“I heard the call on the radio. Are you okay, Santino?”
I still can’t trust him, but I’m getting a little closer to it. The next few hours will tell me a lot about who he really is. “I am. Now’s not the time to retell what happened. He’s on the way to get my mother.”
“Then let’s go. I’ve already pinned those guys who were outside the building. I saw them lingering. One of them was the one at your house the other day, so they’re all on the way to the station.”
I remember that bastard. Faustino. I want to rip his eyeballs out and shove them down his throat. Giada told me what he said to her and what Rafael had planned once she gave him a baby, which gave me more pause. He would have killed her like he did Marie if she fucked anyone else. There’s no way he’d share. It’s just who these guys were. It had to be a setup to kill two birds with one stone.
Knowing he’s locked up means he doesn’t have eyes on the building to see us leave. “Thank fuck. I don’t want Marchetti to have a heads up that we’re coming for him.”
I jump in my vehicle with Joey at my side. I send Martin a message to take them to the safe room until I come back.
We pull up to the house and there’s Rafael Sr. waiting in his car with two guys. They’re armed.
We don’t get too close, and he doesn’t see me yet. “Mr. Marchetti, please step out of the car and put your hands up.” He surrenders easily, which takes me by surprise. “Mr. Marchetti, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, the attempted abduction of Mrs. Marchetti, and the unlawful imprisonment of Giada Avanti.”
“Her name is Marchetti.”
“Actually, let me correct both of you. Her name is Giada Benedetti. She’s my wife, legally.” He looks as if he sees a ghost. My shirt’s still splattered with blood, and I hadn’t thought of it until his haunted expression.
“Where’s Rafael?”
I smile and then suck in some air. “Oh shit. I’m going to have to break the news to Mom. Damn, she’s going to be crushed.” I watch as his face shifts from heartbroken to pure rage.
“You killed my son, you fucking bastard.”
“Yeah, well. It was either him or me. You bet on the wrong horse. Besides, you killed my father.”
“You’re a dead man.” He snarls, attempting to break free from the cuffs.
“You keep trying, and I’m not the one who’s going to be six feet under soon. I wonder if they’re going to let you out for his funeral. Well, I suppose someone needs to do the planning.” I shrug and smirk.
“You’ll pay for this.”
“I already have.” I walk away, hating how awful I’m being about my brother’s death. Despite it all, he was my brother. We grew up together, even though he hated me and I didn’t trust him.
I finally make it into the house and into the safe room. As soon as the door slides open, Giada is in my arms with her legs wrapped around my waist, kissing my face. “Baby. Baby. I’m okay.”
“We heard on the news that there was a shooting at an office building. And I saw Faustino outside the building, so I thought they came after you. Then Martin secured us in here.”
“They did come after me.” I hold up my hand to interrupt Giada. “Mom, I’m sorry, but Rafael is dead.”
“I know. I knew that only one of you would come out alive if something like this happened. It’s terrible, but I hoped it would be you.” She hugs me and sobs. For all that he was, he was still her son. Her baby just like I was. “I wish Rafael had done better with him. I wish he would have let me raise him as I raised you.”
“He needed someone to follow in his footsteps.”
“Oh goodness, he’s going to come here shooting up the house.”
“No. He’s been arrested outside the house. He was coming to get you.” She fell to the chair and sat down.
After a minute, she cries into her hands. “My heart aches so painfully. God, I cannot reconcile the feelings in me.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Giada moves to my mother and hugs her. I see the tears in my woman’s eyes, and I try not to let jealousy seep in.
“You can hate him. It’s okay, Giada,” my mother says.
“I’m not crying for him. I’m crying for you and the way this all could have been avoided.” I lean over and touch her shoulder. Both women separate and Giada clings to me. “I’m sorry for what you had to do.”
“Thank you, my love. I’m sorry, too. If only things had been different.”
“Santino, I hate to interrupt, but the police would like a word with you.”
“Which one?”
“Randall.”
“Martin, protect them with your life.” I give Giada a hard kiss and brush her stomach before walking out.
It takes me another twenty minutes with the officers and their questions. They want to talk to my mother and wife, but it will have to wait. I’m about to walk inside when a woman in a suit approaches us. “Hello, Mr. Benedetti, is it?”
“Yes, and you are?”
“Sorry. I’m DA Erin Lowe.” Joey appears next to me all of a sudden, and I see something different in his stance.
“Excuse me. I’m here to have a private conversation with Mr. Benedetti.”
“I’m his personal guard, so...”
“Whatever. We’ve reviewed the evidence on the scene and the police were given a copy of the audio from staff. A copy will be also given to the district attorney’s office. However, from the footage and the audio, it’s clear he came in to kill you and you fought over the weapon. We’ve decided that no charges will be filed against you.”
“Thank you.”
“But I must warn you that it’s not over yet. You and Mrs. Benedetti must be careful.
