by Haley Stuart
Judging by the loud music I can hear playing and the lowlights he has currently pouring out of his upstairs window, I am guessing he currently is getting ready for something or about to go to bed. If he is going somewhere, I am screwed. My mind inadvertently wanders to Elise. I wonder how she is doing. I hate the way I’ve left things, and I can’t imagine what she is like right now. She is more than likely hysterical that I am not there. She probably won’t even look at me when I get back, since I’ve drugged her.
I let out a deep, frustrated breath. Damn. I should be focusing on how to get in the house instead of on Elise. It is distractions like those that will get me killed. I reach in my pocket and pull out my phone, unlocking it and scrolling to Elise’s picture. The night of our wedding, the photographer has emailed me all the photos at the wedding. Among them are a few individual shots of Elise. She looks so beautiful. So innocent.
I scroll to the photos we’ve taken the night of her recital. In that deep-red dress she has worn. She looks absolutely stunning. Sexy as hell. There is a small smile on her face, and her violin is in her hands in front of her. She always has that small smile on her lips. Like she is shy. I just stare at the picture, memorizing every little detail. My love, my life, my wife, my Elise. This may be it for me. I really hope it isn’t, though. I want to be there when she gives birth. I want to hold her hand and witness the first few moments of our son’s life together.
Even if she goes into labor while I am away, I want to be able to go to her and see her once again and meet my son for the first time.
The lights in the window turn out, and I wait another ten minutes before I move. If this goes well, I will be there. For Elise and for my son. And if not, Elise will be free of me. And the Mob. No one knows where she is. She can start a new life and raise our son outside of this life.
I take a deep breath and move from my hiding spot. It is time to execute the plan.
I walk toward the door of the house of the man that has fucked up everything for me. Using my tools, I open the box on the side of the house, from the blueprints, and cut the wires to the security system. After, I bolt the lock back so that if push comes to shove, no one will be able to turn it back on without breaking off the lock.
I step toward the door and begin working on the lock. It opens within fifteen seconds of me messing with it. I slowly ease the door open and close it behind me, grabbing my gun from my holster and heading up the stairs. If my memory serves me correctly, the blueprints read that the master bedroom is up the stairs and to the left.
I carefully tread up the stairs, and to the left, the bedroom door is cracked. I am about to push it open when I register a shadow moving in the corner of my eye. I turn with my hands on the defense just in time for a Louisville slugger to connect with my forearms. My gun falls out of my hands, and I don’t have time to dwell on the pain shooting through my arms. I immediately grab the bat with my free hand, absorbing the hit and bringing my leg out to kick my assailant hard. He lands on his ass and lets out a loud grunt of pain. He doesn’t give me time to pick up my gun and comes at me again.
He swings at my face several times, not landing a blow. He swings past my face, and I grab his arm, yanking him close to me and smashing my head into his. He stumbles back, obviously caught off guard, and I don’t give him time to recover. I immediately start swinging at his face, my fist connecting with bone. He stumbles back, and I can feel the excitement coursing through my veins. It has been a while since I have fought hand-to-hand combat. And this guy is good.
He regains his posture and comes at me swinging again after he has taken his stance. I pull my hands up to block my face, and a searing pain flashes across my flesh.
“Fuck!” I cry out.
He has a fucking knife, and it connects with my skin, tearing through the fabric. He lunges at me, and I have to use all my strength as we both go crashing to the floor to dodge the knife. We roll backward, and I eventually kick him off me. Both of us are panting hard.
“Luca … fucking … Pasquino. I knew you’d show up at my door sooner or later. Tell me, how’s your wife? Pregnant with another man’s baby?” He laughs, as if it were funny. “I’m no expert on how you filthy crime bosses work, but isn’t that not good for you—”
He doesn’t have time to finish his sentence. I lunge at him, making sure my fist connects once again with his face. Before he can stand again, my leg shoots out, nailing him across the face. I can’t get distracted by his taunting.
“You’re right, I did fucking come for you, and I’m going to kill you.” I pant.
He laughs. Fucking laughs.
“How’s your dad these days? Last I checked, you had some traitors in your midst. How’d that go?” He chuckles again. The fucking bastard is trying to get under my skin.
He slowly moves backward toward the archway to leave, but before he can move, I throw another knife I have in my holster, pinning his hand down on the wall. I flip the switch and look at him. I immediately tense. Something in here isn’t right. He is smiling. As if he has won the lottery.
“You wanna know something about me? I’m a prideful man.” He is speaking in riddles.
I only pull out my second gun and aim it for him. Out of nowhere, he pulls some kind of rectangular object with a button on it. His smile drops from his face.
“I’ll be damned if I let someone like you be the one to finish me off.”
His words cause a switch to flip within me, and I realize why he is so calm about getting his ass kicked, and I keep running away toward a certain spot in the house. I immediately take off toward the door. I can hear his words as they follow me.
“Fuck you, Pasquino! Burn in hell!”
