Out of Bondage

by Jamila Jasper

  * * *

  Many of them Edoardo knew personally. Since all the Savelli plants had been removed during their trial, the police now consisted of those Edoardo Al-Sayed considered trustworthy. Since Nico’s absence from Italy, Edoardo had neglected to inform him of the depths he’d gone to in order to ensure the trustworthiness of the police force. Edoardo began to speak to a few of them as the first responders took bodies onto stretchers.

  * * *

  Since Eve refused to wake up, she was carted to the hospital. Nico rode in the ambulance with her, her father and her mother who held onto Matteo tightly. While in the ambulance, Nico noticed that Gerald Morgan — the father that Eve barely spoke of — gripped her hand tightly. As distant a parent as he’d been, he clearly loved her. At the hospital, nurses pronounced that Eve was fine. She woke up, removed from her wedding dress but with her makeup still applied skillfully onto her face.

  * * *

  Her long lash extensions fluttered open and she saw her husband holding her beautiful son and her parents. Husband. That’s right. She had been at her wedding. They’d been married and then…

  * * *

  “Nico!” Eve screamed.

  * * *

  She thrashed her arms frantically. Nico rushed to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

  * * *

  “Eve. Eve… It’s okay. The nurse will be here soon. She says that it’s going to be okay. You’re in a bit of shock so they’re giving you some fluids.”

  * * *

  Eve nodded, her arms trembling as she tried to take in every word that Nico said.

  * * *

  “I know you’re scared but everything will be alright, I promise.”

  * * *

  Eve’s parents emerged from either side of Nico.

  * * *

  “We’re right here hun,” Her mother said.

  * * *

  Her father reached for her hand and held it tight. His grasp comforted her and Eve nodded again, slowly accepting that she was awake. What had happened might have felt like a nightmare but it was very, very real.

  * * *

  “We need to get out of here,” She said.

  * * *

  “No you don’t!” Her mother exclaimed, “Some mad man has just hurt people, and we’re going to stay put.”

  * * *

  Eve shot a glance at Nico who was amazed at how much his wife could convey in a single look. No, he hadn’t told her parents the truth about what had happened. Yes, he was taking advantage of the fact that they hadn’t noticed the man at the podium was Nico’s twin brother. They figured he was just a mad man, making things up to justify some kind of psychotic attack.

  * * *

  Nico had chosen not to introduce Eve’s parents into their world. They remained ignorant of all that had happened in Boston and in Italy and Nico saw no reason for things to change. Sometimes, ignorance really was bliss.

  * * *

  Still, Nico knew he had the responsibility to ensure that they left Italy swiftly. If Luca were still roaming free, he would come after anyone that he could. He wasn’t finished with his brother yet. Nico felt his hands get clammy as he thought about seeing his brother’s face again. Luca was dead. Nico had been so sure of it, except now, nothing that he thought made sense. His brother was still mysteriously alive — and very much so.

  * * *

  All this time, he’d been planning, plotting his revenge on Nico. He couldn’t allow his twin brother to live.

  * * *

  Before Nico could get too lost in his rumination, his half-brother Edoardo and Edoardo’s wife, Martina entered the room. Martina looked like a wreck, but she maintained a strong stance despite it. She clung to Edoardo in a way that Nico had never seen her hold him before.

  * * *

  “How is she?” Martina asked.

  * * *

  “Awake,” Eve replied.

  * * *

  Martina rushed to Eve’s side and kissed her forehead.

  * * *

  “I’m so sorry…” Martina whispered, kissing Eve’s forehead again. Eve had never seen Martina so outwardly emotional. Martina tried to push back her tears and focus her attention on the bride who just had her wedding day completely ruined by a psychopath.

  * * *

  “Are you alright?” Eve asked.

  * * *

  Martina nodded, “I will be. I’m shaken. But… I’m more worried about you.”

  * * *

  “Matteo’s alright. Right now, that’s all I can be grateful for. That nothing’s happened to him again.”

  * * *

  “But your parents…”

  * * *

  Eve interrupted, “They need to leave Italy. I know that.”

  * * *

  Martina nodded and replied, “Nico will take care of that?”

  * * *

  “Yes.”

  * * *

  Edoardo replied, “And after that, we’ll figure out where to go from here.”

