Page 24 of Broken Prince

I let my eyes trail down his suit and shrink back when I noticed his shoulder holster and the black gun in it.

He glanced down and pulled his jacket closed. “Cassandra, I won’t hurt you, I swear.” He raised his hands in surrender.

I shook my head and sniffed. “I’m leaving.” I sobbed before wiping under my eyes with the back of my hand. “I can’t stay here; he’s mean! He is a beast!” I shouted, hoping he could hear me.

“Cassandra…” he tried again, reaching for me tentatively, resting his warm hand on my knee.

I nudged it off. “N-no, I’m going. This is not what I signed up for. I didn’t deserve this.” I stood up clumsily, resting my back against the wall, my whole body still shaking with the aftermath of the terror that this Luca caused.

The man raised his hands in surrender. “Please, it’s late. You don’t have a car; you can’t leave tonight. Just calm down and take a breath okay? If you still want to leave in the morning—”

“I want to leave!” I replied, scowling.

He nodded with a sigh. “Okay, then I’ll drive you down to town myself in the morning, I promise.”

I studied him more closely now. He was tall but leaner than Luca—at least I thought so from what I saw of him. They shared some similar features—dark eyes, dark hair, olive skin.

But where Luca had been a terrifying mountain man with long hair, unkempt beard, and feral look, this man was well kept. He had a classic haircut, shorter at the side, a bit longer at the top, and a well-trimmed goatee.

“Who are you?” I asked, hating how feeble my voice sounded. After everything that happened, I’d stood tall. I didn’t want to look weak now.

The man found you sobbing in the corner of a room, Cassie; there’s no need to fake it now.

“Oh yes, I'm sorry.” He gave me a sheepish smile. “I’m Domenico, but you can call me Dom. I’m Luca’s head of security.”

Ah, the guns on both sides of his chest made sense now but why did crazy mountain psycho need security?

I nodded silently.

“Why don’t you come with me?”

I glanced at the broken plate on the floor, the tomato sauce staining the wall and floor, the color so similar to blood.

“I need to clean up.” Why did I even bother? I was going to leave tomorrow and never turn back.

He took a couple of slow steps toward me. “No, you don’t. Now you’ll come with me and we’ll have a drink and chat okay?”

I looked at him silently. “I swear you’re safe with me, Cassandra. I won’t hurt you.”

It seems completely insane. I had just met the man and yet I believed him.

I nodded. “Call me Cassie.”

“Cassie, what do you want to drink?”

“I- don’t drink. I’m not yet twenty-one. I will be in a couple of weeks.”

He smiled at that. “Following the rules?”

I shrugged noncommittally.

“Ah, I think it’s okay to break the rules after the evening you had.” He opened the door and gestured me out.

I followed him silently to the kitchen, my mind still reeling about what had happened tonight. The scarred man, Luca… He’d been just so angry and so fundamentally broken.

“Take a seat.” He pointed to the small kitchen table. “I’ll be right back.”

I sat and took a couple of deep breaths. I liked that kitchen. It helped me feel better.

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