Chapter 132
132
Whatever game Dario was playing with Alessandra, she didn’t appear to be happy about it.
That became crystal clear the day she tried to escape.
Now, she didn’t try to escape escape. She didn’t make a run for it. But I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out how to leave the property.
Following Dario’s orders, I kept watch over her from a distance. On that particular day, I was on a third-floor balcony, watching her through the scope of my sniper rifle.
Not to shoot her, mind you. Merely to see what she did when she thought she wasn’t being watched.
And to protect her. Niccolo thought the Oldanis might send their soldiers to attack the compound in retaliation for Fumagalli, so I wanted to be ready in case Alessandra stumbled across an ‘unfriendly p>
She ended up stumbling across an unfriendly, alright.
Just not a human one.
She walked past the swimming pool and the topiary gardens and entered a field that led to the olive groves.
I watched her stumbling across the uneven ground –
When she suddenly froze.
I frowned. I thought about scanning beyond her to see if she’d run across a stranger –
But she wasn’t looking straight ahead.
She was looking at the ground.
I tilted the scope down the tiniest bit and immediately saw the problem.
Coiled in the dry grass about four feet away from her was an aspic viper.
I’d first run across one while I was training our foot soldiers – and I’d jumped backwards about five feet. Tuscany had seemed like an enchanting land of vineyards and rolling hills, not deadly fucking snakes.
Massimo had schooled me on both aspic and meadow vipers (the smaller of the two venomous snakes in Tuscany). Aspics were roughly a hundred times more common than meadow vipers. Even though their bite was rarely deadly, the venom was excruciating – a good way to ruin your week.
I was about 600 feet away from Alessandra. I didn’t have time to grab my range finder, so I would have to wing it.
I calculated the distance… aimed a little high… and pulled the trigger.
CRACK!
The snake’s head exploded in a burst of red.
Bullseye.
I heard Alessandra scream. When I panned the scope over to her, she was stumbling backwards and looking around wildly. Then her gaze settled on the mansion.
I didn’t see the need to freak her out any more than she already was, so I waved at her.
In the scope, I saw the lightbulb go off over her head –
And the immediate wave of disappointment that washed over her features.
I chuckled. You’re not escaping TODAY, my dear.
I used a big, sweeping gesture of my arm to tell her to come back.
She looked glum, but she dutifully started trudging back towards the mansion.
I thought it might be worth having a chat with her, one on one. Just to clear the air.
I slung the rifle over my shoulder – just in case Niccolo was right about the Oldanis sending more soldiers – and quickly descended the steps to the patio.
When I met her halfway across the field, she looked at me with a mixture of fear and irritation. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. She had so desperately wanted to escape, and I had ruined it all.
Well, actually, the snake had ruined it. I’d just prevented the snake from REALLY ruining her plan.
“You have to be careful out here,” I said kindly, trying not to lecture her too much. “You shouldn’t stray so far from the house p>
“Or what, you’ll shoot me?” she snapped.
A little bratty, considering I’d just saved her life. Or maybe just her leg.
But I chalked it up to her situation. If someone had kidnapped me and was keeping me against my will – no matter how nice the prison – I wouldn’t be in the best of moods, either.
I should know; I’d spent three and a half years behind bars. Even if San Vittore had been a five-star hotel, I would have wanted out.
Being helpless can make you hate even the most beautiful surroundings. Golden handcuffs are still handcuffs.
I chuckled, mainly to let her know that my next words weren’t a threat so much as a joke.
Although… they were still kind of a threat.
“No, I’d have to sling you over my shoulder and carry you back, and you might not like that so much p>
She looked at me out of the corner of her eyes – probably wondering if I would do to her what she’d seen me do to Umberto Fumagalli.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” I said gently as we walked back towards the house.
“Riiiight. I have nothing to fear from the man tracking me with a gun p>
“I was ordered to keep you safe. Which, you must admit, I just did p>
“Yes, but the snake’s not the only thing I’ve seen you shoot p>
There it was –
Confirmation of what I knew she’d been thinking.
“The man last night was a snake, as well,” I said. “Just a different type p>
“Let me guess,” she said sarcastically. “You were protecting me last night, too p>
“No. I was protecting the family.” And because I was getting irritated with her attitude, I added, “Although, one could argue that I protected you by walking out of the café after it was over p>
A wave of fear passed over her face, and I immediately regretted what I’d said.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” she asked quietly.
I tried to lighten the mood with a joke. “I thought the snake was a bigger threat p>
“You know what I meant. Why didn’t you shoot me last night p>
I played dumb. “Why would I p>
“I was the only witness – and you looked right at me. I could have identified you to the police p>
She was 100% right.
I decided to tell her the real reason I hadn’t –
The only rule I had.
“I don’t kill women or children. Ever p>
“What if they ordered you to?” she asked.
They meaning Dario and his brothers.
“They wouldn’t p>
“That’s a first,” she muttered. “Mafiosos not willing to kill someone p>
I thought about Dario – all the kindnesses he had done me, all the times he had offered to help me, all his plans to build a better world than the one he had inherited from his father.
I especially remembered what he had told me in the hallway – the part about being my friend and how I could always speak my mind.
“They’re different than you think,” I said.
“How so p>
“You should ask Niccolo or Dario. It’s not my place to talk about the family’s business. But let’s just say that they aren’t your ordinary, everyday mafiosos,” I said, making fun of her term for them.
“Hm,” she said absentmindedly. Then she hit me with a barrage of questions. “Are you Swedish p>
“I am p>
“Niccolo said you saved Dario’s life twice in prison p>
I thought about saying, Probably more than that, but knew I could just as easily say, He saved MY life, too.
In the end, I simply agreed.
“I did p>
“And that’s why they trust you p>
“It is p>
“Were you in the military, too? In Sweden p>
“I was p>
“That’s why you’re such a good shot p>
“Partly p>
“You’re talkative, aren’t you p>
I grinned. “I would talk more, Alessandra, if I knew my secrets were safe with you p>
“What secrets p>
“Who I am. What I’ve done. Who I work for p>
“I already know those things p>
I almost laughed. DO you now.
“And I see no need for you to know more,” I replied.
“Then why bring me here p>
“It wasn’t my choice p>
“Why did he bring me back here?” she asked, her brow creased with worry.
I could have said what Niccolo would have advised:
Because you’re leverage to make your father spill his secrets.
But then I thought of what Dario had said in the corridor the other day:
I shall NOT violate Rome at the moment of possessing her.
Trust me, my friend. This one’s special – I realize that.
I smiled.
Maybe he brought you back here, Alessandra… because he’s falling for you.
I sure as hell didn’t say that, though.
“Dario does what he wants. But I think you know the risk he’s taking by bringing you here. You’ve seen a great deal. You could say the wrong things to the wrong people p>
“And then you would shoot me,” she said.
“Not me p>
“Who, then p>
The truth was, probably nobody.
But I couldn’t let her know that, or she would try to escape again –
And maybe next time she would succeed.
So I gave her a dark look and let her come to her own conclusions.
The blood drained from Alessandra’s face. She looked so terrified that I felt bad about what I’d done.
“Just stick to the house and the nearby grounds, Alessandra,” I said gently. “Do what you’re told, and you’ll get to go home soon enough p>
“When p>
“I don’t know. Just be careful.” She needed to know I was serious – that real dangers were at play here – so I didn’t smile when I said, “There are vipers everywhere p>
I left her on the patio, her eyes wide and full of fear, as I climbed the steps to take up my post again.
I hoped I’d scared her enough that she wouldn’t try to escape again.
Turned out… not so much.