Giovanni (15 page)

Kim nodded. “Okay.”

“Good.”

The garage flew open, and four men all but stumbled over the body just a couple of feet in as others stayed back in the hallway.

Looks passed between the dead man on the ground, Gio standing off to the side and Kim against the wall.

Franco was the first to speak; his fists flying as he dove towards Gio. “You fucking bastard!”

Gio barely managed to get out of Franco’s way. “Wait a goddamn—”

“Shut the fuck up, Marcello,” Franco growled. Then, he turned back to bark at one of the men still standing in the doorway. “Get her the hell out of here!”

Gio couldn’t quite think fast enough to find words that would calm Franco down. “Listen to me.”

Another fist struck out at Gio, but he dodged the intended hit easily. Franco did finally grab ahold of Gio when he backed into the side of someone’s car. Just like Gio had done earlier to Ben, he found himself staring at the barrel of a gun.

“Don’t hurt him!” Kim screamed.

Franco gritted his teeth, not taking his eyes off Gio for a second. “I said get her out!”

“He was on her, what the fuck else did you want me to do?” Gio asked quietly, his voice and thoughts slamming together all at once to get him talking and out of the situation. “Let him rape her? Look at her, man.
Fucking look at her
.”

Franco slammed Gio into the car, his gun never moving. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

“Don’t touch me, Lucas,” Kim cried from across the garage. “He did it for me, Franco. For
me
.”

Something in Kim’s words resonated to Gio. There was still a hint of fear and shock in her voice, but there was a dawning hint of understanding, too.

For her
.

“Son,” Maximo said, almost warningly. “I think you might want to listen to what your fiancée is saying.”

Gio didn’t breathe as Franco’s hold briefly loosened. He did take the chance to talk again, but the gun still didn’t move from his face. “I was having a smoke outside and heard her scream. Came in from the outside door and saw him on her. She did not look like she wanted that shit, all right? I did what I had to.”

Franco’s gaze narrowed before he tossed a look back at Kim.

Gio knew exactly what Franco was seeing. Kim disheveled, her hair a mussed mess from Gio’s hands, her top wrinkled from his handling, and her makeup ruined by his mouth and her tears. It looked as much like his story was true as it would have if they had told the real truth.

“Kimberlynn?” Maximo asked.

Kim sobbed. “Please don’t let him hurt Gio, Max. He did it for me.”

“Ben wouldn’t—”

“He did!” Kim interjected desperately, shutting Franco’s denial down. “Why would I lie about something like that, Franco?”

“I don’t know,” Franco muttered, dropping his hand holding the gun to Gio’s face.

Franco continued to stare him down while Gio righted his shirt and pushed off the car.

Frowning, Franco turned to Kim. “You wouldn’t, I suppose.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Kim replied softly.

“I see I made the right choice in delaying making the man, then.” Maximo sighed, taking a further step into the space. “You made an awful mess in my garage, Skip. It needs to be cleaned before my wife comes home from her yoga class.”

“My apologies,” Gio replied.

“Extend your gratitude to Giovanni for helping your fiancée when she was in need, Franco,” Maximo demanded.

Gio didn’t need the ability to read thoughts as Franco turned with annoyance twisting his mouth into a scowl. “Thank you, Gio.”

“No problem.”

Briefly, Gio caught Kim’s gaze over Franco’s shoulder as she was led into the house. The other men were too focused on the body and discussing how they would rid themselves of the issue to notice her staring right back at Gio.

“I’ll give you one day,” Kim mouthed.

With that, Gio’s heart started beating again.

Chapter Twelve

With her head tucked down¸ Kim weaved through the throng of college students flocking the hallway of the east wing. She had slipped out of her first class thirty minutes before it ended, unable to focus on the professor.

Today was the same as every day for the past week. Kim shouldn’t be surprised she couldn’t make it through the day. The fatigue from being unable to sleep and the constant thoughts interrupted her life. Daydreams plagued her.

Blood on the floor. The scent of gunpowder burned her lungs. The fingers of a man who had touched her so beautifully pulling a trigger. Green eyes turning blank, all his emotions gone. It was nonstop and recurring. She still had the bite marks on her knuckles from her teeth piercing the skin of her hand.

A man lost his life because of Kim.

For her
.

Oddly, she was quick to correct herself on that point every time it crossed her mind. No doubt if Ben had alerted anyone about Kim and Giovanni, she would have been the one leaving the house in garbage bags. Giovanni, too.

A death one way or the other would have been unavoidable, but caused by Kim’s stupid carelessness. She had no self-control, and the closer she was to Giovanni, the more she felt like herself. The pull inside her to seek him out in that garage, even knowing he was probably still angry and resentful with her, was so strong she couldn’t ignore it.

Kim had asked Giovanni why he was still in Vegas, but she knew the answer before he even said it. For her.

All of it was for her.

