I couldn't tell where he began and she ended as they tried to get into each other's heads. I couldn't read her. It fucking scared the shit out of me. She was as big a wild card as her father.
Baby, don't. It's not over. As long as you don't pull that trigger, there's still a chance that Joey lives. No matter how small. Don't give up. "Well obviously no one will ever love you like I do," I carried on, still desperately trying to win her over. Still that night in Prague. I really showered her with love that night. That's why you let me fuck you, isn't it baby? You couldn't get enough of my I love yous and I would have said it forever to make you believe me if you needed me to. "That's it. I've indulged this shit long enough. Lorenzo, now you may shut him up," said an apprehensive Don Angelo. This earned me a blow to the shoulder with the back of Lorenzo's gun, which hurt like a bitch. It waAdrenaline flooded my body, making me numb to the core. Did she just get shot right in front of me? When I looked back up to confirm my suspicion, she stepped back from her father, tossed the gun in her hand aside and took the one in his hand from him. Don Angelo glared at her with shock in his eyes as he stumbled back and a blood stain spread on his shirt. "You, you shot me. You fucking… Shot me," he stammered, touching his chest where the bullet wound was before he dropped to his knees then fell on his back. "You told me to eliminate my weaknesses. This is the very last time you get to tell me what to do. I may be your weakness, but that also makes you mine. Bye daddy," she said, her voice soft and angelic before she turned on Luca and I and raised her gun in the air, aiming it in our direction. Only once she had that gun in the air did I realize what I'd been asking her to do. Kill for me. There was no other way I wa
"A deal is a deal. Give it to him," I said, sitting in between Luca and Scott while I waited to be interrogated by the great Director Brady himself. "Are you sure? Technically the deal was whoever brings you home gets the dead man's switch. He didn't—" Scott said, but Luca cut him off. "Here I was thinking we spent the last three days building trust. Is it even worth taking it?" he asked with a knowing smirk. "It's encrypted," I admitted, surprising my poor boyfriend, like he didn't have enough to deal with as it was. "Since when?" Scott asked in disbelief. "You know what? Whatever," he said, handing Luca the usb drive containing the dead man's switch. "Are you going to decrypt it for him?" "No. That's okay though. I'm fine with her being the next Don Luciano," said Luca, his eyes meeting mine. "What the fuck are you talking about?" asked an irritated Scott. "Don't be slow, S
So much for not letting the emotions in. Scott could have died out there. I would have done anything to save him. To get back to him. Fuck anyone who said I did something wrong while saving him from Don Angelo and his henchmen. "They got to him just in time. Miraculously, barring any complications in surgery, Joey is going to live. He may lose a leg and possibly a testicle, but he'll live," he said, softening with the mention of Scott. I breathed a sigh of relief. There was so much blood, I was sure Joey was a dead man. Scott wasn't forgetting the images of me standing over a near lifeless Joey anytime soon, but at least I didn't kill him. That was a start. I knew I read you right, Jeff. You may have fucked up, but you do care about Scott, don't you? "Even if I could make everything else go away, you and your father are high profile criminals. The DA will push to try you for first degree murder if Don Angelo doesn't mak
It had been a week since Stacy and I got back from Chicago. We were crashing in the cottage since it seemed to give her peace of mind. She was under house arrest, so she couldn't exactly change her mind now anyway. She went straight back to hitting the books after we slept for a day, only waking up to eat and drink. Their deal was still in limbo as we waited for Don Angelo to wake up, but Jeff still accommodated Stacy taking her exams as part of their arrangement. He sent over an FBI escort to take her to campus and bring her home after as needed. Adjusting was hard. For the first few days, every time I touched her, all I saw was that gun in her hand while she stood over Joey's still body. I kissed her head and laid my hands on her shoulders when I took her meals anyway. She didn't touch me back, but I could tell she wanted my presence. Expected it. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Either way, she had to eat and she certainly wasn't feeding herself. I had to
I wanted to get us back on track, hopefully in time to propose in two days. That was probably wishful thinking, but I so desperately wanted her to be on the same page about us as I was. If she wasn't though, it would be okay. The proposal could wait. I just wanted my girlfriend back. Being so wrapped up in it all, I didn't even have the energy to see Kenny, despite having nothing but time. So when he called and said the engagement ring was ready, I was happy about seeing a friendly face. Even though we hardly spoke, I didn't like leaving her alone in the house for too long. Hanging out with Kenny and Marlene for an hour or two was probably okay though. I could always see Jeff tomorrow at lunch instead of meeting him for a drink tonight. I texted Stacy about where I was before I rang the doorbell. When the door swung open to reveal not just Kenny, but also Willow and my mom, I knew I was in for a bumpy evening. Willow and my mom hadn't called Stacy once
