by Aria Ford
I squeezed the bulky phone with white knuckles, my arm failing me to bring it to my chest.
“Aya! Fanculo! Non piangere, mia Aya. Sto venendo per te.” Tires squealed in the background of the call, and harsh, rasping breaths scraped against my throat. The lump that had formed morphed into a cackling sound; it echoed around the room, distorting into something I didn’t recognize came from me.
He’s coming… for me. For me… for me… for me.
“Me- me- me… me… me… me…” My eyes widened, and I pulled the phone up to my face. “Me! Me! Sylvi- Sylvi lied! Liar! He’s a liar! Never- never- never! Luciano! Luciano, he-! He- I betrayed you! No! Never! Never, ever, ever!”
Screaming into the phone, I choked on air before it suddenly sailed across the concrete floor. The device burst instantly, and I tensed from the deafening silence. It landed far, too far for me to see it properly even as I realized what had just happened.
I lost him again. Luciano was gone.
Luciano was gone.
“No…” My jaw ached, and a strange sound tickled my ears. Reaching for the phone pieces, I struggled to kick my feet free even as more hands wrapped around my shoulders. “No! No! No!”
“Get the fuck out of my way!” The roar bordered on inhuman, and I stilled completely as it rocked the concrete beneath me. Tearing my eyes off the phone, they ached taking in Luciano running at me. His soulful, blackened orbs were red rimmed, face contorted and muscles bunched up tightly. With each massive step he took the veins bulging from his arms and neck became more clear.
“L- Luciano…” My crackling whisper made me wince, and Luciano dropped to his knees to pull me to him. Crushing me against his hard chest, he rocked back on his heels to draw me into his lap. Shell shocked, I didn’t even try to breathe as his warmth enveloped me in safety.
“Aya.” Luciano’s hoarse groan was so pained it brought on fresh, heavy tears, and I gripped his bare sides. Anchoring my fingernails in his thick flesh, a cry tore from my depths, and against my chest his heart raced in tandem with my own.
CHAPTER TWENTY
LUCIANO
Staring, unblinking, at Aya’s prone form sprawled across my bed, I grated my raw knuckles together. My mind worked almost too fast, and I sucked in a sharp breath. She’d gone unconscious within seconds at the gym; whether from the adrenaline bottoming her out or my tight grip I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care.
Something fucked up was going on; I wasn’t sure what, but I knew it had to stop before Aya fucking killed herself. Gnashing my teeth, I silently recounted this sick day; it didn’t seem like everything that had happened had in just 12 hours.
“Fuck me…” Mumbling to myself, I reached to swipe my jaw with shaking fingers. Some crucial part in Aya’s mind had broken tonight. Digging in my pocket for my phone, I grimaced when the bright back light nearly blinded me. My studio apartment was dark, and I glanced over to make sure I hadn’t woken her before finding Tyler’s contact.
“Luciano- Jesus Christ, did you find her yet?” Grunting absently, I listened to the shuffling on the other end of the line as my tongue failed me. “You need to listen to this. I put audio surveillance in Aya’s room like you asked. Here-”
For a split second there was static, and I tensed as blood rushed against my ear drums.
“Now, you’re here alone for the first time with me because Luciano decided you’re no longer worth his effort. He’s going to ignore you because you disgust him, just like that slut did- just like you did with Trevor. You need him, but he can’t even bring himself to look at you. You betrayed him, and this is the consequence.” When the recording stopped a writhing, angry black mass started to grow where my heart was.
“Sylvi…” Hissing his name, I bolted to my feet to storm to the window. “I’m going to fucking kill him…”
“Well don’t hang up yet. I also managed to rule out the Russians- Trevor worked with them, but they have no clue about Aya at all. Marco got the safe, and he’s on his way back now. You need to get back to the mansion.”
Staring at my reflection, twisted in anger, I let out a hot breath as a tiny sliver of tension slipped from between my shoulder blades. The Russians were out- that only left the mystery party. Glancing over, I made sure Aya was still soundly asleep before leaving the window. The refrigerator hummed quietly, and I pulled open the door to grab a water bottle.
