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“I took her. I needed revenge, and it was coming too slowly.” I grind my teeth when I think about Felix. “She’s alive, but they are not getting her back.” I tell him because I know he will tell me to let her go.
“Salvatore, I told you not to.” He shakes his head. “We are already fighting between clans.” I do not give two fucks about clans, or fights. She is mine. “Why?”
“He was my brother, my fucking twin,” I seethe, “they took him from me, so I took something from them. One for one.” There is nothing he can say to convince me I am wrong.
“You should have come to me,” he says, “this is not good Sal, they think I took her. Her father is looking for a body.”
“She is not dead,” I say again, “she is taking care of the child her family left without a mother. And she will keep doing that until I say she is free, or she dies. Which could be today as they face a fucking hurricane alone.” I am mad as fuck I am not there. Lorenzo looks at me, folds his arms and waits a beat before he speaks.
“You love her.” It’s a statement, not a question. “Like I love Vanessa, even though we shouldn’t.” I stole Lucia, he killed Vanessa’s whole family. Not exactly the same, but close enough. “I understand.”
“I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I am not giving her back to them. Lorenzo, I will kill for her.” He smiles, and waves at a man to bring us drinks.
“Then you do exactly that,” he responds, “for now, this stays between us. No one needs to know. You are good at keeping your business clean. They’re not going to sniff for blood where there is none.” Except her father is out there hunting for her, and whoever took her. “We never had this conversation, and when it is safe you will go back to wherever you call home and stay there.”
I had planned to do just that. “I’m glad you understand,” I say as the waiter brings us a bottle of red wine and two glasses.
“No one understands love, that’s why it makes us do stupid shit,” he says with a laugh, “I hope you are happy, Sal. You deserve it, so does Raul.” My nephew has no idea what he lost, he will have no memories of Felix or his mother. But he will know me, and Lucia and that has to be enough. I have nothing else to give him.
“At least I know I am not the only one who kidnapped his girlfriend,’ I say. “You did it first.” Lorenzo and I share a meal, and for a moment I forget to worry about what is happening at home.
CHAPTER21
Lucia
Mother Nature threw all her toys out the cot, and before the night was through, we had to shelter underground. The island was being battered and the storm hadn’t even truly arrived yet. The lightning and wind became too dangerous to stay in the house. A part of the roof was lifted off and we decided it was time to take cover.
There is no way to tell if it is day or night down here, I don’t have a watch. It is just one long waiting game. The storm sounds permeate the thick concrete walls, and the thunder sounds as if it is consuming the island and us. Raul won’t settle and clings to me for dear life. His tiny hands dig into my skin, and his head buried in my neck There is not much we can do to the pass the time down here. I sleep whenever he takes a nap and keep him distracted when he is awake.
The thunder is so loud it shakes the foundation of the house, and we feel it in the storm shelter, the loud cracks as lighting strikes close to us make me jump. The staff and I are on edge. We can’t see the devastation outside, we can only hear it and it sounds as if we will emerge to no island at all. The waves smash with vicious force outside and it crosses my mind that we might just get washed away. Or even worse, flooded and down here, we would be trapped.
Fear has me in a choke hold, every breath is hard to take. My hands are sweaty, and I catch myself tapping my foot on the concrete floor.
“Lucia.” The burly man that is sort of in charge calls me aside, “our comms have been cut off completely. Either it’s the weather or the house has been damaged and the satellite connection taken down with it.” The sounds coming from above us indicate that the latter is most likely what has happened. “I can’t track the storm, but last I checked we are in for another sixteen hours of this.”
That sounds like forever at this point, but at least there is an end in sight, the storm will pass. I miss Salvatore, and down here hiding from danger, it is even harder to ignore how much of me wishes he was with us. He can’t even get to us until the storm has passed. Even then it may take a while for the weather to clear enough that he can even attempt to fly home.
“We will be fine.” I had zoned out, but I answer eventually. “We have what we need and we’re safe here.
“As long as the island doesn’t flood too much, we should be just fine until it passes.” His comment does nothing to calm me down at all. I close my eyes and wish for a minute none of this a happening, that I could go back in time — but then I wouldn’t be holding this baby in my arms nor would I have fallen in love with a man who should be my enemy.
Breathe.He said he would come back, and he will. I have to believe that Sal is not cruel enough to abandon us here. He loves me, he loves Raul. Surely, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt his only family.
***
When the storm eventually passes the calm silence is eerie but peaceful compared to the angry sound that has kept us locked away for days. There is no thunder, no howling wind, nothing banging or crashing above us — the danger has passed over us and we’re still alive.
The security team are going outside first to assess the damage and see if it is safe for me and Raul. We have no idea what the island looks like or if there is even a house still standing on the rocks
While they go out, I tidy up and hope we can get out of here. These concrete walls remind me of when I arrived here, the boat trip and being down in here waiting. I thought I was going to be killed or sold — when I saw Sal that first time, I honestly saw my gravestone in my head.
Instead, I have everything I never knew I wanted, and I fell in love. This island was supposed to be my prison, but it has set me free.
“Lucia,” I am called from the open door, and the fresh ocean air comes in as a cool breeze so welcome after being closed up and stuffy for days. “You need to come and see.” His straight face, and flat tone are enough to know I won’t like what I see.
I put Raul in his camp cot and follow the man outside.
There is nothing to see — because there is nothing left. The house is a shell, with no roof, no windows and bits of what was inside are littered all over the rocks and some float in the waves. The trees are leveled flat, out at the dock a Russian boat is floating upside down and I feel sick. There must have been people on board, where are they? God, there are just no words. I scan around taking it all in, my mind is taking time to process what my eyes are seeing.
