by Haley Stuart
“Your cousin obviously didn’t think of the consequences of defying the capo.”
My heart thunders, and either bravery or stupidity brews up deep within me at his implications.
“What the fuck did you do to Ari?” I shout.
That is just the opening Luca is looking for. His eyes flash, and he yanks on the chain connected to the collar around my throat, forcing me backward on the bed. He immediately crawls over me and wraps a hand along my jaw.
“Oooh, baby, seems like you got a little potty mouth in my absence.” His malicious smile grows less and less human by the second. “Don’t worry, that will be the first thing to go while we’re here.”
Then he says, “Your cousin isn’t dead. Yet. Though I should have killed her the moment she confessed.”
All my anger evaporates as I take in the meaning of his words.
“C-confessed?” I whisper.
Luca smirks at me as if I were stupid for even asking the question.
“Yes, baby, confessed. She told me everything. Including your little movement pattern. It didn’t take quite as much pain as I would have liked to get her to tell, but I still got it out of her.”
Tears well up in my eyes. He has hurt Ari. And she has told him everything. I don’t know whether to feel angry at the betrayal or shameful for dragging her into this. I’ve lost. This is a game I should have never gotten involved in. I don’t know why I think I can escape from Luca.
“I originally had this room made for anniversaries, birthdays … you know, special occasions. I was going to show it to you when it was finished, but in your absence, I decided to change it up a bit. You know, for the occasion.” His eyes are filled with amusement as he imagines something probably fucked up.
“I can’t wait to break the room in with you.”
“P-please, Luca, d-don’t do this …”
I can barely get the words out as a newfound fear for my husband develops within me. I am an idiot for thinking this can work. And now he is going to make me pay for this. Big-time. Luca’s deep chuckle brings me out of my thoughts. He leans in and licks up the tears running down the side of my face.
“You want to know what I love more than your tears?”
Suddenly, he yanks on the chain, and it tightens around my neck like a noose. I immediately jerk and reach up to put my hands around the collar as it cuts off my airflow. Luca leans into my ear as I gasp quietly for air.
“Your screams.”
Chapter 15
Elise
Luca sits across the room, reading a book. I don’t know what book it is, I don’t know how long he has been reading it, but I am glad he is, because it gives me a break from his mood. He is sitting at a desk, with one leg crossed over the other, just reading, his face intently focused on the thing in front of him.
The thing about Luca is that he is very intelligent. Too smart for his own good. But he somehow can’t understand the basic knowledge of emotions and feelings. It is scary how he knows so much and has no idea what to properly do with it. His father has raised him to be a killing machine, without a conscience or any sympathy.
I jump as he flips the page, the sound scaring me. Luckily, he still sits there reading the book, his dark hair falling slightly in his face. His head is bent at an angle so that I can see the slight furrow of his brow, his thick lashes touching his cheeks each time he blinks.
How can someone that looks so innocent while reading a book be the complete opposite of what he looks like?
As if he has sensed he is being watched, Luca’s eyes meet mine. I immediately gasp and shrink back away from his emotionless gaze. If there is anything I’ve learned from him in the past six hours, it is he is a man to be feared.
He quietly folds the page, marking his place, and closes the book. He rises from his spot and makes his way over to me, making sure to grab a jacket, I assume, he has brought in here when he has shown up.
I honestly don’t know what to do. I am a sitting duck in the middle of this room. He has me literally latched to the bed. So I am completely at his mercy.
“You know, each time I look at you, I get angry all over again,” he says.
I can see the hate creeping into his gaze, but he does a good job covering it up. His hands are stuffed deep within his pockets. I know all his guns and knives are off him, because he has made sure to unload his holsters slowly in front of me, making me fear what is to come. He sits on the edge of the bed, watching me with no emotion in his gaze.
“Did you know the human body has ninety-five to one hundred billion nerve cells in it?” He reaches out and slowly grasps my shaking hand. He looks down at my arm as he speaks.
