Luca nods to the armed guards stationed outside the house. He steps forward and stops in front of the door, his fingers on the handle. He turns and scoops me up into his arms.
“Luca!” I shout.
“I’ve dreamed of this moment, Rosa. Well, not quite this moment. But finally having you to myself.” His strong arms hold me easily as he carries me down the hall.
I bury my face against his chest, the emotions are overwhelming.
He leads us into his bedroom and places me down on my heels. We stand there, staring into each other’s eyes. Neither of us knows quite what to say. He brushes his hands along my arm and I flinch.
His jaw clenches.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was him?” His voice is soft, but I hear the hurt there.
“He threatened to—” I can’t bring myself to say the words.
“Eva.” He lets out a long sigh.
“But he did it, anyway. He tortured and raped her, Luca.”
“The bruises?”
I watch his Adam’s apple bob. “Last night. I went looking for her—”
“Fuck,” he hisses.
“I rifled through his stuff a couple of days ago. I found an address. I thought maybe that might be where Eva was. So I went there.”
“You what?” he groans.
I sniffle and nod.
“He was there. I didn’t find her. I tried to run, but he caught me and dragged me back to the car.”
The words are rolling out of me. I need to tell him everything.
“When you came to the door, he was on the phone with Maria. He had blood all over him. He told me to make you come to the wedding. He wanted to break you, they both did.”
“You did an amazing job, Rosa. You did the right thing, you kept yourself safe. That’s all that matters.” A tear slips down his cheek.
“No, Luca. I’m not all that matters. Are you okay?”
“I don’t matter, Rosa.”
I wipe the drop from his cheek. He must be breaking inside. He lost his mom, and he’s started a war for me. Yet, he thinks he let me down.
“Yes. Yes, you do. To me, you are everything. Without you, I am nothing. Never say that again.”
I wish I could show him just how I see him through my eyes. The most powerful man in the world.
“I’m so sorry, Rosa. I’m sorry I didn’t see this happening. I would have taken you away sooner.”
“You saved me, not just today, but all those months ago when you took me. I would never have survived any of this without you.”
He drops his head to rest against mine.
I place my hand over his chest, his frantic heart hammers against my palm. “Mia vita, Luca. I love you.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I found her, Rosa. I can’t get the image out of my head.”
Guilt creeps over me. If I had been stronger and stayed away from Luca, his mom could still be alive. I shake my head, I can’t think like that now, not when he needs me.
His tattooed hand covers mine. “But, all that matters now is that we are here, together. Nothing can keep us apart.”
“No more last kisses?”
He looks down at my hand on his chest and frowns. I almost sag in relief as he slides off that disgusting engagement ring that has branded me for months. I’m free.
He pockets it. I don’t question it. I never want to see it again.
“They never were going to be our last kisses. There isn’t a single thing on this earth that would have kept me from you.”
I pull back. “I need you to get me out of this monstrosity, Luca.”
He places me down and starts unlacing the corset. Every time his fingers brush my skin, I shiver in anticipation.
As soon as it’s loose, I push it down and step out of it.
“Burn it.”
He bundles it up in his arms, walks towards the balcony, and tosses it over the side, wiping his hands with dramatic flair when he’s done.
He doesn’t realize the pain he’s taken away from me with that simple act. When he reaches me, I cover my bruised arms with my hands. They’re a purple testament to my failures.
“Please don’t hide from me, baby. I love every inch of you.” He tips my chin up to face him. “And that also means don’t keep your feelings or your demons from me. I’m here to battle them with you. Always.”
“And the same goes for you. We fight together, remember?”
He nods. I push myself up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.
“I love you, Luca.”
“My heart beats for you and only you, tesoro.”
A knock at the door interrupts us from falling farther into each other’s arms.
“What?” Luca shouts in annoyance.
The door creeps open. Grayson peers around the edge and Luca spins me behind him. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold off Frankie. If you want to do this, Luca, you need to take over.”
Dante.
He’s down in the basement.
“Go. Finish this.” I tap Luca’s back.
His hand tightens on my hip. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
He turns back to me as Grayson closes the door. “I’ll make him pay for everything, Rosa. I might have let you down, but never again, starting right now.”
“It’s really going to be over?” My voice cracks. After all of those years of nightmares and looking over my shoulder, it feels as if a weight is being lifted.
He nods as he tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
“And then our lives finally begin, tesoro.”
