by S. M. Dapelo
I gathered steam as I headed down the driveway, the cabin already out of my view. Suddenly I heard a sound to one side. I stopped and listened as the rain pattered around me. There was rustling in the woods. I made a decision and heading off the road, into the woods on the opposite side. Hopefully, it was a raccoon and not a bear. I went slower in the woods, the darkness almost complete. I felt my way through, hoping to stay close enough to the driveway, so I could find the road. I tripped over a log, landing flat on my face in the mud.
I heard rustling again and laid still, trying to figure where it was coming from. The rain started coming down harder. I belly crawled under a tree to breathe. This was a stupid plan. I didn’t even grab a flashlight. It was cold, raining, and there was a mutant raccoon the size of a bear out here.
I took a breath and shored up my resolve. One more breath and I ran out from under the tree, rushing in the direction I was sure the flattened area of the road was in. My foot hit a rock, causing me to stumble, then roll over and over down a steep incline. I felt every rock and branch as I tumbled over them. When I finally stopped, I laid there a moment taking inventory of my bones. My ankle throbbed and something on my left bicep felt hot. I pushed myself up to my feet, realized I was in a gully as I heard an odd roaring.
Suddenly something grabbed the back of my jacket, yanking me up the ravine, throwing me on my back as I reached the top. A figure stood above me, “Alessandra, sei in tanti guai,” growled Luca’s voice. Then he went off on a tangent in Italian, at a speed I could not keep up with. Finally, he paused, tuned on a flashlight, and pointed it down the gully. “Look at what almost happened to you,” he gritted out. Even in the dark I could see him shaking and his hands clenched. I slowly stood and looked at where he had the light pointed. What was once a wet gully I had landed in, was now full of fast-moving water. “Flash floods happen around here all the time,” he said. Then he put a finger in my face, “I gave you a chance, and this is what you do?” He stared to pull me back the way we came, but I screamed as pain lanced up my leg and dropped to the ground.
“I hurt my ankle,” I said, trying not to cry. “When I fell, I hurt my ankle and my arm.” Luca said something in Italian, I think. Then reached down and threw me over his shoulder. He yelled something into the woods, then walked us back to the driveway. When we reached the cabin, he kicked open the door and tossed me onto the sofa.
A gigantic man, easily the largest I’d ever seen, sat in the chair. “Good. You got to her. Did the men keep eyes on her okay?” He had a heavy Russian accent. He stood, his light blue eyes casually glancing at me, then looking at Luca. “I took the Lasagna out about ten minutes ago.”
“Next time have your men grab her before she falls down a gully,” Luc ran a hand through his hair.
“You are soft on her,” the large man shook his head, then stooped down to look at me. “There are grizzlies out there and extremely aggressive mountain lions. Stay in here until Luca takes you home. Or next time I see you try to run up the road, I will show you what a real kidnapping comprises.” He got up and went to the door, “Oh, and a little rain does not scare us. We work in every condition.” He walked out and Luc closed the door behind him.
“Go to the bedroom,” Luc said in a quiet voice. It was the softness that scared me.
“Luc, I had to try. I just couldn’t…”
He turned and glared at me, “You couldn’t fight back against someone you didn’t know in an alley, but you’d run into a pitch-black night in an unknown area from someone who only showed you kindness?” He walked over and threw me over his shoulder again, stalking down the hall and throwing me on the bed. “Clothes off, in the tub. Now.” He yanked his shirt off and headed to the bathroom, “Your lasagna better be the best I’ve ever had.”
5
I had gotten the jacket and my shoes off when Luc walked back in, only a towel around his waist. I stared down at my lap. He kneeled gracefully and checked my ankle. “It’s sprained,” he said. “You’ll be off your feet for a couple of days.” He reached for my arm, the shirt still in the way. He gently took the shirt off me, then inspected my arm.
“You’ve got one hell of a gash, Alessandra. I don’t know if it needs stitches. I’m going to call Victor back in here,” he grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around me, then texted something.