And yet, that man she watched kill another human being …
for her
… was someone else entirely. But, he wasn’t at the same time. It was something Kim just didn’t know how to get her heart and mind to wrap around and understand.

“
Tesoro
.”

Kim’s walk came to an abrupt stop. It was a quiet week, mostly. Giovanni hadn’t inserted his presence, intentionally or unintentionally, into any of the places Kim might be. But that endearment and his voice was unmistakable. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to give her room to breathe, or he just didn’t have the chance to get her alone.

Honestly, Kim didn’t know how he planned to get her alone, never mind away for an entire day like he asked her.

“Behind you,
bella ragazza
.”

Kim tensed, the grip she held on her messenger bag tightening.

“Ae you afraid of me, now?”

“No,” Kim answered truthfully.

“You can keep walking if that’s what you want,” Giovanni said quietly as people passed by Kim. “I’d understand and I won’t bother you again.”

She didn’t hesitate to turn around, facing a somber Giovanni. He wore a pair of jeans and a new leather jacket. Under his arm was a full-face helmet, while another one dangled from his hand along with a black book bag. “You don’t bother me.”

Not in a bad way
.

A faint smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “Oh?”

“No,” Kim murmured. “And …”

“
Hmm
?”

“I think I have to ask you some things about …” Kim trailed off, remembering where she was. “Well, about you and what happened.”

Giovanni nodded once. “Come, then.”

Kim followed behind Giovanni until they came to a hallway that was quiet and offered more privacy. He set his stuff to the floor, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms. “You’re not sleeping.”

“It’s that obvious?”

“You look tired, and you haven’t done a thing all week or gone anywhere but to Franco’s.”

Kim frowned. “How do you know that?”

“I worried about you, so I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay. I don’t think you are, but you’re hiding it well.”

Air lodged in Kim’s throat. She wasn’t angry at him for following her, but rather, confused at how it made her feel. It was yet another show of his level of care for her, even if she wasn’t offering it back.

“Funny, Franco hasn’t noticed a thing,” Kim said, knowing damn well she sounded bitter. “He doesn’t speak about it, and I suspect he doesn’t want me to ask him about it, either.”

“He’s left you alone,” Giovanni replied, shrugging. “He’d be stupid not to know you’re struggling, but he’s completely incapable of having empathy for the situation because of who he is. Chances are, his way of fixing the problem is to leave you be and let you work it out however you want.”

“Did you just defend Franco?”

Giovanni sighed. “Not Franco, specifically, more like … a made man. I’m not saying it’s the right way, but it’s how he was taught to handle it. Don’t talk about it, this shit happens, so just move the fuck on. Better to get over it than to dwell when there’s nothing that can be done.”

Kim cringed. That was an awful thing to learn. “So are you. Made, I mean. You clearly care.”

“About you, sure,” Giovanni said, smiling faintly. “About Ben, very little. If it’s a me or them situation, I’m always going to choose me. Even if it is selfish and by my own cause. That’s how this life works. If a man wants to live it, he needs to be aware of the players around him. But, it wasn’t just about me or him; it was you, too. I had a choice, I made it, and now it’s over.”

“That’s … I don’t even know.”

“I won’t apologize for doing it, if that’s what you’re looking for from me. I will apologize for you seeing it, though.”

Kim cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable. There were still questions and thoughts plundering around in her head. She needed to get them out. “You had to see it, too. You didn’t blink or even look away when you did it.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Kind of,” Kim admitted. “It’s like you’re desensitized to it all. Yeah, Gio, that’s a little bothersome to me. Don’t fault me for it.”

“I wouldn’t,
bellisima
. I’m not desensitized, as you put it. I just have a different way of looking at it and dealing with it when it’s over. I can’t look away when I pull the trigger; my father taught me not to. It’s bred as deep into me as being a Marcello is.”

“What, why?” God, that was even more awful to consider.

“Because if I believe I have the right to take away a man’s life, then I should give him the respect of watching it as it goes.”

“Oh.”

“Not the answer you were expecting, huh?”

No, it wasn’t. Kim assumed it would be a lesson to harden his outlook on a violent act and take away emotions, so he didn’t have to feel anything about it at all. She certainly didn’t think a word like respect would fit into the equation.

“How did you feel?” Kim asked.

“You truly want to know?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

Giovanni blew out a ragged exhale. “Numb. Worried about you. Fearful I wouldn’t be able to get us out of the situation. But doing it? Nothing but detachment.”

Sometimes honesty came with a blunt pain.

“How do you feel?” Giovanni asked, raising a brow but keeping his expression otherwise blank.

“Terrible. Guilty. Everything but indifferent.”

“You know, that’s not a bad thing. I’d rather you felt something than nothing at all.”

“You don’t,” Kim pointed out.

