Moth to Flame

CHAPTER 13

Mia

"I don't know or care who's f*****g out there, but trust that I'm going to kill you all! No one shoots at me or my girlfriend and lives!"

The minute I heard Ethan's words my stomach dropped. I laid on the ground, trying to make sense of what was happening when gunfire erupted from every direction. I whimpered and covered my ears. Ethan had shoved me behind a tree so that I couldn't see anything, but I feared for his life. I wouldn't lose him.

"Haha, I killed you, you dumb motherfucker," Ethan gloated. I was glad that he had taken out one of our attackers, but I couldn't take joy in someone losing their life.

I chanced a peek to see what was happening. A few of Ethan's bodyguards had joined the melee, but the bad guys still outnumbered them. Ethan would probably be mad at me for not running, but I was not going to leave him. I realized that I still had on my messenger bag, meaning I had a weapon. Well, not exactly a weapon, but the pepper spray my dad had always insisted I carry around. I looked out again, and what I saw filled me with terror.

There were five men down in the clearing. Two were Ethan's and the other three were our attackers. Ethan's guys shot two of the bad guys, but one of Ethan's men got killed in the process. As I stood shell shocked, the lone gunman fired a shot which hit Ethan's personal guard. I didn't know his name, but I recognized his blue eyes and dark hair. Ethan must have seen his protector go down because he began shooting with renewed vigor.

"Who sent you, you f*****g coward?! Just give up and I may spare your life!" His words only seemed to make the bad guy angrier. He fired a shot that came dangerously close to Ethan's chest. I panicked and took out my spray.

They were a good twenty-feet in front of me. Ethan fired his gun. All I heard was a click signaling that he was out of bullets. The other guy was obviously having the same problem because he dropped his gun and rammed into Ethan. They tussled on the ground for several minutes, both of them going for blood.

The bad guy was much bigger than Ethan and was using his full strength to choke him. I had to get the attacker to come after me. Mustering up all my courage, I grabbed a stick and started banging on a tree. I knew my plan had worked when I heard the shooter's voice.

"Well, well, Sodero. It looks like your b***h didn't run after all. You should have trained her better, but now it's too late."

Ethan pushed the bad guy off of him and went for his head. "Don't you ever call my baby doll a b***h, you asshole! You won't f*****g touch her!" Just then the gunman's arm connected with his discarded gun. My blood froze as I watched him take the butt of the gun and hit Ethan over the head.

"I'll finish you later," he spat. The attacker climbed off of Ethan and advanced toward me.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! We can have some fun, darling. I bet I could give you a better ride than Sodero here. If you're good to me, I'll give you an easy death."

I listened to his taunts in fear, not for myself, but for my Ethan. The longer he stayed there bleeding, the higher chance there was that he would die. I could scarcely make out his chest still moving, so he had to be alive.

Quietly, I tugged on my motorcycle helmet. I tapped the stick to the side of a tree before going to the opposite end. When the bad guy came to investigate, I was ready.

"What the fu--?"

He didn't even finish his sentence before I sprayed him straight in the eyes. He sputtered and screamed, "You goddamn b***h! You're dead!" He started thrashing around, but he couldn't see me because his eyes were on fire.

Eventually, he got dizzy and fell to his knees. I grabbed the large rock that I had spotted nearby and cracked it over his head. I kept doing it until he was lying unconscious.

After that, my adrenaline ran out and I just collapsed. I couldn't stay still long though because someone else might be coming. I took out the fuzzy handcuffs, because I still carried them around. I would miss them, but I needed to tie up the bad guy. He had a faint pulse which let me know he was still alive. I had a feeling Ethan and his people were going to want to find out all they could about this ambush, and this was the only hostage we had.

I took off my helmet and sprinted over to Ethan. He was not moving, and his head was bleeding profusely. I'd taken first aid and CPR classes since I was twelve, so I knew what to do.

I removed my jacket and took off my cap sleeved top. I retrieved a bottle of water from my bag and used it to wet the garment. Then I applied the cloth to Ethan's wound, making sure not to add too much pressure. When he was cleaned sufficiently, I slapped his cheeks lightly in an attempt to get him to wake up. After almost a minute, he opened his eyes.

"Mia? You have to get out of here." His words were slurred, and he couldn't open his eyes all the way.

I leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm not leaving you, Ethan. I love you so much."

That's when I broke down and started crying. Ethan tried to soothe me, but he was barely conscious, so his attempts were half-hearted. He started to drift off again.

