AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
WHAT IN THE holy hell was going on?
As the door shut behind Chef, Luca got to his feet, his eyes wide and roaming over a disheveled Dom. He looked like he’d been in a bar fight with the way he had his bloody knuckles shoved inside an ice bucket, but the splatter of red up his forearms and on his face told a different story.
“What happened to you?” Luca said.
Dom took a long swig of scotch. Then another.
“I thought you weren’t allowed to leave.”
Dom finally looked at Luca. “The premises.”
“Did you…” Luca couldn’t even say the words. They were too horrible to think about.
“Spit it out, Luca. Did I what?”
Dom dropped the bucket of ice back on the bar cart and strode toward him, the bottle of scotch dangling from his good hand. He looked every bit the dangerous villain Luca had first seen him as. Luca tried to get his feet to move, but he felt glued to the floor.
This man is a monster. Whatever he did just now, he’ll do the same to you.
Dom leaned in by Luca’s ear, the heat of his breath making him shiver. “Did I kill a man? Is that what you’re too afraid to ask?”
Luca swallowed hard. “Did you?”
Dom moved back, no hint of regret or guilt in his dark eyes. “Not tonight.”
The implication that this was nothing new for Dom had Luca reeling. It was one thing to hear it, but it was another to see someone else’s blood on Dom’s hands.
And his forearms. And his face.
Another shiver racked Luca’s body, and Dom noticed.
“Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for a response before heading toward the stairs. “Now.”
Shit. Oh shit, shit. Am I next? He didn’t finish off the other guy and now he wants to send me back to my family in pieces?
Luca would rather stay down here and take his chances. The kitchen was nearby…with knives. Other utensils that could be used as weapons.
Or usedagainsthim.
Fuck.He forced himself to follow Dom up the stairs, his legs shaking beneath him.
No…he won’t do anything here. That’s why he left. He was probably in the place he kept me, so if he was going to hurt me, we’d be going downstairs, not up. Right?Maybe he’ll just lock me in my room.
But when Dom kept walking to the room at the end of the hall, Luca felt another wave of panic.
“Wh-where are we going?” Luca cursed at the way his voice sounded so high and reedy, but who knew what Dom kept in there? It was locked for a reason.
Dom opened the door. “Get in.”
Luca glanced inside, but when he didn’t immediately obey, a strong hand clamped around his upper arm. He gasped, jerking his arm, but the fingers surrounding his bicep tightened, reminding him that Dom was more than capable of physical harm.
“Was I not clear?” Dom shoved him forward, inside the door. “I said get in.”
Luca stumbled inside the room, his eyes on his feet as he tried to stay upright, and when the door clicked shut and locked behind him, he sent up a quick prayer.
Please, God, whatever happens next, make it fast.
