Page 132 of Luca
A battle raged inside me. If I agreed, we might have a chance to get out of here. If I didn’t, we probably wouldn’t. Except, I couldn’t just agree to give my daughter away. What if his son was some cruel, deranged boy? Should I demand his next son? How could I ever possibly agree to let my daughter marry someone like that?
“I want my daughter to marry for love,” I rasped, my voice wavering with emotions. “When does all this end if we don’t let our children be happy?” I asked quietly.
Marchetti looked at Luca, then my brother and back to me.
“Please don’t make me give you that promise,” I begged.
Enrico inclined his head. “This marriage arrangement stands. If our children decide they don’t love or like each other, we’ll reevaluate.” Relief slammed into me hearing those words. It was a possible way out. “But I want your word, Margaret DiMauro. I want your commitment.”
Our children wouldn’t marry for another eighteen years at least. I’d have years to ensure Marchetti’s son and our daughter do not cross paths.
“You have my word,” I uttered. “But there will be no visits by your family. There is no point in pretending we’re friends.”
Enrico shook his head. “You’re right. It’s probably for the best.” I hid my relief. “But I’ll consider my brother’s death a debt repaid once our families are joined.”
“Well, we can’t marry the children now,” Cassio chimed in.
“We’re getting the fuck out of here,” Sasha said, shifting his gun between Marchetti, Leone, and Agosti.
Luca nudged me lightly, and we walked towards the door, circled by Aiden, Cassio, and our friends, keeping our eyes and guns trained on Enrico and his men. They returned the favor. We walked backward to keep an eye on them.
Once we were outside, we saw that Enrico’s men had the car surrounded while my brothers stood in front of the windows with their guns trained on them, blocking their view of Penelope. My heart froze. Our steps halted. Did Marchetti just pull one over on us? Did we walk out of this house of torture and into another trap?
One of them had a hand pressed on his earpiece.
“Boss says they’re free to go.”
I led Luca to the parked car. He sank down in the passenger seat, passing out immediately. Cassio, Luciano, Sasha, and my brothers kept their guns trained on the men, watching as Marchetti’s men disbursed.
Once gone, Aiden returned his attention to me, the twins right at his side. I looked at my brothers hesitantly, unsure where to start.
“Do you hate me?” I rasped as my pulse fluttered. My eyes roamed over my brother’s face while the twins’ eyes darted between the two of us. The grim expression on Aiden’s face didn’t bode well for me nor Luca.
Aiden cupped my cheeks. “I’m not mad at you. You were just a kid, but you should have told me when you remembered.”
I swallowed. He was right. Except, I didn’t want to cause them pain. Mother’s betrayal would have hurt them all.
“Luca was a kid too,” I whispered softly. “Please don’t kill him.”
“Nobody is going to kill my brother,” Cassio threatened with a growl. There was so much growling and testosterone, I was drowning in it.
“What the fuck is going on?” Kyran grumbled.
Aiden shook his head. “I’ll update you on our way home.” My big brother’s eyes focused on me. “I won’t kill him. For you and for my niece. But Sister, you can’t keep taking off on us. Work out this shit with your husband. One way or another. Stay with him or come home.” It wasn’t an unreasonable request. “Work. Your. Shit. Out.”
I sighed. “You’re right,” I admitted in a whisper. “But there is one more thing you need to know.”
“Yes?”
My eyes flicked to the twins. I worried about their reaction, but I couldn’t keep any more secrets. They were always Mother’s favorite. Neither Aiden nor I minded it. We were never close to Mother.
“Luca killed Mother.”
“He what?” Tyran and Kyran growled at the same time.
“When she threatened mine and Penelope’s life, Luca lost it.” I realized I was justifying him. The truth was that I’d forgive that man anything. Except putting our daughter in danger.
But it turned out, he kept us protected even while we were on the run. He defended me even in his state.
