16. Chapter Sixteen #2
At least the floor here isn’t covered in glass and feces but the hard stone doesn’t offer much more comfort.
“Luciana,” Matteo gasps, bending down to help me but Dante shoves his gun in Matteo’s face.
“Back up,” Dante warns.
Slowly, Matteo steps away from me. We both know he’s no good if he’s dead.
“Don’t hurt her,” Matteo says in an eerily cold voice. He’s reverted back to the man I first met.
“I am going to hurt her.”
“Hurt me instead. Do whatever you want to me. But leave Luciana alone. She has done nothing wrong.”
“She lied to me!” Dante shouts, spit flying from his mouth. For a handsome man, he looks ugly in this moment.
“She was just trying to save herself. She only gave you a fake name because she was scared. She wasn’t trying to fool you. She did nothing wrong. Hurt me. Kill me. But leave Luciana alone.”
Dante breathes heavy and glares at Matteo. I don’t move from my spot. All I want is to help but fear is wracking my entire body.
“Fine,” Dante finally answers. “I’ll hurt you.” He jabs his fist right into Matteo’s stomach, making my husband bend over with a groan.
“Matteo,” I gasp.
Dante laughs as he shoves Matteo to the ground and begins kicking him over and over and over again.
The sight of my husband taking the hits for me is powerful. I had doubted Matteo when we first wed. I thought he was a true monster. But now I see just how selfless he is. He’s the man I’m in love with.
Because the thought of losing him is too much. It has to be love.
“Stop it!” I sob. “Stop it!”
Dante doesn’t listen as he continues to hit and kick Matteo. A kick to the stomach. A kick to the face. A kick to the groin. Everywhere one can think. Matteo groans but he doesn’t put up a fight.
All for me. He’s taking these kicks all for me.
“Please,” I beg. “Please just leave him alone. Please.”
“Luciana,” Matteo groans. “Don’t. Stay out of this.”
“I could easily hurt you,” Dante says. “Do you want me to torture you like I’m torturing your husband?” He kicks Matteo in the stomach again. “Do you?”
“No,” I admit. “No, I don’t want you to hurt me. But… please, stop hurting him. Please.”
Dante suddenly stops and turns to me, crouching down until we’re at eye level. “What are you going to do to make me stop?”
“I’ll do anything.”
“Luciana, no,” Matteo cries out.
Dante smirks. I want to slap it right off him. “I’m tempted to take your body right before your husband. I think it would be fun. Fitting for how you lied to me.”
I force myself to look into Dante’s eyes. I’m not a little girl anymore. In this moment, I have to be strong. “Then do it. But stop hurting him. You’ll kill him.”
“Luciana,” Matteo groans. “Don’t.”
Dante leans in closer to me. I close my eyes, ready for him to hurt me.
But then his phone rings. I open my eyes when I feel him pull back.
He answers the call. “Hello?” After a second, he cusses.
“What do you mean our shipment has been stolen? Fuck. I’m on my way.
” He hangs up and points at me and Matteo.
“You two got lucky. I have work to attend to.” He nods at his men.
“Put them in the box and keep them there until I return.”
He storms out of the room.
For just a second, I feel relief until one of his men picks me up and drags me over to the metal box.
“Please,” I sob. “Please.” He opens the box and shoves me inside. There’s no room to fully sit up. Instead, I have to lean forward, crunched over.
Matteo is shoved inside with me. Together, there’s no room between us. I’m practically in his lap. Matteo looks miserable from the bruises and blood on his face. I don’t even want to know what his body looks like.
The guard shuts the door, locking us inside. The metal box is hot. Too hot. I start sweating immediately.
I think I’m going to die in here. No. I know I am.
“Matteo,” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Are you ok?” I know it’s a stupid question to ask after everything I saw but I still have to ask it.
“I’ll be ok. I’m strong. Tough. I’ll heal.”
“Inside this box?”
He goes quiet. It’s pitch black inside here so I can’t even make out his expression. “Well… probably not. But if I can get out, I can save us.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, Luciana. I don’t know but I’ll try.”
Tears hit me and I can’t help but let it all out. All the pain and fear coursing through my body. “You saved me, you know? You didn’t have to do that.”
“I vowed to protect you, did I not? I kept my promise. I told you I’d always keep my promise.”
“You did. I just didn’t realize how much. You used to frighten me. But now… everything has changed. You don’t frighten me anymore. You saved me. Thank you.”
“I’ll always save you, Luciana. Always.”
“What if we don’t make it out of here?” I ask. My voice is barely above a whisper. My foot is throbbing from the glass still in it but I ignore that for now.
“Then we’ll be dead.”
I wince. “There’s no way out?”
“I’ll find us a way out. I promise.”
“What if you can’t keep your promise?”
He sighs and pulls me closer towards him, despite the heat inside the box. “Then we’ll die. But I’ll make sure you don’t experience pain before then. I won’t let that fucker rape you.”
I slowly nod, realizing he’s right. If we can’t make it out of here, then I would rather die than be tortured. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For protecting me. Even when you’re hurt.”
“You’re my wife, Luciana. I’ll always protect you.”
I want to ask him if he loves me or if he’s only doing this out of duty. This may be the last time I get the chance to ask him but I can’t get the words out. They get stuck in my throat.
That shames me most of all.