“But out of those, only three run through your arm.” He flips my arm over and trails a pattern, starting at my elbow. “The radial nerve.” He flips my arm over again so that my palm is facing the ceiling. “The ulnar and the median nerve.” He is tracing a pattern on my arm, as if he knows where the nerves are underneath my skin. He looks truly mesmerized by the sight.
Suddenly, his expression changes. He drops my arm and looks me in the eyes.
“But I don’t have to know that to make you feel pain.”
I have immediately opened my mouth to begin begging when an exploding pain sears across my face. Luca slaps me. I cry out in pain and hold my cheek, tears welling up.
“Don’t you dare fucking beg.” He looks murderously angry. And it terrifies me to no end. I only nod, hoping it will calm him down.
“God, I swear if you were anyone else, I would have shot you down in that hotel room. But for some reason, I don’t want to kill you. But I can’t help but hate you.” He pauses and stares at the ceiling. He moves quickly and comes to the bed, messing with my “collar.” He comes back around and has the chain in his hand. He yanks hard enough to jerk me off the bed. I fall off in a heavy heap and hit the ground with a loud thud.
He doesn’t give me the chance to set myself upright; he continues to drag onto the chain even when he sees that I am struggling, his large strides catching me off guard.
“Luca, wait.” I try, but he is tugging so hard and fast I don’t have equilibrium to stay upright. Suddenly, he is in front of me with an angry glare, jerking me up by the throat until my feet are off the ground. I cry out and spasm from the sudden roughness, but he doesn’t care. He seems to be enjoying my struggles, from the sick look in his gray irises.
“Fucking keep up!” he growls into my ear. He drops me on the floor, and I cough, trying to breathe in air that has been restricted from me moments ago.
We reach a door that is hidden in the far corner of the room. Luca turns to look at me, and there is no pity, no warmth, nothing in those depths. And now I really do fear for my life. He opens the door, and my heart drops into my stomach.
The room must be below freezing. I can see the air as it is being blown everywhere. My eyes widen in fear, and I immediately back away from the door. I go as quickly as I can until the chain stops my movements. Even then, I continue to pull on it. Luca doesn’t even look back as he drags me into the deep freezer. The ground is freezing cold against my bare feet, and the bra and underwear I am in do nothing to help keep me warm.
I cry out as the cold floor stings the underside of my feet. Luca drags me to the center of the room, and I finally see what we are headed for. In the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling, there are cuffs. But they look like gauntlets. They are leather. There is a rough jerk on the chain, and I go tumbling into Luca’s arms. He still doesn’t speak.
I can feel my body temperature already dropping from being in this cold room. My body is slowly beginning to shiver from the cold.
“L-l-luca, p-p-please …”
Luca ignores me and roughly grabs my wrist, securing it into the leather cuff. He does the same with the other. He walks across the room and presses a button. Out of nowhere, the cuffs begin rising higher to the ceiling, and my body is now elevated off the floor. My arms are already screaming in pain. My feet
dangle above the floor uselessly as I try desperately to get some kind of footing.
“I use rooms like this when I want to derange the mind. Helps all kinds of information to come out. Even information we’re not looking for.” He looks around the room as if admiring the structure. “Except in the other rooms, we use metal cuffs. But I don’t want your skin tearing from freezing to the cuff, so we’ll use leather.” He grabs a chair from the corner and walks near me, his breath visible in front of him. He sets the chair down and takes a seat.
My breathing is erratic and loud. I can’t focus from all the unpleasant feelings that are bombarding me right now.
“Now, we’re going to have a little discussion.” Luca is eyeing the front of the bra. “Do you want to know what I hate the most in this world?” His eyes slowly travel up, and he meets my tear-filled eyes.
“The Trovolis.”
My mind clears just a moment. Long enough for me to process his words. He hates the Trovolis? But I am a Trovoli.