“There’s one more thing, Luciano. I talked to a friend at a hospital. She said she wouldn’t mind coming to peek in Aya’s head. With everything that went on, and Dylan called me, I’m worried about you, fratello.” Pausing with my bottle at my lips, I squeezed my eyes shut as Tyler lowered his voice. “I know you, Luciano. You raped the sister, shot her in the face, to get back at that clerk for giving Aya a new fear of you. You comforted her when she fell in the shower and almost froze to death. Does she know you love her?”
Pursing my lips together, I couldn’t bring myself to answer before Tyler sighed heavily.
“Look, just get back, okay? Once we figure out what’s in the safe you c-” A sharp gasp from behind me stole my attention, and I whirled around to watch Aya kick out her feet. If she had been covered by a blanket I wouldn’t have noticed, and my phone fell to the floor. Through narrowed eyes she whimpered, a deep crease appearing between her slender brows.
There was no warning, and my heart jumped into my throat when Aya shot up to curl around her knees. Her hands disappeared into her mass of wild, red hair, and I held my breath as my blood pounded against my ear drums. For a moment she was still, quiet, her breath coming in harsh, short pants that filled the room.
“Luciano- Luciano… no- no- no…” Aya’s head whipped up, exposing her blown pupils and tear laden eyelashes. The sight of it weakened my knees, and her hoarse whispers threatened to crush my heart. Climbing onto the bed, I pursed my lips together even as my fingers brushed her roughened cheek. More guilt poured into my belly when she jumped, a hiccup of a sob flying from her mouth.
“Stop crying, Aya.” Mumbling softly, I cupped her face as she deflated like a balloon that hadn’t been tied. Her body folded in on itself, and I carefully wrapped my arms around her. Anxiety tingled my nerves, warning me not to touch her too hard or roughly.
She would break like a china doll, shattering into a million irreparable pieces.
“Why…? Why d- did you le- leave me? I’m-m-m sorry… I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Pe- Please don’t leav-v-ve me…” My breath caught in my throat at Aya’s broken, bubbling whisper. Sitting back, I pulled her frail, cold body into my lap to stroke her hair with trembling fingers. Twisting and churning, my gut sent sharp pains through my midsection, and my legs went numb.
I can’t get rid of her if she’s like this. The thought swirled around inside my head, and part of me swelled at that knowledge. Aya was mine; I didn’t care if I ruined her chance to live a normal life because I could keep her. I wanted to keep her. Even if I never fucked her, if all she was good for was a body to drag around, that was enough for me.
“It’s alright. Basta rilassarsi, mia Aya. Nessuno può farti del male più.” Soft, shivering lips met mine, and I stiffened, struggling to avoid crushing Aya a second time. Her kiss was gentle, tentative, but the longer she kept the contact the more firm she became. The words I’d just spoken disappeared from my mind, and I cupped the back of her head with a clammy palm. Groaning against my mouth, she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck as my body recovered from shock.
Very rarely had I kissed a woman, and yet this one had initiated it.
Aya’s feathery sigh was the last kick in the ass I needed, and I curled my fingers into her hair to pull her back. My skin twitched, shoulders tense and chest tight as a growling noise ripped through my throat. Her chin bumped against my mouth, and I ground my teeth together as her scent slithered up my nostrils.
“Why did you do that, Aya?” Her body quaked in my lap, arms sliding from my shoulders and her sniffle ringing in my ears. My abdomen tightened, and behind
the safety of my shorts my cock throbbed gently. The sensation rippled through me, and my eyelid twitched in frustration.
“I don’t want to go back… Luciano- I don’t want to go back. I- I… I have money. I have money- we can go. We can go away. We can go. We can go away just us, and Sylvi- Sylvi won’t bother us.” Carefully releasing her, the first thing I saw was the desperation in Aya’s eyes. It shone almost too brightly, and all thoughts about her kiss went out the window. “We can go. Please? Sylvi lied. I- I never- I never b-”
Clamping my palm over her mouth, I squeezed slightly to stop the hysterics that threatened to burst from her eyes.
“We aren’t leaving, Aya. We’re going back.” My low command brought me only a wide eyed, fearful stare, and I loosened my grip to touch her paling cheeks. “I know what Sylvi said to you, but he’s wrong. You didn’t betray me, Aya. You would never betray me- I know that. We’re going back, and after we find out what’s in Trevor’s safe I’m going to beat the living fuck out of Sylvi. He’ll never try this shit again, I promise.”
