Shaking out the match, Luca smiles. “What’s with all the questions? Does it matter?”
“They’ll find me.”
Luca exhales exasperatedly. He drops his head back and looks to the ceiling, calling for patience from the heavens above. “I look forward to it.”
“So, you’re going to kill me?”
“I will if you don’t shut the fuck up.”
He stalks forward, and I shrink back, holding my arms out as a shield. Luca captures my wrists in his large hand and pulls me against his body. He circles his free arm around my waist and drags his nose along my jawline, moaning. I keep my head turned as far away from him as my neck will allow, but I still smell sweat on his skin and something like liquor on his breath.
“If I had to take a guess,” Luca drawls slowly, slithering like a snake. He presses his lips to the corner of my mouth, and I bite down and hold my breath. “Wilder and Talent are probably finding out that their father is dead. Hopefully, they don’t forget to rescue the whore.”
I let out a choked sob, trying to free my arms from his grasp. But Luca likes the chase, and I’ve just stroked the monster. He digs in deeper and grabs me around my throat, shoving me toward the bed. My calves collide with the mattress, and I fall back into a cloud of dust and squeaky springs. I squeeze my legs shut, holding my knees together and crossing my ankles, but I’m no match for him.
With a guttural growl that curls his lips, Luca parts my legs and thrusts against me. I feel the shape of him under his jeans and over Wilder’s thin cotton boxers still held up with a safety pin. I cry out, arching my back from the mattress, but there’s no give.
“Was Wilder the last man to fuck you?” Luca asks. He holds my wrists down beside my head. “Is he who I taste on your skin? If I touch you, will I feel him between your legs? Do you let him come inside of you?” He chuckles, kissing across my collarbone. “I bet you do. Tell me, does he pay for it like the others, or does he get this pussy for free?”
He’s off of me in an instant, adjusting himself inside his pants with a satisfied smirk. I bring my thighs together, crossing my wrists over my chest as Elijah did before he dunked me beneath the water. Time to cash in. I demand a blessing. No one person suffers like this and doesn’t get one free miracle.
God, if you’re there, you owe me.
If He responds, I don’t hear it over the sound of my own screaming. Luca grabs my ankles and jerks me to the end of the bed. He pulls me up by my arm and kneels in front of me.
“I hate to break it to you, Cami.” He moves a lock of hair out of my face. “But I’m not into blondes.”
I spit in his face, and Luca doesn’t so much as flinch before reaching back to slap me across the face like my daddy did in church. The burn is immediate, and the entire room blinks out before returning in a spin. I hold my hand against my face, and it swells under my palm.
“You didn’t actually believe this had anything to do with you, right? What the fuck do I want with a whore?” Luca licks my saliva from his lips and pulls the hem of his shirt up to wipe away the rest.
For the first time tonight, I have the chance to look at him directly. His lip is busted, the bridge of his nose is bent and swollen, and both of Luca’s eyes are blackened. Even his ear is bruised, and there’s a gash at his hairline.
Luca Coppola can shoot people down. He can blow up their cars. He can bury them in ditches, and he can toss a girl around a rotten cabin and call it power. But I know the truth. Faced one-on-one with courage and strength, Luca had no muscle to flex. Wilder fucked him up, and I smile with the knowledge.
If our eyes are the windows to the soul, then Luca’s soul shattered the glass and escaped him a long time ago. His body reacts to my taunting smile, but his eyes are dead. They’re flat, dilated, and depthless. And I know where that gateway to Hell is now.
I can see all the way there through his eyes.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because I want Wilder Ridge to suffer before I blow his fucking head off. His parents are dead. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill his brother. And I’ll make sure he feels all of it before I put a bullet in him.”
The devils in Hell rejoice.
“But why?”
“Because Giovanni has a soft spot for those boys, and it’s dangerous for the entire family.” Luca crosses the room to sit on the couch. “And with Nicolai back in the city, it’s only a matter of time before the Ridges are made. Kill or be killed, Cami. That’s how it goes. Especially after what happened with their mom. Gio is a stupid man for thinking they’d let that slide.”
Luca’s phone rings before I ask questions, but my mind reels. What happened to Pamela Ridge? From what I understand, she died from natural causes. Did something occur before her death that set this in motion? Is this why Wilder and Talent want to be made?
Holding up his phone for me to see, Luca declines the call and turns the power off.
“Shouldn’t you answer when the boss’ son calls?” I ask. “Is that not a rule? One of your commandments?”
He leans his head back and closes his eyes, resting a gun on his thigh with a finger on the trigger. “Sit back and relax. It won’t be long now.”
Who knew falling asleep with an assassin in the room would be so easy. I tried to fight it, but I didn’t get much rest the night before and the candles lure me away, as if I’m in my own bed. I don’t know how much time has passed, but when I open my eyes again after hearing a noise, the sky outside the window is still dark. I didn’t sleep through the night. That would have been a mercy, and I’m not allotted mercies.
