A Ring for Vincenzo's Heir(32)

Scarlett nearly cried when she saw Vin had come out of the palazzo. His  black eyes went wide when he saw them. Then his hands clenched into  fists.

"Let her go, Falkner." Vin's dark gaze focused on Blaise. "We both know I'm the one you want to hurt."

"Not just hurt. I want to destroy you. And hurting her-" he gripped into  her shoulder painfully, causing Scarlett to gasp aloud "-is the best  way to do that."

Vin took a step toward them. "We can talk about this. Negotiate..."

"There's nothing to negotiate, and if you take one more step, she's dead."   





 

Vin stopped. His voice was low. "You'll die the second after she does."

Blaise gave a cackle. "You think I care? You took everything from me,  Borgia. My whole life. I can never go back. And now neither can you..."

Blaise pressed the cold barrel of the revolver sharply into her skin.

Vin threw Scarlett a brief glance full of meaning. "You'd attack her from behind?"

And she remembered that rainy afternoon in October. Here's how to use  your own body weight against an attacker who grabs you from behind...  She gave him a single trembling nod, and then everything happened at  once.

The door of the palazzo banged open as Beppe and two other bodyguards  rushed out. As Blaise whirled to look, Vin planted his feet, lowering  his body into an instinctive crouch.

With an exaggerated sigh, Scarlett sagged as if she'd fainted. It wasn't  hard at all. She was so terrified she was perilously close to fainting  anyway.

Her unexpected weight broke his hold, and she fell hard to the cold, wet sidewalk.

With a loud curse, Blaise pointed the gun at her. He cocked it. She saw the deadly intention in his face.

As snowflakes whirled around her, Scarlett's life flashed before her  eyes. Her mother. Her father. Her baby. All the love she'd had. And Vin.  Always Vin...

As she closed her eyes, bracing herself for death, she saw a shadow fly  across her field of vision. But there was no mercy. The gun went off  with a jarring bang, and she flinched, gasping.

But she felt nothing.

Was this what it felt like to be dead? Scarlett's eyes opened, then she  quickly ran her hands over her body. Somehow, though he'd shot her from  four feet away, he'd missed her!

But Vin and Blaise were still struggling for the gun. The revolver fired once more, echoing loudly in the night.

"Die, you Italian bastard!" Blaise panted.

Vin! Scarlett scrambled to her feet, desperate to save him, terrified  he'd been shot. But even as the bodyguards descended from all sides, Vin  flung Blaise over his back like a sack of potatoes. For half a second,  Blaise was suspended in midair with a shocked, stupid look on his face.  Then he crashed hard to the concrete, where he lay still.

"The police are on the way, Mr. Borgia," Beppe said.

Scarlett heard the distant whine of a siren. She knew the steps in front  of the palazzo would soon be covered with medical and police personnel.

Blaise lay faceup, flat on his back. Unmoving, he wheezed, "You... You..."

Vin looked down at him coldly. "You are going to prison, Falkner. For a  very long time. You should pray you never get out." As bodyguards  surrounded him, Vin turned to Scarlett. His expression changed. He  reached for her. "Scarlett-"

"You saved me," Scarlett choked out, pressing her cheek against him.  Then she drew back, frowning. "But you're wet. You..." There was a  darkening patch on his right shoulder, and another on his left thigh.  With a gasp, she lifted the lapel of his tuxedo jacket and saw red  blooming across his white shirt, like a flower. And it was in that  moment she realized why she was still alive. Vin had taken two bullets  for her.



When Vin saw Falkner put his finger on the trigger, everything had become crystal clear.

He would either save his wife or die with her.

Their son would know that his father had loved his mother enough to sacrifice his own life to try to save her.

That was the best legacy any father could leave his son. The only real  legacy. It had nothing to do with leaving a fortune, or a billion-dollar  company. A man's true legacy was his example, of how a man should  live-and how he should die. For the ones he loved.

