Sera’s submissive behavior only lasted as long as it took me to get her off of Luigi’s property. As soon as we were far enough down the street near where I’d parked the car I’d rented under a fake name, she yanked her hand from mine, turned, and ran down a side street.
I cursed under my breath and took off after her, catching up to her easily and lifting her into my arms. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” I kept my voice down, and so did she as she struggled in my grip.
“Let me go, you son of a bitch!”
Turning her in my arms, I threw her over my shoulder and stalked back to the car, keeping a watchful eye for any nosy neighbors. Luckily, it was late enough that most people were settled in for the night. Which was good for them, because if any man wandered out of his house and saw Sera running down the street practically naked, I’d have to kill him just for looking at her.
She pummeled me with her fists everywhere she could reach. When I got tired of it, I slapped her hard on the ass. She froze in shock, but only for a moment before she started in again. “Jesus fucking Christ.” I started to jog down the street, and she was forced to hang on or bounce off my shoulder. I smiled when I felt her clutch the back of my shirt.
When we reached the corner, I stopped and checked the surrounding area. All seemed quiet, but just in case, I pulled my gun from its holster and clicked off the safety. Adjusting Sera on my shoulder, I hurried across the street to the car, my eyes scanning the area for any sign of Luigi’s men.
I’d left the doors on the rental unlocked. Opening the driver’s side, I dumped Sera into the car and climbed in after her. I kept a tight hold on her wrist, just in case she got it into her pretty head to jump out the other side, and reached over the steering wheel to shift it into neutral. Leaving the headlights off, I took my foot off the brake. The car started to roll down the hill.
Sera used her other hand to try to pry mine off of her wrist. “Let go of me! Let me out of this fucking car!” Now that we were out of hearing range, she had no qualms about letting me know exactly how she felt.
“Stop it,” I ordered. We didn’t have time for this shit. She could be mad at me once I had us both somewhere safe. We reached the bottom of the hill and I let go of her to start the engine. But first, I locked the doors. And just in time. As soon as I released her, Sera lunged for the door handle just as I threw the car into drive. She was fast, but I was faster. Before she could get the door open, I grabbed her by the back of the neck and hauled her back over to me. Holding her tight against my chest, I pressed a kiss to her forehead as she tried to shove me away. I couldn’t fucking believe she was here beside me again.
My hands were shaking, Sera’s curses and protests fading into the background as the full realization of what I’d just done crashed over me.
I’d just killed Luca’s father.
I’d just killed the boss.
This wasn’t my plan when I’d driven over here. Originally, I’d just wanted to make sure she was okay. I’d left my dress shoes in the car and climbed onto the roof outside of Luigi’s room. I’d wanted to reassure myself that she was okay. Luigi wasn’t a gentle man, and he had little respect for women.
That’s what I told myself. But in truth, I was a masochist. I’d known when I’d turned her back over to her father that she would be sold to the highest bidder. I’d fucking known it. And I’d done it anyway. Because I was a son of a bitch who was too fucking afraid to love her. Because I wanted her to be safe. And I knew she wouldn’t be safe with me, not as long as she wanted out of this life.
Luigi would never let me out. And as soon as he saw that Sera was a distraction to me, he would take the one I loved from me again. So, I’d given her up to keep her away from him, and the whole thing had blown up in my fucking face.
I was scared of what I would see when I climbed onto that roof.
Instead, I saw my girl rise up like some kind of pissed off goddess and go after him, and I was so proud. And relieved. Until he raised his belt and beat her down.
That was all it took. Before I could think about what I was doing, my fist went through the window, making a hole, and then another, until the opening was big enough that my body took out the rest when I dove into the room and rolled to my feet. After that, there was no way in fucking hell I was leaving her there with him.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. I glanced down. Her curvy legs were completely visible through the non-existent gown he had her in, and my cock grew stiff. “Sera?”
She’d finally tired of trying to get away from me and was now sitting tucked into my side with her arms crossed over her chest, her face turned away, holding my jacket close around her. “I’m cold,” she muttered.
