Page 11 of Claimed by The Italian

“You’re different, Lydia. You know exactly what I’m trying to tell you.”

“Well you want to get rid of me one way or another, so is my safety really a concern of yours?” I ask. Bianca looks taken aback.

“You think I’m that cruel?” Her features harden. “You know what? Do what you want. Stay if you must. But when you get yourself in trouble don’t come crawling to me. I gave you a chance to get out. You can look out for yourself from now on.”

Fine by me, I think to myself. She stands up and storms from the room before I can say anything else. I breathe out a sigh of relief. If she’d found Lorenzo here, things could’ve gotten really ugly. She didn’t come here with my interests in mind, she came to warn me away from her brother. But I’m not leaving him behind. I might be mad that he didn’t tell me any of this before, but now, I have the chance to unravel the mystery for real.”

He waits a moment before he exits the closet. His presence seems even more domineering before. I guess now that I know what he does for a living, his intimidating ways have more meaning. He looks at me so intensely that I’m tempted to look away, but I refuse to back down now. Not when I’ve stood my ground against Bianca to make it here.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asks. I look deep into his eyes and I feel something inside me soften.

“I could never be afraid of you,” I say honestly.Lorenzo

“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” I say. She looks hurt and angry, which I can understand. After the conversation she just had with my sister, I wouldn’t be surprised if she walked out of my life forever, but I have to at least try to convince her to stay. We’ve come so far in such a short time. I’m not ready to let her go.

“You should’ve told me,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “You made me feel like a fool. I should’ve known what was happening. Maybe I did on some level...but I didn’t want to believe it.” She closes her eyes, working up the courage to ask something. “Have you...have you ever been involved with drugs?”

“Absolutely not.”

“And...and have you ever killed someone?”

“No,” I say truthfully. “I’ve been asked to before and I’ve said no. That’s not my style, tesoro...I intimidate people, but I rarely hurt them. I’m not as callous as you think.”

She opens her eyes. “I don’t think that. I know that maybe I’m stupid for blindly trusting you, but I can’t help myself. Every instinct in me is telling me that I should trust you. That I should believe you no matter what.” She shakes her head to herself. “All my sense went out of the window when I got here.”

I gently put my hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you straight away...but I didn’t know how you’d react. I wanted you to have time to decide how you feel about me, the real me. The mafia is part of who I am but the rest of me...that belongs to me alone. I was going to tell you.”

“It’s okay. I believe you,” Lydia says, nodding to herself. She looks up at me. “This is craziness, Lorenzo. I should walk away right now. I should get out of here as fast as I can. But I can’t. The things I feel for you. I can’t ignore them. I feel like I’m sinking in quicksand and that my only choice is to stay here with you.”

“I don’t want to let you go...but I will if it means you’re safe,” I growl. I know that Bianca is right. I shouldn’t be keeping her here. Maybe the only thing to do if I really care for her is to send her away. I squeeze her shoulders. “I could set you up somewhere else, somewhere no one will find you. I can get you a house on the coast. I’d come and see you when I could.”

“No,” she whispers. Her eyes are full of hurt at the suggestion. “Are you trying to send me away? For real?”

“I don’t want to, Lydia, but I want you to be safe.”

“And I will be, here, with you. I know you’ll always protect me,” she whispers. And she’s right. I’d die for her. I’d never let anything happen to her. But I still worry about what this could mean for her. If Bianca is right, the Moretti family might use my feelings for her against me. I have to keep my distance. I have to force myself to stop pursuing her just to keep her alive. I step away from her.

“I shouldn’t be here if you’re going to stay, the least I can do is stay away from you. I’m only going to cause you trouble.”

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