Chapter 6 - THE TRAP AT THE LAKE
The sun sank lower behind the pine trees, turning the lake into a sheet of liquid copper.
Alessandro still stood three steps away from me.
He had no answer to my question.
Because the truth was too ugly to speak aloud.
He had stayed in Venice because part of him still believed he could have both worlds.
The loyal bride at home and the proud mistress in the shadows.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, the words sounding foreign and broken on his lips.
“Sorry doesn't rebuild trust, Alex,” I said, turning my back on him to look out at the water.
“Sorry doesn't erase those nine hours.”
“I’ll spend the rest of my life proving—,” he started.
“You can’t spend the rest of your life with me,” I interrupted, turning back to face him.
“Because there is no us left, Alessandro.”
His face went pale.
He reached out, his fingers catching my wrist.
“Don't say that.”
“Let go of my wrist, Alex.”
My voice didn't shake.
It carried the cold certainty of a woman who had already mourned her own funeral.
He hesitated.
Then his fingers slowly loosened.
Before he could speak again, a sharp crack echoed through the forest.
Bang!
A bullet slammed into the wooden porch railing inches from Alessandro’s shoulder.
Splinters exploded into the air.
“Sniper!” Alessandro roared, tackling me to the wooden floorboards instantly.
His broad chest shielded my body from the open yard.
“Stay down!” he commanded, drawing his pistol with lightning speed.
More gunshots chewed through the cabin walls.
Glass shattered in the front windows.
Dark figures emerged from the tree line, wearing tactical gear and carrying suppressed rifles.
Moretti enforcers.
May you like
They hadn't come to negotiate.
They had come to execute us both.
