by Haley Stuart
There is a girl, and she is playing a violin, her long dark locks facing me. The tune has me captured. It is beautiful. She is very talented. She finally ends the melody, and I can’t help myself. I start clapping. She tenses in her seat and turns to face me.
Holy fuck! Perfect. She is perfect. I can feel the hardening in my pants as she stares at me with big almond-colored eyes that look back at me. They are wide and full of innocence. Her lips are a lovely shade of pink. Nice and full. Her hair is pitch-black and falls to her waist. She is wearing a light-blue dress that fits her nicely. Not too tight, but tight enough that I can see her lovely figure.
I recognize her from the picture I have seen a while back. Except now her face is more developed. And so is her body. She is a woman now.
“So you’re my future bride. You’re quite the beauty.”
She looks away as a bright-red blush crawls its way up her neck. I frown a little. She is hiding from me behind that thick curtain of hair. I don’t like that. I want to see her face.
“Thank you,” she whispers. Damn, her voice even radiates innocence. I can’t wait to hear that beautiful whisper with my name coming off her lips.
After I leave her, my mind is made up. She is mine. All mine. And no one else’s. I don’t want anyone else. I only want her. I even call that noisy bitch Jessica and tell her I am done with her. Something is festering deep inside of me toward Elise. A strong emotion. And it makes me want her even more than I do just now.
(Even when my father has given me the option of killing her off with her father, I couldn’t do it.)
I step into his office. He wants to see me on the information I’ve found. He is pacing back and forth, obviously pissed that he has almost been had. I’ve told him not to trust those damn Trovolis.
“Take a seat, Luca.” His voice comes out gruff. I sit down and wait for him to calm down before I speak. Even I am pissed with this information I have discovered. When Elise’s father has gone to strike her the night of our wedding, my suspicions have grown even further. No man will dare strike another man’s wife. Especially mine, if he truly believes this is a union of strength.
I look into his phone calls, transactions, emails, and I’ve even had Nicolai tail him for me.
“Elise’s father has been busy scheming against us.” I explain to him everything down to the tracker I have discovered buried in Elise’s arm.
He is silent. “Are you sure, son?”
“Absolutely. I told you the Trovolis couldn’t be trusted. But you just wanted to be blinded by your clouded beliefs.”
My father still hasn’t spoken. I can only imagine what he is thinking. I tell him not to trust that family, and he goes against his better judgment and plays right into their hands.
“I want them dead,” he says while looking at the desk. I am caught off guard by his choice of words.
“Them?”
“Elise and her father,” he says.
Maybe before the marriage, I would have gladly obliged. But everything is different now. I slowly stand and smooth out my shirt. “I will gladly take care of her father. But Elise stays with me.”
My father looks up in surprise at my words. “Excuse me?”
I can see the anger beginning to flare. Our thing has always been to kill the betrayer and everyone he loves. Even if he doesn’t love them, the family is to be made an example of. But killing Elise doesn’t sit well with me. Not now that she is mine.
“I said no, Father. I will kill the father. But not Elise. And this time, I won’t budge on that,” I say, meeting his glare head-on.
He sits back in his chair and watches me, as if trying to figure out what my goal is. In truth, I have no idea. Usually, I will have done this no problem. But I want Elise. I want her alive. And my father’s plan pisses me off.
He chuckles to himself, as if in thought, and waves me toward the door.
“Fine, Luca.”
Elise is still playing on the stage. I will never be able to fathom how she is so talented. How she can play these notes and make them sound so beautiful. She is perfection. And she is mine.
She is all I have now. My father is gone because of some bastards from her family. They must have been trying to avenge her father’s death. How they’ve found out it hasn’t been an accident, I still have yet to find out. They have sneaked into my father’s party and killed him. I am so close to just eradicating the world of that filthy bloodline. The only thing that is keeping me from doing that is the woman standing on the stage right now.
My father and I have been close, so his death has really been hard on me. The fact that Elise’s family is behind it makes it hard to be around her. I want to destroy her in every little way possible. Make her pay for her family’s sins. But I figure the gunshot wound I’ve given her is enough to sate my anger. Honestly, I feel as though that is the only way I can save her from the man that has held her at gunpoint, but once I’ve finished with him and figured out who is behind all this, well, I don’t feel so bad about her getting caught in the middle.
It is her tainted bloodline’s fault that my father is dead. I want to make them all suffer. As soon as I have been sworn in as the capo, my subordinates have thought that is what I am going to do. But the feeling I have had toward Elise since I’ve married her is stronger than ever. And killing her is not going to happen.
She finishes the melody, and the applause begins. People even stand to show their appreciation of her talents. I can’t help but smile, pride swelling in my chest. I know they will love her.
After the concert, I stand in the entryway, waiting for her. I watch as others meet and greet their families and friends that have come to watch. All Elise and I have now is each other. I can feel the bitterness in me rising as I think about the bastards that have taken my father from me. I try to stuff the feeling back down. This is Elise’s night.
I see her open the doors and walk through, looking even more magnificent up close. She looks around until her eyes meet mine, and makes her way over to me. I can’t help the smile that comes over me. This amazing woman is mine.
