‘Uccidi tutti quelli che cercano di arrivare a noi tranne Ricardo, portalo da me, voglio che mi guardi mentre rompo la sua donna prima di morire.’ [Kill all who try to get to us except Ricardo, bring him to me, I want him to watch me break his woman before he dies.]He ordered his guards unaware they being totally overrun and most of them were already surrendering to save their own lives, he threw Alcina back onto his bed and she gasped loudly for air her hands automatically going to her throat as she fought to breathe. She curled away from him closing her eyes she did not want him to see the that at the mention of Ricci’s name the fog in her brain had cleared instantly. Her mind became razor sharp once more as she remembered everything he had tried to force her to forget when he reached for her she deliberately went loose pretending to be barely conscious. Mario tsked in temper, he was so close to his release but he must have choked her to hard she was so limp angrily he improvised.
Ricci caught her as she swayed and almost collapsed again.‘Ricci?’Her eyes locked on to his as he swung her into his strong arms,‘Sono io, bambina' [It’s me baby girl]She flinched at his choice of words but the feeling of warmth and safety suffused her body and her eyes rolled back into her head as she gave into the darkness wanting to claim her.They were suddenly surrounded by men with guns all cocked and ready to shoot as two of the other Dons came forward gesturing angrily‘Perché avrebbe sparato a Don Mario, che era il migliore amico di suo padre?’ [Why would she shoot Don Mario he was her Fathers best friend?]One of them said standing in front of him as he tried to carry her back to his SUV,‘He was no friend of her Family’Ricci snarled at them.,‘Era un fottuto traditore, una fottuta spia, era il cugino di Don Giovanni. Ha catturato sua Madre, entrambi i suoi genitori si sono fidati di lui ed è stato come un fratello per suo Padre. Portò Maria da Giovanni e poi si fece da
It was only as he processed what she had said did he realise she was gone, and he stood anxiously rushing into their bedroom,‘Bellissima, mi dispiace tanto.’ [Beautiful, I am so sorry.]He began but she was not in the room the door had been flung wide he saw and he knew he had failed her again, she had needed his understanding and love after such a declaration. He had given her neither just shock and disgust at what she had suffered, it had not been aimed at her but how was she supposed to know that? He could imagine her thoughts now, she would hate herself, her shame and humiliation would be tearing her proud heart to pieces, he knew how she thought and she would be blaming herself.Alcina collapsed, her legs giving way before she got very far, she was so weak from her incarceration she could not go any further, panting heavily she looked up and groaned. She was barely a few feet away from the villa and even now Ricci’s guards were heading toward her, Romero, one of his main capos,
Then as if she had not suffered enough she was called before the other Dons, they had heard what Mario had done but not the full story and without realising what it would do to her they demanded a meeting. Alcina bravely agreed she was a Don herself, she had led them into the war that had destroyed Giovanni now she needed to explain Mario’s betrayal. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, she put on her silver grey Dior trouser suit, it was designed to mimic their Armani suits but fitted to her slender figure. She teamed it with a darker grey shirt and matching four inch Jimmy Choo heels, her make up was minimal and her pale golden hair hung in a loose curtain of soft curls down her back. She looked ethereally beautiful as she walked down to the meeting room where all the Dons waited for her. Still in shock from what had happened to her she stood before them took a deep breath then in an icy cold voice devoid of all emotion told them everything Don Mario had done to her from
He said quietly and Alcina looked at him kindly,‘"No Don Luciano non l'hai fatto e date le circostanze penso che ognuno di noi avrebbe fatto esattamente lo stesso. È finita, ciò che conta ora è il futuro. Ricci non è suo Padre, mi ha salvato la vita e’ [No Don Luciano you didn’t and under the circumstances I think any one of us would have done exactly the same. It is over, what matters now is the future. Ricci is not his Father, he saved my life and]She looked at the men around the table and blushed prettily her blue eyes sparkling,‘Lo amo. Questa faida finisce ora, Giovanni è morto, mio Padre è morto. E' finita' [I love him. This feud ends now, Giovanni is dead, my Father is dead. It is over]She said and left the room her back ramrod straight and Ricci stared after her in shock,‘Had she just stated in front of all the Dons that she loved him?’Luciano turned to smile at the handsome young Don,‘Posso suggerirti di seguirla, Ricardo? Quella bella e giovane puledra vale la pena di
Now the guilt engulfed her and all she wanted to do was run back to her home curl up in a corner and never leave again. He stared at the lost little waif who wandered out of the door, gone was the confident, brave young woman who had left to find her ’family’ she was two years older but she was a child.‘Alcina?’He whispered and those huge azure blue met his,‘Dear God, they were so full of pain, she was broken.’He thought and then opened his arms and she was in them, so fragile and tiny, he could not believe what his eyes were telling him, she was trembling so violently he did not think twice. He had just turned sixty five but he had kept himself fit and as he scooped her up he found she weighed nothing,‘It’s alright little one, you are home now, you are safe.’He held her to his chest and carried her out to his Rolls Royce where his driver jumped out and held the door his face a picture of shock,‘Is she okay Sir?’He asked remembering the brassy teenager he had driven to the air
‘Ah, Mr Winstyne, so good of you to attend, do we need to transfer this good lady to your private clinic?’She was not in the least intimidated by the Surgeon, who was actually Lord Winstyne and who rarely got his hands dirty these days, he had his minions who did that. He always made and exception for a member of the Royal family and the beautiful young woman in front of him was a Duchess,‘No, My Lady, your friend will not be moved, she urgently needs a triple bypass and a theatre is being prepared as we speak. If you would kindly follow my Nurse she will take you to my private waiting room where I do believe her husband is waiting. I need to inform you both that surgery can take anywhere up to six hours so please be patient.’His private waiting rooms were very different from the cold dirty hard back chairs stuck in a tiny room that passed for the waiting room downstairs.This room was a large, bright airy room painted pale yellow, big overstuffed comfy chairs dotted around it, with
When they got back to their home Janie came rushing out hugging Alcina as she stepped out of the car,‘Darling girl, it is so good to see you, come in, come in, I’ve got dinner on, let me show you to your room and then we can sit down and eat.’She tugged her inside and up the stairs to a pretty pink room gushing sweetly,‘I know it’s a little girlie, our Granddaughter just loves pink I’m afraid.’They both laughed, at the pink frilly curtains, fluffy pink bedspread and mountain of pink stuffed toys,‘A little girlie?’Alcina tried not to laugh out loud biting her lip but it was a losing battle, Janie let out a loud guffaw and it set Alcina off they both collapsed together holding each other as they laughed until they cried.‘Oh God, I’m so sorry Janie.’Alcina hiccuped but then Janie started off again setting her off laughing hysterically until they collapsed onto the bed exhausted, side by side they lay panting hard.‘I really have to go and finish dinner.’Janie said not looking at