“Turn on the heater. Right there.” I lifted my chin toward the console. I would do it myself, but I didn’t trust her not to jump from the vehicle as soon as I let go of her. And being that we were now on the highway, I couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Where are we going?” she asked as she cranked on the heater.
“I don’t know.”
Right on cue, my cell vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it.
“You can let me go.”
“So you can jump out of the car?” I laughed, but the sound held no humor. “No.”
“I’m not fucking suicidal, Enzo. And my back hurts sitting like this.”
Immediately, I released her neck, remembering how hard Luigi had hit her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
My phone vibrated again. Just once this time. With a side glance at Sera to make sure she wasn’t going to try anything, I pulled it from my pocket and checked the screen. It was from Luca.
Answer your goddamn phone.
Immediately after, his number flashed across my screen. I stared at it for a long moment, my mind racing. I didn’t want to implicate him any more than I had to with this. But I also knew he wouldn’t give up until he talked to me. I tapped the screen and answered the call.
“What the hell did you do, Enzo?” he growled before I could say anything. I wasn’t surprised that he already knew what had happened. Luca had his spies everywhere, even in his father’s own home.
I glanced at Sera again. She was staring out the passenger side window with her arms crossed over her chest, her legs and feet practically bare, with only the thin gown covering them. Her silence was making me nervous. “He was hurting her. I couldn’t leave her there with him,” I confessed, still watching her. Although she didn’t move, I saw her stiffen slightly. “I couldn’t leave her,” I repeated. “I couldn’t let him have her.”
Luca sighed heavily. “Did anyone see either of you?”
“No.”
“You’re absolutely sure?”
“Yes. Although I may have left some blood in the bedroom. My blood.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “You know they’re going to think she did this.”
I did. That’s why I was running with her. “I know.”
“Where are you now?”
“Driving.” I didn’t need to tell him anything more. Luca knew me better than anyone.
“You need to come back here. Bring Sera. We can hide her. My father’s men won’t find her here.”
“I can’t do that, Luca. It’s too dangerous.”
“You must. It’ll look too suspicious otherwise. There’ll be a meeting of the family to vote on the new boss as soon as possible. You have to be there. We’ll come up with a scenario that will remove all blame from her.”
“No. It’s too risky. She’s a witness, Luca. I’m taking her out of here. She can’t be anywhere near this city.”
“So you’re just going to run for the rest of your life. Is that the plan? Because if it is, it’s a stupid plan.”
“It’s the only choice I have right now.”
“No, Enzo. It’s not,” he said softly. “You have us. We’ll help you protect your Sera.”
My Sera. “Luca—”
“Bring her home, Enz. I swear to you on my life, I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Your father is dead,” I blurted. Whether to drive that fact home to him or to myself, I couldn’t say.
“I know. Bring her home, Enzo.”
I ended the call and looked around me. I didn’t even know where the fuck I was. I’d been driving blindly, my only thought being to get her the hell away from that house.
“Are we going back to Luca’s?” she asked me quietly.
She was still angry with me. I could hear it in her voice. What if I got her somewhere and she tried to run from me? She would attract attention, and then I would have to kill more people, leaving a trail of bodies for Luigi’s loyal followers to track us.
I thought about what Luca had said, trying to push my panic aside and think logically. No one knew where Luca’s house was, not even his father. Luca had made it that way as soon as his power began to rival his father’s. If I took her there, it would give us time we didn’t have right now. Time to figure out how to remove their suspicion from Sera.
“Enzo?”
“Yes,” I told her. I pulled off the next exit and went west toward the lakes.
She straightened in her seat. “I don’t want to go back there.”
“We have to.”
“No. We don’t.”
“We can’t run forever.”
“I wouldn’t have to run at all if it wasn’t for you.”
“Would you rather I’d left you there to be beaten into submission like a fucking dog?” I asked her.
She threw up her hands. “Yes!” When I gave her a skeptical look, she added, “I could’ve handled Luigi.”
