Chapter 31
Romeo
Once we come to a stop, and I have her exactly where I want her, I manoeuvre Lucia in front of me, slide my arms protectively around her middle and rub her protruding belly.
“Can I open my eyes now?” she asks as I rest my chin on the top of her head and smile.
This plan has been a long time in the making, and I still can’t believe this is my life now. I want to give my family the best of everything. It’s important to me that my kids have the kind of things I never had when I was growing up. Love, security, and a real home.
I was always happy enough living in the suburbs, because moving around so much as a kid made me yearn for a sense of belonging and some stability.
The house we currently live in isn’t anything special, but it’s mine. A permanent roof over my head. I gutted it and redid the entire interior, making it my own.
That was more than enough when it was just me, but I want more now. I want more for her. I want my wife to have the kind of home she’s used to.
I saw the place she grew up in when she lived in Italy before it burned down. She’s used to the finer things life has to offer, and I don’t want her to settle for less than she deserves.
I move my chin from the top of her head to rest on her shoulder. Turning my face slightly, I place my lips on her cheek before whispering, “Open your eyes, baby.”
I purchased this large parcel of land over a year ago, and it’s close to where Dante and Arabella live.
It’s secluded, private, and somewhere where our kids can run free and enjoy their childhood.
I can build them a treehouse when they are old enough, and we can get farm animals like chickens, horses, cows, and sheep.
Killer will love having all this space to run around in.
The modest eight-bedroom house I built for my wife has a wrap-around veranda and is perched on top of the hillside. The estate has a panoramic view of rolling meadows, dense woodlands, and a distant, glimmering lake.
The house itself is a blend of modern luxury and timeless charm, featuring a wood and stone facade that meets the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, allowing natural light to flood the interiors and frame the breathtaking scenery outside.
Fuck, I hope she likes it.
The first sound I catch is her gasp. “Romeo,” she breathes, spinning in my arms. “Whose house is this?”
I grin down at her. “It’s ours, babe. I built it for you.”
Before my beautiful wife can even respond, someone nudges my arm. “Wake up, fucker.”
My eyes snap open to find Dante standing over my bed again. This is the second time today I’ve caught him watching me sleep, and honestly … it’s starting to creep me the fuck out.
“Do you always smile like that when you sleep?” he asks. “Because if you do, that’s fucking weird.”
“What’s weird is you watching me sleep like a creepy stalker,” I deadpan.
He chuckles as he shoves his hand deep into the pockets of his trousers. “I have a good reason to be here, arsehole. I’m looking for Lucia.”
My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “She left with you earlier … didn’t she?”
“Yeah, but I dropped her off at the safe house so she could pack up her things. She was supposed to call me when she was ready to be picked up. I haven’t heard from her since.”
A jolt of pain flares in my side as I sit up too quickly, making me wince.
“Wait … what do you mean you haven’t heard from her? Did you check to see if she was still at the house?”
“No,” he snaps, irritation flickering across his face. “I thought I’d check everywhere else first, you dumb fuck. Of course, I did. That’s the first place I went.”
Fuck me.
The fragile peace I’d been holding on to—thinking the whole Salvatori mess was behind us and Lucia was finally safe—shatters in an instant. A surge of pure, ice-cold terror claws its way up my spine.
I reach for the tape holding the catheter in place, and my fingers shake slightly as I tear it off. The sting barely registers as I pluck the needle from my skin.
One by one, I begin to rip the wires from my body. My heart is pounding, and my breath catches in my throat when I ask, “Do you think someone took her?”
“I don’t know,” he answers, running his fingers through his hair. “I’ve got Alexander and some of our men out searching now. She must’ve turned off her phone because her location is showing the safe house. She and the dog are gone, as well as all of her and your belongings.”
I throw back the covers and move to the side of the bed, ignoring the wooziness in my head and the throbbing ache in my side. It feels as if I don’t move fast enough, something terrible will happen. Like I’m already too late.
I’m unsteady on my feet when I stand. “Easy there,” Dante says, reaching out to grasp my elbow.
“I’m fine,” I snap, tugging my arm out of his grip.
I place my hand on my side as I start walking towards the door. I need to get the fuck out of here.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my wife,” I growl.
