Chapter 91
ALEX
It was all a dream. That was what I told myself repeatedly, hoping I would believe the lie. I stared at the wall as Pops examined my cuts and bruises. I didn’t want him to see me like this, a battered and abused shell of the woman I was before my kidnapping.
After everything I’d endured, I was numb. It was as if the past few days’ events were an alternate version of reality. I couldn’t even comprehend his words as Luca removed my shirt so that Pops could stitch the wounds on my arms and stomach.
“Those animals,” Pops groaned as he studied my wounds. “You better make them suffer.”
Luca grinned like an evil mastermind. “Cruelty is my specialty.”
Stripped down to my bra and panties, which were filthy, I sat in complete silence. I just stared at the damn wall and let them tend to my wounds.
With each thread of the stitch, I didn’t even wince.
I could no longer feel the pain as Pops sewed me back together, like a broken doll who’d lost her stuffing.
Broken—that was the only word to describe me.
No one could understand what I’d been through in the past week.
Every time I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out.
I had the conversation in my head on repeat.
I wanted to tell Luca that I was sorry for running away.
But I also wanted to punch him for not telling me the truth about my brother.
If he hadn’t lied, I never would have left the estate.
I wouldn’t have more cuts and bruises than I could count.
My skin wouldn’t look like a corpse used by medical students for practice.
“What’s wrong with her?” Luca asked Pops.
“Alex is in shock,” Pops said as he wrapped a bandage around me to heal my bruised ribs. “This is normal for what she’s been through.”
Luca shoved a hand through his dark hair and tugged at the ends. “Will she go back to normal?”
Pops glanced up at him. “She’s never had a normal life. Not with her parents and certainly not with you.”
“You know what I mean,” Luca insisted. “Will she return to how she was before the kidnapping?”
My grandfather’s eyes narrowed. “She chose you, Luca. You better take care of her.”
“Of course.” Luca blew out a deep breath. “I just…”
“Alex will never be normal. She’s gone through too much trauma in her life to bounce back from this as if nothing happened. If Alex’s mental illness is too much for you,” Pops said in a menacing tone, “maybe you should let her go. Marcello knows how to handle her better than you.”
They spoke as if I were not in the room with them. Sure, I was shocked, but I could still process their words. However, talking seemed to require a skill set I didn’t possess.
Simple actions like breathing hurt. In and out, I tried not to cry with each breath I took. I felt like a truck had run me over, then backed over me ten more times. Every part of my body ached, from sore bones to tired muscles.
Luca hovered over my grandfather. “If you knew your granddaughter like I do, you would know she doesn’t need to be handled.”
Pops glared at him. “This is your fault.”
“And I will spend the rest of my life regretting my decision to keep Aiden from her.”
Pops gave him a satisfied nod.
Luca grabbed my shoulder, squeezed like he couldn’t believe I was real, and had to check. He hadn’t left my side since he woke me on the boat.
“Alex needs a bath and rest,” Luca said to Pops.
Pops removed a bottle of pills from his pocket and handed them to Luca. “See that she takes these for the pain.”
Luca glanced at the label on the bottle, then stuffed it into his jacket pocket.
He carried me upstairs after Pops and the remaining Knights left the house and sat me on the toilet in his bathroom.
As he filled the massive garden tub with soapy water, I breathed in the scent of vanilla and watched him in action.
When Luca thought no one was watching, he looked at peace, like the man he would have become if his mother were still alive.
“I’m not okay,” I whispered.
It was the first time I’d spoken since Luca had carried me into the house from the car. With the Knights and Pops surrounding me, I couldn’t process anything they said. All of them were speaking to me, but I just wanted to be alone with my Devil.
Luca kneeled in front of me and slipped his fingers between mine. “I know, baby. What I said to your grandfather… I didn’t mean to imply you’re broken. I know we will get through this together. I’m here for you, okay? And we’re going to come out of this stronger than ever.”
“Thank you,” I choked out.
“No need to thank me, baby. I’m just glad you’re home. There was a second when I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“Once the beatings started, I thought I was going to die. But I knew you would find me. I had faith in you, Luca.”
“It was close.” He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed my skin. “I know I’ve been hard on you. I haven’t always been the man you deserve. But losing you… It was the worst pain imaginable. I promised myself that if I got you back, I would change. I would be better for you.”
“I thought pain was just weakness leaving the body.”
He nodded. “Physical pain, yes. But I hadn’t felt emotional pain since my mom died. It took every ounce of control for me to hold it together.”
I stroked his short, black hair with my fingers.
It was loose and messy as if he had been tugging at the ends.
He usually kept it gelled and styled into spikes.
But as our eyes met, he looked more like the damaged man I’d met ten years ago.
The same man who was still in pain and trying to hide behind his carnival mask.
“I’ve always known, Luca.” I rubbed his cheek, and he leaned into my touch. “The night we met, I felt a connection to you when you let me touch your scars. You let me see the real you. Vulnerable for once. That’s not something you let anyone see.”
“No,” he admitted. “Never. You’re the exception to every rule. I would have torn apart the world looking for you, Drea.” He cupped my cheek and smiled. “My queen. I will give my life for yours, now and forever.”