“No, I said I felt nothing
doing
it. It’s after, when it’s over, and people are gone, that I have time to think. Too much time, really. Given I know what would have happened if I didn’t do it, I’m fine to move on from the whole thing. That’s just me, Kim. It’s who I am. If you can’t understand and accept that, because it won’t ever change, let me know right now.” 

“I get it, but I don’t like it.”

“I didn’t say you had to,” Giovanni responded just as quick. “Anything else running through that pretty head of yours?”

Maybe. Kim wasn’t sure about much anymore.

“Nobody even talks about him. Ben, I mean,” Kim explained at Giovanni’s confused expression. “He was best friends with Franco and Lucas. I think Lucas grew up with the guy, actually.”

“And now it’s like he never existed,” Giovanni filled in.

“Yeah. I just don’t understand it.”

“Because what I said he did to you made any sympathy or grief someone might feel for him, shameful. Essentially, to them, he is dishonorable, his death righteous, and by Cosa Nostra principles, his name should never be brought up again.”

“But it was a lie.”

“I don’t know what you need me to say to lessen the blame you feel, but it wasn’t your choice,
Tesoro
. I made it, not you. I did it, not you.”

“For me, though.”

“For you, yes,” Giovanni agreed. “Tell me what you need from me.”

“Let me feel guilty,” Kim whispered. “I’m not like you.”

“Okay.” Giovanni bent down and picked up the black book bag. “You promised me a day. Do I still get that?”

“Lucas is outside like he always is. I can’t just go off with you.”

“Let me worry about that,” Giovanni said with a sly grin. “Do I get my day or not, Kim?”

What kind of woman did it make Kim that she didn’t see Giovanni any differently than what she had before? Her attraction was still strong. Her feelings were as intense and confusing as ever. He still made her feel safe and comforted.

“Okay,” Kim said, shaking away her thoughts. “One day.”

“Good. Here.”

Kim took the bag he offered, opening it up to find a few familiar items. A pair of her jeans, a Henley T-shirt, and Giovanni’s leather jacket he let her keep. Kim stared at the items, uncertainty flowing strongly through her veins.

“This is my stuff,” Kim said, feeling dumb for stating the obvious.

“I get it. He wants you to look and act like a nineteen-fifties housewife. I prefer the twenty-one-year-old Kim in her jeans and my leather jacket. Plus, in case you haven’t noticed the helmets.” Giovanni gestured at the two black helmets on the floor. “Riding on a bike with a dress isn’t as fun as you might think. The heels can stay, though.”

Kim shot him a dirty look. “How did you get my things?”

“I’m not going to pretend to be a good man, Kim, but I am terribly good at picking locks. I didn’t go through your stuff if it helps. Just grabbed what I knew you would need. I didn’t want to risk Lucas taking a trip to your dorm after all hell breaks loose to see if that’s where you went.”

“After … what are you talking about?”

Giovanni smirked. “After I pull the fire alarm and send everyone in this building out to the parking lot all at once.”

“Gio!”

“Hey, it’ll work.”

Kim shook her head, curious about the helmets. “Where did you get the bike?”

“Traded in the rental car for a day. It’s too recognizable now that I’ve been here a few weeks. Are you done with the questions,
Tesoro
?”

“For now.”

Giovanni waved at the ladies' washroom a ways down from their spot. Kim went without question.

• • •

Lake Mead had always been a favorite place of Kim’s ever since she was a young girl. Her mother liked the mountains and sailing, so their family spent a few weeks at the National Park every year.

The fond memories the park brought up were ones untainted by life. Before her mother had died from cancer and Nunz actually made an effort to pretend as though he cared for his only daughter. Back when Kim and Cody could still be considered loving siblings, they’d hike the trails together all day and watch the skies at night from high peaks.

She was surprised that without even knowing it was a place she loved, Giovanni took her there. A short boat ride later, they were enjoying the privacy of a secluded cove along the coast.

“Kim?”

“
Hmm
.” She glanced up at Giovanni as he tossed a small rock into the water. “Yeah?”

“You blanked out and then you smiled a little. What was that all about?”

He was watching her?

Kim learned Giovanni was a curious man. Or maybe just curious about her. She didn’t mind indulging the conversation, but she was a bit surprised all he seemed to want to do was chat. Every other time they were alone, something physical took place. The attraction overwhelmed the need to talk. Other than a kiss to her cheek as he helped her out of the boat when they arrived at the cove, Giovanni hadn’t tried to bridge the gap between them.

Not that Kim was complaining. It was refreshing.

“What’s your goal today?” Kim asked, crossing her legs Indian-style on the blanket she spread out earlier. She wasn’t quite ready to answer his question, so she hoped her deflection worked long enough to get his mind away from it.

“For us, you mean?”

“I guess,” Kim said. “Us, you, or whatever.”

“I don’t have one,” Giovanni replied, picking up a second rock to toss.

“You must want something from me.”