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Zipping up my bag, I sling it over my shoulder. "Where exactly are you taking me?" I ask, even though I know he most likely won't tell me.
"You don't get to ask questions, red. Let's go." He points his gun to the doorway, stepping close to me. "And don't even think about causing any trouble."
I screw my face up at his pet name for me. Standing on my tippy toes to get eye level with him, I lean forward, so I am mere centimeters from his face. "Why? Will you kill me? I think we have already established that I. Don't. Care."
Luca cocks his head to the side as though he is examining me. I watch him back with equal curiosity as his tongue sweeps across his bottom lip in slow motion. "Oh, red." He chuckles deep within his chest, coming out a low rumble. Goosebumps pepper my skin at the sound. "There are so many worse things than death." Just as he speaks, Pumpkin meows at my feet. He grins. I see every evil and cruel thought run through his mind. No, no, no, no, no, not Pumpkin!
He beats me to it, bending down and scooping up Pumpkin in his arm. "Pretty little kitty cat," he says in a patronizing way as he strokes the cat along his back. "Who will feed him when you're gone?" I swallow his unsaid threat thickly. “We better take him with us.”
Just when I thought I couldn't possibly hate Luca anymore, he proves me wrong. What did I expect, really? This man is a monster. He takes people's lives without an ounce of remorse. Why would he care about killing an innocent little cat?
Picking up one of the moving boxes, he tips it upside down. A few books and odds and ends that I’d yet to unpack fall onto the floor. “Put the furball in this.” Luca holds the box out to me. “I don’t want cat hair all through my car.”
I snatch the box from him, raising my brows. “Didn't pick you for a neat freak.” He doesn’t reply, just glares at me as though he is bored.
Shaking my head, I grab the throw rug from my sofa and place it in the box. “I need to get some food for him,” I say, watching as his eyes point to the kitchen floor where the cat kibble is scattered all over it. I grab the bag, relieved to find it’s still at least half full.
Luca ushers me into the passenger seat of a black SUV that's parked out on the street. He didn't even try to hide his car when he came to kill me. That's how cocky the bastard is. He hands me Pumpkin, then gets into the driver's seat without a word, starts the car, and pulls out onto the road.
No surprise that Luca’s car is immaculately clean. It looks brand new, but the distinct smell of male cologne mixed with disinfectant tells me it is not. Pumpkin isn’t used to being in a car and obviously hates it in the box because he scratches furiously at the box and meows for a solid twenty minutes.
“Shut the furball up before I do. Permanently!” Luca growls.
“Maybe if you hadn't shoved him in a dark box, he wouldn’t be so frightened. But, no, we can't get cat hair in your ridiculously overpriced and abnormally clean car, can we now?” I snap. “So, what do you propose I do to keep him quiet?”
Luca lets out a long exhale as if he is giving in, but I can’t help but notice how tightly he is gripping the steering wheel.
“Yep, thought as much,” I say with a big fat grin. I can see I am getting to him, and that brings me such pleasure. My joy is short-lived, though, because he doesn't even glance at me, choosing to ignore me. Pumpkin finally stops his escape attempt and is quiet. It is as if he is aware we are both skating on thin ice.
Luca continues to remain quiet as he drives, the radio is off, and the silence unsettles me. I lean forward and flick the radio on. Katie Perry's Daisies plays through the speakers as I turn up the volume.
"Do not touch my stereo." Luca slaps my hand away and switches the radio off.
Frowning, I glare at him. "You don't have to smack me like a child."
"Well, don't act like one."
I scoff at him. "How is wanting to listen to music acting like a child?"
"You should use your manners and ask." Keeping his eyes on the road, he doesn't look at me as he speaks.
"Where were your manners when you broke into my apartment and held a gun to my head?"
"I do not need to explain myself to you. Just sit there and be quiet."
I chuckle, shaking my head. "You kidnapped the wrong girl if you wanted peace and quiet, butcher."
"I didn't kidnap you. You walked out of your apartment and got into my car of your own free will."
"You had my cat."
Luca sighs. "That's right, and if you don't be quiet, I will throw the goddamn cat out of the window." His frustration is becoming more and more evident the longer I watch him.
"Rude," I comment, unable to resist poking the angry bear further, but to my disappointment, he just ignores me again.
As we turn onto the I-85 heading towards North Carolina, I realize that he is most likely taking me back to New York. That's a solid thirteen-hour drive without stops. It is a hell of a long time to be a passenger in a silent car with a petrified cat and a grumpy OCD killer. What is he planning to do with me anyway? Will he lock me up and try to torture the information out of me?
Three hours into our road trip, and Pumpkin is starting to stir in his box again. Luca has still not said a word to me since he threatened to throw Pumpkin out of the window, but my bladder is letting me know it's not able to hold on much longer.