I shook my head. “You’re delusional if you believe that.” He would’ve beaten her down until that spirit that lit her up from the inside was extinguished forever.
Sarcasm dripped from her voice when she said, “Believe it or not, I actually have some experience dealing with psychotic old men.”
“At least your father didn’t fuck you.”
“Who I fuck or don’t fuck isn’t any of your business anymore.”
My hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. I yanked her toward me as far as the seatbelt would allow until her face was only inches from mine. “That’s where you’re wrong, baby girl. I am the only man who will fuck you.”
“You didn’t want me,” she spit out. Her blue-gray eyes shiny with tears.
“I just killed a man to save you!”
“I don’t need you to save me,” she sneered. “I can save myself.” She yanked her wrist out of my grip, and I let her go.
“Sera…”
But she shook her head. “Don’t, Enzo.”
I sighed deeply. I’d deal with her attitude later. Right now, I needed to concentrate on getting her somewhere safe.
We made the rest of the trip in silence. When we arrived at Luca’s, I pulled off the side of the road and texted him, waiting until he gave me the all clear before going up to the house.
He was waiting for us when we arrived back at the lake house. When we walked into the house, he was there in the middle of the great room, standing all alone, his hands fisted at his sides. But when he spoke, his tone was even. “Where is the car you used?”
“In the garage.”
His blue eyes took a quick assessment of us both. Sera, in the black see-through gown, a dress shirt, and my jacket, her mouth smeared with blood from my hand. And me, with blood covering my hands and shirt from the broken glass. “Whose phone is that?” he asked her.
Phone? What phone?
Sera held it out to him. “Your father’s. I’m sorry. I tend to steal things when I’m upset. It’s like a nervous tic I can’t get rid of.”
Luca took it from her, turning it this way and that. He tucked it into his inside jacket pocket. “Thank you, Sera. Would you please excuse us? I believe if you go upstairs, Veda is waiting for you in our bedroom. She’ll help you get cleaned up and into some decent clothes if you wish.” He nodded toward my hand, once again clasped around her wrist. “Let her go, Enzo.”
I took a steadying breath and did as he ordered. Then I watched as she climbed the stairs in her bare feet, only looking back at me once before she disappeared down the hall toward Luca and Veda’s room.
“Is she a flight risk?”
My eyes flicked back to my friend. “Yes.”
He nodded, unsurprised. “I’ll let the guards know no one is to leave this house without my permission. We’ll need to be cautious until the question of my father’s death and his replacement is settled.” He turned his father’s cell phone around in his hands and tapped the screen, trying a few passwords. “As soon as Tristan gets back, we’ll have him break into this phone and see what we can find.” His eyes rose to mine, and he smiled, but it was strained. “Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him sincerely.
He met my gaze, and his eyes searched mine for a long time.
“I tried to stay away,” I said. “I did. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
A strange look crossed his features. “I assume my father was wooing her into his bed with his usual manner of brutality.”
“He was beating her with a thick leather belt.”
Luca was silent for a moment, but I saw the rage in his eyes. A rage that came nowhere near to matching mine. “I can’t blame you for what you did, Enzo. If it had been Veda, I would’ve done the same. What happened has happened. There’s no going back now. All we can do is try to control the fallout.”
“It was your father,” I insisted, as if that meant something. And it should. I’d lost both of my parents when I was very young, but I would think it should mean something.
“My father was a monster who didn’t give a shit about me. Why should I give a shit about him?” But he did care. I could see it in his eyes and the tightness around his mouth. “In any case, we don’t have time for this right now. You can beg my forgiveness later. Go get yourself cleaned up, then take those clothes outside and burn them.”
“Luca—”
But he cut me off. “You’re covered in blood, Enz. Go.” Taking the phone with him, he headed to his office, his shoulders slumped with grief he wouldn’t acknowledge.
Turning on my heel, I went to do as he’d ordered. As I climbed the stairs, I lifted my hands out in front of me.
They were shaking again.
