Page 36 of Sworn to My Heart
I get annoyed. Why does everyone want to talk now? They didn’t before. I’m not a porcelain doll. I can take care of myself just fine.
I get into the car, and Abert offers me a half-hearted, almost comforting smile — at least, he tries. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was just struggling to stay comfortable in the driver’s seat. He’s trying too hard for my sake.
Everyone around me thinks I’m a ticking time bomb. Do I look like one? Maybe I’m not as good at hiding my emotions as Ithink.
I glance back at him gratefully, as we leave the parking lot, going back to Luca’s apartment. I have to get used calling it home now, I guess.
Here we go, home.
*“Lo so,” meaning “I know” in Italian.
Luca
After two weeks of self-torment, I finally feel like I can breathe. She’s not working with the Russians. I want to believe her, I want to keep her close to me. She’s mine, and now I can be at ease while we plan revenge on the Russians. Although it seems Alin did a pretty good job herself, they tried to hurt me through her, and that won’t go unpunished. I chuckle, a small sense of pride swelling in my chest for her survival skills.
When will I be able to see the full picture and understand her story? Maybe I should start by getting her to sleep in my bed at night. Just the thought of her scent on my sheets makes my dick stir. To see those gem-like eyes looking at me in bed. I smile to myself, but my thoughts are interrupted by a message notification on my phone. I look at the update from Abert.
We encountered Alin’s mother at the mall. It doesn’t seem like they’re on good terms. She screamed for help from the bathroom; I had to barge in with my gun. Ensuring the security footage was deleted. Her mother called her “Alianna”. Graham couldn’t find any information on her, but they’re practically clones of each other.
11:28 AM
Alianna? In her official records, her name is listed as Alin. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a greater danger lurkingbehind this girl that’s yet to surface. Why am I taking this risk for her? Since when do I become a wimp like my brother? Is she worth all this? I brought her into our family. I brought her into the Mafia. She’s my responsibility now, and I won’t be able to send her away. This girl might just end up being my downfall.
“Why isn’t she answering my message?” I ask aloud to myself, and Mariano laughs at my frustration from the armchair across from me. “You’ve got a lot of nerve laughing at me when you’re the one doing online shopping for your wife,” I retort, knowing how pathetic I must sound. I’m starting to act like him. That’s the last thing I need.
“Brother, you really don’t know why she’s not answering you?” he asks, surprised, still chuckling.
“What do you know that I don’t, Professor Expert on Women Mariano Spallo?” I ask sarcastically, annoyed at how much I care about her.
“You ignored her for two weeks without letting her know what’s going on, then you calmly let a redhead at the club smear herself all over you in front of her, and then you threatened her life with a knife to her throat. And you thought she’s just going to keep coming back for more?” He throws the facts in my face and chuckles again. “You’re good at being the monster we need, but you haven’t got a clue about women, do you?”
I remember her dimmed eyes and her words this morning. ‘I can’t trust you anymore,’ ‘Please let me go.’ I feel a painful stab in my chest again. She’s mine whether she likes it or not. I can’t let her go. The only way out of the Mafia for her is in a coffin.
“I’m her capo now, she’ll listen to me because she has no other choice and she’ll stay close to me while doing it. ” I reply to Mariano firmly. He lets out a heavy sigh of resignation.
“You’re a lost cause,” he says, raising his hands in mock surrender. “But at least apologize properly, buy her some jewelryor flowers, anything to lift her spirits. Cora’s mood depends on Alin’s, and I’m not ready to listen to complaints of you two arguing before bed instead of properly fucking my wife.”
Piece of work.
“Don’t worry, she’ll get a very special gift when I bring her the heads of the Russians who attacked her on a silver platter. Did you send out your informants?” I ask while sending a message to Abert to bring Alin to my office when they arrive.
“Such a romantic, you are,” he mocks, then continues with the update. “I sent out the informants as you asked this morning. No news yet. Pedro and Graham are on it too. We’ll find Vladimir and Slava again, don’t worry.” Since that day, they’ve kept a low profile, not seen together at all. They’ve been too quiet, not even showing up at their own clubs.
Maybe it’s time to stir things up a bit. “Make sure to bring one of Vladimir’s men here. Make it look like the French did it. While they’re distracted with them, we’ll get the information we need out of him by force. They’ve kept a low profile since that day; something smells off here. I won’t be caught unprepared again,” I inform him of the new plan. As usual, without batting an eye, he’s off to execute it.
Now I need to figure out if ‘Alianna’ brings another threat to the table.
Alin
I enter the apartment with Abert, and he leads me to Luca’s office. I want to ask why, but I know I won’t get a clear answer if Luca’s commanding it. Luca opens the door to the room, and as he sees me approaching, Abert disappears. I mustn’t look into his eyes. I force myself to look anywhere else, just not there. I can’t fall for them again.
My body starts betraying me as his hand gently rests on my shoulder, guiding me to the wide leather armchair facing his desk. For once, I don’t ask questions; I wait for him to start the conversation, following his hand with my eyes as it moves down to my thigh when he sits beside me.
I no longer have the fear or desire to run, only a strange relief knowing I’m sitting here with Luca and not on the way to a wedding celebration with my parents. I imagine what would have happened if my mother had succeeded in taking me back home and feel my stomach acid rising toward my throat.
“It seems I need to protect you from other things, Alin? Or should I say, Alianna?” he breaks the silence with a jab, bringing me back to reality. It seems the piece of information he got today amuses him more than it annoys him.
“For the millionth time, you don’t need to protect me from anything,” I declare dryly, but inside, I am excited by the sightof his scheming glance, which I haven’t seen in a while. My chest tingles. My body is definitely losing it lately. This man is just one big mistake.
