Chapter 21
ALEX
The darkness found me again. It always did. Hello, old friend , it whispered in my ear. Welcome back .
Like most nights, I tossed and turned, forced to endure my own personal hell. Images flashed before my eyes. Colors swirled together, the room spinning around me. Hands slid down my arms, touching me in places Luca had claimed for himself.
I rolled onto my side, and the hands slipped away. The room spun on its axis. A gray mist swirled around my head, the room replaced by a new nightmare—a new version of hell.
My body ached from my feet pounding the cement. Every muscle cried out for me to stop, begging me to slow down. But I couldn’t. They were too close, right on my tail.
I ran through the crowded streets of Beacon Bay with a group of men chasing me. They called out my name, taunting me with each step.
Don’t stop.
Keep going, Alex.
They took Aiden from you.
Don’t let them take you, too.
“You can run, Alex,” a man taunted. “But you can’t hide. We will always find you.”
Not unless the darkness finds me first .
The soles of my shoes burned as I bolted down a back alleyway, headed toward The River Styx.
But when I reached the rundown bar, my feet stuck to the ground.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take another step.
Stretching out my fingers, I reached for the door.
The handle was right there, just a few more inches.
So why couldn’t I touch it?
I heard loud breathing behind me, and a shiver rolled down my back.
The hair on my arms and neck stood at attention.
As I turned my head to the side, fear rocked me when my eyes landed on four tall men with broad shoulders.
My mouth dropped in horror at the paint on their faces, one half covered in snakeskin.
The tallest of the group had golden scales branding his tanned skin.
He looked like a copperhead snake, poisonous and deadly.
All of them had tattoos on their necks and hands. They wore black hoodies and fitted jeans, the right side of their faces obscured by the paint. A man with white-blond hair raised his tattooed hand to his jaw. He painted his pale skin yellow with white chevrons like a king cobra.
The man on his left had the greenish-yellow hue of a pit viper. They were all terrifying, but the last man was pure evil. His scales were dark brown, and I gasped at his black tongue when he opened his mouth.
A black mamba.
What the fuck?
He stood in front of the others, the apparent leader of The Serpents.
“Give him back to me,” I shouted.
The black mamba opened his mouth. But before he could reply, my vision blurred, and someone shook my shoulder so hard it snapped me back to reality.
“Alex, wake up.”
My eyes shot open at the sound of Marcello’s deep voice. He held onto my shoulder, sitting at the edge of my bed. Concern scrolled across his face. I attempted to speak, but my mouth was so dry my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
Maybe he wasn’t real.
Maybe it was all a dream.
“Look at me.” Marcello slid his hand beneath my chin and squeezed, forcing my eyes open. “How long has this been going on?”
“What?” I choked out.
“Night terrors. You’ve had them since your first night here. They’re getting worse.”
I took a deep breath and shoved his hand away from my face. “Don’t act as if you care about me, Marcello. You’re the one who locked me in this room. I only have you and Luca to blame.”
He glared at me.
“Aiden trusted you,” I said with venom in my tone. “He got his information about The Serpents from you. I told him you were all fucking snakes, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
Marcello’s jaw ticked. “Enough.”
For years, I had woken up from the same horrific dreams. The dark closet. My mother and her slow, agonizing torture.
Aiden had slept beside me most nights when we were kids and would rock me back to sleep and hold my hand to stop the shakes.
Then, when we left for college, the dreams stopped.
The distance from my parents kept them at bay.
But after Aiden disappeared, the pain came flooding back.
His loss had unlocked a part of my mind that held all my worst memories.
All of my fears.
Then the nightmares about The Serpents started. I met two of them once. If anyone could find Aiden, it was The Serpents. So, every night, my subconscious searched for their hiding place—The River Styx.
Marcello grabbed a tray from the table by the window. He set the coffee and a plate of toast in front of me. The Salvatores knew everything about me. Now, they were even aware of my nightmares. I’d never mentioned them to Luca. Not like it was his business.
