Page 31 of Sworn to My Heart
“Miss Gray, we’re leaving,” he announces. I don’t want to leave Luca here with him, but Stas’ words echo in my mind: “You’re just Luca’s whore.”
Another tear rolls down my cheek. I cast one last glance at Luca, surrendering this battle, and leave with Abert.
Cora waits for us in the car, hugging me with concern as soon as she sees my tear-streaked face. I start sobbing loudly into her embrace, and she just holds me tighter without saying a word. She probably thinks it’s because of Stas, that I’m scared. She has no idea how deeply the hook in my heart hurts.
She quickly urges Graham to leave. He obeys, and within moments, we’re already out of the club’s parking lot, merging onto the main road. Cora keeps holding me the entire way, not letting go for a second, and I start wondering if it’s time to run away to another place. We arrive back at the building within half an hour, and I decide not to return to Luca’s apartment.
“Is it okay if I stay with you tonight?” I ask Cora, pulling away from her embrace and adjusting my skirt that had ridden up too high, exposing my underwear.
“You don’t even need to ask, of course you can,” she replies, giving the answer I expected to hear, and we head up to her apartment together. She takes me to her and Mariano’s room, pulling out an oversized T-shirt, likely her husband’s, and hands it to me.
“Get rid of those clothes, tomorrow is a new day,” she says, as if trying to convince herself more than me. It seems her mind is also crowded with thoughts.
I don’t have the energy to argue and do as she says, changing into the T-shirt she gave me and immediately crawling into bed, pulling the blanket over me. She follows right after.
“Where’s Mariano?” I ask, a bit apprehensive that he might suddenly walk in.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be back tonight. They have some things to take care of,” she replies, and I hear the worry in her voice. I begin to understand why she seems almost as downcast as I am, but I’ve had enough of these brothers for now and decide not to press her with more questions.
I don’t bother telling Cora what happened at the club. I feel emotionally drained and am not ready to talk about it yet, especially since I haven’t even formed an opinion myself about the events of the evening or what lies ahead.
I look to my right, seeing Cora already half asleep. I sigh, desperately wanting to escape from this place. I need comfort in something, anything to hold on to.
I want to go for a swim, but with the constant surveillance, Luca would know my every move. Instead, I decide to settle for a warm bath.
I quietly enter the en-suite bathroom and lock the door behind me. I fill the bathtub with warm water, undress, and slip in. My legs transform into my tail within moments, and I relish the soothing, comforting touch of the water. I play with my fingers, creating shapes in the air with the water, contemplating that leaving might be the best decision for me.
I sigh heavily, deciding that tomorrow morning I would say goodbye to Cora and distance myself as much as possible from this city. It’s not the first time I’ll be starting a new life, and I’msure it won’t be the last.
I might be able to ensure my personal safety here, but I can’t protect my secret or my feelings if I stay. I submerge my head underwater, close my eyes, and drift off to sleep, embraced by the familiar sensation.
Luca
“Get out of here,” I order the redhead who’s been trying to get me hard for twenty minutes now without success. “I’m sure I could...” she starts again in a low, sultry voice, but I cut her off, pushing her aside, and she falls backward onto the floor.
Alin’s hurt expression sears into my mind, burning. Why did she suddenly decide to show up here? I’ve been trying to erase her from my mind for two whole weeks. I can’t concentrate on anything, and I’m not getting any answers from any direction. I can’t connect her to anything or anyone.
But all the evidence points to her working with the Russians. I want to believe she isn’t, but I can’t stop thinking about her the way I am now. The way I’ve thought about her every minute of these shitty two weeks. I can’t go to her directly and accuse her without proof. I never work without proof and all the details in hand.
I straighten up and adjust my clothes. No whore in this filthy club could compare to even a strand of her hair. I slam my fist on the glass table in front of me in frustration and take a gulp from the whiskey glass next to me. I’ve lost count of how many whiskey bottles downed these past two weeks. Why is it so hard for me to deal with her? The sparkle in her gemstone eyes went out for the first time when she saw that whore on me. I wantedso badly to push that bitch away and run to her, but there’s no place for traitors among us.
And what if she wasn’t a traitor? What if I made a mistake? I keep giving myself tiny pieces of hope every time I somehow come to terms with the situation.
“Fuck it,” I spit out into the air and stand up. I have to catch her and settle this once and for all. Even if it means she and the Russians will find out we’re onto them. I lost my sanity because of her—Alin. The redhead is still on the floor; it looks like she took a big dose today.
I frown in disgust. “Get her out of here!” I command the guard standing at the entrance to the room, before I quickly follow Alin outside, spotting her swaying drunkenly toward the parking lot with another man facing her. It’s not hard to see that he’s scanning her body like a fucking pervert. Son of a bitch, I’ll kill him.
“In that case, you really are just Luca’s whore, nothing more,” I suddenly hear him say. I recognize that voice.
“Stas,” I call out immediately, and any trace of humanity in me vanishes.So they do know each other.
I feel a fire rising in my chest, and I’m one second away from burning down this entire club with both of them inside. “Luca,” he turns to me, responding in the same cold tone, a smug look on his face. I clench my fist tightly, resisting the urge to break his jaw right here and now. I watch Abert pull Alin away and decide that this is probably my best chance to get more information. The opportunity has literally fallen into my hands. I love it when things are handed to me on a silver platter.
“I see your whores just keep getting better. You really caught an exotic one this time,” he remarks mockingly. He’s really testing my patience now.
“Looks like she caught your attention. What happened? Notenough interesting girls on your side, so you come to us?” I retort, hoping to provoke him into revealing information about Alin.
“She’s quite the catch, and as much as I’d love a taste...” Stas smirks, his tone mocking and suggestive. Before he can finish, anger surges through me like a tidal wave. Without thinking, I lung forward, gripping his collar with one hand and pull him close. His laughter falters as my other hand moves swiftly, drawing my gun from its holster. I press the cold metal against his stomach, feeling his breath hitch in surprise.
