Page 59 of Stolen By the Enemy

Luca’s words stab me in the chest, and I feel like I can’t breathe.

My big brother, the person who is supposed to protect me, has just deserted me in Mexico. And Enzo didn’t step in or disagree with him either.

They both looked furious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them that angry, at least not at me.

A part of me does think I deserve the anger coming from Luca, and I knew that if they ever found out I slept with Marco they would be beyond angry with me, but at the same time, it took them over a week to come and get me.

And besides, I was attracted to Marco before all of this stupid business was going down.

How dare Luca accuse me of doing all of this to steal his deal, like I don’t have any of my own feelings or a life of my own.

My brother can be an asshole, but since we lost Nonna, he’s become even more of a dick.

Our whole family dynamic has been lost since Nonna died, from Luca and Emelia’s drama to Enzo’s exhaustion, and now this kidnapping situation.

But never did I think that they would be able to leave me behind in the house of someone they knew could kill me easily, and who wouldn’t hesitate to do it anyway.

I watch them both leave and see the headlights go back down the driveway.

I can’t take the emotion welling up inside of me, so I turn and run up the stairs, back into Marco’s bedroom.

Throwing myself onto the bed, where half of this mess happened, I let the tears stream down my cheeks, the sobs escaping me in loud and choked gasps.

Things downstairs nearly reached boiling point, and watching both Marco and Luca with guns pointed at their faces made my heart skip a beat.

I did realize that I was worried about both of them equally, which doesn’t help how I feel now.

I’m crying partly because of what just happened downstairs, but also about being stuck here, being so confused about how I feel about Marco, being kidnapped from the wedding, even the wedding itself.

I’ve never been a big crier, but I’ve held it all in for long enough—this was the last straw.

I’ve used up all my strength. Being abandoned here now is more than I can take.

At least before Luca and Enzo arrived in Mexico, I could think about going home whenever things felt like too much.

Now I have nothing left to look forward to. I just have the unsure thoughts of what Marco will do with me now.

I don’t hear Marco come into the room, my sobs are too loud, and I have my face buried in a pillow.

But I do feel his hand on my shoulder and eventually, his arms scooping me up to sit on his lap.

I put my hands in front of my face so that he can’t see my puffy eyes and leaking nose.

“I’m sorry, Grazia. That is not how I wanted this to go,” he whispers into my ear and I try my best to calm my sobs so I can reply to him.

“It’s not your fault,” I say to him, wiping away the tears that won’t stop falling.

He passes me a tissue from next to the bed, and I blow my nose. “But I can’t help feeling like it’s mine. I was the one who flirted with you at the wedding, and took you up to my room. Then I walked around naked and seduced you while my brothers were trying to rescue me. And now I’m not even sure if I wanted to go home with them, but I’m also scared of staying here, and I don’t want to die.”

The words are spilling out of my mouth a little too fast, and before I know what I’m saying, I’ve blabbed every thought in my head.

Marco doesn’t seem to react, though, he just pulls me closer and kisses my forehead.

At first, I’m not confident in this rare show of affection from him, and I stay stiff in the corded muscles of his inked up arms.

But he’s rubbing my back and holding me tight, and it’s the kind of comfort that I need right now.

I wrap my arms around his neck and squish my face into his shoulder, crying even harder as he holds me.

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