“I told my father this whole thing was stupid when he wanted me to marry you. ‘For the sake of our family,’ he said.” Luca chuckles bitterly. “I told him not to trust you people. And look where it got him. Dead.”
I don’t quite understand where he is going with this conversation.
“You know, your mother learned the hard way, marrying one of those monsters.”
My heart stops. My mother? What is he talking about?
“Your father kept it a secret, you know. The truth behind your mother’s death. Using it as a ploy to get his family behind him and into war. But the truth is, he sent her to her death. Purposely.”
Immediate anger erupts from me. How dare he say that to me!
“Stop lying!” I scream at him, mustering all the strength I can. He is lying. I know he is!
Amusement twinkles in his eyes as he watches me.
“I’m not. Your father wanted power. And the territory he wanted was overrun. So to get a turf war started and gain control of more land, he had your mother killed and mutilated to trick his own into believing someone else did it. Perfect way to get people’s loyalty in your back pocket.”
“Shut up, Luca, just shut up! You’re a liar!” I scream.
The tears running down my face are stinging from the cold, but I ignore them as a desperate need awakened in me. A need to know that it isn’t all a lie. My whole life isn’t a sham. Luca seems to be enjoying my disdain. He smiles a bright white smile in pleasure at the horror in my face.
“I’m serious, baby.” He stands and walks closer to me and begins fondling with the bra I am wearing. “Wanna know how I know?”
I close my eyes tight and shake my head vigorously. I don’t want to know.
“Because your low-down father asked for our help in locating his son. His illegitimate son. Your mother found out about the affair and had the boy sent away, and because of her bravery, she was given the ultimate punishment. I mean, it was the ultimate package deal for your father. Get rid of the wife, gain a son, and get a whole new territory in the process.”
He reaches out and pushes my hair back behind my face. I can do nothing but stare at him in horror.
“And guess whom we’ve had under the radar for the past fifteen years.”
His smile widens as he watches the understanding cross my face. I have a brother. A half-brother. And Luca knows who and where he is. But the real question is, Why is he telling me this? Why is he destroying my world with only the words coming out of his mouth?
“I’ve always hated your family. Your whole bloodline. I wanted to eradicate you as soon as possible, but my father believed in a different path for your filthy bloodline. And now, because of your family, he is gone.” Silence echoes throughout the chamber. Oh god. My family is behind his father’s death. Bile immediately comes rushing up my throat, but I swallow it down immediately.
“I think I’ve had enough of the Trovolis. You’re all a disgusting waste of space that needs to be wiped out. Every single one of you.” Luca turns to leave, and I have to dig deep within me to speak. The cold and the pain physically and mentally are taking a toll on me.
“W-w-wait, L-Luca, p-please.”
He stops and turns around, slowly facing me. Still, there is no emotion in his eyes. He hates me. He hates my family. He hates the very blood that runs through my veins. But I have to cling to the little piece of hope that is fluttering above my head.
“P-please don’t k-kill my brother,” I say. “P-please d-don’t kill A-ari.” I open my mouth to continue to beg for my family, but Luca is standing directly in front of me now. I am literally shivering from the cold and in fear.
“I won’t kill you. Because you are mine. And despite everything you’ve done, I still want you. I won’t kill your brother, because I have other plans for him. But Ari is as good as dead.”
My stomach churns at his words. “N-n-no! Please! I’m b-b-begging you, Luca!” My voice is cracking as the cold slowly numbs my whole body. This is misery. Luca only smiles at me.
“It was your cousin, you know. The one that told about your father. I guess out of retaliation, they felt the need to kill mine. Which was a big mistake. She should’ve quit while she was ahead.”
No, no, no, no! I am the one that has told Ari about my father, and she must’ve told. And now, because of my weakness, she will surely die.
“L-Luca … I’ll do anything, j-just please don’t hurt her …” I try one last time, hoping that somewhere in there, Luca has a heart and will listen to it for once.
There is silence, except for the sound of my labored breathing due to the temperature.