I paced back and forth, trying to come up with a way to get us out of this situation. I didn't have a cell phone with me. I rarely carried it when I was with Ethan, and his had gotten destroyed. I was almost about to give up and just start carrying him when I had an epiphany.

I sprinted over to Adam, our bodyguard. He was bleeding from multiple bullet wounds. When I touched him, he spoke. I'd thought he was dead, so it came as a surprise.

"Ms. Watson? Are you okay?"

I nodded, slightly confused as to why he was asking me about my health when he was the one dying.

"Good. There's a phone in my right pocket. Call the contact number for Lorenzo Russo. Talk to him and tell him what happened. The phone has a GPS tracker. He can send help. My gun has a few bullets left. Keep it with you just in case."

I took his cell phone and dialed the number. A man, who I assumed was Mr. Russo, picked up on the first ring.

"Adam? What the f**k is happening. We were attacked. We'll be in Italy tonight. Where is Ethan?"

Obviously Ethan hadn't been the only member of the Russos to be targeted today. I had never personally met or spoken to Lorenzo, but Ethan considered him his surrogate father, so I knew I could trust him.

"Mr. Russo, this is Mia Watson. I'm Ethan's girlfriend. We've been attacked on our vacation. Ethan was hit over the head and can't move. Adam has been shot and his heart rate is slow. Two of Ethan's other guards are dead. I'm sc-scared. Please send help."

He spewed a stream of curses, which reminded me of Ethan. "Mia, you've done well. I need you to stay strong for me. I have men close by and I will have them trace the call. They should be there in twenty minutes tops. I want you to stay with Ethan and Adam and keep them calm. I am sending a lot of men so don't be alarmed. Don't alert them to your location until you hear them say the word 'baby doll.' This will let you know they're mine. I have wanted to meet you for quite some time, but I wished it was under better circumstances. I'm going to hang up now because I have a crisis on my own end. Be safe."

I felt so relieved I wanted to curl up and go to sleep with Ethan. "Thank you, Mr. Russo. I won't leave Ethan's side."

He let out a strained laugh. "I never doubted you would. And please dear, call me Lorenzo." With that he hung up.

I checked Adam to make sure he was breathing. There wasn't much I could do for him. I bunched my jacket up and placed it on his side wound. I put his hand over it to help staunch the bleeding.

Then, I pocketed the phone and gun and ran back over to Ethan. His skin was flushed and sweaty. I felt his head and it was as hot as a stove. He had a fever. I reached in my bag and pulled out my travel bottle of Tylenol. I put two in his mouth and poured some water down his throat. He choked a little but managed to get the medicine down. His eyes were still closed and his breathing was slower.

"I'm here, Ethan. I love you. Don't leave me. We have so much left to do together." My words seemed to soothe him a little. I knew he shouldn't be sleeping because he probably had a concussion, but I couldn't keep him awake because he was in too much pain. I hugged him to my chest and prayed for his safety.

After what seemed like forever, I heard footsteps. I grabbed Adam's gun and pointed. Before I could really panic, I heard the safe word.

"I'm here!" I yelled, drawing attention to me and Ethan. A big man with some kind of rifle came first. He was followed by a battalion of others, all carrying weapons. He looked at me, and then down at Ethan.

"Miss. We're taking you in. Mr. Sodero will be okay."

I could only sob because I had been drained of all my energy. He handed me his jacket. I looked down at him in confusion until I remembered I was only wearing my bra, because I had used my shirt and jacket to take care of Adam and Ethan. I took it and mumbled a terse 'thank you.' Usually, I would have been embarrassed by something like that, but since I was worried about Ethan, I had barely noticed.

One of the men who rushed in was a doctor. He checked Ethan and declared him okay but unconscious with a head wound. He was more worried about Adam's gunshots.

The guard who had given me his jacket barked some orders to several of the others before picking Ethan up and carrying him to a waiting SUV. I followed close behind. When we got to the car, he helped me arrange Ethan so that his head was resting on my legs. We took off before the door was even shut.

Ethan was so pale just lying there. It was strange to see him like that, because he always looked so full of vitality. His thick eyelashes lay against his cheek and his perfect lips were pouting. I leaned down and kissed him, savoring his taste. I would have given anything to see his beautiful blue eyes right then. I stroked his hair lovingly and murmured sweet nothings in his ear while we drove to our destination. I meant to ask where they were taking us, but the words never got past my lips.

