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Were the other men from before, Matteo and Denis, his brothers too?
The image of seven kids running around one living room seemed chaotic but strangely comforting. I tried to imagine little Yuri pulling on Lucia’s hair or roughhousing with Luka or how they looked all piled on the couch to watch a movie together. It was an adorable picture that made my chest tighten, the lump in my throat trying to come back. How could one family be so plentiful and the next so utterly empty?
“And since Isa got married, I’ve been cooped up in this house with all boys.” Lucia threw herself onto the countertop in a show of dramatic agony and Luka rolled his eyes at the display.
“Please! Someone, anyone, come marry Lucia Zaragoza before she dies of old age!” He took a big swig of water before adding, “I’ll pay you!”
I actually laughed out loud when Lucia threw an apple from the fruit basket at him, nearly missing his head.
“You’ll be the first one to miss me when I’m gone!”
Yuri finally turned, setting a plate in front of me with a toasted breakfast sandwich and some cut-up fruit. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before standing next to me and, conveniently, in between his fighting siblings.
“This looks delicious. Thank you.” I smiled softly before grabbing the sandwich and digging in. He only nodded, keeping his eyes trained on me. I understood the assignment to be on my best behavior and acting wasn’t too difficult with a full plate of food in front of me.
If I had any manners at all, I would have slowed down my bites, taking small sips of water in between and brushing off the crumbs that had fallen onto Yuri’s black shirt. Except, my manners went out the window when I was thrown into the side of a van and when I was served nearly the best damn sandwich I’d ever had in my life. By the end, I would have licked the plate clean if Yuri hadn’t immediately grabbed it and put it in the dishwasher. He switched my empty water bottle with a new one and placed a hand on my cheek, lifting my head slightly.
“How are you feeling?”
“Well.” I leaned into his hand slightly before he pulled it away. “Where did you learn to cook?” I asked.
“Well, my sister sure as hell wasn’t going to do it.” Luka erupted into laughter and Lucia scoffed. I was beginning to see the dynamic between them and again I wondered what it was like to see the whole bunch in action. For as much as I didn’t want to be here, kidnapped against my will, my life threatened in the name of some illegal business, I couldn’t lie and say I hated seeing them enjoy each other’s company.
I heard a sound from behind me when Yuri straightened and gripped my arm. He leaned in close, “come on.” I stood quickly, unsure of what was going on but wanting to stay close to him. At some point, I began to believe what he had said— that he didn’t want to hurt me, at least physically. Though it felt like a betrayal of my pride, if I needed to stay close to him to survive, I would.
Lucia whined, reaching out to grab my other arm. “Are you dragging her away so soon?”
Yuri’s face contorted before releasing again as he responded. “Yes, she’s my guest. Not yours.”
“Okay, well don’t keep her away forever!” Her fingers slipped from my arm and she smiled sweetly. “I need some girl time every now and…”
“What the fuck is going on here?” I jumped at the booming voice. The stocky one, Denis, was standing at the doorway to the kitchen, a snarl on his face.
Lucia made a low sound of disgust before getting up and pushing in the stool. “We were having a nice time until you showed up.”
“Lucia!” Luka scolded. She threw her hands up before turning and walking out of the kitchen. Yuri’s grip tightened on my arm, almost painfully.
Denis cut the distance, rounding the other side of the island. “What is she doing up here?” I slipped closer to Yuri, hugging close to his side. I noticed the way his hand squeezed into a fist in front of me.
Luka stepped forward and forced a smile, “we just ate some lunch.” Denis’ eyes darted back and forth between the three of us and my heart began to race. I reached forward and grabbed the back of Yuri’s shirt, slightly tugging in the hopes that he would take me anywhere else.
His snarl faded until his lips pulled into a sickly smile that sent chills down my legs. My cheek flared as I remembered him slapping me. He was sickening, even the sight of him made my skin crawl. I tracked him as he walked toward us, stopping less than a foot from my right side. “I see you’ve healed up already. And look how pretty you are,” he reached a hand out to touch my chin.
Without thinking I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me!”
As quickly as Denis reached out to grab me, Yuri ripped me back by my left arm, sending me tumbling to the floor. Yuri stepped in front of me, puffing himself up in front of Denis as I scooted away from both of them. Luka rounded the other side of the kitchen and bent to offer me a hand but I shook my head, suddenly feeling unwilling to let anyone touch me.
“Are you protecting her?” Denis asked, his eyes narrowed with a grin on his face. He looked down at me and shook his head, “a couple of days here and the bitch already has you wrapped around her finger, huh?”
Yuri relaxed, turning so he could look down on me just as Denis did. “Not protecting her. I just don’t want to pay the Doc for another useless visit. I’ll be back.”
I sucked in a breath, the truth of his words putting me back in the place where I belonged.
He bent and pulled me up, dragging me along behind him. I didn’t fight against him. Instead, my eyes were trained behind us where Denis leaned out the kitchen doorway, winking in my direction as we walked away.
Nausea rolled through my stomach as we passed through the living room and into the corridor. When Yuri stopped at a different door, I frowned. He pulled me inside the doorway quickly, slamming the door behind him.
“Where are…”
