(Filippo Valentini)
Even with a bullet lodged in my arm and blood dripping out of my left eye from the blow I took to the forehead with an iron bar, what pains me the most is to see her face swollen - clearly because she was beaten - and completely wet with tears. I feel hatred coursing through my veins.
“Togliete le mani da mia donna!” - "Get your hands off my wife!", I say blunt angrily as I raise my gun, pointing it at the worm holding Renata by the waist.
“Did you know it's ugly to show up at a party you weren't invited to, ragazzo?” Tiago sneers as he points the gun at Renata's head. “But your priest didn't have enough time to educate you, did he? Poor man, he died too young.”
“Kidnapping another man's fiancée is not polite.” I fight back and unlock the gun, hearing the sound of his gun doing the same thing, I control myself not to show nervousness.
I need to keep cool, the plan must go forward.
“Oh, so you found out. But it's too late now, she has accepted and is now my wife.” He smiles disgustingly and begins to smooth Renata's waist.
“In a few seconds she will be a widow.” I spoke between my teeth, my eyes began to blur, we did not count that James had become so powerful as to have more than a hundred men in his command. This shows that he not only had Onore as an ally, he had other allies. Other enemies.
“I didn't accept it!” Renata screams, looking at me in despair, and tries to free herself from James' grip.
I feel like running to her and hugging her tight, I want to get her out of here and take her to my room, give her a warm bath and feed her, she's so skinny..., but if I make a wrong move, both her, me and the baby will be dead, I need to stay rational, I can't act on insistence.
“Puttana!” - “bitch”, Tiago softens and hits her in the head, her body falls unconscious on the dog, from where I am I can see the trickle of blood dripping from her temple.
Cazzo! Hate blinds me, and when I realize, I have already squeezed the kitten three times, I only managed to get one shot off, James runs behind the pulpit and hides, he fights back the shots and one grazes my shoulder. I run and stand behind a pillar, I don't return fire, Renata is between him and me, I don't want any shots to hit her, she has already been shot for me, I would kill myself if I owned another shot, I promised to defend her from everything.
I can't kill him, Vincenzo wants him alive, so that we can avenge our brother who is still in a coma, every torture will be too little for this trash.
“I won't let you get away again!” I say, and hear the sound of scornful laughter. “I will make you pay for every child that was killed in the operating room, for every teenager that you kidnapped and sold into brothels, for my brother Matteo and for my wife, you are already a dead man!” I pronounce each word already imagining the countless ways I will torture Tiago, I have never felt so anxious about it.
I wait for an answer, but it doesn't come. After a while, I look at the pulpit, but James is already near a door that leads to a room in the back that works like a dressing room. Crap, I raise my gun, but before I have to shoot, Vicenzo bursts through the door and smiles creepily.
My brother's face is bathed in blood, for sure he had fun avenging his wife, for long years he tried to avenge her, but most of the men who tortured and raped her in front of him ran away and we found out that they were allied with James.
Tiago raises his hand ready to shoot Vicenzo, but I am quicker and shoot first, he screams in pain as the gun falls away, he turns and tries to run, but Vicenzo pulls him by the suit and hits him with a punch to the jaw, Tiago falls, Vicenzo comes at him and punches him again and again. I run to Renata and pull her onto my lap, lay my head on the crook of her neck and allow a few tears of relief to fall, she is in my arms again, she is safe now. I will never leave her alone again.
I pick it up off the ground and watch with gusto as Vicenzo deforms the face of this trash, after my brother's hands are bathed in James' blood and his face is all purple and full of cuts from the punching, Vicenzo gets off him.
“Let's go home.” I speak with Renata on my lap.
“Yes.” Vicenzo speaks, he stares at me for a while and then smiles. “Take him away.” He orders and the soldiers soon take James.
My arm burns, the bullet lodged in me burns and I still hurt, but it doesn't matter, I need to get out of here soon, take her to a safe place and only then, I will be able to worry about my injuries.
I get in the car with her and the driver starts it, and in the rearview mirror I see Vicenzo's car behind me.
“Now you will be fine, I will take care of you, we will get married and I will make you the happiest woman in all of Italy, ragazza.” I speak tenderly as I caress your beautiful but bloodstained face. “I will never again allow them to take a drop of blood from you, and if they try, I will torture them until they die of exhaustion.” I promise you.
I continue to caress her face, soon her eyes start to frown, my heart speeds up and when she finally opens them, I feel my heart skip a beat, we stare at each other for long seconds.
“Hi,” I say, feeling thrilled to finally have her so close to me again.
Renata gets off my lap and sits down on the bench, she touches her belly and I think it's cute that the first thing she worries about is her son.... I wonder if I am the father? It doesn't matter, even if I am not, I will take over this child. I will be the baby's father and the mother's husband.
After a few seconds of holding her belly, she finally directs her attention at me, she now looks at me angrily, but seeing me wounded, the anger gives way to concern.
“I... Thank you for coming to my rescue.” She speaks with her head down.
I raise my hand to touch her, but she turns away from my touch, this saddens me, but it is to be expected, I have abandoned her.
“When we get somewhere safe, we have to talk.” I say and she just nods her head in agreement.
I settle down in the car seat and now that the adrenaline has worn off, the wounds that only stung before are now three times worse.
After five minutes of silence inside the car, it is finally parked in the garage of the Valentini mansion. I get out of the car and wait for Renata, who takes a few seconds to get out of the car.
“Let's go inside.” I speak and start walking, she follows me.
The soldiers open the door for me, I walk in, and she follows. But I stop walking as soon as I see the figure of the old man sitting on the sofa.
“What are you doing here?” I question with a closed face, by instinct, my hands grab Renata's waist who looks at everything confused.