Dante's Honour-bound Husband

Rain pelted her. It soaked her dress, causing it to cling to her legs, making running awkward. Worse, bushes grabbed at her ankles, threatening to trip her up. But it was her mile-high heels sinking into the boggy earth that ultimately did her in. She went down, the wet, needle-strewn ground absorbing the impact of her fall and cushioning her rolling descent into a shallow depression. A small, shocked cry escaped before she could suppress it. She could only hope the rain muffled the sound.

As it turned out the fall saved her from discovery. David crashed through the underbrush practically on her heels. She heard him standing directly above her, his breathing harsh and ragged from the exertion of chasing after her. He would have seen her if she weren’t enveloped by the heavy, protective darkness of the depression.

“Gia! Don’t be an idiot,” he shouted. For the first time since she’d known him, his Italian accent came through loud and clear. It was nowhere near as smooth and lyrical as Constantine’s, but coarse and discordant. “Come out. This is all some hideous mistake.”

Gianna didn’t so much as breathe. Sure thing. She’d come on out and he could explain the mistake while he…how had he put it? The words came back to her through the lingering effect of the drug he’d poisoned her with. While he allowed passion to overcome Dante propriety. Yeah, right. Not a chance in hell. She closed her eyes like a child hiding from the boogeyman. If she couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see her.

He thrashed back toward the Jag and swore. “Look what you did to my car.” He called her a name in Italian, one she hadn’t heard before. Probably best she didn’t know what it meant. “Do you have any idea how much it’ll cost me to have this fixed?”

Slowly she stood and kicked off her heels, deciding that going barefoot, no matter how difficult, made more sense than risking a twisted ankle or broken leg. If that happened, she’d be at David’s mercy. She squinted through the rain. In the darkness, the woods appeared impenetrable.

She was wet and cold, with bracken clinging to her skin, hair and clothes. She could only hope that the dirt helped camouflage her. She held her arms out in front of her so she wouldn’t run blindly into a tree and stepped gingerly across the forest carpet. Rocks and sticks littered the area and she winced at the scrape and poke. Little by little, she slipped deeper into the woods.

She didn’t want to stray so far from the road that she couldn’t find her way back. But she also didn’t dare stay close enough that David might find her. In the distance, she heard the Jag start and hoped she hadn’t damaged it so badly he couldn’t leave.

Please, leave!

Lights flickered across the trees and then stopped, shining directly toward her. She instantly dropped to a crouch behind a huge, thick evergreen, possibly a redwood. The car door popped opened and slammed closed, and David’s shadow flashed across the path of the headlights. He hurried into the woods once again, using the high beams to guide him.

Gianna hugged the tree, shivering, its rough bark cutting into her exposed skin. Until that moment she hadn’t realized how cold she was. Maybe fear or adrenaline had kept her from feeling anything else. No doubt reaction was setting in. She didn’t dare move, knowing he’d find her instantly if she did. All the while he came closer, making a beeline in her direction. Could he see her? Sense her? Had he found the trail she’d left through the brush? Unable to help herself, she rocked back and forth, a whimper of terror building in her throat. Please let him give up and drive away, she prayed. Please.

Her prayers were answered a moment later. In the distance she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle, something large and heavy. A truck? With the damaged Jag skewed across the road so it could face the woods, chances were excellent the driver would stop to help.

David froze at the sound, not more than a dozen feet away. He must have come to the same conclusion she had about the approaching vehicle because he swore violently. “Fine. Freeze to death for all I care, you crazy bitch,” he shouted. She heard him retreat at a swift clip as the truck lumbered closer. “But you’re paying for the damage you did to my car, you hear me?”