AllFreeNovel
Share Us
IT’S BEEN TWOdays. Two days of being stuck in this god forsaken room. Massimo hasn’t come back. Food has been dropped off at the door, and the doctor came to remove my IV and check on me.
My anxiety is reaching new heights. I’ve never disliked being alone. It was safer. I couldn’t offend people if they weren’t around. Problem is. Now that I’m alone, all I can do is think.
Think about my father. How I came to be here. Massimo. Wondering what he is doing. Wondering if he is thinking of me. Wondering what it would be like to have a night with him. He isn’t the relationship type. What kind of woman would it take to get him to settle down? Definitely not me.
My mind runs in circles. Never able to reach an answer that satisfies me. Then it goes back to the last thing he said before he stormed out. I’m being hunted. By who? I was caught by the Italians. Dad had me with men from all the other families, so I guess it’s a toss-up. Who could I have pissed off more?
Honestly. All of them.
Men don’t take kindly to being shown up by a female. Especially one they expected sex from and didn’t get. It torpedo's their mood and royally pisses them off.
Lost in thought, I don’t notice the door being opened. Or the three of them entering. I gasp in surprise as I do. My hand instantly flying up to my chest. It pisses me off. Not them coming in. But, me now being on guard enough to notice right away. Being lost in my mind isn’t good. It’s sometimes difficult to come back from. I tend to go down the rabbit hole and can’t find my way out. Stuck thinking on the endless what ifs.
Luca approaches first. He motions to the couches. I follow his wordless instructions and take a seat on one of the armchairs. I sit on the edge. Not wanting to get too comfortable. Luca and the woman I’m guessing is his new bride, Elena, take a seat beside each other on the couch opposite me. Massimo stays standing. Like a silent sentry in the background. His eyes don’t look at me. His familiar scowl present on his face. Damn. I liked it when he smiled. Will I ever see him smile again?
“Hello Livianna. It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”
“You as well Don Luca.” His eyebrows raise. It’s not common knowledge that he has taken over the throne yet. My gaze flits over to Elena. I don’t need to ask why they are here. I know. They want me to show them how I read people. They don’t believe the story Massimo told them. How do I know this? I read it off of them. Skipping their well-rehearsed lines, I jump right in. Turning to Elena, I greet her next. “Nice to meet you Elena.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. Luca’s face flickers only slightly. Massimo prepared him for our meeting. He’s trained to not show emotion. Just like Massimo. Only, it doesn’t matter with me. To anyone else, yes, they hide it well.
“You know who I am?” She says. “How?”
“Word is that Don Bosco found his long lost daughter. She took over the marriage contract to Luca.” I nod my head in his direction. “You are sitting closer than acquaintances, but not touching. You thought to be mindful of that. The giveaway is the faint indent on both your left ring fingers, but no tan line. A new ring you’ve worn until recently. You took them off so as to hide more of your identity. It won’t help. Luca’s itching to touch you. He’s a man in love with you.” I let my gaze roam over him. Slowly taking him in. “Obsessed actually. He doesn’t like not touching you. Thinks you are going to run. He’s already prepared to chase. In fact. If you look in his back pocket, he has a pair of handcuffs. You pissed him off this morning. He wants to link you to him, but hasn’t done it yet. Didn’t want to come in here like that. He’s waiting until you walk out of here.”
Elena’s eyes widen further. Then she turns to Luca and shoves him hard. He falls slightly to the side. She caught him off guard. Her hands dive to his ass. Or pockets. Hard to tell from this angle. A clink of metal brings a smile to my face. It was a good guess on my part. Could have been zip ties, or another restraint. I went with cuffs because they can be padded, which his are. He wouldn’t want to hurt his woman. It’s sweet while being utterly ridiculous.
“Luca James Mariani! You will not cuff me again.” She doesn’t raise her voice. Not much. She doesn’t have to. The tone says it all.
Luca’s eyes flash from me to her. His mask has slipped off. He is wondering how much more I know. The answer will surprise him, I’m sure. “Then don’t make me.” He rebuts. There is no anger in his voice. Only care. It’s sweet and has me looking to Massimo. His eyes are on me. Still set in a glare, though softened slightly when he looks at his friend. He’s happy for him. And jealous. Huh.
Before Elena can retort. I jump in again. I want this interrogation into my abilities over so we can move onto more important things. To do that I need them to believe the truth. “It’s because of the blood.” All three eyes turn to me. “I can smell the faint scent of copper and soap. You recently showered to remove the evidence. Both of you have. Luca’s mad cause you crept down to the basement without him knowing.” Elena’s eye roam over her body. Most likely trying to see what I see.
“You missed some blood on the back of your pinky. Also, you’re wearing thick socks and it’s not cold in here. But it is in the basement. You spent time down their recently. You’re also more relaxed than Massimo and Luca. Means you could have recently had sex, but you didn’t because it would have been with Luca and he isn’t showing the same markers. Which means you went with option two. You exercised. It wasn’t at the gym. You don’t look like you like to run in place, and hitting a bag isn’t satisfying enough to you. You needed something real. Julio is still here. You paid him a visit. Luca’s mad cause he was in a meeting. He’s been having more of them and he hates the time away from you.”
Massimo takes a few steps closer. His face still set in his mask. Luca on the other hand looks impressed. “Could have learned that by sneaking around the compound.” Luca says confidently.
“You and I both know I haven’t. You moved the guard from my door as a test. You wanted to see if I could be enticed to leave the room, and what I would do if I did. The cameras you have in the hallway and the one hidden in the bookshelf behind me would have alerted you if I left.”
All three eyes dart to the camera. I pay attention to my surroundings when I’m not distracted. The morning I woke up, I cataloged the room. Yesterday after my shower, I noticed it changed. Found the camera a few minutes later. Didn’t touch it. Just knew it was there.
“Seeing as I haven’t left the room, and no one has come to speak with me, I would say it’s safe to say, I had no way of knowing those details, now could I?”
Luca concedes first. “No. You couldn’t.”
“You believe her?” Asks Massimo.
“You don’t?” Questions Elena as she turns to look at him.
He seems to mull it over for a minute. “No.”
“Why not?” She asks.
“Could be good guesses, nothing more.”
“I don’t see how.” Replies Luca.
I give Massimo a quick look. He needs more. Something concrete. Something that can’t be a guess. I look him over until I see it. “You trust me. And you’re mad about it. You just met me and you trust me. Something you don’t often do. Especially not with women.” I pause. Letting that sink in for a moment. “You have a woman in your life. One you wanted to trust. One you contemplated asking to marry you after Luca fell for Elena. You’re happy for your friend and you feel ready to settle down too. But you haven’t asked her. Haven’t bought a ring either. You know what’s stopping you. You just won’t admit it. You don’t trust her.”