I sat up and hooked my finger through the cup’s handle, lifting it from the saucer. “Is this a peace offering?”
Marcello ignored my question, hands on his narrow hips as he watched me eat. I slurped the liquid, my stomach rumbling, and bit into the toast. A flavor explosion spread across my tongue as I chewed and swallowed the bread in one gulp.
Eyes on me, Marcello lounged in the armchair by the window, a black wingtip on his knee. We sat in silence, which suited me fine. He spoke little, and I had nothing to say to his grumpy ass after locking me in my bedroom.
After I finished eating, he got up from the chair and moved the tray to the writing desk. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“Yes.”
Marcello lifted me in his arms.
“I can walk,” I protested. “You don’t have to carry me.”
We entered the ensuite bathroom, and he placed my feet on the cold tiled floor.
“I’m not peeing with you in here,” I mumbled, sleep clouding my rough and scratchy voice. “Get out.”
The room swayed in front of me. A flash of colors and lights blurred my vision as a sharp pain pierced my skull.
I pressed my fingers to my temple. “I don’t feel good.”
My head pounded like a jackhammer drilling into cement.
Not a migraine , I thought as Marcello turned his back to give me some privacy.
Sometimes, the headaches were so bad that I threw up for hours.
Other times I had fucked up flashbacks and nightmares that made it impossible to tell the difference between fact and fiction.
I slid my panties down and sat on the toilet, humiliated with Marcello standing a few feet away. But with the room slipping out from under me, I didn’t care as much. I wiped, pulled up my panties, and flushed the toilet. A wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks.
Clutching the edge of the sink, I stared into the mirror, seeing two of myself. The one on the left gave me a devilish grin. The one on the right blew me a kiss.
What the fuck?
My mind played tricks on me. I should have been able to trust myself above anyone else. But when my dissociative episodes spiraled out of control, I was helpless, like I was right now.
And then I thought of the coffee and toast Marcello had given me.
“What did you…”
As I lost my balance, Marcello scooped me into his arms and whispered, “I got you, princess.”
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I flattened onto my back and glanced up at Marcello. Dressed in another dark suit, his ink-black hair was messy but styled, and he was armed with his usual emotionless expression. A few times, I saw him crack a smile, though those moments were rare.
He loomed over me like a tree. “Luca’s home.”
Despite nausea sweeping over me, I didn’t miss the excitement stirring in my belly. Luca had the strangest effect on me. Love and hate were the same emotions when they concerned my devil in disguise.
“But I thought… You said Luca wouldn’t be home until the party.”
Marcello shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned. “The masquerade ball is tonight.”
I peeled the sheets from my sticky legs and sat up, fanning myself. When I had privacy, I preferred to sleep in as little clothing as possible. Most nights and mornings, I woke up drenched in sweat.
“No, that’s not right. It’s only Thursday.”
He shook his head. “It’s Saturday.”
A gnawing pain throbbed at the base of my skull. How the hell did I lose two days?
I glanced up at Marcello, afraid of the answer, but asked anyway. “Did I have an episode?”
He nodded.
“How bad was it?”
“For starters, you trashed your bedroom.”
Of course, there was no evidence of my meltdown. The collectibles were replaced by new ones as if I had never lost my grip on reality. My bedroom looked the same, not an item out of place.
“You tried to jump from the balcony,” Marcello told me.
I gasped. “What? No way. I would never do that.”
“It’s true,” he insisted. “I found you before you jumped.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth like hot tar. “What happened? The last I remember, you were in the bathroom with me. Then, the room started spinning.”
“I drugged you,” he admitted with a devious grin.
Needing some privacy, I entered the walk-in closet, pretending to pick out an outfit when I just wanted space.
I flipped through the hangers, and my eyes instantly found the green Tinker Bell dress paired with golden wings.
The fabric barely covered my ass and showed a significant amount of cleavage.