I pull her warm body into mine in a tight embrace.
“You were wonderful, Elise.”
She mumbles a thank-you, and I pull back and study her. Her heart rate is increased. It is faster than it usually is. And her skin is warm. As if she is nervous about something. She also can’t look me in the eye.
“Something wrong, Elise?” I ask her.
She clears her throat and keeps avoiding eye contact with me. “No.”
Hmmm. I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her toward the door. A man walks up to us with excitement on his face. He comes up so quickly I, out of instinct, reach for my gun just in case. But he only comes to compliment Elise.
“Wow, that was amazing! Your talent is incredible. I’ve never heard anything like that before.” He is smiling at her. When I look down, she is smiling back. I feel a deep rage boil up within me. I’ve told her that. I’ve smiled at her. And she can’t even return the smile. But this random man can come out of nowhere, and she’ll just offer him a smile just like that? Fuck no.
I pull her away in the middle of his talking, not caring about how rude I am being. Once I have Elise in the car, I try to rein in my anger, but it is getting fucking hard.
“Luca?” Her timid voice breaks through my haze. I hate it when she tries to act like she’s done nothing wrong. I have told her before, I just want to see her smile. That is all I fucking want.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask. I am trying to stay calm, but it is getting near impossible. “I do everything for you. Everything! All I want from you is a smile. A goddamn smile!” I squeeze the steering wheel, but my anger is already getting the best of me.
“You—”
I am cut off immediately as something happens that I’ve never expected to happen in my life. Elise reaches over and jerks the steering wheel. She catches me off guard completely. The car immediately jerks off the
road and slams right into a tree, deploying the airbags. Glass shatters everywhere as the loud thunder of the car being crushed explodes around me. Pain wracks my entire body, and I can feel the blood rushing down my head when it collides with the side of the car. My chest is burning. I immediately look over at Elise, and she has barely any damage. She is breathing hard and frantically moving around. She has a few cuts and bruises, but that is about it. She has braced for impact.
My vision is getting blurry, and I am fighting consciousness. Elise opens her violin case quickly. Her hands are shaking, and she is fumbling with stuff. What the fuck? Her violin isn’t in the case, but different objects I can’t make out from the injuries I have sustained. She pulls out handcuffs. And her eyes meet mine.
Her eyes are wide and full of fear, and I see a slight hesitation. Whatever is holding her back, she pushes it from her mind. She immediately reaches for my hands, and I jerk, trying to prevent her from grabbing them. My fucking seat belt is jammed, preventing me from moving away, and my body is wracked with pain. There is the deafening sound of the handcuffs being cuffed around my wrists, and she cuffs me to the steering wheel.
“Elise! What the fuck!”
She completely ignores me and turns, trying to kick open her jammed door. She is weak, too, from her injuries, but she somehow finds the energy to kick it open.
“Elise!” I shout again. Rage is boiling up deep within me from this betrayal. “Elise! Get your fucking ass back here!”
She still ignores me.
I can feel myself barely hang on to the consciousness. A cough makes its way out from my body, and blood comes out. Fuck. I must have internal bleeding from the seat belt crushing my chest. Elise looks back one last time, and I see a look on her face I have never seen before. Hatred. Pure hatred. For me.
“I hope you die.” Her words float between us. She gives me one last glance and runs. I can’t see where.
“Elise!” I shout.
“Elise!” I try again, but she is really gone.
This is why she has been nervous. This has all been planned. The fucking bitch knows what she is going to do and does it. And has told me she hopes I die. I smile, and the action brings out another fit of coughing. At this rate, I just may. The car is literally crushing me. I am hanging on to consciousness by a thread, and I’ve had no security follow me tonight because I haven’t thought I’ll need any outside of the estate. I will be with my wife.
I am certifiably screwed.
Bitterness seeps into me as I recall my words to my father. Never trust a Trovoli.
And now I am eating those words, possibly with my life. The fucking bitch.
I think, If I make it out of this alive, she had better pray I don’t find her. If I do, God help her.
Chapter 13
Luca
Two months. Two months, and we have no trail. No sign. Nothing. It is almost as if she has disappeared. How does someone like Elise manage to outsmart the Mob? I keep this to a minimum between me, Nicolai, and Romelo. They are the only people I can trust with this delicate situation. If anyone finds out the ruthless capo has almost been killed by his wife and she has run away, they will see it as an opening. And bad things will start to happen. It has been hard enough keeping this a secret, and it is getting even harder with each passing day.
Lucky for me, someone has come by and found the wreckage before I’ve lost too much blood and suffocated from the seat belt crushing my chest. Unlucky for me, that means they have called the police. Which means hospital visits. And records. Which I don’t need right now. The cops are already hot on my tail about a recent incident that some of my people have slipped up in.
I laugh aloud to myself. She’s actually done it. She has outsmarted me. And I have no idea how she’s done it. The only trail we can pick up from her is a rather-large amount of money exchanged at a pawnshop in New Jersey. We have gone to the shop as a lead, and sure enough, her wedding ring is sitting in the window when we’ve gotten there. I’ve almost murdered the man in the shop for even taking it.
