Page 33 of Sworn to My Heart
“What do you want, Luca?” I reply dryly, and when my gaze meets his, the image from yesterday pops up in my mind and I start feeling the burning in my chest again. He scans my body from my legs up to my breasts and back to my eyes. I think I see a flicker of the familiar hungry look in Luca’s eyes, but it quickly changes back to the monster he’s become this morning.
“What were you doing at the club last night?” he asks, his voice slow and menacing, barely above a whisper, trying to control his anger.
“You’ll probably never know. You ruined any chance of finding out after yesterday,” I reply with a plastered smile and manage to sidestep him out of the bathroom.
“Alin, you belong to me. You hide nothing from me. It will cost you your life,” he threatens, still controlling his temper. My blood begins to boil again in response to his threats. How dare he talk to me like that after what he did yesterday.
“It won’t matter if you kill one of your whores, you seem to have plenty,” I say, pointing at myself as I’m apparently just another one of his useless whores. It seems I’m pushing his limits again, but I can’t stop now. “I don’t belong to you. I stayed here because I knew my life was in danger, not because of you. The mafia is part of your life, not mine,” I almost break down, tears welling up at the corners of my eyes. But I take a deep breath and turn my back on him, now facing Cora, who sits on the bed, watching everything unfold.
Cora knows her place; she knows not to interfere. For my sake, not for them.
I drop the towel from my body and move to Cora’s wardrobe. I quickly put on underwear, shorts, and one of Cora’s T-shirts. Luca doesn’t react; he just follows my every move like a predator. Ignoring his gaze, I grab my phone from the bedside table and hurry out of the room. I hear Luca’s footsteps behindme and break out running to the first floor, not wanting him to catch me. At the door, Abert and Graham block my path.
“Let me through,” I command, my tears barely held back, ready to spill over.
“Alin, you’re barefoot and upset. Running out of the apartment wouldn’t be a smart move right now,” Mariano’s voice comes from behind. He places his hand on my shoulder, and I turn to face him.
“Let’s sit down. Maria will make us breakfast. It seems we have a lot to discuss,” he says with understanding, no trace of menace in his voice. He’s the only one who retains some semblance of manners, even if they’re fake.
I glance past him and see Luca. He’s stopped moving, waiting for my reaction. Behind me are Graham and Abert; in front of me are Luca and Mariano. I could try to take them all out and run, but I wouldn’t be able to handle that. I could knock them out, but if they discover my abilities, the likelihood of ending up as the newest attraction at the New York Aquarium becomes very high.
I surrender and allow Mariano to lead me to the living room at the entrance, and sit down on a single armchair. Luca and Mariano sit on the sofa opposite me.
“You’ve been part of the mafia from the day I told you about it and my role in it,” Luca suddenly declares in a distant voice, sounding as if he’s speaking to one of his soldiers, not to me.
I take a deep breath and avoid responding, waiting for him to continue.
“When you’re part of the mafia, lying is not an option, Alin. I’m giving you one chance to tell me the truth about that day at the aquarium,” he continues, his voice turning menacing.
I immediately shrink back.How does he know I lied?
“What are you talking about?” I ask quickly, trying not to let the stress show in my voice.
“What exactly happened there, Alin? I want the truth, and I want it now. If I find out you’re working with the Russians, you’ll be in serious trouble,” he replies with a menacing tone, standing up. In an instant, a knife is pressed against my neck.
I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. “You’re right, I lied,” I admit, and for a moment, I see a look of pity on Mariano’s face. He must know what Luca plans to do.
“But not for the reasons you think,” I quickly add, stopping Luca from taking a dangerous step, both for him and for me.
“Speak,” he spits out in anger. I carefully rise from the chair, Luca’s hand moving with me, gently placing my hand on his. His grip immediately loosens, and I cautiously move the knife away from my neck.
“The Russians did want to get back at you through me, just as I said. I accidentally entered the wrong room, and when I tried to leave, I heard them talking outside the door. I knew if I went out, they could easily abduct me. There was a gas canister in the maintenance room. I thought quickly and opened the door to lure them inside. Once they closed the door, I covered my face with a worker’s cloth mask and opened the gas canister. They started choking and fell to the floor. One of them dropped his wallet. I quickly took a picture of his ID and ran to find you,” I explain, realizing just how deep my lies go and how much courage it takes to cover one lie with another.
Luca looks at Mariano, who nods at him.
“Why was your dress torn?” he asks immediately. Pleasing Luca isn’t easy.
“I tore it myself before I left the room. I needed it to fit my story,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief as he sits back down on the couch next to Mariano.
“And what exactly made you think that lying was better than telling the truth?” Mariano asks this time, and it seems both ofthem are more relaxed despite my revealed lie.
“I don’t know. When I heard them talking about revenge on Luca, I panicked. I didn’t know who Luca was anymore, who you were, or who I could trust. I didn’t even know if they were still alive in that room,” I say, this time not lying about my feelings, just omitting a few details.
They seem convinced.
“I could have killed you, Alin,” Luca says suddenly, a trace of humanity flickering across his face.
“Too bad you didn’t,” I snap back, sinking into the chair. Maybe that’s the only way he’ll ever be rid of me—because no matter what, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt him, even if I wanted to.
