Page 46 of Silent Night With Luca

I nod, trying to look as frazzled as I feel inside. “Yeah, I had to. I can’t stay here, not with Luca breathing down my neck every second. Please, let’s just get out of town before he figures it out and finds me. We can go anywhere, just away from here.”

Arianna hesitates for a moment, her eyes scanning me, but then she nods, buying the act. “Hell yeah. We can figure this out.”

Together, we walk briskly toward the car, my heart pounding in my chest. The snow crunches beneath our boots, and my mind races. I glance over at Arianna, watching as she pulls her phone out of her pocket, her fingers typing quickly. My pulse spikes. Is she warning someone?

We reach the car, parked just around the corner from the coffee shop. I can feel Luca’s presence, even before I see him. The tension in the air crackles like electricity.

I stop short, gripping Arianna’s arm. “Look, we’ll just grab a few things and go. I—” My voice falters, and that’s when Arianna sees him.

Luca is sitting in the driver’s seat, his face hidden in theshadows of the car’s interior. His eyes lock onto Arianna, cold and unrelenting.

Arianna’s entire body tenses as realization dawns. “Fiamma…” she whispers, her voice sharp with fear. She takes a step back, panic flashing in her eyes. “What did you do?”

Without hesitation, she turns to bolt. But Luca moves faster. He’s out of the car in a flash, grabbing her by the arm before she can get far. Arianna struggles, but it’s no use—Luca’s grip is iron, and he drags her toward the car.

“No! Let me go!” Arianna screams, twisting in his grasp, but it’s futile. He throws open the trunk, shoving her inside.

“You shouldn’t have betrayed her,” Luca growls, his voice low and menacing.

I slide into the passenger seat, my heart racing.

The silence is thick, oppressive, as we drive toward Blackwood Forest. The celebrating and joyful crowd is far behind now, completely unaware of the evil all around. All I can think about is the darkness waiting for us, yearning for such oblivion.

The drive is tense, the forest looming ahead like something out of a nightmare. My mind races, torn between the betrayal that’s ripping me apart and the cold, brutal reality of what’s about to happen.

We pull up to the clearing, and Sal is already there, standing by his car, arms crossed, waiting. His expression hardens as our headlights shine on him, and he steps forward as Luca kills the engine.

Luca opens the trunk, yanking Arianna out. She stumbles in the snow, but Luca doesn’t let go. “Time to talk, Arianna,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.

She looks around, wild-eyed, panic setting in. “You don’t have to do this! I didn’t mean?—”

“Save it,” Luca cuts her off, dragging her toward the thick line of trees. Sal falls in beside us, a grim look on his face as we make our way deeper into the forest. The wind howls through the trees, the only sound breaking the deadly silence.

We reach the spot—a small clearing shielded by towering evergreens, the snow thick and undisturbed. It feels like the world’s edges have blurred, like we’ve entered a place where nothing good happens.

Luca throws Arianna onto her knees, the snow dampening her fall. She whimpers, tears streaming down her face now, but there’s no mercy in Luca’s eyes. Not after everything.

Sal steps forward, his voice steady. “She needs to tell us everything. Who else was involved, and how deep this runs.”

Arianna looks at me, desperation in her eyes. “Fiamma, please… You know me. You know I wouldn’t hurt you.”

My chest tightens, the pain of her betrayal nearly choking me. “I thought I did. But you played me, Arianna. You were never my friend. And you did hurt me.”

Luca pulls out his gun, holding it loosely at his side. “Start talking, or this ends here.”

Arianna sobs, her body trembling in the cold. “Okay! Okay! I was working for Marco, but I had no choice! Hethreatened me! I was just a kid when he brought me in, groomed me. I was only supposed to get close to you, Fiamma, to find out what I could. But I swear, I never wanted to hurt you!”

I stare at her, feeling nothing but cold emptiness inside. “And what did you think he would do to me when you gave him the blueprint to kidnap me, when you told him how to get me? I trusted you.”

She shakes her head, her tears freezing on her cheeks. “I know he loved you. I never thought he would hurt you. And you’re here. Isn’t that proof enough?”

The wind howls through the trees, but the only sound I hear is Luca cocking the gun.

SEVENTEEN

Luca

The walls of the suite are thick, but I wonder if they’re thick enough to mute the sounds of our savage dance. Fiamma’s hands are splayed against the wall, her fingers clawing at the smooth surface as I drive into her from behind. The bed creaks beneath us, a rhythmic beat of the slap of skin on skin, the wet sounds of our joining as we become one, and the raw, guttural noises we can’t seem to control.

---