AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My mind races with questions and doubts, my pulse pounding in my ears. Yet, as I look at Lulu – vulnerable, frightened – I know I must find a way to protect her, even from herself.
"Where did you get the phone?" I ask, my voice firm but not unkind. Lulu looks down at her hands, twisting the hem of the blanket.
"I bought it at the mall," she admits quietly. "The day I bought all those shoes."
"Of course, you did," I sigh, realizing I've underestimated her ability to behave. My chest tightens as I consider the implications. "Don't do it again, Lulu."
She looks up at me, defiance flickering in her eyes. "I can't guarantee that. I need to get home to my family."
"Miami isn't safe for you," I remind her, trying to keep my tone even. "You need to let that go."
Her anger flares, and she snaps, "The only reason you're keeping me here is because your reputation is at risk. It doesn't have anything to do with me."
"That's not true," I reply, hurt by her accusation. She challenges me further.
"Then trust me not to say anything about you and just let me go!"
"Absolutely not," I growl, my patience wearing thin. She glares at me, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Why don't you trust me?" she demands.
I scoff, my own anger rising. "How can I when you behave like this?"
Her expression shifts from anger to confusion. "How do you always know where I am? It's unnerving, and I hate it. I don't understand!"
"It's for your protection," I answer tersely. She narrows her eyes, unsatisfied with my response.
"Protection? What do you mean?" I hesitate, knowing that revealing the truth would be a mistake. She keeps pressing, her voice taking on a desperate edge. "What did you do?"
"Rest, Lulu," I urge, standing up to leave. But she clambers out of bed and grabs my arm, her grip surprisingly strong.
"Tell me!" she shouts, her eyes searching mine. I sigh, defeated.
"Fine," I relent. "When you were being stitched up, I had a GPS chip implanted in your shoulder."
ChapterTwenty-Six
My heart pounds in my chest as Giovanni utters those words that send an icy shock through my veins. "You did what?" I can hardly believe it, the anger boiling up inside me like a wild storm.
"I put a GPS device in your shoulder before they stitched you up," he repeats, his voice steady despite the tension hanging in the air like heavy fog.
A primal scream bursts from deep within me, one I've never let out before. I rush to the bed, clawing at my shoulder with desperation and fury. How could he do this to me? I feel like a trapped animal, marked and tracked by some twisted hunter.
Giovanni is on me in a flash, pinning me down and holding my wrists above my head.
"Stop it!" he yells, but all I can do is spit in his face, seething with rage.
"I will cut this thing out of my shoulder! How dare you do something like this to me? I'm not some dog that you can microchip!"
His eyes lock onto mine.
"I did it for your own good. It was for your protection. It still is!"
But I'm having none of it. The fire in me burns hotter as I struggle against him. "That's bullshit, Giovanni! You did this to make your life easier, without thinking about me at all! Let me go!"
"Lucia," he says firmly, "I'm not letting you go."
"Then why?" I demand, my breath hitching in my throat. He doesn't respond – instead, he kisses me. His lips meet mine, desperate and hungry, yet somehow gentle. It catches me off guard, but my anger quickly flares up again. I spit at him once more, only for him to kiss me again with even more intensity.
