Russian Roulette - Family secrets - Draft version!

Ch. 165: Somebody better cough up an explanation!

By early afternoon, after showers, breakfast and a lot of anxious waiting, Richard and Mackenzie had made it to the airport where they had waited in a private lounge until they had been escorted to the plane.

In Rome, Richard had set all in on being the devoted husband, wanting to get Mackenzie to the waiting limo. All Mackenzie had done was hide under the big hat Cracker had provided with her wedding-travel-clothes and cling to her bouquet.

"That was fun," Richard exclaimed with a cheeky grin, when inside the limo. "I'm glad it's over, though."

"You're crazy." Mackenzie threw the bouquet on the seat and took off the ridiculous hat and sunglasses. It had done the job of hiding her face, but it had been uncomfortable to wear with the wig.

Small sacrifices.

They had made it.

The hired men, she had gotten to know while they had protected her and Richard over the last months, had casually kept back to not draw attention to themselves. They had not come close until they got to the limo and the waiting car for them.

At first, Mackenzie had not understood why they had to act in love, she had thought that would draw attention to them, which was right in a way, but Richard had explained what Cracker had told him. That, sure, people would look, most would look away when witnessing public displays of affection. Some because they were prudes, some to give privacy and many because they just did not care enough to follow other people's love lives.

And if they looked, they would be more interested in where hands were going than what faces looked like.

Kind of like with a magician, they pulled people's attention away from where the secret was.

By being openly and overly lovey-dovey they had consciously forced people to not look at them. Mackenzie had to admit it had been fun. Not once had Richard kissed her or done anything that had felt inappropriate. Every time he had pretended to kiss her passionately under the hat, he had been telling her dumb little jokes, making her giggle and relax enough to play her part.

Richard handed Mackenzie an orange soda and a chocolate bar, Cracker had been considerate enough to have stocked in the limo. "So, why are you nervous?" he asked, leaning back to relax a bit.

The trip had been draining for him because of Mackenzie's nervous energy. She had been fidgety and kept asking stupid questions, driving him insane. At the safe house he had been able to distract her and she had known she was being annoying, on their trip she had not had that filter.

He loved her, but she could be a pain.

It would be nice to be among other people again who could distract her a little and to sleep for an hour without waking up worried about her.

"I'm just not sure he'll take it very well."

"Darling, you worry about the wrong things, he'll need a moment to digest, then he'll be over the moon."

"You don't know my father," Mackenzie said with a knowing shrug.

"True, I don't, not like you. But I was there the day you 'died'. Your mother was acting in a believable way. Your father was not acting."

It had been one of the most emotional and violent displays of feelings Richard had seen in his life. Vittorio had stood there holding Mackenzie's cold, lifeless hand, crying his eyes out. When the doctors had confirmed what Vittorio had already known, he had left the hospital room and pretty much trashed everything in his path through the house on his way outside, where he had screamed in Italian at the sky, cursing the world, God, Vasyl and even Gareth.