Oh-h yeah. I’m going to beat that fucker to within an inch of his life. He’s lucky I don’t want to deal with Georgio or his replacement. Not with Aya in the middle.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AYA
Staring at Luciano’s thundering expression, a smile picked up the corners of my lips. His eyes widened, the only change in his expression, and my brows came together even as his fingers splayed across my cheek.
“You’re so beautiful, mia Aya.” My heart squeezed painfully in its cage, and Luciano’s gentle palm conformed to my aching cheeks. “So beautiful… You’re so beautiful.”
I’m dead. I died in the gym. Heat bled into my cheeks, and the realization that Luciano cared for me was hammered against my soul. His eyes were no longer soulless pits as they gazed into my own; they were sparkling with every shade of black, an abyssal depth that went down and down forever. The darkness wrapped me in comfort and safety, blocking out everything else. That void held everything he was, camouflaging and tainting every emotion, distorting each thought and wisp of a feeling.
But that didn’t mean he cared less.
“Luciano…” Groaning softly, I pressed my forehead against his to sniffle and close my eyes. Luciano’s image flashed behind my lids, and I took a heaving breath of his smell. My arms tightened around his neck, and against my chest his muscles hardened. Carefully pressing my lips to his, I tensed at the butterflies that flapped wildly in my belly. His lips were soft, almost hesitant, and I opened my mouth as he gripped the back of my neck.
Holding me to him, Luciano licked my upper lip with a groan of his own. The sound rose goosebumps on my skin, and I ground my hips against his. His tongue slathered his taste against my inner cheeks to pull a gasp from my throat. Grasping at his shoulder blades, my fingertips burned and their nails dug into his hot, hard flesh.
My moan was loud and high pitched as Luciano squeezed my butt. Rocking my hips, a shiver rattled my spine as my core pulsed lowly.
“Hell!” Snarling against my chin, Luciano pushed down my globes, and I gasped. My aching slit brushed his basketball shorts, and I arched into his mouth as he traveled south. Fire trailed behind his tentative touch even while the rest of him grew harder. Tiny kisses lined my throat, and my breath was stabbed by the invisible needles he punctured me with.
“Lucian-n-no…” Fire licked my core, spreading through my body as I ground against him. Luciano groaned, the bulge in his pants pressing more firmly against my slit. Rocking in sync, his lips brushed my collar bone to pull a strangled whimper from me. Ducking my head, need leaked from my pores, and my palms wrapped around his strong jaw.
My lips tingled against Luciano’s, our kiss becoming deeper and rougher. Heat scorched my skin where his palms groped and kneaded, and goosebumps washed down my legs. Tightening around his waist, my thighs quivered from his creeping touch.
Grinding against him, an intense throb spread through my body as he gently pulled away. Following his lips, desperation replaced the arousal simmering in my veins, and he let out rumbling growl.
“Stop.” Jerking back, a shiver slid violently down my spine at Luciano’s command. His eyes glowed in the dark, and I stroked his face with trembling fingers while harsh pants filled the small space between our mouths. “We need to go, mia Aya.”
“B- but I… what if Sylvi tries to hurt you?” My lower lip wobbled at my murmur, and tears blurred my vision. Sniffling harshly, I pressed my mouth to his in frantic, hot kisses. “Please… please… I- I- I…”
“Sh-h…” Luciano’s soft coo squeezed my heart, and my eyes widened as it caressed my ears. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect such a noise to come out of his mouth. As if realizing what he’d done he pursed his lips together, his own pupils narrowing into fine points. “We’re going. Now.”
Holding me firmly to him, Luciano stood up easily to swipe his keys from a small table near the door. His strides were stiff, and I glanced around the room before sucking on my bottom lip. In the dark I could only see the corners of furniture, the slight glint off metal or glass. This was our safe place, and my heart squeezed at the fact that we were leaving it. Sylvi’s home was a battle ground I didn’t want to return to.