He walked out of the room and came back with the same large man who took my arm with a gentleness that belied his size, then shook his head. “No. It’s not deep enough for stitches. If you wrap it well after cleaning her, it will be okay. As long as she is up to date on her tetanus shots.” He raised a brow to me, then said something to Luca in a language that sounded nothing like Italian. Luca responded, then the man got up and left.
Luca got on the phone, rattling Italian at a quick clip, then nodded, said something, and hung up the phone. “Your records say we don’t have to take you anywhere for a shot.” His hand tightened into a fist, at which I could only stare. “What were you thinking? You don’t know the area. You ran out in a rainstorm. You’re from an area that has flash floods all the time. You should have known better. What’s it gonna take for you to trust me?”
I glanced at his face, expecting anger and only saw sadness. I bit my lip and blinked back tears, “I won’t do it again,” I shook my head. “I just had to see if I could get away. It’s what Dom and Dad taught me to do.”
He removed the blanket and picked me up, carrying me into the bathroom. The tub had just finished filling, and he turned it off. I realized I was shaking, “Victor’s worried about hypothermia and infection since you’re covered in mud.” He stood me carefully on the floor, “I’m soaked and freezing, and I warned you.” He rolled my jeans down, then reached around my back, unlatching my bra. I stared at him, startled. He raised a brow, “You took off while I was showering. Neither of us is bathing alone for the near future.” He finished undressing me and lifted me into the tub. In less than two seconds he was in behind me.
“Luc, I…” I started.
“No, Alessandra, no more. You proved to me you don’t trust me yet, and that I can’t trust you. I’m frozen to the bone, and so are you. We’re cleaning you off, warming both of us up, dining, then going to bed. I’ve had enough drama tonight,” he stated with a sigh.
I nodded, not turning to look at him. I realized I felt a tear trickle down my cheek and swiped at it, relieved that my back was to him. He took my arm and started cleaning me off more gently than I would have expected. After a half-hour I was clean and not shaking, and he was emptying the tub with the towel back around his waist and one wrapped around me. He carried me into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of pajamas, pulling the bottoms on himself as I averted my eyes and throwing the top around me, kneeling in front of me as he buttoned it.
“I’m sorry,” I said, subdued. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
He stood and rested his forehead against mine, “My job is to keep you safe. It’s hard enough as it is without you making it even more difficult. I understand the control issue, I do. Right now, you feel you don’t have any, and it’s only going to get harder for a bit. I need you to realize, everything I’m doing is for your safety. Even the private army camped in the woods, it’s all so you’re safe.”
I nodded my head, compressing my lips so I could keep control. He got up, picked me up, and took me into the kitchen, sitting me at the table. He quickly portioned out two serving of dinner and handed me a bottle of water. After a few minutes of silence, he glanced at me. “This is good,” he stated. “At least you weren’t lying about your cooking abilities.”
“Sono Italiana,” I shrugged.
“True,” he took a sip from his large wine glass. After we finished, he grabbed the plates, loaded them in a dishwasher, and made a large cup of tea, handing it to me. I scrutinized it, then squinted at him. “You’re going to be sore. It’s chamomile, to help you sleep,” he said.
I nodded and drank it. “Thank you,” I glanced at him. He only nodd
ed and finished his wine.
When he grabbed me to direct us to the bedroom, a sound came from beyond the back door. He set me down and glanced out the window. Shut his eyes and sighed. “You need to see this. It’s another reason I was so worried about you tonight.” I limped over to him. “We have a hot tub in the back. I would have dropped you in there to warm you up, but I was worried the heat would be too intense. It’s under an overhang, so we wouldn’t have been rained on.” He nudged the curtain and turned the porch light on.
I caught my breath as a monstrous sized cat that was lying on the lid turned to stare at us, then turned its back on us like it had no concern. “What is that?” I breathed out.
“A mountain lion,” Luc said as he turned the light off. “It must have decided its warmer and dryer there.” He pulled me up into his arms again and took me to the bedroom, laying me under the blankets. Luc joined me, staring at the ceiling, “Get some sleep, Alessandra. We’ll talk to your father in the morning.”
