Chapter 72

I didn't know how much longer I could hold on before I snapped at him. After all, he was the reason for my discomfort.

I closed my eyes briefly and mumbled silently," Deep breaths, it's just us."

Did I hear a soft chuckle? No, I couldn't have.

"I'm glad you find it amusing!"

He smiled. A real one. That alone relieved my annoyance.

"Come, you'll enjoy the inside."

He wasn't kidding. It was beautiful and breathtaking how the outside could hide the structure and intricate interior. The whole backside of the home was covered with floor-to-ceiling windows inviting the view of the calm lake inside. The light pendants, cans, and chandeliers were unnecessary during the day as natural light illuminated every corner of the house. Tall ceilings with accent oak beams hung from above, and the pillars around held the architectural weight allowing an open and inviting feel of peace.

Montana was prettier by the minute, and if I spent each day wrapped in bedsheets and in his scent, it would become the wildest state to be in.

"It's stunning."

"Thank you. I knew when I bought it, it would be difficult to visit often, but I got it anyway. Probably paid more than I needed to, but the view was worth it."

"It is."

His phone rang, cutting through the harmony in the house, and he quickly silenced it.

It all changed. The calm had rolled into chaos as Massimo returned to the distant and untouchable man that was so hard to pull apart. And while his darkness always lured me, today it was disheartening.

"It was a long flight. You should rest." He loosened his blue tie without meeting my eyes.

I was tired, and the hunt for a glass of red wine would be my first task, but he hadn't meant for us to rest.

"What if I'm not tired?" I tipped my head back.

Massimo's jaw tightened, but he never glanced at me. Instead, he turned and said, "I have work."

Don't, I told my heart.

Don't, I said to my breathing.

Don't, I warned my tears.

Why are we here?

I fell asleep alone, woke up alone. Massimo's side of the bed hadn't even been touched and the morning light filtered through the window. It blinded me as deeply as the acknowledgment of his absence.

In a quick heap, I left the light-colored room that was meant to bring tranquility but instead delivered irritation. While the cabin was grand, it didn't compare to Massimo's home, and as I searched through the halls for him, I pulled my robe tightly around me. My hair was in disarray, my face puffy from sleep, and only my teeth had been brushed all by the need of finding him.

The need to give him an ear full and set my boundaries.

I passed the white and brown oak kitchen, dismissing all details as I focused on finding an Italian man. Not just any Italian, but mine.

Door opened, elbows on the desk, and inked hands over his face, Massimo sat in front of a book wall. The clean white desk seemed out of place by its color. Massimo wasn't light and never searched for its tones. He was the contrast I could only see as the bright window shined daylight over his bowed shoulders.

He seemed exhausted in the same suit he'd worn yesterday, and for the first time, I'd met an unkept Massimo. While irritation still clawed, his features and distraught appearance took over with worry.

"Massimo?" I called out his name, wondering if he had fallen asleep.

Red-rimmed and heavy lids slipped away from his hands. He looked drained.

"Have you slept at all?"

He shook his head, and a messy strand of his dark brown hair toyed with his brow. I wanted to pull it back as if it didn't belong to him, as if his appearance troubled me. And it did.

"Come," I muttered for him to follow me.

I wanted to take him to bed and force his mind to rest. However, Massimo shook his head, and I didn't have the patience to treat him with calm.

"I'm not asking, Massimo. I didn't sleep well and I'm tired."

Massimo's eyes closed briefly.

"Please," I uttered. "I don't want to be alone in bed."

He stood, grabbed his phone, and met me by the door casing.

"Just for a few hours, alright?" His words stumbled.

I nodded and turned as he trailed behind. Massimo took a quick shower and changed into a pair of black sweatpants, and this time I was the one who trailed after him. The bed sank under his weight, and without hesitation, I sought out his warmth.

Massimo didn't tense and his body didn't pause beneath my touch. Only his eyes shut, and his hand repositioned on my back. His body didn't even fight me, it embraced me for the first time. It could have been the lack of sleep or the stress that radiated off him, but I failed to think and just felt his desire to feel me close to him instead.

But as the unforgiving light infiltrated through my lids, I tried to find the remote to close the blinds that hung high. I didn't even get the chance to twist before Massimo's palm pressed over my back with fingers spread.

"The blinds," I explained.

His throat trapped a low sound.

"Blinds." His voice rose firmly, and a beep echoed. "Close."

Magic.

The blinds shut by command, and I rested my head on his shoulder. My fingers roamed over the valleys of his abs, and the lines of his chest, exploring and soothing his mind to succumb to unconsciousness.

"Why did you really search for me?" Massimo asked heavily.