“Tell me how much money you have, Aya.” The room disappeared behind a door, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes. Luciano locked our place up tight with a soft, final click, and I rested my head on his shoulder. His question forced me away from our few minutes today, and I tightened my grip around his neck.
Sauntering down the hallway, Luciano’s gait caused every muscle he owned to ripple against me. The sensation was almost therapeutic, and I turned my attention to what he wanted to know. Why hadn’t I thought of it before deciding to run off and find him?
“My parents left me a note… I never showed the police. They said they left me $10 million, and there was some bank stuff and cards. They said- they said they were sorry for being bad parents.” Murmuring into the cool, pre-dawn air, I closed my eyes only to be encompassed by darkness. I couldn’t remember what my parents looked like; I couldn’t remember their names. A pang of sadness burrowed in my chest, but by the time we reached the car it had disappeared.
Just like my parents, my childhood, my everything. Until Luciano.
“Where did you put it?” My skin prickled at the question, and I took a sharp breath as Luciano wrenched open the door to his car. Memories bombarded me of the only other time he’d asked me something, and a whimper flew from my lips. The contrast was startling, jolting my heart and locking my muscles even as he palmed my thighs heavily. Prying my legs apart, he set me in the passenger seat to loom over me with a sharp gaze.
“I- I… T- there’s… in the backyard… against the gate.” For a long, pregnant moment Luciano stared, searching, and I sucked my lips between my teeth. Grunting, he leaned back to slam the door shut before I let out a hot breath. Clasping my clammy palms together, I sunk into the seat as he rounded the car to slip into the driver’s seat.
Silently Luciano pulled out of his spot, and I turned my gaze out to the scenery. My lips tingled with the residue of his essence, and my tongue sneaked out to swipe over them. Watching the city go by, my eyes ached to stray to the man that sat only a foot from me. His form radiated a tenseness that seeped into my skin and spread a harsh warmth through me. The car became cramped, and I tapped the button to roll down the window. Air streamed along the crown of my head, and my shoulders jerked in a shiver.
“... Aya…” Rough fingertips caressed my cheek, and I turned to Luciano with wide eyes. His expression was dark, hard like stone, but his touch was gentle when he thumbed my lips. “Don’t let me go.”
My jaw slackened at his demand, and his gaze glittered like a starless night as it locked onto mine. Thudding in my chest, my heart swelled to bursting, and tears clogged my throat. Sucking in air, my mouth curved into a watery smile before I managed to nod.
Green pooled in through th
e windshield, and Luciano grunted lowly before turning back to the road. His dry palm fell from my face slowly, almost reluctantly, to curl around the wheel as he stepped on the gas pedal. Glancing out of the car, the butterflies fluttering in my belly only intensified when I realized that was the last light before reaching Sylvi’s house. In mere moments we would arrive, and anxiety prickled up my arms.
Luciano would be the hero that thwarted the villain.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LUCIANO
Shoving the gear in park, I took a deep, hard breath to try to cool the raging magma that sloshed in my veins. My hands flexed around the wheel, itching to squeeze as much life out of Sylvi as I could. The car was quiet, and I ground my teeth together with a groan. Even in the silence I couldn’t hear myself think; there was nothing but the overwhelming desire to jam my fist down Sylvi’s throat.
Directly in front of me was Marco’s van, and for a moment I debated what to do. Whatever was in that safe could wait until after the anger in me had been quenched. Glancing at Aya, I took in her pensive expression and tight shoulders through narrowed eyes. Depending on what was in the safe, I could kill Sylvi. It would be a bad decision, but I wouldn’t feel guilty.
The person sent to replace Sylvi could be a problem, though, and it was that thought that had me kicking open my door roughly.
“Let’s go.” Reaching for her arm, I pulled Aya across the center console as I jumped from the vehicle. She was hot and soft, and I squeezed her tender flesh absently. Scanning the drive, my pupils became fine points at the steadily graying atmosphere. The silence was ominous even as the first, distant rays of the sun pierced the darkness, and electricity zinged through my already tense muscles.
The front porch step creaked under my weight, and I held Aya close to my side. Anxiety thrummed between us like a physical current, but for the moment I ignored it to grab the door handle. Her proximity did nothing to soothe the writhing, black mass that festered inside me, but she brought me a comfort.