The Breakup (26 page)

“Be patient,” she whispered. “We have all night, like you said.”

He lifted his eyes to hers. They were almost pleading. Aja had to stifle a laugh at the look on his face, like a man being led to the gallows.

She slipped another button free and her cleavage came into view. Another button and another and then she stopped, letting the dress fall open, showing her lacy black bra.

Marco took both glasses and set them aside. He pulled Aja into his arms.

She woke up with a smile on her face. It was late, but she no longer felt sleepy. She had too much on her mind. She began thinking about the future with Marco. They were getting married, but they hadn’t spoken about where they would live or any of the practical things. Aja hadn’t really thought about it, but now it wouldn’t let her sleep.

She snuck out of bed and pulled on her dress. Marco stirred a little but didn’t wake up. She left the cottage and walked toward the nearby vineyard. Aja heard a rustling and whirled around, but no one was there. She tilted her head back. The moon was still out, partly covered with clouds. She sniffed the air. She could smell a faint tinge of smoke. With all the dry weather, fire would be disastrous. She was startled when a ringing gong sounded. Within seconds Marco was beside her, pulling on his clothes, his eyes wild.

“Quick, we have to get back to the house and get Nona. There’s a fire.”

Marco grabbed her hand and together they ran as fast as they could, fear nipping at their heels.

Chapter 31

Marco and Aja burst into the house, yelling for Nona, who was already up and met them in the kitchen. She grabbed the keys and said, “Come on; the fire’s in the south vineyard.”

They ran for the car. Nona drove while Marco manned his phone, calling for the fire department and as many friends and workers as he could wake up.

The smoke was so thick that Nona had to pull over before they reached the vineyard. “Leave the car here,” she said, leaping out. “We have insurance. We have to save the vines.”

She set off in the direction of the fire, her hair flying around her face and her eyes wild. Nona had gone through a fire as a young girl, Aja remembered.

Marco pulled Nona back. “Mamma, stay here. I don’t want you near the fire. Stay here and direct the people who come by.”

“I’m fine! I need to help. We need everybody we can find.”

“We’ll take care of it, Mamma.” Marco grabbed Aja’s hand and they ran for the edge of the field. The fire burned out of control, and icy fear gripped Aja as she realized how helpless they were.

They reached the nearest shed and Marco began turning the large wheel that was the manual override for the irrigation system.

“Aja, stay back. We’ll get the irrigation running and maybe that will slow the fire a little. I want you to stay back.” He grabbed her face. “I can’t lose you!”

They ran to the car, but Nona wasn’t there. Marco moved toward the fire calling for her. He saw Aja behind him, but yelled at her to get back to the car.

Aja watched while the water sprayed over the flames, but wasn’t sure how how much of a difference it would make.
Could the vines be saved?

Aja heard sirens coming in the distance and hope flared within her.
Maybe they can stop it.
She looked back at the fire. It was spreading so fast. The wind kept it from where she was standing, but it was moving across all of their vineyards. If they didn’t stop it soon, they’d have nothing left, not even the house.

She twisted the ring on her finger and peered into the night, lit up by fire, hoping to locate Marco.

“Hey!”

Aja jerked around, trying to see in the dark. Whoever was talking to her wasn’t visible. It looked like they were in the trees a few yard away.

Aja rushed over, thinking it was someone there to help with the fire. She burst into the trees, looking around.

“Hey!”

She heard the voice again and raced forward. Why was the person hiding from her? Then, as realization dawned, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Before she could react, hands grabbed her throat and cut off her air supply. Aja struggled and tried to scream for Marco, but the attacker was too strong.
 

Her suspicions were confirmed when he whispered in her ear, “You’re going to pay for what you did, bitch. You’re dead.”

It was Stephen. That was when all hope fled. And everything went black.

After turning on the sprinkler system and leaving Aja by the car, Marco ran toward the fire looking for Nona. The smoke was thick, but he thought he saw someone lying on the ground. As he got closer, his heart seized.

“No!”

Marco bent over his mother. He put his hand on her chest and could feel that she wasn’t breathing. He pulled her up into his arms and ran for the car.

Marco placed Nona on the ground well away from the fire and started CPR. Nothing. She still wasn’t breathing. Finally he accepted that it was too late. Marco yelled in rage, jumped up and looked around for Aja. He heard a struggle in the trees and ran toward the sounds. When he burst through the foliage, he saw Stephen with his hands around Aja’s throat.
 

With a primal scream, Marco launched himself at Stephen, knocking him away from Aja. He only had time to register that she lay limp on the ground, before Stephen came at him like a madman.

The thought of losing both the women he loved in one night, because of Stephen, caused a white hot anger to consume him. His fist connected with Stephen’s face with a solid crunch.
 

Stephen yelled, and he came back at Marco, slamming his fist into his stomach. Marco reeled back, tripped over a root and landed on his ass. Fury raged through him. His hand had landed on a large rock and - without thinking - he picked it up and threw it at Stephen with a yell fueled by grief at what had been done to Nona and Aja. Stephen jerked his head out of the way and the rock flew harmlessly past him, but he lost his balance and, with his arms windmilling, fell.

His head hit a fallen tree with a sickening crunch. Stephen crumpled and didn’t move.

At that moment, Aja gasped and rolled over. Marco rushed to her side and gathered her into his arms. She was safe.
I haven’t lost her
, he thought.

Chapter 32

Aja opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Stephen’s face in front of her on the ground, his lifeless eyes staring into hers. She shrieked and Marco’s arms tightened around her.