It couldn't end like this. Making love to Ethan had been the best moment of my life, and I wasn't finished. He was mine and I wanted him for a lifetime. I knew that he was probably going to use what happened today to drive a wedge between us, but I was not going to let that happen.

Before we made love, I might have been shaken, but after witnessing first hand the intensity of our love, I would never doubt again. Ethan had taken me so fully and thoroughly that there was no doubt left in my mind that he loved me. I longed to feel him big and hard inside of me again, and I wasn't going to let anything or anyone keep us from our happiness.

As I continued stroking his hair, he started to wake up.

"Baby doll, are you okay?"

I leaned down and kissed his lips before answering. "Oh, Ethan, I was so worried. I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about."

He took several deep breaths before sitting up fully. "f**k, this s**t hurts," he said as he touched his head gingerly. I had never been so happy to hear foul language in my life. He turned to look at me. Whatever he saw made him upset.

"What the f**k happened to your clothes? Did… did… one of them touch you?" His hand was shaking as he leaned forward to caress my cheek.

I leaned into his embrace. "No, Ethan. I'm fine. I took my shirt off and used it to clean your head wound, and I used my jacket to stop Adam's bleeding. No one touched me."

He pulled me into a fierce hug, and I clung to him for dear life. After he shushed me, I told him everything that happened. He listened with rapt attention.

"You could have f*****g died! Why risk your life like that? I specifically told you to run." He was so angry that the words came out in a hiss. The guards in front turned around to look at him.

Ethan snapped. "What the f**k is your problem!? What the hell happened back there?" Both of the men told him that they didn't know. They had just taken an order from Lorenzo and came at his request, and had no clue as to who had attacked us. They reiterated what I had already told Ethan about the attack on the Russos.

"f**k. s**t. Motherfuckers!" Ethan was pissed, to say the least. "When we get to our safe house, I am putting you on the first plane back to Seattle."

I had to let him know that I wouldn't be following that demand. "I'm not leaving without you, Ethan. Where you go, I go. I love you."

My statement caused a whole new round of yelling and cursing from Ethan. The guard who was driving looked at me through the mirror. His eyes told me I was crazy for refusing an upset Ethan, but I didn't care. I had done it before and lived.

What's the worst he could do?

"You never f*****g listen, Mia! It's f*****g over! It was fun while it lasted. I always knew this goddamned day would come. No matter how much I wanted to keep you safe and separate from my world, it found you anyway. I will not get you killed."

I grabbed his jaw and turned his face to mine. "Nothing is over, Ethan! We are in love. I'm not leaving you. So I got shot at, big deal. I knew the risks when I fell in love with you, and I'm willing to take them. Don't shut me out again."

He turned his head away, forcing me to drop my hand. I reached for him but he huddled on the other side of the SUV, shutting me out. He stared out the window and refused to make eye contact. I turned to my window and let the tears flow. Low rough sobs came out of my mouth and filled the car. The two guards in the front looked back nervously, as if it made them uncomfortable to hear a woman cry. I didn't care.

Ethan's head whipped around, and what I saw in his eyes chilled me to the bone. He had been angry at me before, but now his eyes held something else: disgust.

"Shut the f**k up, Mia! You are a whiny, manipulative b***h! I will put you on that f*****g plane myself, even if I have to drug your ass to do it. You have seen the genteel version of Ethan Sodero, but that's not the real me. If you keep being stubborn and refuse to do what I f*****g tell you, I will bring out the monster. So just sit there and be quiet like a good girl."

I wanted to slap him so bad, but he was injured. I was stunned. He had never spoken to me like that. Maybe I didn't know the real Ethan Sodero at all.

"Go to hell! I have seen the monster, and he didn't scare me. Don't threaten me again."

Apparently, that was not a smart thing to say, because before I could blink, he had me shoved up against the door. "Pull the f**k over!" he barked to the guards.

When they stopped, he yanked me out of the car. He signaled to a black SUV which was directly behind us, and they pulled over. A man got out, and Ethan shoved me to him.

"Benjamin, I need you to keep Ms. Watson safe. Make sure she gets to the house and keep her inside. You have my permission to sedate or tase her if she gets out of hand."

I tried to pull away, but the guy's hold was impenetrable. "Wait, Ethan! Please don't leave me. I'll be quiet. I love you. I want to stay with you. Please."

