Slowburn

Chapter 94

        My heart started rapidly thumping in my chest. Renzo had moved me behind him, as if to shield me from any unseen danger, but I could see past his arm and what I saw was a large knife stabbed purposely into my door with a note attached to it. Renzo rolled his shoulders back and I saw them square off like they do when he's angry or on edge. 

"Renzo...what is that?" I had to ask, though I could clearly see it. I was just trying to understand why it was there. 

Renzo's big hand took the handle of the knife and pulled it out of the wood of my recently newly replaced door. He tried taking the note and reading it for himself without my seeing it, but I wouldn't let him. It was in MY door. I deserve to know. It read:

"You murdered my brother, but its an eye for an eye. Expect something of yours to be taken away."

        My eyes darted across the page, but the words just wouldn't settle right in my head. Who sent this? Murdered who? Why is there a threat hanging on my door? Renzo's angry fist crumbled the note right before my eyes, but I saw it. I saw what the message said. 

"Renzo, what's going on?" I asked again, but my voice was trembling. "Nothing, just hold on a second and give me a minute to think" he snapped at me. "W-why did it say murder? Are they talking to you?" I was terrified to know, but I think I already do.

Renzo cursed under his breath and unlocked my front door, shuffling me into it. 

        "I need to call Rocco and Dante. They'll call my goons and we'll look into this, arlight?" He looked angry, but something else too. "Renzo! You didn't answer me! Murdered who? Did you kill somebody?" The floor was slowly crumbling beneath my feet and I couldn't breath the more he dodged my question. 

"No, just, no Kat. Just let me handle this" was all he kept saying. I covered my mouth in shock and stared at the crumbled piece of paper that sat on the counter of my breakfast nook. Renzo had pulled his phone out and was now speaking in rapid Italian to whoever was on the line. He shut himself in my bedroom, but I couldn't move or think. I just stared at the note. 

An eye for an eye. Somebody wants to kill me.

They marked MY door because I was obviously the targeted threat. Somebody wants to murder me, and it's because Renzo murdered somebody else first. I can't breathe. My legs suddenly felt heavier then led, and my chest grew so tight. My mind was whirling trying to justify this as ANYTHING other than what I think it is. 

        Maybe it's a prank? Maybe it's somebody with the wrong address and this was meant for the door below me? Or Maybe I am dating a mobster, and he murdered people, and now the families of those people want revenge and are willing to end my life in order to get to Renzo for what he did. 

My body skipped the crying and went straight for a panic attack. I started hyperventilating to the point of clutching my chest. 

"KAT" Renzo rushed toward me when he realized I was trying to chug some air into my lungs and my limbs were trembling all over. "I can't breathe" I kept repeating. "You can. Just relax. Look at me, Kat. You're okay. Look at me" Renzo held me in front of him and rubbed my arms while showing me his breathing, wanting me to copy it.

My chest was still tight, but I did start getting a bit more air into my burning lungs as I tried to slow everything down. The rapid churning of thoughts, the speeding race of my heart, I just needed everything to slow down. 

        "I'm not okay" I sucked in a breath, and of course, started to cry. Tears started pouring down beyond my control and even though Renzo was trying to hold me I shoved him away. "I'M NOT OKAY! What is this Renzo?!" I fisted the note and held it in his face. The knife was discarded beside it. "Kat" Renzo held his hands up motioning for me to calm down.