“Sounds like someone has been rehearsing his wedding vows.”
He turned his head away, though a glimmer of a smile was still in place. Luca rose to his feet and helped me up from the toilet seat. My skin burned as he lifted my shirt over my head.
With his eyes on my bare chest, he shook his head. “Between the Knights and our Mafia friends, we’ve found most of Kurti’s known associates. You will get your revenge. I promise.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Kill them.” His eyes met mine. “But first, I will strip them of everything they love. Make them suffer.”
“Inflicting pain is your specialty,” I joked.
“Please, babe. You know you love my brand of punishment.”
I nodded. “But you’ll need to go easy on me until I heal.”
He removed the rest of my clothes. My body was covered in filth and blood. Luca cradled me in his arms and carefully lowered me into the bathtub. I groaned as the water hit my wounds. Pops had stitched the worst cuts, though the pain was still present.
“This will never be over,” I said. “Someone will always want to hurt us.”
He sank to his knees beside the tub. “Yes. But you’re safe with me. Just promise never to run from me again.”
“I won’t. That was a stupid mistake I will never repeat. But you had better stop keeping secrets from me. You know I hate when you lie to me.”
“I never outright lied.” He held my hand on the tub ledge. “More like concealed the truth.”
“Don’t do that,” I said with a plea. “No more lies.”
“I thought I was protecting you.” He raised my hand to his mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“Is Aiden worried sick about me?”
Luca lowered my hand into the warm water and nodded. “Yes, but he knows you’re safe with me.”
I slid into the bubbles. “When can I see him?”
“Tomorrow,” he confirmed. “Kali requested to see you, too. She’s worried about you.”
“Can you arrange for them to come for lunch? But send my brother first. I want to sit on the back patio with him. Alone.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Do you have something to hide?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I haven’t seen my brother in close to a year. We need to have this discussion without your intervention. You can’t smooth over my issues with Aiden.”
“Fine.” His jaw flexed. “As you wish. But I will have guards on standby. You cannot leave this property until I resolve this with the Albanians. That means no sneaking down to the beach without proper protection. Do you understand me?”
“I’ll be fine, Luca. I learned my lesson.”
He reached across me to grab the body wash. “Sit back and relax,” he instructed. “Let me take care of you.”
I did as he asked, and Luca grazed a soapy loofah down my arm. He was quiet the entire time he washed my body, careful not to touch my bruises.
Luca was never a big talker, so I had learned to savor these moments of silence with him. We were alike in this regard. When I was a child, I could never express myself in words. I used my paintings to give life meaning and understand how the world worked.
We both had traumatic childhoods, Luca’s much worse than mine.
His abuse and my neglect had turned us into different people.
Because of our families, we grew up faster.
The darkness of the world had become more apparent.
Painting kept me sane and allowed me to unleash my feelings on the world in different ways than Luca.
I heard a noise outside the bathroom and turned my head. The door was closed.
“What’s going on out there?”
Luca glanced over his shoulder, then back at me. “I told Marcello to move your stuff into my bedroom.”
My mouth widened in surprise. “Really?”
“You’re going to be my wife, Drea. What’s mine is yours now.”
“I never accepted your proposal,” I pointed out.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you saying no?”
I shook my head.
“That’s what I thought.”
“I still want a real proposal with a ring and you down on one knee, begging me to marry you.”
He smirked. “Whatever my queen wants.”
Luca leaned over the tub, fisting my curls in his hand, and kissed me.
His lips were soft against mine. He didn’t seem to notice or care about my rough, scratchy lips as our tongues tangled.
Luca’s free hand fell onto the side of the tub, and I pulled him toward me, desperate for his touch.
I moaned in his mouth as I moved his hand between my thighs.
He laughed against my lips. “So impatient, my queen. You’re too sore for sex tonight.”
“Make me come.” I shoved his fingers inside me. “I need to release this pent-up energy.”
He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, his fingers moving inside me. I rocked my hips, and Luca added another finger, stretching me out.
Luca kissed his way down my jaw and neck. “Baby,” he whispered between kisses. “You make me lose my mind. I will do anything to protect you. To keep you safe. To make you mine.”
His fingers plunged deeper inside me, in and out, until I was screaming his name.
My body trembled, my orgasm working its way through my body.
Parts of me ached so much I couldn’t tell where the pain started and stopped.
But as I chased my high, I’d never felt more alive.
I no longer cared about the bruises and the scars those marks would leave behind.
“I’m yours,” I moaned.
A ghost of a smile stretched across his beautiful lips. “Damn right, you’re mine.”
I came on his fingers so damn hard my legs shook for a solid minute after I found my release.
“Take me to bed.”
“To sleep,” he countered. “You heard what your grandfather said about your ribs. I won’t risk hurting you.”
“Between my orgasm and the pain meds, I’ll be sleeping like a newborn by the time my head hits the pillow.”
Luca grabbed a towel from the rack and helped me out of the tub, cradling me against his chest. He kissed the top of my head, and his arms wrapped so tightly around me it was as if he were afraid to let me go.