He turned to face me. In his eyes was the previous anger, but behind that I could see the vulnerability. "Just go, Mia. I'll see you at the house later."

My eyes filled with tears as I watched him get into his SUV to be driven away. The guard helped me into the car and buckled my seat belt before taking off. There were three men total. One of them tried to make conversation with me, but I ignored them all and continued staring out my window.

I had vowed not to leave Ethan's side, and he'd made me break my promise. He called me a 'whiny, manipulative bitch.' Was that really how he saw me? Could all his declarations of love have been a lie? No. He was mad, there was no way that he had meant those things. I held onto that thought as I drifted off to sleep.

I vaguely remembered someone carrying me inside a house and putting me into bed. Soft hands removed my clothes and braided my hair. Every time that I tried to wake up, a dense fog pulled me back in. I had nightmares about Ethan leaving me and making love to other women. I cried until my throat burned. I must have slept through the night because when I awoke, there was sunlight streaming through the windows.

The room I had been placed in was beautiful. It was done in purple and blue. Everything was silk and satin. The floors were covered with colorful rugs. There was a large television mounted to one wall. There was also a vanity area, large closet, and glass doors leading out to a balcony. The breeze flowing in through the doors was warm, so I knew I had to still be in Italy. I went over to a small table and took the glass of water that was sitting there, drinking it all down in two gulps.

"Thirsty, are you, sweetheart? I can get you something to eat if you'd like."

I spun around to locate who that voice belonged to. Standing in my doorway was a beautiful older Italian women with long, dark hair pulled up into a bun. She had a voluptuous figure and glowing tanned skin. She was wearing a bright yellow dress, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw her.

"Hello. I'm Mia... and you are?"

Her smile was radiant as she walked over to me. "I'm so sorry. I'm Diana, Lorenzo's wife. Everyone calls me Di, though."

I took her hand, and I swear I felt instant happiness.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ethan's…" I broke off because I didn't know what I was anymore. For all I knew, he was going to introduce me as his secretary. I broke out into a fresh round of tears.

Diana wrapped her arms around me and rubbed my back. "Hush, hush, dear. It's going to be alright. You're Ethan's girlfriend. He is madly in love with you. My husband finds that quite amusing because Ethan usually doesn't do relationships." I wanted to believe that Ethan was still in love with me, but my mind kept going back to the fight we'd had in the car.

"He hates me now. He wants to break up with me and send me home."

She stroked my hair. "Don't worry darling. I'm not going to let him send you anywhere. Ethan is like my son, and he knows better than to go against me. Just let me handle everything." I had only known her a few minutes, but I liked her. She reminded me of Eleanor.

"Thank you, Diana. I love him so much. I want him to marry me and for us to raise a family. He is my life."

She smiled and patted my leg. "Men can be stubborn, dear. It's a woman's job to lead them in the right direction without them knowing it. If it wasn't for us, they would wander blindly just fighting and killing each other all day long. You just have to have patience."

We chatted about a lot of stuff, including the attack in Chicago. It turned out that Lorenzo had been just about to handle the Russian situation when he got a call. Andrei's father had been killed by one of his men, so Andrei was now the head of their Mafia. This hadn't gone over well with the other groups. Andrei had already killed the man who had killed his father and declared his reign without getting permission.

Lorenzo knew it wasn't the Russians who had attacked the Russos because they were embroiled in their own crisis, and didn't have enough time to pull off something this big. Diana told me that she and Lorenzo both believed it was someone on the inside.

I was surprised that she and Lorenzo talked so freely about his work. She assured me that it was essential that they be able to communicate when married to such a powerful man. I agreed, and hoped that one day Ethan would let me in the way Lorenzo did Diana.

I had to admit, knowing the enemy was in Lorenzo's Clan was scary. I hadn't met most of them, but it could be anyone.

Diana and I finished our conversation, and she left me alone to shower. I stayed in there a long time, just thinking about Ethan.

After I finished, I put on a robe and went to the bedroom to get dressed. I had hoped that Ethan would be there waiting, but he wasn't. Thankfully, someone had brought our bags and clothes. I changed into a pair of fitted white capris. I added a hot pink strapless halter top and my ballerina flats.

The top had rhinestones around the bust, so the only jewelry I put on was my old diamond earrings. I didn't wear Ethan's necklace because it would make me sad. I used copper clips to pull the front part of my hair back. I glanced in the mirror and decided that I looked okay.