“It’s okay, Aja, you’re safe,” Marco said.

She started to cry.

“Shhh, it’s okay. He can’t hurt you now.”

“What happened?” she whispered. She could hear sirens coming closer, shouts in the distance, and the crackling of fire. The smell of smoke was nearly overwhelming.

“I found you both here with his hands around your neck,” Marco snarled. “I shoved him away from you and we fought. He fell, and I don’t know if he hit his head or broke his neck, but he won’t bother you anymore. He’s dead.”

“What are we going to do?” Aja whispered, her ravaged throat not allowing her to speak normally.

Marco got to his feet and helped her up. “I’ll call the police. We tell them the truth. I’ll make sure they know what he did to you in Canada, and that he’d been stalking you here in Italy. Everything will be fine, Aja,” Marco said as he scooped her up in his arms. He carried her out of the bushes, and toward the car just as an ambulance pulled up.

Marco hurried toward it, and placed Aja on the ground. That was when she saw Nona’s body.
 

“No!” Aja screamed, tears rushing down her face.

“She’s gone, Aja. I couldn’t save her.” Marco crouched and put his hand on Nona’s hair. Tears ran down Marco’s face unheeded. “I couldn’t save her, Aja.”

Two paramedics put Nona onto a stretcher, and loaded her into the ambulance, while another one began examining Aja’s injuries.

 
It was all Stephen’s fault. Aja was glad he was gone. He deserved to be dead after what he did to them. Aja hoped with all her heart that they’d be able to stop the fire before any houses were damaged or more people were hurt.

Marco hovered over Aja, while the paramedic helped her onto a stretcher, saying she needed to go to the hospital to be examined.

“I’ll stay here and call the police,” Marco said to Aja. “I’ll come to the hospital as soon as they allow me to leave.” He pressed a kiss onto her forehead and - with a grim look on his face - turned away and pulled out his cell phone.

Aja cried all the way to the hospital. She still couldn’t believe that Stephen had taken things so far. Losing Nona was devastating. Her heart ached for Marco. His
madre
was his only family, and she’d been cruelly ripped away by a selfish bastard who was bent on revenge. Aja wondered what was going to happen to them. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that they’d be able to stop the fire before anyone else was hurt.

They lost everything. The fire destroyed every vineyard and the house. There was nothing left. Aja couldn’t help feeling responsible, but Marco kept assuring her it wasn’t her fault.

It took weeks of investigation. The authorities finally determined it was arson. Their only suspect was lying in the morgue with a broken neck. After getting the history from the Canadian police, and examining Aja’s injuries, as well as the scene, they cleared Marco of any wrongdoing.

Olly and Mia went home together; Olly had to get back to the resort and Mia to her job. Mia told Aja that she and Marco could come back and stay with her if she wanted, now that they didn’t have a home. Aja thanked her friend and said she’d keep in touch.

Aja and Marco stayed at a hotel throughout the investigation. Marco grieved for his mother and his family home, not saying much, but he held Aja tight each night in bed, seeming to take strength from her love. He spent his days combing through the rubble, trying to find anything to salvage. He also spent a lot of time with Bella - she was the only one who could still bring a smile to his face.

Aja spent most of her time with Julianna.

“Juli, what are we going to do? Marco is devastated. He hasn’t told me what he plans for the land, if he’s going to try and rebuild. I don’t want to ask him.”

They sat outside beside a fountain in the piazza. “He not build,” Julianna said. “He want go Canada.”

“How do you know that?” Aja stared at Julianna, surprised Marco had told her that.

“He all time want go. His papa born place. You
Canadese
. He go.”

Aja knew Julianna was showing her deep intuition again. “I think you’re right. He would probably want to start a new life there.” Hope filled her heart. She realized she would love to live with Marco in Canada, maybe run a winery there.

“What about you?” Aja asked. “How would you feel if Bella’s father moved so far away?”

“No far way. We go too.”

Aja grabbed Julianna in a tight hug. She leaned back with a smile, relief coursing through her.

Julianna smiled a sad smile. “I love Nona. She good woman to me. To Bella. I not stay now. No one here for Bella. I go wif friends. Is okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. It’s wonderful.”

They walked back to the restaurant. “Are you okay to leave your
ristorante
?”

“Yes. I open new one. Learn better talk. Have many customer.”

“You’ll have the best restaurant around,” Aja said. Her eyes filled with tears. It was hard to think of leaving the place that had given her so many good things. If it all worked out, though, it sounded like she would be taking the best things back home with her.

Chapter 33

It had been over a month since the fire and Nona’s funeral. Marco had spent most of the last month dealing with the insurance company and his estate agent. He’d sold the land. “The heart has gone out of it for me, Aja,” he’d said. It broke Aja’s heart to see the blackened hills and the shell where Nona’s beautiful house had been. She didn’t ask Marco what came next. She was just happy that he hadn’t turned away from her in his grief.

Aja had been helping Julianna at the
ristorante
during the day while Marco was busy. She’d learned a lot about cooking from her friend and discovered a love for it. She now knew what she wanted to do with her future. Either open a restaurant, maybe with Julianna, or operate a bed and breakfast. They were very popular in British Columbia, as many tourists visited her beautiful province.

“Aja, you finish?” Julianna asked as she entered the kitchen.

Aja was making fresh ravioli and the kitchen was filled with tantalizing smells. “Yes, it’s ready.”

“Good. Marco here. He want you.”

Aja felt a thrill in her stomach. She’d missed him all day. She pulled off her apron and gave Julianna a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”