Literally.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” The other boat had turned and cruised by again, someone on the deck raising his glass at them. She gave a halfhearted wave back.
“I still love you,” Sal said.
Oh shit . She didn’t need this conversation, but she’d seen him when he’d realized she was there. He’d been stricken, exposed, his reaction naked on his face.
And if only Sal didn’t have an emotional commitment to their relationship she couldn’t handle, everything might be different.
The drink could not come soon enough. “If you didn’t we’d be together.”
He caught her arm, his fingers tightening. “Reign, what the fuck is wrong with you? I love you. Explain how I am supposed to apologize for that?”
“I don’t want you to apologize and I can’t really explain it. I just need to walk away.”
“If you think that helps,” he said bitterly, looking impossibly handsome as he stood there. “Think again.”
“What about the beautiful blonde all over you?”
He looked away. “You might notice I’m here with you instead.”
Inwardly, she winced. For him. For them both. “If you think this is easy for me, think again. I … I can’t…”
“Commit. I know.” He finished the sentence for her, his smile bleak. “You know when I first saw you here, I thought—”
There was a small sound like a pop and his entire body jerked.
The bullet caught him in the shoulder. Sal looked more surprised than anything, his hand going to the small hole that appeared in his shirt like he was trying to figure out what happened. Then the second shot got him in the abdomen, making him stumble backward.
What the hell?
Just as astounded, Reign stood there in shock for one horrifying moment until she was knocked flat, her glass flying out of her hand, the wind leaving her lungs, and she felt like a little kid who lost it on the swing set at recess. Nick was the one to push her down apparently since he said fiercely in her ear, “I apologize for spilling your drink but I think we have something a little complicated going on here. Don’t—and I mean it—move.”
Then he got up and left her.
Chapter
N INE
All fucking hell had broken loose. Somewhere a woman was screaming, and the deck cleared like magic as well-dressed guests scattered.
The first thing Nick did was the logical reaction. He tried to figure out where the gunfire was coming from. He crawled along the deck, hoping Reign obeyed—for once—and peered out over the water. It made no sense to fire on a boat where you could be easily apprehended, so it must have come from a second craft.
Bingo .
The small boat was heading across the harbor fast, directly away from them. He would have opened fire back, but it was too far gone by now for any accuracy and he just wasn’t sure. Yes, he’d killed a few men in his life, but never unless he was sure .
Random drive-by boating attack? He doubted it. They’d been after Reign.
He stood, his Glock hanging at his side, and walked back, only to find Reign hadn’t exactly followed his directions and was on her knees next to Ariano. “Give me your shirt,” she said with impressive calm considering the tears streaming down her face. “Right now, Fattelli, and if you hesitate one second, I’ll just kill you and take it off of you.”
She sounded pretty sincere.
“Let’s not get bloodthirsty. The shirt is yours.” He dropped his jacket and did just what she asked, unbuttoning and handing over the object she requested. By now people were timidly emerging from different places, because gunfire was like flushing quail with this elegant crowd, which, he thought as he watched people peer around corners, was ironic.
It wasn’t like he’d never been in this position before. He bent over Ariano, who was going into shock, and he didn’t need to be a physician to see that. “The shoulder is nothing,” he said like a surgeon doing triage, but he’d seen more than his share of wounded men.
“I didn’t mean it that way.” The other boat had turned and cruised by again, someone on the deck raising his glass at them. She gave a halfhearted wave back.
“I still love you,” Sal said.
Oh shit . She didn’t need this conversation, but she’d seen him when he’d realized she was there. He’d been stricken, exposed, his reaction naked on his face.
And if only Sal didn’t have an emotional commitment to their relationship she couldn’t handle, everything might be different.
The drink could not come soon enough. “If you didn’t we’d be together.”
He caught her arm, his fingers tightening. “Reign, what the fuck is wrong with you? I love you. Explain how I am supposed to apologize for that?”
“I don’t want you to apologize and I can’t really explain it. I just need to walk away.”
“If you think that helps,” he said bitterly, looking impossibly handsome as he stood there. “Think again.”
“What about the beautiful blonde all over you?”
He looked away. “You might notice I’m here with you instead.”
Inwardly, she winced. For him. For them both. “If you think this is easy for me, think again. I … I can’t…”
“Commit. I know.” He finished the sentence for her, his smile bleak. “You know when I first saw you here, I thought—”
There was a small sound like a pop and his entire body jerked.
The bullet caught him in the shoulder. Sal looked more surprised than anything, his hand going to the small hole that appeared in his shirt like he was trying to figure out what happened. Then the second shot got him in the abdomen, making him stumble backward.
What the hell?
Just as astounded, Reign stood there in shock for one horrifying moment until she was knocked flat, her glass flying out of her hand, the wind leaving her lungs, and she felt like a little kid who lost it on the swing set at recess. Nick was the one to push her down apparently since he said fiercely in her ear, “I apologize for spilling your drink but I think we have something a little complicated going on here. Don’t—and I mean it—move.”
Then he got up and left her.
Chapter
N INE
All fucking hell had broken loose. Somewhere a woman was screaming, and the deck cleared like magic as well-dressed guests scattered.
The first thing Nick did was the logical reaction. He tried to figure out where the gunfire was coming from. He crawled along the deck, hoping Reign obeyed—for once—and peered out over the water. It made no sense to fire on a boat where you could be easily apprehended, so it must have come from a second craft.
Bingo .
The small boat was heading across the harbor fast, directly away from them. He would have opened fire back, but it was too far gone by now for any accuracy and he just wasn’t sure. Yes, he’d killed a few men in his life, but never unless he was sure .
Random drive-by boating attack? He doubted it. They’d been after Reign.
He stood, his Glock hanging at his side, and walked back, only to find Reign hadn’t exactly followed his directions and was on her knees next to Ariano. “Give me your shirt,” she said with impressive calm considering the tears streaming down her face. “Right now, Fattelli, and if you hesitate one second, I’ll just kill you and take it off of you.”
She sounded pretty sincere.
“Let’s not get bloodthirsty. The shirt is yours.” He dropped his jacket and did just what she asked, unbuttoning and handing over the object she requested. By now people were timidly emerging from different places, because gunfire was like flushing quail with this elegant crowd, which, he thought as he watched people peer around corners, was ironic.
It wasn’t like he’d never been in this position before. He bent over Ariano, who was going into shock, and he didn’t need to be a physician to see that. “The shoulder is nothing,” he said like a surgeon doing triage, but he’d seen more than his share of wounded men.
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