"Cara." Vin pulled Scarlett into his arms, holding her like the precious  treasure she was. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and another in  his thigh. He gritted his teeth against the pain. "He was right about  one thing. If anything ever happened to you, it would utterly destroy  me."

"Vin, we need to try to stop the bleeding until the paramedics..."

"Not yet," he breathed. He curved his hands around her, needing the feel  of her body against his. "Everything you said was true. That's what I  came to say. I was afraid to love you." He searched her gaze. "Now the  only thing I'm afraid of is not having the chance to love you for the  rest of my life."

She looked closely at the holes in his jacket. "It looks like this  bullet went straight through your shoulder and out the back. But your  leg..."

He was barely listening. "I was a coward."

"Coward? Vin, you took two bullets for me!"

"It's true," he insisted roughly. He was still shaking. It was only now  that he held her, now she was safe in his arms, that he could admit how  terrified he'd been. "I promised myself long ago that I'd never love  anyone-never give anyone that kind of power over me. Then on Christmas  Eve, after I told you I loved you, I was afraid. I was desperate to  regain control."   





 

"Control over what?"

"You, me, everything. Life."

"Oh, Vin," she whispered through cracked lips. "No one can control all that."

"I realized that today." His lips twisted as he leaned on her. He could  no longer put any weight on his left leg. He wondered how much blood  he'd lost. But he couldn't let her go. Not yet. "I've made so many  mistakes. I just found out Giuseppe has always known he's not my  biological father. He just didn't care."

"No!"

He gave a low laugh, swaying on his feet. He was starting to feel dizzy.  "Control is an illusion. I understand that now. All I can control in  life are the choices I make. The man I choose to be." He took her hand  in his own, pressing it against his chest. "You have my heart, Scarlett.  No matter if you hurt me. No matter if you leave me." Her beautiful  face blurred in his vision as he whispered, "After the way I tricked you  into signing those papers, I wouldn't blame you."

Paramedics and firemen and policemen were swarming the street, and  inquisitive wedding guests were pouring out of the palazzo. But all Vin  could see was Scarlett's pale, determined face.

"You listen to me, Vin Borgia," she said hoarsely. "This is something I  want you to remember for the rest of your life." She took both his hands  in hers. Her green eyes looked enormous. "You're safe with me, Vin. As  long as I live, I'll watch out for you."

It was a strange thing to hear from a woman so much smaller than he. But  as he swayed, feeling weak from loss of blood, she was beneath his arm,  supporting him, the source of his strength. As he was the source of  hers.

"And I know I'm safe with you," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I will never leave you. I'm yours for life."

Her love washed over him like an enveloping embrace. Vin exhaled. He  hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath for so long, waiting to  hear those words. Years. Decades.

He breathed, "Scarlett..."

Snow fell softly in the dark January night, frosting the streets of  Rome. As people swarmed all around them, Vin pulled her close. He felt  new, reborn. She'd made him the man he'd been born to be.

Then he staggered back as his vision got a little hazy.

"You're losing too much blood!" She waved wildly to the paramedics. "Over here! Quick!"

The paramedics swiftly assessed Vin's injuries and worked to control the  bleeding, applying pressure and bandages before leaning him into a  backboard, to carry him into the ambulance. "We need to get him to the  hospital, signora."

"Yes," she said anxiously.

"Wait." Feeling woozy, Vin looked at his wife. "We'll live in Rome."

She tried to smile. "What about the long-term lease to Mr. Hollywood?"

"Canceled. We'll stay."

She looked down at him, her tangled red hair streaked with snow and blood. "No."

"No?"

She shook her head. "That's not how marriage works. It's not my  decision." Taking his hand in hers, she kissed it. "It's ours. I love  you, Vin."

He looked at her, now holding nothing back, letting her see his whole heart and soul. "I love you more."



"Are you ready?"

No, Scarlett thought, biting her lip hard. She shivered, then nodded.

"Good." Vin held out his hand.

She took it and stepped onto a plane for the first time in almost a year.

"You can do this," he said.

She took a deep breath. She looked at his hand in hers, then squared her shoulders. "I know."