The Trophy Wife

FOURTEEN: Suspicions

"What the hell did you do to him?" I demanded, storming out of the limo.

"E solo un lieve sedativo." One of the men dressed in black said quickly.

"I'd liked to be answered in the language that I asked the question in, thank you very much." I didn't have the patience to interpret what they were saying. The man who I risked everything for was sitting in my car completely unconscious.

"We injected him with a sedative, Mrs. Granucci. It will wear off in a couple of hours."

"And why should I trust you?"

"We do this for a living." One of the men answered. "Believe me, we have learned from our mistakes."

Alberto suddenly appeared on the sidewalk beside me, no longer dressed as the Joker. His face was filled with rage. That was the second time in one night that I got the sense that he wanted nothing more than to throttle me and watch the life leave my eyes. "Shut up!" He snapped. "You're attracting too much attention!"

"This was not a part of the deal!" I shot back, not lowering my voice

"My God, woman, you are so dramatic!" He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to compose himself. "Evelyn, you couldn't have possibly expected this man to willingly walk down stairs with four strange men and get into a black SUV with tinted windows. He must have poor judgement considering he got involved with you, but I find it hard to believe that anyone could be that stupid."

"Oh, what I would give to slam your head against that brick wall."

"Hmm... interesting choice. I would have thought you'd taken fancy on a blade. You know, that was your husband's preferred weapon. Very silent and efficient in getting the job done when you know what you're doing."

Before I knew what was happening, my fist was in the air, heading straight toward Alberto's mouth.

He caught me by my wrist and slowly lowered it to my side. "These men have a lot of experience, Evelyn. I don't hire someone unless they are the best at what they do. I promised to help you get this man to safety and I won't go back on my word. Now, I know you have these giant magical balls that are far superior to mine, but if you dare raise another hand at me you will be sorry.

"I accepted the fact that you can kick my ass, but you need to understand that this partnership isn't going to work if we turn on each other. I don't intend on screwing you over. If history has taught me anything, it's that there is no use in double-crossing a Granucci, because all it does is bite me in the ass. Now would you please, for the love of God, get back into the f*cking car?"

It killed me. A little part of me died as I silently obeyed his order, but I knew he was right. We needed to leave before Enzo realized I was missing.

I ended up finishing a little over half of the bottle of wine before Lucas woke up. The anticipation of what he was going to say terrified me. At first he just sat there, eyes wide with fear. They then found me but the panic never disappeared.

Alberto wasn't clear on what I could and could not share with Lucas. There was nothing that frightened me more than breaking omerta – our code of silence.

But even if that didn't exist, Lucas often looked at me like I was some kind of Goddess. Telling him the truth... it would strip me of the strength and the confidence he believed I had. I wouldn't be that mysterious woman he spent one night with. He wouldn't have lingering thoughts about me for the next fifty years. And I know that makes me insanely self-centered and shallow, but I wanted to be that girl. I desperately wanted to leave some kind of footprint in the world. I wanted to really mean something to at least one person.