With that, the explosion goes off. The house around me is engulfed in a blazing inferno. I try my best to reach the door, a window, anything. The aftershock from the explosion blows my body forward. I feel as though a thousand needles were sticking to my skin. My body feels like it is broken in a thousand places. I open my mouth to cry out in pain, but nothing escapes my lips.
Then there is nothing. Only darkness.
Chapter 56
Luca
She is smiling at me with such love and compassion, as if I can do no wrong. She is speaking to me, but I can’t hear her. There is no sound. She reaches out to me, but when I reach for her, a white light flashes, and I am looking at her. The moment we’ve met. She is sitting in her chair in her practice room, her back to me. And when she turns around, I know my life will never be the same. The scenery changes, and I am watching her walk up the aisle. She looks beautiful. Her eyes are wide and uncertain before me. She touches my hand once she reaches the altar, and the scene changes again.
She is underneath me in the shower on our wedding night. Her face is flushed pink. Her eyes are tightly shut, and her mouth is open as moans of pleasure escape her lips. The water from the overhead shower is cascading down her body, causing her long hair to stick to her body.
The scene shifts, and her hair is short. I can see her face more clearly now. She can’t hide behind that thick curtain of hair. I am watching her from a distance. It is the day she has decided to check out the library in our home. A small smile brushes its way onto her lips.
Next, I am watching her from behind as she stares in the mirror at my name now scrawled on her side. Tears well up within her big brown eyes.
As I reach around her to pull her in my embrace, the scene shifts, and I am watching her in the front yard. She has her face turned toward the sun, a small smile of appreciation on her face. I see her chained to the chair, screaming at me and pulling at her bonds. Her face is red from exertion.
I see her standing in that beautiful dress when my father is murdered, the look of fear plastered on her face.
Next, I am looking at her onstage. I admire how beautiful she is in red, the confidence she sports when she plays her violin. How she sways with the music and tends to smile at the most beautiful part of her melodies.
Everything d
issipates, and I am watching her stare at me with hatred outside of my car. She mouths something inaudible and slams the door, running away from me. My world tilts, and I see her look of horror as she runs away from me out of the house and the look of hurt when I rescue her. The relief and happiness that radiate from her in my office when I tell her I won’t touch her brother.
I see the flush of her cheeks when she gets aroused and the way she licks her lips. The way she looks at me as if I were a puzzle she is trying to figure out. I can see the adoration she has for me once we find out that we are going to have a boy.
The love and care that pours out of her. I see the need for me seared deep within her. The love when she touches her belly. And suddenly, I am looking at her. She reaches out and touches my face with her soft fingers. I can’t help but close my eyes in comfort. I open them and stare into her lovely brown eyes. She opens her mouth as a smile crosses her face.
“I love you.”
People say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. My life does. My love, my wife, my life. Elise.
Chapter 57
Elise
People tell you the pain is excruciating when you give birth. But even then, they don’t describe it enough. They don’t warn you enough.
I feel as though my body is being torn in half, like I can split open at any minute. The past few days have been rough for me. Luca has fucking drugged me when he has left, so when I wake up, he is gone.
I am in full-blown panic mode until Matteo takes charge and calms me down. We sit by the phone each day, waiting for Luca’s call, but we never get it. And finally, two weeks later, while we are just sitting at the table, eating, my water breaks. Matteo is calm and collected and has a plan. Arranged by Luca, no doubt. We leave the bunker and head to the hospital, where my doctor is waiting.
I have been in labor for about nine hours now, and each contraction gets worse and worse. I squeeze my eyes shut in pain as another contraction rocks my body. I need someone here. I need Luca. But he is nowhere to be found. He should be here with me, ensuring that everything goes well. The nurse walks in, and I turn my gaze to her.
“We’re going to check your dilation since your contractions are so close together.” She smiles at me. It is a sweet smile.
Matteo is sitting in the corner of the room, and he looks as though he is going to be sick. But I have to give it to him; he is doing great being here for me.
The nurse places her hands between my legs, and her eyes widen. “Honey, this baby is ready to come out now,” she states.
I can’t respond, as another contraction quakes my entire body and I scream in pain. I tell them I don’t want anything to numb the pain. The last thing I want in my system is a drug. I have had enough.
The doctor and a few more nurses swarm in the room. They are all talking to me and telling me to calm down, but I can’t listen to them. The pain is too much. I feel a hand close on mine and look up to see my brother. My baby brother is standing over me, holding my hand. Even though he looks like he is going to be sick, he gives me a confident squeeze and a smile of reassurance. He stands back only next to me. I can’t focus on anything other than the pain.
The doctors are all speaking at once, and Matteo is also.
“You can do this, Elise. You’re strong.” His voice is calm and steady even though he looks like he is going to pass out at any second.
I don’t know how long a time has passed. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. But eventually, I hear it. The sweet cry of my baby boy. The doctor is smiling at me now, handing him to me.
Tears well up in my eyes and spill over as I cry. He is so tiny, so soft, and pink. His cry is so small. I take in his features. He is beautiful. I wish more than anything that Luca were here. I wish he were the one that is in here to witness this. To meet his son. But he isn’t. And we have no idea where he is or what is going on.
