Chapter 54
ALEX
We piled into the car with Kali on my lap. Luca’s Aston Martin Vanquish was a two-seater, which made the car chase even more uncomfortable and terrifying. I imagined dying in a fiery crash at the hands of the psycho trying to run us off the road.
A black van with tinted windows tried to cut Luca off before we left the marina. My heart hammered in my chest as Luca floored the gas, the tires screeching as he headed up the steep incline toward The Hills.
“Luca,” I bit out. “What the hell is going on?”
“You’re in danger,” he said in a calm, even tone, though the way he clutched the steering wheel said otherwise.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and gasped. “Who’s following us?”
“Let me deal with him,” he shot back. “Just sit back and hold on.”
He raced up to the guard gate, which opened for us without issue. The guard tipped his hand to Luca, and then metal spikes shot up from the ground as the man in the van approached. His tires screeched to a halt, but it was too late.
Luca tapped a button on the steering wheel, and the phone rang through the speakers. Marcello answered on the first ring.
“Marcello,” he growled. “Send a team down to the gate before we lose them.”
“Where’s Alex?”
“With me. Tell Bash and Damian I have Kali.”
He blew out a deep breath. “I’m on it.”
Then the line went dead.
Luca drove as if he were on the Autobahn. His expression shifted as he went into battle mode. His face was a blank canvas, and his clear blue eyes were filled with anger.
The gates were already open when we reached the Salvatore Estate. A dozen armed guards stood out front with machine guns strapped to their backs, guns in their hands. They looked like they were ready for war.
Luca slammed on the brakes in front of the garage, and Kali slammed into the dashboard.
“What the fuck, Luca?” Kali groaned, rubbing her shoulder.
Ignoring her, he ripped open his door and ordered the guards standing watch at the entrance to deal with the girls . Kali was pulled out of the car by a tall man with dark hair dressed in a suit. I hopped out of the car and followed Dom toward the front of the house.
Luca barked at the guards to take Kali and me into the movie room as he removed a gun from the holster on his chest. He walked in the opposite direction with a purpose, determined to kill me with silence.
“Luca,” I called out.
He stopped moving, and with his back to me, he said, “I’ll be fine, D. Go in the house.”
A guard grabbed my shoulder as the other steered Kali and me inside.
They led us down the long, tiled hallway and told us to sit on the sectional leather couch in front of a massive flat-screen television.
Kali sat on the cushion next to me. She dropped her purse on the coffee table, kicked her heels onto the floor, and tucked her feet beneath her butt.
She turned to me, her eyebrows lifted. “Damian and Bash texted me. They’re on their way home from the office.”
I wrapped my arms around my middle to calm my nerves. “Still think I should run?”
She bit her lip, considering my question. “You’re probably safer here than anywhere else.”
“Luca’s enemies know where he lives. They almost got me once.”
When Luca strolled into the room with Marcello at his side, I rushed over to him. I pressed my hands to his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my fingers.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Luca brushed a strand of hair behind my ears. “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I thought about his proposal in the closet.
Luca wanted to marry me because that would make me a Salvatore, meaning his family would never turn their backs on me.
They had a code, one they would never break.
No matter how much Arlo disliked me, he cared for his son’s wife.
Which meant Luca thought something might happen to him.
“I’m not worried about me.”
Luca hooked his arm behind my back and smirked. “Don’t worry about me, baby girl. I have everything under control.”
“Tonight, we’re having dinner alone.” He kissed the top of my head, then patted my ass. “Go keep your friend company. I have a few things I need to discuss with my father before our date.”
Three hours later, I walked into a small dining room with a patio overlooking the bay.
Dom closed the doors behind me, and my throat just about closed up at the sight of Luca, dressed in a black suit, his back to me.
He stood between the open French doors. The waves crashing against the beach filled the silence in the air.
His hand shot out at his side, beckoning me to come forward. I crossed the room and slipped my fingers between his. We stood silently, my heart hammering in my chest, before he spoke.
“I could never live somewhere without water. The sound helps me sleep. I have always liked the way the water moves and the patterns it follows. You can learn a lot about life from the weather.”
I looked up at the strength in his jaw and the hardness of his features.
“Sailors used the saying the calm before the storm to describe the peacefulness in the weather right before a storm hit.” He leaned down, his eyes on me. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Exactly. This is the calm, our last moment of peace before my enemies bring the storm to Devil’s Creek. I tried to prevent this…”
“Your feelings for me don’t make you weak, Luca.”
He slid his arm behind my back and pulled me into his chest. “You have always been my weakness. I can handle anything. But losing you would be the worst thing imaginable. The last shred of my humanity is dangling by a thread, held together by you. You think I’m an animal, a monster, but you don’t understand what I would become without you here to ground me. ”
“You’re capable of much more than violence.”
He dipped his head down to brush his lips against mine. “I know nothing but violence. My father trained me to hunt, kill, and destroy.”
“You’re not violent with me.”
“I’ve hurt and punished you. I have done things you didn’t deserve. I’m not a good man. I have never been good enough for you. But I want you. I need you. I can’t let you go.”
I rested my head on his chest, and he ran his fingers through my hair. “Last year, Aiden said something when we were at The River Styx, and it’s stuck with me ever since.”
“What did he say?”
“That I’ve been running back to you since college, and I’m the only one who doesn’t see how this will end. After Aiden disappeared, I wondered if you followed through on your threat.”
“I didn’t hurt your brother.”
A silence passed over us as I struggled to still my racing heart.
“That’s what you want to know, right? We had this conversation last year, and still, you don’t believe me.”
I peeked up at him, searching for the truth. “Did you?”
“I never liked Aiden because he got in the way. Killing him would crush you. Do you think I would do anything to hurt you?”
“You’re capable of many things, Luca, and murder is one of them.”
He clicked his tongue. “I have committed a lot of sins. Killing your brother is not one of them.”
The hallway doors opened, and the smell of garlic and herbs floated through the air.
Luca pulled a chair out from the table, gripping the chair back as he breathed against the shell of my ear. “When will you trust me?”
“When you reveal something real.”