  * * *

  Somehow, Nico managed to convince the Morgans that there was nothing more they could do for Eve. She had six more hours of observation at the hospital and Nico insisted they catch the next flight to the United States along with Eve’s sister. Once they were gone, he returned to Eve’s side. They weren’t going to be safe here much longer.

  * * *

  At least by the time he returned to the hospital, Eve seemed better. She was sitting up and arguing with the nurses — using Martina as a liaison — about allowing her to leave before the observation period was over. When Nico returned, he managed to calm her down and released the poor nurse from Eve’s grasp.

  * * *

  “Everything will be alright Eve,” Nico tried to reassure her.

  * * *

  “People are dead, Nico.”

  * * *

  He pursed his lips, well aware of what his brother had done. His uncle was one of the people who had died and since he’d come to the hospital, all Nico had done was identify his body. Too much had been going on for him to stop for a minute and properly mourn.

  * * *

  “I know.”

  * * *

  Edoardo interjected, “We need to get out of Italy. I should have been able to see this coming.”

  * * *

  Nico looked at Edoardo with a raised brow. He had to admit that he shared Edoardo’s surprise at not having realized something would happen earlier. Edoardo had no off days. How had something like this slipped him up?

  * * *

  “We’ll get out. We need to make sure Matteo is safe no matter where we go. If my brother finds me…”

  * * *

  Edoardo rested his hand on Nico’s shoulder.

  * * *

  “No need to go into details. We all know exactly what he’s capable of.”

  * * *

  “And we can’t let him kill our spirits,” Martina added, “We’ll get Eve out of here and then leave.”

  * * *

  “We should go back to our place first. It’s off the grid, totally untraceable.”

  * * *

  Nico nodded, “Good plan. I spoke with Domenico while I was taking my in-laws to the airport. He’s returning to London with Daniella and her mother. They’re pretty shaken.”

  * * *

  “But they’re both alright?” Eve asked.

  * * *

  Martina nodded, “Yes. Don’t worry Eve. They’re alright.”

  * * *

  Eve closed her eyes and felt her head swimming again. Her wedding day had morphed into an ugly nightmare in a matter of seconds. Her husband’s twin brother was supposed to be dead but he had been inches away from her and all too eager to let her know that the only reason they were alive was because he wanted them to be.

  * * *

  Eve’s eyes snapped open.

  * * *

  “Please tell these bloody nurses to let me out of here.”

  * * *

  Matteo clu
ng to his father, already asleep. Eve couldn’t bear to remain in the hospital powerless any longer. Martina fetched a nurse and after some more arguing, Eve persuaded the nurse to allow them to leave. Edoardo had promised the police he’d speak to them the next day but that everyone involved in the wedding incident was far too tired to do a damned thing.

  * * *

  Edoardo drove to his home, thirty minutes away from the hospital. He spoke to Martina in Italian in the front seat whilst the Riccardis sat in the backseat. Matteo was awake again; he didn’t seem to understand fully what had happened earlier but he was still possessed by a somberness. It was as if his spirit knew what had happened, even if he couldn’t consciously comprehend. When they came upon the Al-Sayed house, Eve marveled at the fact that such a luxurious space could be undetectable. Nico took Matteo from her and they followed Edoardo up to his large Moroccan styled front doors.

  * * *

  Once inside, all the grown-ups were quiet, but Matteo was getting fussy. It was close to his bedtime and he had enough of the boring “grown up” events of the day that didn’t involve anything he was expecting. Eve took him to bed in the room she planned to share with Nico and then rejoined the rest of the adults in Edoardo’s sitting room where he’d opened a bottle of white wine.

  * * *

  “We need to figure out what to do next,” Martina announced.

  * * *

  Despite the fact that she was taking charge in the situation, Eve could tell that she was far from confident that things would work out.

  * * *

  “Right. It’s obvious,” Edoardo and Nico said at the same time.

  * * *

  Eve and Martina exchanged glances. What was obvious to the half-brothers hadn’t crossed their minds.

  * * *

  “Mind sharing what’s so obvious?” Eve asked.

  * * *

  “We need to find Luca, and make him pay for what he’s done,” Nico hissed.

  * * *

  Eve grew worried when she saw that crazed look in her husband’s eye that she recognized from the day she’d met him to the time when they had been facing his mother’s family, the Savellis. That look sent a chill down Eve’s spine and told her that whatever was on Nico’s mind was far from safe.

