The Billionaire’s Prodigal Wife (Mackenna and Alessandro) novel Chapter 34

Mackenna came out of her room sporting a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and her hiking sneakers and her hair in a ponytail. She had a backpack dangling off her fingertips and threw it on the counter. She kicked her foot up, "it's the only splurge I allowed myself for so long." She gave a look to Romeo who jumped up on the counter only to be gently lifted by Alessandro. "He peed in them the first week I had them."

"It's definitely because you took his manhood," Alessandro stroked the cat in his arms as the beast purred wildly.

Nuncio laughed at Mackenna's scowl. "l take it you are good at this hiking?"

"Try to keep up," she grinned as she took her canteen and filled it with tap water and then grabbed a couple more from the closet. She rinsed them out and filled them as well and shoved them in her backpack. She turned to see Alessandro eyeing her curiously. "l don't see either of you with a canteen and I can't imagine Carlos has one and I'm pretty sure they're going to have to follow us on the trail."

He smiled. "l haven't seen you so excited for something in a long time."

She didn't want to ruin it by telling him he usually was the one raining on her parade, so she just clapped her hands at him, "let's go, let's go. There's a little coffee shop on the way and we can get croissants and coffee. I'd rather be working my way back when the sun is high than trying to hike in the noonday sun."

"I'll need to stop at the hotel and get changed," at her expression he continued, " you can wait in the car if you like. There's no need to come up. I can't hike in these," he looked down at his dress shoes and pants.

"Of course," she hoped her smile hid the trepidation of going back to his hotel.

The last time she had been there they'd had a huge fight and she had fled the country.

"It won't take me five minutes." He promised as he set the cat down gently on the floor and promised to bring him treats next time. He heard Mackenna mumble about the fat cat being on a diet, "he has certainly lost at least two pounds since in the last month."

Nuncio held his hand up as they approached the door, he took her bags and put them against her chest. "They are relentless and will be more so since Alessandro is here. Keep your hand on my shoulder, bury your face in your bag if you must and ignore anything they say to you. It is their job to try to get you to look at them and make a comment. Just stay focused on me. Understand?"

She realized how serious he was and gave a nod, "l understand."

"Alessandro and Carlos will be right behind you. Carlos is in the hall keeping them out of the building."

Nuncio tossed the keys to the apartment at Carlos as soon as they stepped into the hall, instantly the sound of a reporter shouting "here they come" echoed into the hall and she felt an involuntary shudder ripple down her back.

"Head down Signora," Nuncio instructed, his game face on and all business.

Mackenna put her hand on his shoulder as he instructed, mounted the stairs right behind him and tried her best to ignore the questions being peppered at her. As they reached the car waiting at the curb, the door pulled open, and she was shoved unceremoniously inside.

She scooted over as far as she could, aware Alessandro's team were pushing back against the throng of reporters. Alessandro slid in beside her followed by

Nuncio, Carlos, and another man she didn't recognize. The sound of another security agent getting into the passenger seat before the driver started to pull slowly away from the car to avoid striking the reporters blocking the road.

She made the mistake of looking at Alessandro and his face was white with rage. She had never seen him so furious. Her heart thudded fearfully. "Did I do something wrong?"

Nuncio patted her knee reassuringly from across the seat. "You did very well

Mackenna. You did exactly as I instructed."

Alessandro bit out a word in Italian she had never heard him utter, almost always the consummate gentleman and she gasped. "Alessandro!"

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose and held his hand up as if

She whispered to Nuncio, "it will be like this at the hotel too, won't it? Maybe we shouldn't go hiking."

Alessandro exhaled slowly and looked to her. "Mackenna, we are most assuredly going for our hike. This is my mess, and I will wade through it. You are simply an innocent bystander in all of this. When we get to the hotel, you and Nuncio are to stay behind in the car. If you don't mind however, I'll call the hotel and ask them to pack us a breakfast to bring with us instead of going to your coffee shop." "It would be fine," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry, Alessandro," she whispered as she turned her head to look out the window.

"Mackenna, it is not for you to be sorry. You have done nothing wrong. Nuncio is correct, you did exactly as you were instructed." His smile was tight at best.

Mackenna felt the morning was ruined before it had even begun, and she sat quietly with her hands wrapped around her backpack on her lap. Everyone in the car was silent as she stared out the window and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She felt Nuncio reach across again and pat her knee and she reached out and took his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," she mouthed to him.

Once they reached the hotel, Alessandro and his team exited the vehicle leaving only Nuncio and the driver. Alessandro had instructed the driver to circle the block a few times and so as soon as they stepped into the cacophony of the reporters outside the hotel, the car pulled away from the curb.

"He seems so angry," Mackenna whispered suddenly as they paused at a traffic light before taking a turn around the block.

"He is angry," Nuncio agreed, "but not at you. He is angry at himself Mackenna. He has put you in danger by not taking you seriously five years ago. This whole situation with the private investigator and Dulce has put you at risk more than once.

He has already lost people very important to him, to lose you as well to this dangerous situation would be his undoing."

She didn't quite know what to say to Nuncio's quiet words and so she nodded and looked out the window. Suddenly she spoke, "when I first returned from Milan,

have been more than five or ten of them. There had to be fifty of them out there this morning. I dotft understand people's fascination."

•It would help if Dulce would shut her mouth and stop talking to the press,"

Nuncio made a face. •The woman is a menace."