The worst thing was that I knew he was right when he said Aria wouldn’t leave him, not even when I told her what I’d seen today. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know what kind of man Luca was and what kind of things his men did on his orders. He’d killed and tortured for her before, and she still loved him. Somehow she could forget the monster and only see the man when she was with Luca. I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it. I could hardly meet Matteo’s gaze.
“I won’t tell her,” I said eventually. “But not for you. I’m doing it for her. I want to see her happy.” And for some fucked up reason Luca was making her happy, happier than I’d ever seen her. For her sake, I would pretend.
Luca turned to Matteo. “Take her to her room and make sure she stays there until Scuderi comes to pick them up. I don’t want her to make another scene.”
I bit back a snarky comment. “I want to see Aria. She needs me.”
I could tell that Luca wanted to tell me ‘no’ but he surprised me when he said, “You can stay with her when I’m not around.”
“It’s not like I’m eager to be in a room with you.”
“Come on, Gianna,” Matteo gripped my arm and didn’t even release me when I protested. He led me up the basement stairs, then along the long hallway and up the stairs. We didn’t speak until we reached my room and I jerked free of his grip.
My eyes darted to his pink hands and blood-covered shirt. Matteo followed my gaze, grimacing. “I’ll go change.”
“Don’t bother. I won’t ever forget what I saw.”
Matteo walked up to me and I stood my ground, despite my body’s desire to flee. “You are clever Gianna. Don’t tell me you didn’t know what we were doing behind closed doors. Believe me, the Outfit doesn’t handle enemies with kid gloves either.”
“I know. That’s why I despise everything about the fucking mob. And you are right, I wasn’t surprised about what I saw today. It only confirmed what I’d known all along.”
“And what is that?”
“That you’re a sick fuck and that I’d rather die than marry you.”
Matteo pulled me against him, his dark eyes practically scorching me with their intensity. “Maybe you think you could live in the normal world, maybe you think you could date a normal guy, but you’d get bored Gianna. Maybe you don’t want to admit it, but it excites you to be with someone like me. If a normal guy tells you he’d kill and torture to protect you, they’ll be lying, exaggerating at best, but I’m making a promise I can keep.”
“Let me go,” I gritted out.
He did, then gave me his fucking shark-smile and headed for the door. “I’ll lock the door. Luca will unlock it when he takes you to Aria.”
“So you’re going back to torturing that guy?”
Matteo’s gaze flickered with an emotion I couldn’t place. “Maybe. I’m a sick fuck, remember?” He slipped out. “But maybe I’ll let Luca have some fun with the Russians first.” His gaze lingered on me for another moment before he closed the door and locked it. I reached for a vase on the sideboard and flung it at the door where it shattered and tumbled to the floor.
I squeezed my eyes shut, making a promise I was determined to keep. I would escape before my wedding to Matteo. I would leave this life behind and never return. I would try to live a decent, an honest, an ordinary life.
Afterward I felt calmer, even if I knew it would be close to impossible to escape from the mob. It would take a plan and help, but I still had ten months until my wedding. Plenty of time.
Later when Luca picked me up and took me to Aria, I didn’t even provoke him. I ignored him, even when he warned me again not to tell Aria about the basement. He didn’t have to worry. I couldn’t burden Aria with the truth, not when she still had to live in this world and with Luca.CHAPTER FIVEGianna
“You look so pretty,” Lily said from her spot on my bed in the guestroom of the Vitiello mansion in the Hamptons. At least, it wasn’t the same room I’d had last time. I had to suppress a shiver when I thought of that day and all the blood I’d seen.
I glared at my reflection. Mother had chosen the dress for me because I’d refused to go shopping with her for my engagement party. It was a surprisingly nice dress, which didn’t make me look like a tramp. I still shuddered when I remembered the slutty dress they’d chosen for Aria when she’d gotten engaged to Luca.
My dress was dark green, my favorite color. I was surprised Mother knew that much about me, or maybe Lily had helped secretly. The skirt was flared and reached my knees. Definitely modest. Maybe Father thought I was bad girl enough and didn’t need a slutty outfit to emphasize that further.
“I don’t know why they bother,” I said. “They know I don’t want to celebrate my engagement to Matteo. I don’t want to marry him.”
“It’s tradition.”
Lily was wringing her hands nervously in her lap. Pushing my own feelings aside, I walked toward her and sat down. She didn’t even look up but her lower lip was trembling.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “I know it’s stupid but I’m kind of scared.”
“Of Luca, Matteo and Romero?”
“I’m sorry.”
I wrapped my arm around her. “Why are you apologizing? It’s perfectly natural for you to be afraid of them after what you saw in September.”
She shuddered. “I can’t get it out of my head. I dream about it almost every night.”
Two months since that day, and almost every night she woke me with her screams before she slipped into my bed. “They would never hurt you, Lily. We are girls, they will always want to protect us from harm.” It was laughable that I was singing their praise, but I would have done anything to calm Lily down.