“Dressed like that? Your bare arse is hanging out.”
Dante is laughing as we cross the car park, side by side, heading for his vehicle. “Everyone is looking at your arse,” he says smugly.
“Do I look like I care?”
He glances over his shoulder. “At least the nurses have stopped chasing us.”
“They can’t keep me here. I don’t care what they say.”
“That fucking trunk between your legs is shlonging all over the place.”
“Stop looking at my cock, you weirdo.”
“No wonder Josie from the club now walks with a limp.”
“She has hip dysplasia, arsehole. It has nothing to do with my cock.”
“Are you still tapping that?”
“I’m married, remember, so that would be no.”
“Good answer,” he says, pressing the fob on his keys and moving towards the passenger side to open the door for me.
“I’m not an invalid,” I grumble, shoving his hand out of the way, making him laugh again.
“Just being a gentleman.”
“Well, don’t.”
As soon as we are seated in the car, his phone pings with a message. I reach for the seat belt, clicking it into place as Dante slides it out of his pocket and reads the screen before turning it in my direction.
Alexander: The dog is at Romeo’s house, but I don’t know if Lucia is inside. The front gate is locked. I called out her name, but there was no reply. Do you know the code?
“Well?” Dante asks, frowning over at me.
“Well, what?”
“What’s the code for the front gate?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Are you serious right now? You obviously told Lucia what it is, so why won’t you tell me?”
“I never told Lucia the code.”
“Hmm,” he hums sceptically. “There’s no way she made it over that fence. It’s high, and she’s short. And how did the dog get over there? That fucker’s all muscle. He’s gotta weigh at least forty kilos.”
“Don’t call my dog a fucker.”
“My bad.”
“You know he eats people for a living, right?”
He barks out a laugh as he starts the car and reverses out of the space. “I’ll admit he’s intimidating, but he’s never eaten anyone.”
“He would if given half the chance.”
Alexander and Sammy are standing on the nature strip outside my place when we arrive. Killer is on the other side of the fence, going apeshit and barking at them. Dante’s brother doesn’t look disturbed at all, but Sammy seems quietly terrified.
“Is your dog vicious?” Sammy asks as I get out of the car and head for the gate.
“Why don’t you come in and ask him yourself?”
He hesitates. “Yeah … I think I’ll stay out here.”
“Smart choice,” I say, punching in the code harder than necessary.
Killer runs straight over to me the moment I enter the yard, so I reach down and scratch him behind the ears. “Hey, boy.”
After I greet my dog and command him to stay, I head for the front door, and my anger spikes when I find it unlocked.
Dante is hot on my heels when I enter the house. “Wow,” he says when we move through the foyer and enter the main room.
“What?”
“It looks good in here. Totally different. I remember when you bought this place … it was a shithole.”
“It wasn’t a shithole,” I grumble. “It was dated, is all.” I’ve lived in far worse places than this in my life.
“You’ve done a lot since the last time I was here.”
“That was five years ago,” I remind him.
Not that I blame him. I rarely invite people over. I like my space.
“Check the kitchen,” I say, nodding in that direction. “I’ll take the bedrooms.”
The second I enter my bedroom, I know she’s here. Not only are there neat little piles of clothes stacked on my bed, but my room smells like fucking coconuts.
I don’t even bother knocking as I stalk across the room and reach for the handle on the door of the en suite.
I’m not sure what I’m expecting to find when I enter, but it sure as hell wasn’t Lucia lying in my bathtub, buried under a goddamn mountain of bubbles.
“Are you right there?” I snap.
Her eyes fly open, startled, as she grabs the sides of the tub, pushing herself upright.
She stands, and my breath catches in my throat as I take her in. Water clings to her skin, illuminating it under the lights, as the bubbles slide down in slow, patchy trails.
“Romeo,” she breathes as she makes no attempt whatsoever to cover herself.
I stand there for a moment, caught in some kind of trance. I know I shouldn’t be staring, but I can’t look away. I’ve seen her scantily dressed more times than I can count, but never like this. Never completely naked.
When my cock starts to swell underneath this ridiculous hospital gown, I quickly turn around, giving her my back.