"Do you know why we even thought you were cheating in the first place? Because you fucking self sabotage, man. Every relationship you have ever been in—" Kenny mouthed off and I shut him down. "Don't you know why? I thought you of all people would understand why, Ken. I self sabotage for her. I let every other girl go for her. I met the love of my life eight years ago, only I was too stupid to see it. Despite how fucked up I was from everything with Jeff and my mom, from the moment she spoke to me for the first time, I loved her. I spent seven years trying not to need her, but nothing stops the yearning. I love her so much that no other woman could compete. When she went to Chicago for months at a time, I felt so fucking sick that I could barely function. How am I supposed to be without her forever, Ken?" I implored, trying to make him understand. "Scott, I love Stacy. I loved you guys for each other from the getgo. You know that, but this isn't healt
"Is that an engagement ring? She nearly gets you killed and you want to marry her?" Jeff's judgemental voice asked from behind me. Was I the only one who still thought she was my forever? "I just want her so damn much I don't know what to do with myself. I don't even know if she wants me anymore and everyone seems to think we should break up. It's all just—" I said, panicking about the night's events. "Easy, kiddo," he said, patting me on the back before he slid into the stool next to mine. He ordered us each a beer, waited for me to take my first swig, then asked, "Did they ambush you? Tell you to leave her?" "Jee dad, nothing gets past you. No wonder you're the director of the FBI," I said, cracking a smile. "Fucking smartass. I'll let that slide though since you did call me dad. This time without an agenda," he said, grinning back at me. "Look Scott,
I had mixed emotions when I got back to the house half an hour later. Choosing to focus on the positives, I stashed the ring and folder in a closet of one of the unfurnished bedrooms. Then I went looking for her in the study to share the news about Don Angelo being awake and her immunity deal. When I had searched the entire house and she was nowhere to be found, my mind spiraled and my heart dropped into my stomach. I couldn't do this shit again. The emotional turmoil alone nearly killed me last time. I stood before the bedroom door, trying to calm myself down. It was stupid to get so worked up without at least checking the bedroom. Even if she hadn't been next to me in bed in over a week. "Stace?" I called out, opening the door slowly. She didn't say anything, but she was indeed lying in the bed. I breathed a sigh of relief before I started stripping. Sliding in under the covers next to her, I could feel the delicious warmth of her bo
That last part was such a her thing to say. Was that really what she thought? It would explain how I apparently caught her off guard. "Please, for the love of God, let me sleep and shower first. There are dark circles under my eyes. And my make up—" What the fuck was she talking about? She was fucking flawless. Perfect in all her imperfections. "Shut up. I won the bet about Kenny and Marlene," I said, laying the phone down on the ground and starting the five minute timer. "So now Scott says shut up. You've said more than enough in the last few hours. Now just listen." She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth nervously, her eyes dropping to the timer. Words failed me. I had a whole speech and everything. Even if I didn't, I was me. I always knew what to say, except right that second I was tongue tied. "That photo's taunting me," I said, spitting out the thought in my he
By this point, she had me watching her from behind a lens. Flashes of the thousands of times she had me taking her photo went through my mind. Watching her was my favorite thing to do until she started letting me touch her. I loved every last one of them. Studied the thousands of photos frequently, especially this past week, like some junkie trying to get a fix. The sweet ones where she looked like an angel. The dirty ones where she looked like the perfect whore. The goofy ones that I made sure I was a part of. The everyday ones where she had a pencil in her hair while she read or picked something out at the grocery store. Every last photo I took of her and every memory attached to it flooded my brain. "Fucking stunning every time," I said, trying to calm my raging heart as the sun began to rise, the silhouette of her before it. Slightly trembling fingers took several photos, as the excitement of holding a camera surg
"Can't we do this another time? Surises come along every day and it's been such a long night," Stacy moped. Not this sunrise. Not this moment I wanted to give her. It was all she could do to hold onto the tripod towards the end, so I let her get on my back and gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way up my mountain. "You knew this was coming. I warned you I'd be making you miserable by bringing you out here before the crack of dawn while we were in Fiji. Sacrifices have to be made to please your future husband, Stace," I said, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against my back. The morning was chilly, contrasting with her body heat. Or was I sweating? Maybe she was right and this just wasn't our moment. It would come once though. The sunrise of our one year anniversary. I had this picture of how it was going to go down in my head and I just wasn't ready to give it up. "On our anniversary? We just spent two ho