When I was done, Diana stepped back into the room. "You look lovely, sweetheart. Come and have lunch with Lorenzo and me. Lena and Stefano will join us. Lena told me that you two already met. I'm sure Ethan will be along shortly."

If his Godfathers were here, then where was Ethan? I was so worried about him, and he hadn't even phoned anyone to give me a message. Diana led me to a lovely parlor with antique as well as modern furniture. There were also expensive Italian tapestries hanging from the walls.

A lanky man stood up to greet us. He wrapped his arms around Diana and kissed her on the forehead. His black hair hung to his shoulders and his eyes were dark and fathomless. He had an imposing aura about him. To be honest, he scared me.

"Hello, you must be the lovely Mia. Ethan is quite infatuated with you, my dear. You have been good for him. I owe you a debt of gratitude for keeping a calm head and calling me for help. You are quite the enchantress. I can see why my godson has fallen so deeply in love."

He kissed my hand, and I started to cry again. He turned to Diana to ask her what was wrong, but she just replied, "Women's things," and he left it alone.

Lorenzo wanted to know all about my life. He was especially interested in the fact that my father had been Chief of Police. We all laughed at the irony of me falling for a man like Ethan despite that fact. I started to like Lorenzo. He looked scary, but he was well read and had an easy wit. I could tell he worshiped the ground Diana walked on.

Eventually, I worked up the nerve to ask the question I had been avoiding up until now. "Lorenzo, do you know where Ethan is? Has he called to ask about me? Is he okay?" He looked down at his shoes before answering me.

"Mia, as I'm sure you well know, Ethan can be difficult. He is understandably very upset right now. He has ordered me to send you back to Washington, but I refused because I think it's too dangerous. He and I disagreed on this matter, and he's gone off to stew. He is well protected and should be here later."

I wanted him here now, but I was willing to take what I could get.

Diana and Lorenzo explained we were at their wine vineyard in Chianti. The villa we were staying in was over a hundred years old and overlooked the valley. Lorenzo assured me that it was safer than the Pentagon. Many of the vineyard workers were armed and ready to defend if needed.

Diana promised to take me out to work in the fields if I felt like it. I loved grapes, and I'd always wanted to see how wine was made, so I agreed. Besides, it would be a welcome distraction to keep my mind off of Ethan.

Soon after our conversation, Stefano and Lena arrived. Lena, or Lee as she told me to call her, kissed me on the cheek and introduced me to her fiancee. I shrieked and jumped when I saw the man whose hand she was holding.

He was the palest person I had ever seen. His hair was milk white and his eyes were slate gray. His lips were a dark pink and provided the only color on his body. His arms were hairless and just as white as the rest of him. Where Lorenzo was the night, Stefano was the day. I knew what he was before he told me, so I felt I had to apologize for my actions.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. Ethan speaks so highly of you, but he never told me you were an albino. Please accept my sincere apology."

He took my hand and kissed the back of it. "You are forgiven, Mia. I must say, you are even more unique than Ethan led me to believe. Most people just call me a freak and cower in fear, but you didn't. You have guts. I like you."

Of course I blushed. They all made comments about how lovely the color staining my cheeks made me look.

It turned out Stefano and I had a lot in common. We spent most of the lunch talking about books. We had the same taste in the classics, and he promised to show me his collection at a later date. Surprisingly, I fit in and even managed to charm them. I was very happy because this was Ethan's second family, and I wanted them to like me.

We were on the dessert course when the dining room door swung open. Standing there was Ethan. He was a sight for sore eyes. He had stubble again, which made him look even sexier, and he was wearing a dark blue pair of pants and a sky blue v-neck shirt. I could see the top part of his chest, and my panties became wet.

My body had craved him last night. I missed his touch. His hair was in its usual untamed mess. His eyes were dark and hooded. I hated that look because it meant Ethan was brooding. He kissed Diana and Lena on the forehead before plopping down in the chair across from me.

"Hello, Ethan. I missed you." His eyes flickered my way for a moment before he went back to ignoring me. I was ashamed that he was treating me like I didn't matter.

Diana saw my tears and spoke up on my behalf. "Ethan, your girlfriend just said hello to you. I know dear Eleanor did not raise you to be such a rude man."

He looked over at her. "She's my ex-girlfriend, Di, and I'm not speaking to her."

I couldn't stop the loud sob that came out of my mouth. "Don't do this, Ethan. I love you. Please."