  * * *

  “Are you sure that’s what needs to be done?” Eve asked.

  * * *

  She wasn’t looking forward to the idea of Nico heading out on another crazed adventure like this. After they had Matteo back, they were supposed to be finished with this. But after everything that had happened…

  * * *

  Eve felt cold suddenly and her stomach churned as an image of the church flashed before her eyes. She remembered seeing Nico’s identical twin brother standing on the altar with the two of them. She recalled his lips curling into that twisted malicious smile. Eve could still feel her ears ringing from the gunshots.

  * * *

  “Eve… Eve…”

  * * *

  “Huh?”

  * * *

  Martina’s voice snapped her back into reality. No matter what had happened earlier that day, they still had major problems to solve. Luca was still on the loose and they all needed to reach a real consensus on what to do next.

  * * *

  “Sorry. I zoned out.”

  * * *

  Nico walked towards Eve and wrapped his arms around her. The warmth of her husband’s embrace did little to assuage the coldness inside her.

  * * *

  “What’s going on?”

  * * *

  Nico caught Eve up to speed, “Martina doesn’t think that we should go after Luca.”

  * * *

  “It’s too dangerous,” Martina said matter-of-factly and she shot Edoardo a glare daring him to disagree with her.

  * * *

  He looked towards Nico for help stating their case.

  * * *

  “Luca will come after us if we don’t do something.”

  * * *

  “You have no proof of that! Perhaps he just wanted to scare you!”

  * * *

  Edoardo added, “Come on Martina, you saw what he did. In the Riccardi world, that’s more than a death threat. It’s a display.”

  * * *

  “He’s letting me know that he could kill us all if he wanted to.”

  * * *

  Eve cast a glance towards Nico and squeezed his arm tightly. She remembered the night Matteo had been kidnapped how utterly violated in her home she’d felt. If something like that were to happen again, Eve didn’t know if she could take it.

  * * *

  “May I speak to my husband privately?” Eve asked.

  * * *

  “Of course.”

  * * *

  Eve took Nico’s hand and led him to a more private part of the house. Nico looked into her eyes and already had an idea of what Eve would try to tell him. She’d urge him this was too dangerous. She’d make him promise that he wouldn’t do anything foolish.

  * * *

  Under normal circumstances, Nico would have been happy to agree to Eve’s wishes. But Luca had come into his life and ruined the day that was supposed to be the best day of his life. And while his wedding anniversary would certainly be memorable, it wouldn’t be for any of the right reasons.

  * * *

  Their flights to their honeymoon in Mauritius had already left and there was no going back now. They’d either have to stay in Italy and sort things out or flee and run for their lives. Nico got the sense that Eve was ready to run for her life.

  * * *

  But Nico knew the futility in running from Luca Riccardi.

  * * *

  “Eve,” Nico started.

  * * *

  She rested her hand on his arm, quieting him before he could start his campaign to convince her that he had the right idea about handling Nico.

  * * *

  “Nico, this isn’t safe. We don’t just have ourselves to think about, but Matteo.”

  * * *

  Nico looked into his brown-skinned wife’s beautiful brown eyes which were now tinged with despair. He knew he couldn’t even begin to imagine the depths of her disappointment.

  * * *

  Nico pulled her close and kissed her forehead. She tiptoed upwards and pressed her lips to his in the first real kiss they’d shared since the priest had given them permission to unite as man and wife.

  * * *

  Eve pulled away and tears were flowing from her eyes.

  * * *

  “Today wasn’t supposed to be like this,” She whispered.

  * * *

  Nico pulled her close and hugged her in a tender embrace in the first moment they’d had as husband and wife without being watched.

  * * *

  “I know,” He whispered, “I know that things were supposed to be different.”

  * * *

  Eve allowed her head to rest against Nico’s chest. She listened to his heart beating slow and steady. She knew that Nico was eager for revenge but she also trusted him to do what was best for both of them.

  * * *

  “Please… please don’t do anything crazy Nico. I don’t want to lose you.”

  * * *

  He squeezed Eve tightly. She pushed her breath into the bottom of her lungs and let out a loud exhalation.

  * * *

  “I’m in shock… in complete shock…. But I don’t want things to get worse.”

  * * *