I stand looking through dresses; the shopping trip we had planned to go on changed to this. As I look at dresses, I have Lorenzo in my mind. My hand stops on a dress, and I smile.Walking through, I try it on. Stepping out from behind the screen, Lucia stares at me."It's beautiful.""Lorenzo will kill you." Felicity laughs. "Get it!" We all laugh at her, and I decide to get the dress. It's perfect for taunting Lorenzo.Laughing at the thought, I get changed and sort out the dress. I watch Iz, Felicity and Lucia pick a dress as well."Jane is coming." Turning, I look at Lucia. "To the auction, I invited her. We rarely see her.""I haven't seen her since she was here with Callum and everyone.” I know Jane came more after that day, but I was with Lorenzo. I hadn't seen much of her recently, which is shitty. I need to make more of an effort to see my friends.~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~The place is quiet, but it's clear it's more than just a holiday home. It's a fucking safe house. The walls ar
Twenty minutes later, I watch the woman rush out of the room.I stay with Dario, waiting. A few minutes after Lorenzo walks out and waves me over. We walk over, and he pulls me to him."We're leaving." His words are flat, and he pulls me out. Getting outside we stand waiting for the car."Lorenzo?" I look at him, but his face is fixed forward. Sighing, I walk around him and smile at him, my eyes fixed on his. Maybe it was bad news, and that's why he is so cold? My eyes drop, and my heart shatters."Who was she?" He glances down, confused."What?""Who the fuck was she, Lorenzo?" I step back."Just someone I know. It doesn't matter."I laugh. "It doesn't? Of course, now it's switched sides, it doesn't matter.""What the fuck are you on about, little kitten!" He stands confused."What happened in that room?""Nothing, we spoke.""Yeah, with lips and tongues on your neck." He looks at me, confused. "Next time, maybe check your neck for marks." His hand raises."It wasn't like that."Ouch
I walk into the room and sit down. "Rosalie?" Why would she know something? She looks around nervously. "Rosalie?" I watch as she moves to sit next to me."You can't let anyone know it was me who spoke Lorenzo." I nod but still sit, confused. "After we fucked that time, I began dating Danni."Oh great. I sigh and look at her. "What are you here for, Rosalie?""I know where he is. I know his plan, Lorenzo, I know everything. I was with him last night. He thought I was asleep when he took a call.""Then explain.""You promise no one will know it was me?""I swear I won't say." I need to know. She looks down."He isn't the only one after you, Lorenzo. From what I heard, someone from the past is back and wants revenge. He wants you dead." Rocco."Apparently, he is pissed off with you as you caught him. It was you who led to him having to disappear." Definitely, Rocco. I saw him fucking running, then Marco found our sister."So he's alive. What does that have to do with Danni?""He's paid
I open the car door and step in. Closing the door, I hear it lock and look up. My heart stops when I see Danni smiling at me. Turning, I try the door, but it won't open."Oh, don't worry. I won't touch you." I move away from him. I watch as he takes out a phone."She's in the car. We're on the way now." His eyes drop to my thigh, and I cover it. Right now, Lorenzo is correct. This dress isn't appropriate, with him, sure, but alone, with Danni?"Sure, sure. Not a hair on her will be touched." He smirks at me and places the phone down. "Such a shame I have orders." He leans forward, licking his lips. I move back more."Where are we going?""Somewhere fun." His smile widens, and I feel sick. "Phone." He holds out his hand, and my head shakes. If he takes it, I lose my chance to be saved. "I won't ask again, phone." My head shakes, and I hold it tighter.His body launches at me, and he throws me down. Pulling back my fist, I swing it and hit him. His hands fight with me until I drop the p
I've lost count of the hours, I'm pacing, but there's been no fucking signs of her. The phone hasn't been much help yet, either. I've tried calling her and nothing, her phone isn't on.I watch as Luciano sleeps, Dario and everyone watching me closely, I know what they are waiting for. I can't fall and crash. I can't drown the issues in booze, fighting and alcohol, not if she isn't here.My phone ringing has me snatching it from the table."Yes?" I'm just hoping someone has information."Lorenzo."I suck in a breath, hearing her voice. "God's sake, Alice! Where are you, who the fuck are you with?" Everyone looks at me, confused. Moving the phone, I put it on speaker. "Alice, what happened?""I'm sorry, Lorenzo."I smile. "It's fine, little kitten, I get it, now what the fuck happened?" She shouldn't apologise for running."I'm leaving Lorenzo.""What?" No, my head shakes. "Who are you with? Where did you go?""I left Lorenzo. This isn't working.""Don't fucking lie, there was a phone o
Sleep doesn't come. I can't, I'm waiting for her to walk through the door, but she doesn't. I try to call the number she had rang me from, and it's disconnected. I gave her everything, over and over. Even when she kissed Danni, I forgave her and gave her everything, but it made no difference.Why? God I want to scream, I want to hunt her down and demand to know why I'm not good enough. Why I'm not worth it, but the answers will no doubt only kill me more.Showering, I walk down and into the office. "We have Danni." I perk up, that fucker will have answers. "Lorenzo, we need answers, so calm it. Please." I nod, although my emotions are all over right now, so I'm not sure I can calm it."Where was he?" I need to know."Someone caught him slipping into his brother's bar. He was alone, but we will get answers." Marco looks at me. "You can't go in like this, Lorenzo. Find a way to fucking bury it. Otherwise, he wins.""Come on, Kiddo." My dad stands. "He buries it, you kill it, let's go."