“Fuck,” I murmur under my breath, scrubbing my hand down my face.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”
“Well, I could ask you the same question. When I found out you were missing, I couldn’t exactly lie there, could I? I had no idea where you were or who you were with.”
“Were you worried I was cheating on you, because I wasn’t. I’d never do that to you, Romeo. I’ve been here the whole time.”
“I thought you’d been fucking kidnapped again, Lucia,” I growl.
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh. Why are you here? And what are you doing in my bathtub?”
“I can’t exactly shower with stitches in my forehead,” she deadpans, and I swear this woman is going to give me hypertension.
“I mean, in my house.”
“I live here now.”
“The fuck you do. You can’t just move into somebody else’s house without their permission.”
“I don’t need permission. We’re married now, so technically what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine.”
A shooting pain radiates through my skull, and for a second, I think I’m having a stroke.
“I’d invite you to join me in here, but since you have stitches in your side, I don’t think that’s a wise idea. I’ll happily give you a sponge bath when I get out, though.”
“I don’t need a fucking sponge bath, Lucia,” I bark. “I’m quite capable of washing myself.”
“Wouldn’t it be more fun if I washed you instead?”
“No … no, it wouldn’t.”
I hear her blow out a puff of air before saying, “I disagree.”
“How the fuck did you get inside?”
“With a key. Dante had your keys at his house.”
“How did you get through the front gate?”
“I used the code.”
“I never told you the fucking code.”
“You said it was your birth date.”
“I never told you when my birthday was.”
“I saw it on your passport.”
“When did you see my passport?” I grumble.
Without thinking, I spin around to face her again, and fuck me, that body of hers.
My eyes move south of their own accord, skimming over those perky, full tits and hourglass waist that curves into her hips. She’s smooth lines tapering above a flat, toned stomach. And don’t even get me started on that little patch of dark hair between her thighs. My mouth salivates at the sight.
For a moment, I’m lost in the sheer deliciousness of her. That is, until she opens her mouth again.
“I found it earlier when I was packing up your things at the safe house.”
My eyes snap back to her face. “You went through my things.”
“It was in the drawer.”
“In a damn envelope,” I bark.
A smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “I saw the letter you wrote me. It was beautiful. Was that diamond ring in there meant for me too?”
For a second, I’m caught off guard, wondering what the hell she’s talking about.
“What letter? I never wrote you a …” My words die off when it suddenly hits me, the marriage vows I wrote. The ones I never read. The same ones she was never supposed to see.
“I hope you don’t mind that I kept it.”
“It wasn’t meant for you,” I lie.
“It said Lucia at the beginning.”
Ah, fuck.
“Are you even going to try to cover yourself up?” I grumble, because I’ve decided that playing dumb is the safest course of action.
I’m not a man of words. I don’t say sappy shit. I don’t even know why I wrote that stuff down. I must have been suffering from a moment of insanity.
She lifts a shoulder, completely unbothered.
“Why would I cover myself? You’re my husband.
It’s only natural for you to see me naked.
” Her eyes flicker down to my crotch area, and she points to the tent that’s now visible in this hideous thing I’m wearing.
“Is that a dagger under your gown, Mr De Luca? Or are you just pleased to see me?”
As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she grimaces.
“Do you even possess a filter?” I ask, because I’m genuinely curious to know the answer to that question.
“Sorry, poor choice of words since you’re recovering from a stab wound.”
I hear a chuckle coming from the other side of the door, so I turn and pop my head through the gap to find Dante standing just outside, looking thoroughly amused.
“Are you right there?”
He rolls his lips to hide his smile, but it’s a little too late for that. “Do you need a lift back to the hospital?”
“I’m staying here.”
He nods his head once. “Okay. I’ll get the family doctor to call around and check you over.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “Fine.”
“I’ll be heading out then,” he says.
“Okay.”
Before he leaves, he steps forward and places his hand on my shoulder. “Good luck with that one,” he says, flicking his chin towards the bathroom. “You’re going to need it.”
He turns to leave, then pauses. “Lucia,” he calls out, keeping his head trained forward.
“Yes?”
“Call your sister, she’s worried about you.”
“Okay.”
With that, he continues walking, but I don’t miss his laughter trailing behind him as he makes his way down the hallway.
Arsehole.