We have set up perimeters to show of any uncommon activity in areas and found none. And with the tension between us and the South Mob, keeping this quiet is crucial. If anyone finds out the daughter of their late capo is missing, they will assume the worst and all-out war will break out between us.
I take a seat in my desk, pondering this. Where could she possibly have gone? And how does she keep avoiding us? How is she surviving this long off the radar? There has to be someone helping her, but who? Who will be dumb enough to cross me and help her? I have thought of this before but have come up short. I’ve kept her isolated. She has never spoken to anyone around the house and rarely goes out. It’s not like she has a phone
A thought pops into my head. I quickly move to the computer and go to the website for my phone. There is no way to pull up the call log since we’ve moved and gotten a new phone, but I can follow up on my suspicions another way. The call logs. I scroll and scroll until something pops out at me. That’s it. A number I have never seen before is sitting there, staring back at me. I look to the area code, and sure enough, it matches Elise’s hometown. I haven’t made a phone call to them. And if I have, I would have recognized the number. But who? Who from the South will dare defy me as to help my wife?
She has a cousin. I’ve completely forgotten the girl’s name. But she has a fucking cousin that she has always run to when we have visited. Her cousin that she has always dragged away from me when she needs to talk to her. I change the website and book a ticket.
Three hours later, I am sitting in the car that will take me to Stefano Gudierri’s home. That is the name of Elise’s cousin’s husband. I’ve done a background check on them. Ari is the daughter of Pietro Trovoli, the brother of Elise’s father. He was killed during a raid in a warehouse when Elise’s father was younger.
I have brought Nicolai and Romelo along with me. Nicolai is my best friend, and Romelo is my most trusted man. These traitorous rats.
I look around at the scenery that passes me by. So this is the area Elise have grown up in. I’ve never paid attention to it, because each time I have been around it, Elise has been with me, so there has been no need. I can’t help myself. Even though she’s almost killed me and told me that she hopes she’s done it, I don’t want to kill her in return, which is surprising to me.
I step out of the car and knock on the door, scanning the yard. They have a very lax security system for their reputation. All the guards are stationed outside the gate. They also live close together. Too close for my taste. I wonder how many times Elise has come to this house to visit her dear cousin.
The door opens, and there she is. Her cousin is standing in the doorway with a large smile on her face, which falls immediately when she sees it’s me standing on the other side of the door. I don’t bother giving her a smile. If she is the reason my Elise has escaped from me, she has better hope some miracle will happen soon.
“Is your husband home?” I ask. I can see the hesitation in her face. She wants to lie to me.
“Yes. I’ll go get him,” she says.
I can already tell that she is guilty with something. In the past, when she sees me, she will shoot me hateful glares when she thinks I am not paying attention. Even when I am, she will at least stand her ground and show me she has distaste toward me. But now she can’t even look at me. And judging by the tremors in her voice, she is nervous.
She leaves us standing in the entry area as she goes get her husband. I look at Nicolai and Romelo, silently reminding them of the plan we are about to put into play. If this bitch has helped my wife escape me, there will be hell to pay. I have had it with these disgusting Trovolis.
Stefano rounds the corner with a smile on his face. He obviously doesn’t know the extent to which we are here. But his dear wife does. Poor man. Elise’s cousin is a Trovoli also, her father the brother of Elise’s father. She has the same despicable blood running through her veins.
“Luca P
asquino, it’s an honor to have you here with us in our home! To what do we owe this visit?” He holds his hand out, and we exchange a firm shake. I keep my attention focused on his wife, though. She is standing behind him with her eyes downcast. She is guilty.
“Is there anywhere we can speak in private?” I ask.
His smile falters a bit, and he leads us around the hall to his office, opening the door. He is about to close it, leaving his conniving wife on the other side, when I stop him.
“Actually, I would like it if your wife was to join us.”
He pauses a moment, and I can hear her light gasp. He slowly motions for her to come with us into the room.
“What’s this all about?” he questions.
As soon as we are in and the door is closed, the plan is put into action. Nicolai turns on Stefano, attacking him so that he is kneeling on the ground and completely immobile. Romelo is standing over him, aiming the gun at the top of his head. Elise’s cousin lets out a short scream, and I pull out my gun, aiming it at her. She shuts up real quick.
I motion to one of the sitting chairs with my gun. She slowly sits down, and there are tears brimming in her eyes.
“Do not move, or I will kill him where he kneels.”
Her eyes are wide as she nods her understanding. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I feed off the terror shining in her eyes. She has no idea what she has gotten herself into.
“What the fuck is this?” Stefano shouts from his place on the ground.
I step to him slowly and aim my gun underneath his chin. “Why don’t you ask your beloved wife?”
He looks at her frantically, and she is crying her eyes out from her place across the room.
“Here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to answer my questions, or I will shoot him. Try to move, and I will shoot you, and then I will shoot him.”
She nods violently and keeps her eyes trained on her husband.
“Show me your phone.”
