Page 10 of Stefano
Chapter Six
The Trap
Andrea
At first, the night feels like a dream.
Dinner with Luca is smooth and easy.He’s attentive, charming, and when he walks me out of the restaurant, his hand at the small of my back, I tell myself this is what normal girls get to feel.Safety.Desire without danger.Romance without blood.
But the dream fractures when he steers me away from the busy street.
“My car’s just around the corner,” he says with a smile.“Quieter here.”
Something twists in my gut.His grip on my elbow is firmer than it should be.Too firm.
“Luca?”I ask, my voice wavering.“What are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer.He just keeps walking.
Panic sparks in my chest.I try to pull back, but another set of hands grabs me from behind.A rough palm slaps over my mouth, smothering my scream.
My phone slips from my fingers, clattering to the pavement, the screen shattering like glass bones.
I’m dragged toward a dark van idling at the curb.The door yanks open.Two more men are inside, strangers with cold eyes and cruel smiles.
The one holding me shoves me forward.I hit the metal floor hard, the impact jarring my ribs.My dress tears at the seam, my knees scraping raw.I thrash and kick, but hands clamp down on my wrists and ankles.
“Stop!”I cry, my voice hoarse.“Please, don’t...”
“Quiet,” Luca snaps.
But his voice isn’t smooth now.It’s rougher, crueler.The mask is gone.He rips the neat jacket from his shoulders, his posture shifting.His smile is different, sharp and menacing, not the one I laughed at across a dinner table.His accent slips, thicker and tainted with a foreign accent.
“You’re coming with us,princesa.”
Fear ices my veins.He’s not Luca.He never was.
“Who are you?”I ask, my question a broken whisper.
He smiles, a dark sinister thing before he speaks.“Matías Sosa.”
The memory comes back to me in a rush.Stefano muttering once, low and venomous, talking about the cartel.
Matías.
The van door slams shut.Darkness swallows me whole.
The ride is rough, the air stinking of sweat and gasoline.Every bump jolts my body, my wrists aching in the zip ties.My mind races.How long has he been planning this?How many nights did I smile at my phone, thinking I was safe, while he was setting a trap?