"Is the world's greatest commitment phobe still proposing today after this shit storm?" Kenny asked me as I watched Stacy sit across from Jeff to read through her immunity deal. "You just get the champagne ready. Be on standby, Ken. Call in sick. You'll get the call soon," I said, sharing an excited smile with him before I opened the door to Jeff's office to sit down next to Stacy. "You can have your lawyer look it over before you sign. Take your time," said Jeff, waiting patiently on her. "She's her own lawyer. She's like two classes away from being one?" I boasted as I watched her brilliant mind go to work while she read. "Three," she corrected me, eyes still darting over the words on the page. "Besides, we trust you. Don't we, Scott?" That's what she said, but she carried on combing the document. In about two minutes, she'd have tons of questions for him. "Yes, we do," I said to my fath
"I will never let anyone hurt him, Ken. On my life, I will always keep him safe," she professed one more time. "I know you will, Stace. For the record, you were always my favorite best friend," he said, cautiously wrapping his arms around her as he started sobbing. "Same Ken," she said, returning his embrace readily, rubbing his back. Eyes still on me, she stuck her tongue out at me, making me chuckle as I got up to join them. "Un-fucking-believable. What am I, chopped liver?" I said, watching Kenny pull back as I shot him a nasty look. "You're okay. Tolerable. Second best. I keep you around because of her," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeves. "I can't believe you fucking told her you were proposing. What the fuck is wrong with you? How will you survive marriage?" His stupid remark had us chuckling between the three of us. We all wrapped an arm around the other an
There was that promise of forever she said I couldn't have until I asked her to marry me. It was as good as a yes to my proposal. My heart was doing flip flops in my chest. I knew it was for their benefit, maybe even just because she was nervous about talking to them instead of me, but her words were aimed directly at me. Sweeping me right off my feet. Claiming every bit of me as hers. Allowing me to let go of the tiny part of me that wondered if she really could have killed me in those woods. It wasn't just luck or the words I said to her that made her want to save me. I was happy if I gave her the strength to do what she needed to do, but I firmly believed she would have gotten there anyway. She had been doing it for eight years. From the moment we met, she had been protecting me. Even when she pushed me away. She chose me for eight years. Came back again and again, no matter how many times Don Angelo called her home, to make me fall dee
He pulled out a chair for himself, then one for me, urging me to sit next to him. With a resigned sigh, I sat down two chairs away from Kenny, as close to Stacy as I could. I gave Willow and my mom a pleading look so they would follow suite across the table. Stacy took her seat and folded her hands in front of her. Folding her hands was her tell for when she was nervous. They all looked away uncomfortably. No anger. No malice. Just sadness and fear. It was all I could do to stay seated. Not grab Stacy's hand and storm out. She asked me to let her do this though. All I could do was sit back and watch helplessly. "Marlene, you're right. We should have reached out and talked to you all about what happened. It sucked that she was the only one of you to come by and ask us what happened though. Instead of going off the news and wherever else you got your information from. Still, I'm sorry we didn't reach out either. We were trying to figure things out betwe
"No, you're not leaving," said Marlene, grabbing Kenny's arms and turning him towards Stacy and I. "Your best friends are getting engaged today. You've been brooding about this whole situation for over a week and I'm sick of it. Deal with your shit, Kenny," said Marlene, her arms folded and chin jutted out. Go Marlene. Marriage looked good on her. She surprised me more and more all the time. "Does everyone know I'm proposing today?" I asked, focusing on the wrong thing entirely. It got my nervous, half asleep girlfriend to smile though. I'd take that. "You weren't exactly trying very hard to hide it," said Stacy, momentarily caught up in my eyes. I wished I could have her look like that for the rest of the day. A light blush tainted her cheeks and her smile was enough to bring armies to their knees. The way she looked at me made me feel like we were the only two people alive. As much as I appreciated wha
"Soooo… Do you think there's more?" he asked in his most innocent voice. "I'll kill you if you try and find out today," I said, equally as breathless and sweaty as him. It took me a moment to realize I just threatened him without flinching or apologizing. I forced myself to let it go and enjoy the afterglow of the best sex of my life. The heat and sweat coming off our bodies should have been enough to get me off him, but it wasn't. Despite my threat to get off him, his arms wrapped around me gently. "No promises. I love you," he said, completely at ease as he started stroking my hair. "I expect to be told about all future… Locations and phrases." "I love you too. That's no fun. I'm not doing that," I said, out right refusing his request. "Is that right? We'll see," he said cheekily, kissing my temple. "Let me take you to lunch. I want you to enjoy your first day of freedom."