Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

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    Nicoletta rounded another bend and nearly ran right into the arms of a soldier. From far away she heard the sound of the raven, a loud squawk of warning. Deep within her, the shadow lengthened and grew.
    The soldier caught her shoulders to steady her, his grip so hard she looked up quickly. For a moment time seemed frozen. A single heartbeat. One terrible moment of recognition. The steadying hands instantly wrapped around her throat and squeezed hard, nearly lifting her off her feet, cutting off her breath and all ability to scream for help. Aljandro, dressed as a soldier, waiting for his moment of revenge. Almost at once panic welled up, and everything went black, with tiny white stars shooting at her.
    Nicoletta! The voice was a cry in her head, anguished, terrified, furious. Giovanni demanding that she fight her assailant, demanding she not leave him.
    It gave her strength. Reaching up blindly, she tried to jab her fingernails into Aljandro's eyes. She kicked at him and attempted to drive a knee between his legs. Dimly she heard shouts close by. Giovanni's raised voice giving orders to find her, that she was in trouble. The guards were rushing to do the don's bidding. Giovanni was racing to find her. Although reality was fading in and out, Nicoletta could hear the pounding footsteps and loud voices like thunder in her ears.
    Aljandro panicked and dropped her. He stood over her a moment while she gagged and choked. "I am not the only one who wants you dead." He spat at her, then turned and fled into the high walls of the labyrinth.
    Giovanni and Francesco reached her at the same time. The don was like a man possessed. He shoved the guard away from her, reaching to gather her into his arms, his face a mask of fury as he took in the dark finger marks around her neck and throat. "Where were you?" He turned on the guard, the other soldiers running up. "I gave you one job—to keep her safe. One job! You find the man who did this to her. Find him and bring him to me! None of you dare return without him!"

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    Vincente and Antonello had followed their brother when he had set off at a dead run, unerringly following Nicoletta's path through the maze. "Who did this?" Antonello asked her gently.
    It took several tries to make her voice work, swollen as her throat was. "Aljandro. Dressed like a soldier." She croaked the words, and each one hurt. Nicoletta clung to Giovanni, her body trembling in reaction, as much from being the target of such hatred as from Aljandro's nearly mortal assault.
    "You find him!" Giovanni repeated, sounding every inch the don. "Do not return to me without him." The tone of his voice conveyed a very real threat. "I want every man searching for him. Antonello, you know what to do. Do not let me down. I fear I will not forgive any of you easily for the success of this attack on my wife."
    He swung around and carried her through the narrow pathways, the twist and turns of the maze. Every step he took seemed to build his anger. "This will not happen again, Nicoletta. Never again!" he hissed under his breath, more to himself than to her. As he strode across the courtyard, he raised his voice and called for Gostanz and Maria Pia. There was rage in his voice, in his walk, in every gesture he made. A fury riding him so hard, Nicoletta was almost afraid to move.
    She coughed several times in an attempt to retrieve her voice. Her heartbeat was returning to normal.
    She was very aware of Don Scarletti's growing agitation. He could not feign the trembling in his body, the rage running through him as hot and dangerous as any volcano. She nestled closer into his body, her arms circling his neck so that the bloodstained shirt fluttered for a moment against him. "I'm sorry I doubted you," she croaked hoarsely.
    "Do not talk," he ordered, his black gaze brooding. "What good are guards and soldiers if they cannot protect one small woman? I did not ask much of those in my service, those I have given to generously all my life. I ride with those men, teach them, protect them, feed and house them. How could such a thing happen? If your late friend's husband infiltrated the ranks of my men, he must have someone aiding him, someone of rank."
    Nicoletta stayed silent, aware her husband was far too explosive to soothe, and because her throat was very sore. She lay her head against his shoulder and was grateful for his hard strength. Maria Pia