I turned to my side, “Luc, I didn’t say it earlier, but thank you for getting me out of that ravine.”
“Of course,” he said as I closed my eyes. “I’ll always come for you, button.”
◆◆◆
I woke to a voice growling. I sat up and glanced around, Luc was pacing back-and-forth hissing into the phone, his face red and a vein throbbing on his neck. He was rattling off in Italian so fast that I couldn’t keep up with. He glanced over at me, said something into the phone, and hung up. “Is everything okay?” I asked.
“It will be,” he said. “There’s just a complication I wasn’t expecting.” His eyes inspected me, “Let me see your arm and ankle.” He glided over to the bed and moved the sheets, gently taking my hurt foot. “Still a bit swollen, but at least it isn’t bruising as much as I was worried about.
He pulled out some clothes and handed it to me, “Dress in that and I’ll look at your arm.”
“Okay,” I nodded as he walked out of the room. I changed into yoga pants and a sleeveless top and hobbled out to the kitchen.
Luc was doing something on the stove. “You should have had me get you,” he remarked, not even glancing up.
“I was taught to walk these things off,” I shrugged.
“Your dad taught you that?” he frowned.
I shrugged, “My mom. My dad would have me bed-bound for a month.” I glanced to the back door, “Did the lion leave?”
“Mountain lion, and yes,” he said. “I wouldn’t count on him being far. Heck, you won’t notice him unless he wants you to.”
“Is it safe to hike? What about the guys in the woods?”
“You’re hurt, we’re not hiking today. Unless it’s starving, it won’t go after anything larger than it,” he said. He turned and slid an omelet on my plate, “Eat.” He turned and grabbed two coffee cups, placing one in front of me and sat.
“I rarely have breakfast,” I started.
“You do today,” he growled. “I let you get hurt last night. I’m taking care of you today.” He got up and prodded at my arm, “I don’t see any infection setting in. I’ll clean it after you finish and rub an ointment over it. That’ll help.” He sat back down and took a sip of coffee. I bit my lip and forced the eggs down. After he re-wrapped my arm, we went into his office, he plopped me firmly in a chair and handed me a book, “Read.”
I glanced at the book, “Do you have anything else? I wasn’t a fan of the show and never got through the first book.” He narrowed his eyes for a second, then gave a smile, grabbed a different book, and switched them. My eyes went huge when I saw what he handed me. “What the what?”
“I have the three books in that series, actually they’re Marc’s. He likes to read them with whichever girl he brings here. Or I have the five books in the other series. I already burned the sparkling vampire series Marc put here as a joke. The rest are all non-fiction on investment theory, psychology, or medieval warfare. Your choice,” he smiled.
“I’d rather read Marc’s,” I glared, “Again.” That caused him to blink. Guess he didn’t expect me to read a kinky erotica series that everyone went crazy about a few years ago. Surprise. I’d even seen the movies.
I settled into the chair as he started working on the computer. Shortly something rang, and he tapped a few buttons. “Give me a minute,” he said. Then came over and put his hand out to me. “Your father and Marc are on-line now.” I could handle this two different ways. I chose the second.
“Oh, too bad,” I pouted as I got up. “They were just about to have their first time.”
I limped past Luc when he pulled me against him. “If that’s how you want our first time, button, just let me know,” he murmured.
I yanked away from him and stumbled to the desk. Luc followed and sat before I could, then pulled me into his lap. “How’s things going, bro?” a man on the computer smirked. He had light brown eyes and dark wavy hair.
“Frustratingly slow,” growled Luc.
The man chuckled, “It’s been two days. These things take time.”
“At least I had homemade lasagna for dinner last night? What did you eat?” Luc asked.
“Candy, but I’m an adult,” the man smiled.
Luc rolled his eyes, “Alessandra, this is my brother Marco. Marco, Alessandra. And no, she won’t sell the painting.”
“Aww,” the man pouted. “Candy’s from Michigan. She’d have loved it.” I sat still, and I felt my eyes go wide as I realized what he said. He got serious, “How are you feeling after your adventure last night?”
