heard the unmistakable sound of heels clicking towards me. 

Blonde curls fell into frame as I stared up at the gray sky. 

“You should have known better,” Guilia told me, pointing something at my face before…

That was the last thing I remembered.