Page 38 of Mafia Boss's Baby Surprise

He lays me down on the bed, tugging at my shirt. A frown creases his brow as he watches me, something dark flashing through his eyes.

“Who did this to you?” His voice is like a growl.

I stop breathing for a moment, sitting up. “I don’t know what—”

His fingers gently brush the bruise on my cheek. How did he notice? The bruise is already fading, and I’ve covered it with a ton of waterproof makeup Julia brought me.

“Don’t lie to me.” His eyes are as dark as the night itself, and there’s danger lurking in them. “I asked you, who did this to you?”

“It’s nothing. I fell.”

He clenches his jaw. “On whose fist? I’m going to fucking kill them!”

I jerk back, staring at him with wide eyes. He looks serious when he says it. Completely gone is the nice, kind guy who makes me feel safe, but I’m not afraid of him.

Maybe I should be. There’s something dark lurking in his eyes. The shadows I’ve only caught glimpses of before, but now they’re dancing openly in the depths of his eyes.

“Luca...” I absolutely can’t let him know what happened or who I really am.

“Do you think I don’t know what it’s like to get punched in the face? My father was an asshole, okay? I learned all the excuses when someone asked about my bruises by the time I was five. I know a lie when I hear it.” His face is deadly serious.

My lips part in surprise. Can Luca and I be any more connected? His father sounds even worse than mine. If I told him the truth about everything, maybe he could understand. Maybe he could actually get what I’m going through.

“Who was it?” he insists, covering my hand with his. “I’ll make sure they never hurt you again. Do you hear me? I won’t let them come anywhere near you again.” His eyes are trained on mine.

“Luca, I...” I don’t know what to say.

“I know you’re going to be an attorney, and I get that you want to do everything the right way. But a restraining order isn’t going to help. I have better ways to make sure someone stays as far away as possible from you. All you have to do is give me their name.”

I can’t tell him. He thinks I’m in law school. He doesn’t even know who I really am. No matter how much I’d love to be free from my family, I know there’s no way to make that happen.

Luca can look scary and send a normal guy running in fear for his life, but that’s not going to work on my father.

“Stay with me,” Luca says. “If you don’t want to tell me who it is, fine. But stay with me. You’ll be safe.”

I believe him. His eyes tell me that he’s not lying to me about that. And I would love more than anything to be with him. Maybe I don’t know much about him, but I know enough. I’d be better off with him than with my family.

“I own a building in the city,” he says. “You don’t have to move in with me. I have an apartment where you can stay. I can have someone drive you to college or wherever you have to go whenever you need. Money’s not an issue for me. I can hire a bodyguard for you. I’d prefer to be by your side, but if you don’t want me...”

“Thank you.” I intertwine my fingers with his. “But I’m handling the situation on my own. I have friends who’ll help me.”

I can’t stay with him, no matter how amazing that would be. It’s not fair to Julia and her family, and anyone else who’ll get in trouble if I just disappear and don’t return home. My decision impacts too many people.

Maybe some of them, like the guards, don’t give a damn about me and about what happens to me, but Julia has risked everything for me. I can’t repay her by turning her life upside down just so I can be happy.

My father would come for me too. Maybe Luca can afford to hire a bunch of bodyguards, but they’ll be no match for my father and his men. I don’t want to put a target on Luca’s back. My father would hire someone to kill him.

“Okay.” He sighs. “But you better not be lying about it. I was also at a point when I desperately needed help, but I kept refusing it. I thought it was better if I was just dead, and I didn’t believe anyone could truly help me. But I was wrong, and I didn’t realize it until it was almost too late.”

I squeeze his hand.

“I need you to know that you’re not alone, even if it seems like you are.” His eyes glisten as he stares deep into mine. “You’re not. I’m here for you. I’ll listen. I’m here for whatever you need.”

“Thanks.” I almost choke on the word because tears are filling the corners of my eyes.

Why does he have to be so nice? Why does his offer have to be so tempting? How am I going to tell him now that we’re never going to see each other again?

“I wish I had someone... sooner. I was just a teen and thought no one could understand what I was going through, so I turned to drugs, even if all they did was make me feel shittier,” he says. “I took whatever the hell I could get my hands on, and I didn’t care about anything. I didn’t give a fuck about what might happen to me. I didn’t think anyone else gave a fuck either.

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