I end the call and know I've convinced him I've left. I had to, though; they were all watching and listening."Poor little Lorenzo. He really loves you." Rocco laughs. "Plane leaves in an hour. Danni, you can leave, Jacob; escort her out of the country."I sit shocked; if I'm in the country, there's a chance I can get back to Lorenzo. Out of it, I'm screwed?"I don't know anyone?" How can he send me to another country with no one I know there?"That's the whole idea. You won't have anyone there to run to this time." Jacob laughs."Right, you need to get in touch with Felicity. Make this meet-up happen now with the boys." Rocco turns from Jacob back to me. "If you do anything, Alice, we will have your son and a nice firm aim on Lorenzo to take a shot.""Something tells me she thinks we're bluffing, so I will get a picture sent of her son when they leave to meet. Behave, Alice; it would be a shame for Lorenzo to lose his son as well." I simply nod. I don't want Luciano or Lorenzo at ris
After dealing with Danni and discovering that Rocco is back, I feel we're closer to finding her. He didn't tell us much, just that Alice was to be hidden and forced to live away from me.They had planned to take Felicity, but that failed. In some ways, I'm glad it is Alice and not Felicity. I know that Alice will fight. I know she can defend herself. Felicity can't."We are trailing some of his old men, and I will bring them in and use them to send messages to Rocco."He will bring them in, rough them up and send messages, but I have my own plan. He won't like it, but he doesn't have a choice. I don't say it, though. I stay quiet and let him talk about the plan he's made.I will help with it, but I'm going my own way. Rocco will come out of hiding. He thinks Caiu is still alive, and I plan to use that against him."We're trying to track down both Jacobs; if Rocco is moving constantly, finding him won't be easy.""What about Lucia?" Dario looks at him now."She is convinced that if she
I'm so fucking happy. This is the best Christmas ever. She's pregnant, Alex is officially ours, and she's marrying me! Tonight! I left her for a bit. Her dad is here, so they are talking everything out. I wanted to be there but knew she needed space to do it herself. I look across the chairs and other things. She wanted to come outside, but we banned her. She can't see this, not until later. "It's looking good." Lorenzo smiles at me. "Have you considered this, Dario?" Marco looks at me. "She said yes! She said she would marry me." She said yes. "I know, but I mean the whole surprise wedding; she said yes, but that doesn't mean now." "Yes, it does!" She wouldn't say yes if she weren't ready now. She's ready. She will say yes. She will love this. "Okay, calm down, you're too high." Marco chuckles, but I can't. I feel amazing right now. "How is it going with her dad?" Matteo looks at me. "No idea. I gave her space." I'm giving her space. "Matteo, he's staying at your house toni
I walked out of the room feeling sickened. Not so much that he had slept with my mother, more he slept with me purely because I looked like her. Like in his mind, I was her. I need to check on Alex. Walking into his room he's sat up on the bed looking at the book. "Read it?" He holds out the book, and I laugh. "Move over." I climb onto the bed, and he cuddles into me as I read it to him. Today is Christmas. I didn't realise, but Lucia had the baby on Christmas day! It's nearly three. I read to him, watching as he fell asleep. Slowly, my eyes slip closed. I wake feeling someone wrap their arms around me. Glancing behind me, I see Dario. I open my mouth to talk, and he shakes his head. "No. Leave it, little rabbit. Let's just sleep for a couple of hours." He holds onto me, and I fall asleep, with him and Alex cuddling me. I need to get answers later. I wake up in bed alone. Neither Alex nor Dario are here. Climbing from the bed, I go to our room and begin to get ready. "Little ra
So far, this guy hasn't been forthcoming. It's Christmas, and we're wasting time on him. Sure, we could just forget him and go to bed for as few hours as possible before getting up, but he's a risk. Alice came to get the baby, and Lucia is currently resting. So this needs sorting now. He's not someone who can be trusted alone, even with soldiers. "I never would have hurt her." I look up, confused. "Evaline, my plan was never to touch her or harm her. Weirdly, she is just like her mother. She's amazing." "How did you meet her mum?" I want to get her answers. "I had just taken down a target and was ready to leave when I saw her. I was twenty-eight, and she was thirty-nine. She was so different. She was so amazing I just went over and said hi, which is how it began. At that point, Evaline was born." "Did you see Evaline?" "No!" His head shakes. "I never did; we had been sleeping together for years. She wouldn't let me see Evaline. She spoke of her. He found out about the affair and
I look at Marco. He's heard nothing. "It's Christmas. Maybe just leave it until after today?" Lorenzo looks at me. "I can't do much, Lorenzo." I can't do anything without information that we don't have. "This is your first official Christmas with Evaline, don't fuck it up." Our dad looks at me, and I know he's right. The gunshot has us all jump up and rush out. I watch as a window smashes and smoke begins to flood the hall. "Get the women and kids!" Marco screams, rushing upstairs; I grab Luciano, Lorenzo grabs Alice, and I see soldiers follow Marco up to Lucia and Evaline. Carrying Luciano down, I sit him in the safe room. Rushing up, I see someone carrying Alex. "Put it on." I see something throw a mask at me. Placing it on, I rush up and see Evaline fighting to get to Alex's room. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I watch as she disappears. Rushing through, I get to our room and see him. Throwing myself at him, someone grabs me and stops, and I watch them grab him. "D
