where I always meant to be, feels good and tiring. Hungry or not, my sleep will be peaceful with Santino in my arms. I smile at the thought of the food I slaved over. The entire day culminates, affecting me all at once. The pregnancy scare. The hike through the wilderness, God’s creation of the earth. Exhausted, I murmur, “I could stay here with you forever.”
“Me too. I’m glad we finally made it to the cabin, Bella. I’ll let you rest for a little while, then we can eat.”
“What cabin?” I can hardly open my eyes to glance around me. “This is a fortress.”
I’m almost lulled to sleep until I feel his muscles softly shifting as he laughs. “Bella, it’s still a cabin. The cabin we were supposed to visit in October.”
The beating of my heart takes flight, thumping faster, harder. “No. This-this isn’t the cabin, Santino. That other place you took me. That was the cabin.”
“No, sweetheart,” Santino smiles insistently. “That was a crappy little place where Piero dismembers—eh, not important.”
“No . . . but . . .”
“I’ll just say this is the vacation cabin, owned by my cousin when he visits the states. Ma’s side of the family. Bella, that’s as transparent as I’m going to get. This place is clean—apparently, or I wouldn’t bring you here.” He glances around at the crown molding and gleaming chandelier.
“No, no, no.” I sit up in bed. “We shouldn’t be here. My mom, I gave her the address of the cabin for October. This fucking cabin, Santino!”
“Oh, shit,” he groans. “You think someone would come looking for you here? I’m so sorry, Bella. I thought about that when I first took you to the fishing place. Then with the inn. This is why I was on the straight and narrow. One fuck-up, it’s all a domino effect.”
We’re climbing out of bed in a race for who can dress faster.
“No, we’re in this crap because of Gabby.” I shove my legs into the snow pants, no panties this time. “I’m not dealing with it until after Christmas. I don’t care if we grab sleeping bags and hike up to the place from earlier.”
He takes my hand, and we head out of the room. “Bella, you hate being cold.”
“I don’t care!” I follow him down the steps.
Santino mentions that he needs to find his keys and tells me to grab the backpack in the kitchen. He lets go of my hand, then looks me up and down. “Gina, where are your shoes?”
“Shit, damn,” I groan as he lets me go. “Upstairs, I’ll be back.”
“Okay, we should hurry,” Santino says.
As I scurry toward the marble steps, in two quick strides, he calls me back.
“Just in case, Bella,” he murmurs, wrapping me into his arms. Kissing me fiercely, he licks his lips.
“Just in case, what?”
“Go! Go!” he orders in Italian.
Dammit, why can’t I take these steps two at a time to go up?! I hustle back into the bedroom. I’m rounding the corner for the massive bathroom when I glance out the window. Lights flood all areas from down below. I step toward the glass to get a better look.
A hand clamps my mouth. “Shhhh, Ms. Galloway . . .”
58
Santino
Every time I completed a home invasion in the past, I understood the consequences. It’s a fucking class A felony. Then things changed. Mina died, Pop’s health was failing, and all the important shit had started to slip Ma’s mind by then. I stopped. Became the man that Ma and Antonia needed me to be.
Then Gina Galloway became my world, and we were living out our happily ever after. Having her in my arms was meant to last an eternity. It felt right. Gabriella, the Grinch Galloway, and her cronies ruined those plans.
I smile at the image in my mind of Gina, rushing up the stairs to grab her shoes. She was ready to keep running with me. I’d seen various lights from SWAT’s tactical gear. They swarmed over the land. The whirlwind love affair had come to a close, and she didn’t even know it yet.
“The fuck are you smiling about?” An Asian FBI agent narrows his scrutinizing eyes at me.
“Il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizo,” I murmur.
He turns toward his Italian female counterpart.
She rolls her eyes. “But abducting women and taking them from their homes has never been your MO, Mr. Morelli.”
When her partner continues to be lost, she shares that the saying means how hard it is to erase bad