I hold Luciano on my chest and cry. I cry along with my son.
Six Months Later
People always use strength out of context. They say it’s what pure power is. They say it’s what force is. They say it’s when people do the hardest things they can. I think it’s more than that. Hell, even I can’t give an explanation for what it truly is.
I am sitting in the backyard of the cottage. There is a large blanket out, and Luciano is sitting up, smiling at me as he holds some of his blocks in his hands, swinging them around and tossing them on accident. I can’t help but smile back. He is so precious. And so loving.
He looks a little like Luca but has gotten my features, giving him a soft look. His hair is dark as night, and he has Luca’s eyes. Those gray irises that will forever haunt me in my sleep. Matteo and I are in the dark. Honestly, we have no idea what has happened. But Matteo tells me that before Luca has left, he has told him to assume the worst if he doesn’t contact us within the week. And he never does.
I will never forget the way I feel. With just having the baby and this revelation, I literally break down and cry. I cry so hard I feel as though my chest were breaking. I remember shouting at nothing in particular. He has told me he will always be here. To protect me and Luciano.
I’ve made Matteo enroll in school. Luca has told us no one knows of this location and that we are here. We’ve never gotten a call from Nicolai or Romelo as well, and I remember him saying they don’t know about it either. So with the life of the Mafia behind us, Matteo needs an education. The bills for the house are automatically drafted from Luca’s account, and Luca has left us four safes filled with cash and a packet of letters that he has told Matteo will let me claim everything.
I don’t want to, though. I don’t want to accept that he is gone. Even in the hospital, the doctors have offered to fix the scars that spell out Luca’s name, but I’ve refused. I don’t want him to be angry with me when he gets back. And when we realize he isn’t coming back, I still can’t do it. Call me sick, or twisted, but it is proof that Luca has been here at one point.
I am fine during the day, but at night, when I lie in that room all alone, I cry myself to sleep, only to wake back up from nightmares. They are starting to grow a little less frequent, but they are still there, and I hate it.
I look at my watch, at the time. Matteo should be home in about three hours. I lay my head back and bask in the sunlight. It is a beautiful day today. Luciano laughs, and I open my eyes to find him drooling on one of his toys.
I smile and stand to grab him from the blanket, carrying him onto the back patio and placing him in an enclosed fence so that he can’t go anywhere. I open the glass sliding door and step inside the kitchen to grab some water. That is when I hear Luciano laughing like crazy. I freeze when I hear a deep voice.
“I’m here now. I will protect you, mi figlio.”
I turn around, and the glass I’ve been holding slips out of my hands, shattering on the floor.
There is a man with his back to me holding Luciano. Luciano is smiling at him with all the adoration in the world. My heart hammers in my chest, and my palms grow sweaty. My mouth immediately dries. Tears blur my vision as the man turns around, and I am met with a familiar set of steel eyes.
Luca. He glares me down, taking in my body like a man will a glass of water in the desert. He walks inside the kitchen, placing Luciano in his crib, which I keep in here. He is here. He is alive. He is fucking alive. His hair is shorter, and there is a scar above his eyebrow leading to the top of his cheek. It is faint, but I can see it. But he is here. He is alive, and he is breathing.
He stalks closer to me and places his hands firmly around my face. I reach out and place my fingers on his, making sure he really is here.
I choke on the sob breaking through my lips. We don’t speak; we just stay like that, taking in each other’s forms. He dips his head and captures my lips between his. I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze my legs around his waist with everything I have in me. He is here. He is fucking here.
He carries me to the kitchen table, and I can feel
the cooling flat surface against my back. Luca’s hands run up and down my body, and moans of pleasure leave my lips. He rips my clothes off me, and I gasp from the suddenness, then his hands are back on me. He runs them up and down my body, squeezing my breast, and I gasp as a familiar heat pools between my legs. He pauses his ministrations, and I open my eyes to see him staring at his name across my side. He lightly traces it with his fingers and meets my gaze. He softly places kisses down each letter, and sparks of excitement travel down my body. I don’t have time to register anything else.
His lips are back on mine, and his fingers are between my legs. He gives a groan of approval to find me wet and inviting. I don’t even remember when, but his clothes are off, and I can feel his hard cock prodding at my soft entrance. I moan as he runs his thick head over my folds and finally pushes in me maddeningly slowly. I moan out loud as he stretches me with his heated hardness.
I gaze up at him, taking in his features. Features that I’ve thought I will never see again. His eyes are filled with lust and adoration as he takes in mine as well. Once he is fully sheathed, he leans down, pressing soft kisses on my forehead, my cheeks, my eyes, my nose, and finally, my lips. He begins to move slowly inside of me. Then he thrusts hard, causing pleasurable sensations to spiral up my body. I cry out in pleasure, and Luca’s lips are on mine as he swallows my moans.
His hands slide slowly up my body until he stretches my arms over my head and clasps my hand in his. His other hand snakes down my thigh, and he brings it up so that it is latched around his waist, and he penetrates me even deeper. I feel a cool breeze on my cheeks and realize that I am crying. I feel Luca’s thumb wiping my tears.