I wake hearing a bang, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. I reach out to Dario, but he isn't there. The sound of gunshots has my body jump up and out of bed. Rushing, I get the gown and wrap it around my body as the windows in the room smash, and smoke begins to fill the room. I rush for the door and hear something. Turning, I look behind me and see someone jump through the window. Running out the door, I get grabbed. Screaming, I go to hit him. "Evaline, go with him!" Marco? I feel them pull me, but I try to get to Alex. I need to get Alex. Screaming, I fight against him. "Alex is downstairs, little rabbit, go." I don't get a chance to respond. I'm just pulled further away. As we reach downstairs, I'm thrown into a room and the door locks. "Evaline, thank god you're okay!" Lucia rushes and hugs me. I look around, Alice, Lucia, Alex, and Luciano are in here, and I believe it's James. I'm not sure which soldier it is. "What is happening?" I look around us. This room has no windo
Dario's arms stay around me as we dance. He started out fine, but in the past week, he's been slowly drowning and getting lost in his mind. I know he's constantly overthinking what is happening. Everything I try fails. Sex works while we're having sex, and then he's back in his head. It's taking so much effort to keep him here and with us. The last thing we need is for something to happen and for him to slip away in his mind and not wait for answers. So, I need to keep his mind off Mad Hatter or Tim, as they haven't been able to find anything. Marco even tried to send a message out for my dad in the hope he would reply and give us something, but it's been silent. I lean up and kiss his lips. "We haven't spoken about how many kids you want." I smile, and he looks at me so damn confused. "Babies, Dario, how many do you want?" "I just want you." My eyes roll. "You have me. We have Alex. I want to know about us making babies. How many?" He seems to be considering it. "I would be hap
It's too quiet, and I don't like quiet, not in this way. Quiet in my head, fine, but this feels wrong. He's gone quiet. He's stopped sending messages out. He's ignoring us. He's planning, he's planning something, what is he planning? I pace the room. Today is Matteo's engagement party. Tomorrow is Christmas. It's too fucking quiet. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I turn, and Marco is staring at me. "You're singing." He holds out his hands. "We were waiting for you!" "I..." Something is wrong. Quietly, quietly, not a sound. I'm listening and listening. "Dario!" I glance at him. "Get out of your head, focus." I can't focus. It's too quiet. "Okay, tell me what is in your head. You keep singing quietly, quietly, so speak." "It's too quiet." It's too quiet. "Right, and I agree it is. It's unusual. He's gone quiet; he's not responding, but stay out of your head. It's been half an hour. How long have you been standing here pacing and singing in yo
I sit with Dario. His brothers and his dad are facing me. "You slept with him, just say." Marco laughs. "I did, but that isn't it. That time, I never returned; about a year into it, Dale had bought a holiday home. He sent me to it alone and told me not to leave as it wasn't safe. I stayed there for maybe six months. A few weeks after I got there, the guy showed up. He basically moved in with me." I see Carlos' mouth drop open. "He never stayed in one place!" "He stayed with me. Dale would send maybe one message a week saying I wasn't safe and to stay hidden. If I tried messaging him, it wouldn't go through. I told him I couldn't keep calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim for now. That wasn't his name, I don't think. He confided in me, told me about his childhood and things, and I know I should have said, but I saw him as a friend." Which was stupid. "And now you don't? Why?" Marco looks at me, waiting. "Because now I realise he was trying to get information from me.
Dario pushes me to sit in a seat and faces me. He's looking at me like I'm about to blow everything up. I feel like I am. I didn't tell him everything, not because I didn't want him to know, but because I had no idea how or if he would handle this. Then, I just figured out things while he was getting Alex in bed. "Little rabbit, please." He looks at me, almost begging. "I didn't tell you everything. I stayed at a small holiday home without Dale for about six months. I have no idea where he went. Tim, or Mad Hatter as we know him, stayed with me." "You knew his fucking name!" "No! I told him I felt awkward calling him Mad Hatter, so he said to call him Tim, which could be his name for now. His name isn't Tim. It's just a name he said to call him, so I didn't have to call him Mad Hatter." "You don't know for sure, little rabbit, why the fuck did you live with him for six months!" "Dale was gone. I don't know where or why. He was just gone. Tim isn't a bad guy, or I thought. Dale h