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“That’s because they’re hoping to get a piece of your ass. I’m the one who kept everyone in line for you. But now it’s time you stop playing around and become my wife.”
“I will never marry you. My father will kill you before it ever comes to that.” She sounds confident in herself, her words grating on my patience. I have shown her too much mercy in the way she speaks to me.
“Oh, you will marry me. If you’re not careful, it will be your father who is killed, not me.”
The sassy smile disappears from her face. About time she takes me seriously.
I take the rifle from her and don’t bother taking my time to line it up with the target. I’ve practiced so many times I could hit the bull’s eye in my sleep. Staring at her, so she realizes what a perfect shot I am, I pull the trigger. I hand the binoculars to her and smile, watching her mouth drop open when she sees I hit it dead center. I never miss.
“I should have let my father deal with you when we first met,” she says on a sigh, like that would have stopped how her future played out.
“But then you would have missed out on the love of your life.” I shrug, watching her roll her eyes while scoffing. “Why didn’t you ever rat me out?” I have often wondered. I would have been a dead man. I was too inexperienced back then.
“It was your eyes,” she says after a short moment of silence. She has my attention. She shouldn’t, but I’m more than curious right now. “I saw warmth in them. And I knew immediately you would never hurt me. So, I guess I decided to do what the old saying said. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. I must have succeeded, since you think you’re my best friend.”
“Tell me then, whoisyour best friend?”
“I never had time for one of those. Most women wouldn’t let their children play with me. They felt like they were choosing my mother over the Don, and that was too big of a risk. You see, it was my mother who chose not to accept his money, not the other way around. People didn’t see that, and he allowed that to be her punishment.” She’s deep in thought, her forehead furrowed. Moving her hands in front of her as if getting rid of the bad air, she places a fake smile on her face.
“Don’t do that,” I tell her softly.
“Do what?”
“Pretend with me. I will always know when you’re lying, even by omission. So don’t pretend to be happy on my account. I can see that it hurt you.”
“I suppose it does sting a bit. I honestly try not to think about it. I sound greedy even to my own ears. I was given every opportunity. I never lacked anything, and I felt loved by my mother. I’ve seen that some people have it harder than me.”
I stare down at her lips, and I want to sample them so badly. She has this draw that I’ve never been able to escape. But I can’t let her see the power she has over me. It will ruin everything I have worked for.
I place the gun back in her hands. “Try again,” I demand forcefully, severing the invisible truce we had.
Chapter 17
Aly
Forasecond,Ithought we had a moment. I saw a glimpse of the old Luca who I originally met. But I was a young girl who was fascinated with the thought of having a crush on the enemy next door. I looked forward to the nights he snuck into my house. He was one of the rare people to treat me like I existed. He took time to check in on me, and each time he did, he placed himself in danger. Now, to think back on this, it all seems silly. I’m able to recognize others who did similar things, but I never gave them the credit.
Holding the gun up, I take my aim once again. His blue eyes never leave me, and his unique scent surrounding us causes my attention to be divided. His chest is against my back before his arms wrap around me, repositioning the gun. One hand covers mine, both our fingers hovering over the trigger.
“You need to steady your breathing.” His voice is a low rumble. I try to by holding my breath then letting it out slowly. All of a sudden, I sound like the noisiest breather on the planet. It’s all I can hear with him this close to me. “Don’t stop breathing.” His hot breath washes over my neck. “You need to learn to control your feelings, push everything away so the only thing in your vision and mind is that target.”
Focusing on my breathing, I try to ignore that he’s enveloped me with his entire body. It’s like I’m wrapped in a blanket of Luca. The gun stops its slight vibration as I do as instructed. My finger presses down on the trigger as his hand slides up my torso. It throws off my focus. I don’t even hear the shot hitting the target.
“Do it again.” His voice is strong and determined. There’s no point in arguing it’s his fault.
Lining up the gun, I watch him out the corner of my eye. He’s every bit as intense as he watches me. He never seems happy but always has a slight grin. It makes it hard to gauge what he’s thinking or feeling.
Slowly, I’m able to block everything out. The trees, Luca, my thoughts. This will be my best shot of the day. Just as I’m about to pull the trigger, Luca’s strong voice echoes around our quiet area. My fingers jump, pulling the trigger at the same time he announces, “We’ll be married in five days.”
I try to steady my heart and breathing to show no reaction. I knew he wanted this, the whole reason he kidnapped me, but it felt different. I almost laugh at my stupidity. Once again, I went into my fantasy world. I guess I forgot he was the enemy, even with me reminding myself. It went upon deaf ears and skipped past my heart. Marrying Luca will make me the enemy of my family. I’ll never be able to see them again.
“Why are they important to you now yet never have been before?” he questions—they being my father’s family, including Jonny, who is now dead.
When I dig deeper, it comes down to them being my family, and I felt bound to them.
“I’m the one who protected you and visited you the best I could from afar. They pushed you away every step, and I was the one always watching you.”
My brain hurts, and I’m confused. He sounds like he wants this, like this isn’t some ploy to get at my family. But if that were true, I wouldn’t be a prisoner. They would have asked for a marriage pact.