Luca loved showing me off to his friends.
Marcello’s fingers dug into my shoulders, his touch rough and possessive, like he wanted to claim me for himself. I fell into his chest, and he slid his hand up my throat, tapping his fingers against my skin.
If I couldn’t wiggle my way into Luca’s freezer of a heart, then maybe I could tempt Marcello into dishing out the Salvatore secrets. No matter the cost, I had to work all available angles.
“Get ready, princess,” Marcello said against the shell of my ear. “Luca wants to see you in his office before the party.”
The tulle strips of my fairy costume brushed the backs of my thighs, itching my skin as I walked down the hallway in a pair of ballet flats. I stopped at the end of the hall in front of a tall wooden door with an ornate gold handle and knocked.
A few seconds later, my future husband appeared with a wicked grin, staring at me with those haunting blue eyes.
Luca wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me into the room. “You look beautiful, as always.”
His hand moved from my throat to my chest, dipping between my cleavage that spilled from the low-cut dress. He studied the paint I used to color my skin. A gold glitter shimmered under the lights.
My skin burned where he touched, my body confusing my fear for desire.
“Take off your mask.”
As his fingers brushed the tops of my breasts, I did as he asked, stripping away the fairy mask.
He took it from my hand and backed me into the desk.
Luca grabbed my ass over the thin fabric and lifted me, making room for himself between my legs.
I pressed my palms to the wood and sucked in a deep breath as he resumed carefully appraising my body.
His hand dipped between my breasts, over my stomach, and then he hiked up my dress. He clutched my thighs, digging his long fingers into my skin. My body was nothing more than a weapon.
Luca would never get my heart.
I was still in control.
His fingers grazed my lace panties. Liquid heat pooled between my legs, and a soft moan slipped from my lips.
I hated myself for showing his effect on me.
But a man like Luca Salvatore needed to feel in control and dominant.
Even if I could never wiggle my way into his black heart, I could make him want to keep me in his bed.
Aiden’s life depended on it.
He smelled like the sea and sandalwood mixed with a hint of cigars and scotch. My heart beat like a bomb about to detonate. With Luca touching me as if he owned me, rough and possessive, I couldn’t stop the wave of pleasure flooding my chest.
I wanted to hate his touch.
Why did he feel so good?
A moment passed before his grip on my throat eased up, and my stupid body missed the loss of his warmth.
What the hell?
Luca moved toward the bar on the right side of his office. He poured a glass of amber liquid and raised a glass to his lips. “What are you drinking?”
“Wine, I guess.”
“Red or white?”
I shrugged. “Whatever.”
“For a woman to please a man, she must know what she wants,” he snapped. “Don’t act stupid, Drea. You know what you want.”
Every bone in my body was on fire from the swirl of emotions ripping through me. I hated Luca, but my body didn’t get the memo. Blowing out a deep breath, I calmed my nerves and gave him an answer.
“I never had a problem pleasing you.”
He glowered at me.
“We’re finally getting married. A proper toast is in order, don’t you think?”
He leaned back against the bar, cradling the glass in his hand. His expression darkened like a storm cloud blocking out the sun.
“I haven’t decided,” he said, his face devoid of emotion. “You haven’t earned your keep yet.”
“And how do I do that?”
He raised his hand and beckoned me with his index finger. “Come put that mouth to good use.”
“Nah, I’m good over here.”
Luca topped off his glass and dropped into an oversized leather chair by the window. He rested his glass on the arm, holding my gaze, and silence washed over us. Minutes passed as if they were hours.
His cell phone dinged with a message, and he removed it from his suit pocket. A rare smile pulled at his mouth. I wondered who could produce a grin from the prince of darkness.
He flung out his hand, his attention on the screen. “You can go now. Close the door behind you.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them down and lifted my mask from the table. I would never let him know he’d gotten under my skin.
Grabbing the doorknob, I shot a nasty look at Luca. “Thanks for the drink, asshole.”