Page 42 of Inevitable

I watch him carefully, making sure not to push for more than he wants to share. To my surprise he continues.

“We were at war with the Russian’s, The Chernoff’s. One of them had followed me home, waited till I left the house.” He looks out the rear-view mirror, as if he needs the distraction. “I found her that night. I thought I lost them both till I heard Alessandro crying from a safe room that we have in our bedroom. She managed to hide him before they broke in thank God.” He trails off as if not knowing how to continue.

We sit there in silence as I let his words hang in the air. Pain. This world is filled with it, their lives are filled with it. I look at Giovanni in a whole new light, he is a strong man, he has been through hell. I wonder what caused this man to join the Mafia to begin with. Another time maybe.

The car stops and I realize that we are at the house. I look at Giovanni and kiss his cheek. “I am sorry I caused trouble. I promise to be smarter.”

He gives me a sharp nod and a ghost of a smile. I jump out of the car and run for the house. I need to see Luca. I don’t want to waste a moment longer of us being upset with each other. I open the door and see Marisol.

“Office,” she whispers before I even ask.

I give her a small smile and quickly stride toward his office. I see his door is closed but I don’t care, I burst in and there he is sitting amongst a pile of paperwork with a deadly glare trained on me.

“What the fuck Ashlynn? How could you do something so reckless?”

His voice is exasperated as he speaks but I waste no time in walking around his desk, climbing into his lap and crushing my lips to his. He is stiff and unyielding only for a moment before he takes control of the kiss, gripping the back of my head and forcing his tongue past my lips. He is pouring every ounce of anger into this kiss. It’s punishing and brutal and perfect. I pull back and place my forehead to his.

“I am sorry mio amore. I needed to get away, to think. Breathe.” He still has his eyes closed and kisses the tip of my nose. “I don’t think I ever truly understood what you went through when we were apart. You didn’t choose this life. You were given no other alternative and made the best of it. You became what you had to survive.

“I also know that I need to stop comparing you to the boy I fell in love with. I am not the same girl that you fell in love with either. We have both changed, grown and we have to accept each other as we are. Otherwise, we need to walk away now.”

His eyes fly open at that. Luca’s fingers dig into my hips and the look in his eyes is practically frantic. “You want to walk away?” His voice is equal parts concerned and urgent.

“When I first left this morning, I thought about it.” I admit.

He cast his eyes down to his hands as he flexes his fingers. I feel him take a shuddering breath as his face twists up with anguish.

“Luca, I was scared. I’ve realized that this isn’t the life I dream of. The life I dream of is simple and easy, happy. There are no people lurking around a corner waiting to kill us, no late work nights and definitely, no being shot.”

I laugh at that last part softly but he doesn’t join me. He looks purely and utterly devastated, barely meeting my eyes. “But I also realized that even if I had the dream life with someone else it wouldn’t be the dream. It’s always been you Luca, no one could ever compare. So, if I have to deal with staying up late at night before we have dinner together or being concerned someone might hurt you one day, to have you forever well there really is no question.” His eyes look up to meet mine, pleading with me to reassure him.

“I love you Luca Antonio Mariano, forever.”

He grabs my face in between his hands and brings me in for another head spinning kiss. His lips move down to my jaw and then up to my ear gently nipping at my ear lobe. “You will be the death of me mi angelo,” he whispers.

He leans back in his chair and shakes his head. A small smile plays on his lips before it slips. “When they told me you had left on your own and they couldn’t find you, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. How did you get so far away from my men so fast? I had 10 teams going in all different directions trying to track you down. We had been searching for hours and Giovanni only found you because you pulled off at a park in plain sight off the highway.”

I just shrug and give him a devilish smirk. “The Bugatti is fast.” He barks out a laugh and I smile at the sound. “I wasn’t trying to hide from you or disappear. I just needed to get out of the house and think. I felt like the walls were closing in on me.”

He sighs and starts rubbing soothing circles on my lower back. “All I could think about was if one of the Farelli had found you, what they would do to you.” He swallows harshly and shakes his head as if to dispel the idea from his thoughts. “If anything ever happened to you, Angel, I wouldn’t survive it.” He stops for a minute pondering the words spoken between us before speaking again.

“This is all my fault. I have been so concerned about keeping you safe that I have treated you like a princess in a tower. But that is going to change. You are going to have more freedom as long as you go with at least 2 men at all times.” I open my mouth to argue but he pins me with a dark look and says, “Non-negotiable.” I slump for a moment and nod my head in acceptance.

He taps my chin and I look up to him. “Don’t be too down, Angel. We are going to a Gala next week that should help the cabin fever.”

“A Gala? For what?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, some charity I apparently donate to every year. Good tax write off,” he says winking and I snort. Yeah, I am sure the Mafia is really worried about taxes.

“But wait, will it be safe? I mean, will the Farelli know you will be there?”

A conflicting look passes across his face before he speaks. “That is sort of the idea. I spoke with the soldier we had in custody. He wouldn’t talk about where the rest are. All he said was that they are watching us. Obviously, they know we are ready for another attack, so they are waiting till our guard is down. We want it perceived to be that way. Usually, I have Mario and Giovanni come with as well to these types of things, but it will just be you and me and a couple of men guarding us, at least that is what everyone will see. We will have several teams scattered throughout the gala on the inside and out, ready for when they attack.”

“When?” I furrow my brows. “Are you really that sure that they will be so bold to attack at a public event like this?”

He nods. “I do. They will assume that we are arrogant enough to believe they wouldn’t dare. That will make them see my lack of company as us becoming complacent. It’s the perfect trap they will never see coming. It does put you in potential danger which I am uncomfortable with, so I have assigned a couple of men who their sole purpose is to get you to safety immediately.”

“And you?” I ask. He throws me a cocky grin and shakes his head.

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