I look up when I hear retreating footsteps. Luca is walking toward the door, with his back to me. He is leaving me here. In this freezer-type room. He stops by the door and turns back to me with an expression void of any emotion.
“I’ll think about it.”
And with that, he turns out the light and leaves me in the freezing dark with nothing more than the heart-wrenching sound of the door creaking shut.
Chapter 16
Elise
The first thing I register as I come to is the warmth. My body is tucked snugly underneath a massive comforter, and warmth is radiating from the blanket, seeping heat into my body. I don’t want to open my eyes for fear of something I may regret, but I open them anyway. I am still in the torture room, except I am not chained to anything. There is a fire going in the fireplace that is keeping the room comfortably heated. This is heaven compared to being in that ice chamber.
I have no idea how long I have been left in that miserable room, but I am glad when I lose consciousness. That room is something I never want to experience again. It is dark and cold, and time is nonexistent. My body feels exhausted. Like moving is a hassle for my muscles. I shift and look around the room to see if Luca is anywhere, but it is empty. Thank God.
I finally sit up in the bed, letting the sheets fall around my waist. I am dressed in a T-shirt and underwear, but that is about it. The stupid collar is still latched around my neck and hooked onto the headboard. There is also an electric blanket folded and sitting on the bedside table neatly. It seems that when I have been unconscious, Luca has taken care of my body. I can scream from the situation I am in. I lie back down, pulling the blanket over me, and stare at the ceiling. It makes me angry to no end, and I don’t know what I can do about it. How is any of this fair to me? What have I ever done? I have always been an obedient child and never given my father a reason to hate me other than the fact I am born a girl. Oh, shit.
I’ve completely forgotten. Luca has revealed I have a brother. A half-brother that was born around the same time I was. I know I should feel some bitterness about it, but I can’t help but feel curiosity. Who is he? Does he know who he is? Does he know who his father is? The thing that upsets me the most is that my father has gotten rid of my mother behind him. But he hasn’t asked to be born. He hasn’t asked for that fate. So I can’t feel anger toward him.
But one thing is for sure: I need to find him. Luca hasn’t specified whether or not he is in this line of work or not, but I hope he isn’t. I hope he is good and kind and nothing like my horrible father. Now I have a new purpose to survive, to want to get out of here.
One thing is definitely for sure; Ari and my brother are the only close family I have. And I need to protect them at all costs. The rest of my family … well, I have no idea what fate awaits them. But the way Luca speaks of them, it can’t be good. Luca is crazy. He must have some kind of mental disorder or something to think that his behavior is, in any form, okay. But I can’t really say that because of whom he has been raised by. In this line of living, to be born without a conscience and a low-tolerance mind-set is to be perfect. And that is what Luca is. He has no tolerance for any inconvenience in his life.
As if he has sensed the hope in my thoughts, the door to the far side of the room opens, and in strolls Luca. He is looking down at a box in his hand and doesn’t notice that I am awake. So I do what any sane person will do. I close my eyes and fake sleep. I hear his footsteps get closer and do my best to calm my breathing. Luca is a trained killer, so I am pretty sure he will be able to tell that I am faking sleep. The edge of the bed dips, and I hear more shuffling. The blanket is slowly pulled back off my body, and I try my best to remain calm.
Instead of feeling Luca’s groping hands like I’ve expected, I feel him lift the T-shirt and pull my underwear down a bit. Then something cold is rubbed in a circle near my hip bone. A sharp prick startles me from my focus, and I jolt up with a shout. I immediately rub my burning hip and look at Luca. He has an amused smirk on his face, and his head is tilted to the side as he watches me.
“I knew you were awake, baby.” He leans in and gives me a light peck on the lips. “Nice try, though.”
I am still trying to rub the sting from my side. Luca has given me a shot of some kind, and I am beginning to freak out. “What did you inject me with?” My voice comes out groggy and rough, but I don’t care.