I didn't dodge the answer. I wanted him to know and understand my limits. With him against me and beneath the covers, I spoke the truth.

"I won't stay here if I'm meant to be alone. I can do that in Miami. At least in Miami, I have the boys."

"And I cannot stop when I have work, Alessandra."

Discouraged, I answered. "I know."

The Mafia would always be first.

MASSIMO

"Alessandra?" I called out after waking up without her heat pressing against me.

Silence answered me, and I shifted my weight to glance around the empty room. I'd always been the first one out of bed. The one who always left a spot empty, our close proximity a memory. I lived on a routine. Wake up, work out, shower, get ready, work, and catch a few hours of sleep before starting the same pattern all over again.

By the time Alessandra woke up early enough to see the next sunrise, I would already be gone and deep in sin.

It was how I functioned, routine.

Today, everything was off.

I was the one alone, and as a creature of habit, the change didn't sit well with me. I felt as if I'd slept for days, groggy and aching. I needed to move.

Nothing good ever came when I stopped.

After a quick glance at the time and the endless missed calls on my phone, the pit in my chest grew with tension. It had been five hours. Five too many in broad daylight. I was lucky to get close to that during the night, and even then, every morning my mind rushed to get going. Today that rush had become erratic, and I left the bed with my phone already in my ear as I went to the bathroom.

Elio didn't answer, and while I played every voice mail, listening to his tone and urgency to call him back, I dwelled on the reasons that could've kept him pressing for my call.

I hopped into the shower to rinse off sleep and scrub off the sense of lost time. It had been useless. I dried and dressed myself with the same urgency I'd left the bed with.

Something was off.

It was the same feeling I hadn't shaken since leaving Miami. The same pressure that bubbled all day yesterday. But today the magnitude only increased in a force I couldn't shake or carry. Even the quietness inside of the home didn't align as Alessandra hadn't made a sound. There were no footfalls or creaks. No signs of movement.

It was too quiet.

I walked out of the room dressed in dark jeans and a plain tee. I didn't even bother to put my shoes on, I just needed the quiet to stop. To find her.

My phone rang as I walked down the stairs, and I answered before the second ring.

"Pronto," I answered in Italian.

"We have a problem," Elio replied, and my steps slowed.

While our phones were secured thanks to Nate's built walls, we were always careful. There was always a risk, a threat to be recorded. Right now was no different, and I detested how I couldn't discuss or hear the details of such problems.

"The rooster is not following the trail, and some of his chickens are causing scuffles in the pen by drawing too much attention."

What the fuck? That was the best Elio could come up with. An idiotic analogy to explain how Antonio Giuliani hadn't left California, and some of his soldiers were now in Miami, causing havoc in the city.

"I'm sure you've seen the news."

I didn't reply.

"You haven't."

"No."

"Two more have been found."

My body stilled. Giuliani must've given the orders after finding out about his son's death.

"The conditions of the bodies were bad and bold."

Two more lives had been taken. Meanwhile, I slept in a state too far from home to solve anything, counting on others to follow my orders, and nothing was going according to plan.

Things always went as I planned.

Things always went my way.

"And the rooster?" I asked, calling Antonio Giuliani what Elio had as I checked the last door of the house for Alessandra.

"Some said it caught the bird flu as it mourns, but he hasn't been seen leaving his coup yet."

The last room was empty.

"Stop with the fucking nonsense, Elio!"

He chuckled, missing the annoyance and my tone of urgency. I knew Elio's bile humor enjoyed the chaos, sought it, but as I glanced out the front window, then hurried to the back of the house with no sight of Alessandra, I couldn't entertain it. Something was brewing. I could feel the cracks expanding and filtering away from my control.

"I'll figure it out." I stepped outside through the back door. "I'll call you back with new orders soon. We are running out of time."

Ending the call, my eyes adjusted to the cloudy midday light, and I quickly scanned the grounds for her dark brown waves.

"Alessandra?" I called out.

Nothing.

No one knows you are both here.

"Alessandra!"

No one could have known.

"ALESSANDRA!"

She is far from danger.

But after time had passed without any sign of her, I rushed down through the brushes. I took each paved stone through the heavy greenery and to the outstretched dock.

By the rocky beach of the lake, I found her clothing and turned to every side with no luck.

"Alessandra!"

"Yeah?"

I heard from far away, and my chest caved as I exhaled.

With my eyes out to where her voice had traveled from, soft swooshes of water followed. After a few short seconds, her head peeked out from the tall trees that covered the right side of the open lake.

Alessandra smiled upon seeing me by the shore, but I was too unraveled to return the gesture. I almost felt mad. No, I was furious by my reaction. By her!

"Get out," I sharply ordered.