“Alessia was there.” She sniffles and shakes. “And here.” She looks down. “Why?” I snap, now seething. Twice she has tried to have Alessia killed. My wife. My love. My heart. My life. That is unforgivable.
“She makes you weak.” The venomous bite and change of tune makes it easier to see her transgressions without obstruction or hindrance. “If it weren’t for her, we’d still have our father.”
“Why the fuck do you care so much about him? He never cared about us.”
“He was still our father!” she shouts.
“And that is my wife you tried to have killed today! The woman who almost died twice! And the rat has been right under my nose the entire time!” I roar, now murderous with ire. Every muscle in my body screaming to choke the life out of her. In this moment, I don’t see her as anyone else other than my wife’s assassin.
“And I’ll do it again!” she screams suddenly looking mad, the youthful innocence exterminated. “I will fucking kill that bitch! Father was right! The Bonettis are nothing but a curse!”
I gape at her, not having a clue what to do now. What do I do with her? It’s evident she is unrepentant and completely devoid of remorse. She will try it again if I don’t—
Her body slumps to the side at the same time the sound of a gun goes off. A hole appearing on one side of her head, framing the inlet of the bullet, as the ruins of her skull explode out of the other side. My mother shrieks and screams in horror as I whip my head around to look at Alessia. She only stares back at me in genuine shock, her hands clean. My mother collapses to the floor, wailing as I look around for the one holding a gun, and I find the last person I would have expected.
Sarita lowers the handgun slowly to her side. Her face blank, and her hand steady. No one says a word and the only sound is our mother’s sobs. Moments tick by as we all stand there in utter shock.
“We tried fixing her,” Sarita finally speaks. Her voice eerily even. “She was never going to be right, and she was going to keep trying to go after Alessia. Or any of us. There was nothing we could do.”
It’s as if she is in some trance and quickly shaking herself out of it, dropping the gun in dismay. She’s now frantic as she looks around at all of us, abruptly taking off through the estate. Ezzo looks to me, then goes after her.
I watch as my mother weeps for Vita, a pool of blood multiplying. “Massimo,” Alessia’s gentle voice is close by. “I’m—I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
“Don’t,” I quip, not ready to deal with any of this just yet. I was still trying to wrack my brain on how to deal with Vita and her sins, and now I have to deal with her death and Sarita deeming herself as judge, jury, and executioner.
“Let me—”
“I said don’t!” I shout as I spin on her. “Just—” I say through clenched teeth, trying to keep it together. “Wait for me in our bedroom.”
She doesn’t take my harsh tone to heart as she nods her head and walks away without argument.
“Mamma.” I crouch down next to her and place a hand on her back. “Mamma, come on.” She turns and falls into my arms and sobs against me as I embrace her and pull her to her feet. I throw Vinny a look to get this all cleaned up as I steer Mamma away from Vita’s lifeless body.
Another family member down.
Chapter fifty-six
Chapter 56
If Alessia doesn’t want to leave me, I might really come to question her sanity.
My family is beyond fucked up.
Now, my conversation with Sarita yesterday is really plaguing me. Along with the guilt I have for not seeing Vita for who she really was much sooner. I’m failing this family miserably.
It’s late when I get back to our bedroom. Sarita wouldn’t see anyone as she locked herself in her bedroom, and I handed Mamma off to Ezzo to deal with. I’m sure she’ll be turning right back to her pills, and I cannot deal with that on top of everything else right now. Right now, I need to grovel. Beg my wife not to leave me. Ensure her that she is still safe with me.
Entering the room, I find Alessia pacing, and her eyes snap in my direction. We both stand there unmoving momentarily, then she sprints to me. “Are you okay?” She cups my face and stares up at me with worry tensing her face.
Bending down, I capture her lips in a tender kiss, savoring every moment. My tongue gently sweeps into her mouth, tastingthe sweetness of honey, soothing the ache within me. I yearn for her to make me feel whole again, to help me forget my failures. I want to feel like the warrior she trusts completely, the one she puts all her faith in.
Backing her up to the bed, we begin undressing each other. No words are spoken as we get naked, and I climb over top of her. Our mouths find each other again, and I slowly enter her. No cuffs, no manhandling, no dirty words, no foreplay.
No, this is different. This is me showing her my pain and this is her letting me do it without words. She’s trying to shoulder some of it for me and only this once, I’ll let her. Because for this one instance, I can’t do it alone. It’s too much for me to bear. I’ve never felt like this before. So overwhelmed and a little lost. Everything in my life leading up to this day is finally coming to a head.
My strokes are long and thorough, our mouths never letting up their assaults on each other. Even when my name leaves her lips on a cry and I’m grunting through my climax. I only stop when I need to come up for air, my head falling against her shoulder.
“What can I do for you, baby?” she whispers, and I finally open my eyes. Her brown eyes bore into mine, face still full of concern.