“Luc told you,” I bit my lip.
“Both me and your father. You could have been hurt,” he stared. “You need to trust Luca. You’ll be back shortly, then the police are going to ask questions. I guarantee it. We’re hoping he’ll have a better lead by that point.”
“They’ve decided I did it,” I stated in a flat voice.
He shrugged, “They’re idiots. Everyone here knows Dom sent you away, but they don’t have any leads.” He glimpsed to the side, “Your father wants a word.” He got up and my father took his place.
Dad’s hair had gone from salt and pepper to pure white. The lines in his face more profound than before, with circles under his eyes. He’d never been tall, barely over five eight, but he always appeared solid. He still did. “Alessandra, what were you thinking?” his tone accusatory, “You could have been killed?”
“I thought…” I started.
“You didn’t think,” he said. “Luca is there to protect you, to keep you safe and he will be for some time.” He sat back in his chair, “I have asked little of you during your life. I let you major in what you wanted and let you date non-Italian boys. That ends. I’m asking you to trust Luca now. He is on our side.”
“Yes, Papa,” I said in a small voice.
“In all fairness, sir, she didn’t know. She did what she thought you expected of her,” Luc broke in.
“True,” my father nodded. “But if I thought she’d have raced off into the wilderness, I would have finished our negotiations earlier.”
“I won’t run off again, I promise,” I said hanging my head. My father always made me feel twelve. I felt Luc grip my hand and rub his thumb over my knuckles.
“I believe you,” my father nodded his head. “Luca, your brother will discuss the specifics with you. It’s going to be good having you around.” He got up as I turned to stare at Luc.
“Month and a half,” I heard Marc say.
“Month and a half what?” I asked, looking up.
“I’m retraining your dad’s guys, adding some newer blood into the mix.” Luc glared at the screen, “Of course, we can still get a no on that.”
“No,” Marc glared back, “we can’t. Everyone needs to be all in, or it’ll blow up in our faces.” He stared into the screen, “Do. Your. Job. Luca.” I suddenly realized why he was in charge. He had my dad’s business face down pat.
Luc nodded and pointed at the screen with the hand not holding mine. �
�My way.”
Marc gave a single nod, “Not to go off topic, but we’re dealing with the cops today. They’re interviewing us, and I’m going to be pulling info from them without them knowing.”
“Do your thing.” Luc smiled back, “Tape it if you can.”
“They’re coming here. I’ll have video for you,” his brother smiled back. Then he winced, “The FBI might get involved.”
“Who?” Luc’s voice went frigid.
“They’re assuming you’re here, so who do you assume?” shrugged Marc. “I’ve got it covered. We have an outside consultant coming in to scare them off. Tell Tanner, his sister’s hot.”
Luc growled, and I stared at him. His nostrils flared, “She’s your cousin and not a lawyer.”
“She’s the best at finding out everyone’s weakness and exploiting it. We agreed we wouldn’t use them to find the killer, but to keep the FBI away from Alley, this FBI agent, I’ll use who I have to.”
Luc stared at the wall for a moment, then nodded, “Do it. I don’t want that person anywhere near her.”
“So glad I have your blessing,” Marc rolled his eyes. “Just one question. Are you all in?”
I glanced at Luc, no idea about what they were talking. He was staring at me, then he nodded and turned to the computer. “Yeah. Tell everyone I’m all in. We’ll go back in nine days, pick up anything we need, and attend the mass the next day.”
“Enjoy the wilderness,” smiled Marc. Then he frowned, “Did I warn you about the raccoon last time I was there? The thing was huge and tried to pounce on my head.”
6
The next seven days consisted of me painting and cooking, daily hikes, and catching Luc staring at me. I knew I’d pissed him off by pulling my stunt, so I tried to stay out of his way, which was impossible when he insisted I had to be in the room with him when he showered. I tried to keep myself pointed in another direction, but what can I say? The man was gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but notice. Every night ended with him kissing me on the cheek and every morning started with him curled around me like I was his personal teddy bear. My feelings were all over the place.
