CHAPTER TWENTY
LUCIANO
Staring, unblinking, at Aya’s prone form sprawled across my bed, I grated my raw knuckles together. My mind worked almost too fast, and I sucked in a sharp breath. She’d gone unconscious within seconds at the gym; whether from the adrenaline bottoming her out or my tight grip I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care.
Something fucked up was going on; I wasn’t sure what, but I knew it had to stop before Aya fucking killed herself. Gnashing my teeth, I silently recounted this sick day; it didn’t seem like everything that had happened had in just 12 hours.
“Fuck me…” Mumbling to myself, I reached to swipe my jaw with shaking fingers. Some crucial part in Aya’s mind had broken tonight. Digging in my pocket for my phone, I grimaced when the bright back light nearly blinded me. My studio apartment was dark, and I glanced over to make sure I hadn’t woken her before finding Tyler’s contact.
“Luciano- Jesus Christ, did you find her yet?” Grunting absently, I listened to the shuffling on the other end of the line as my tongue failed me. “You need to listen to this. I put audio surveillance in Aya’s room like you asked. Here-”
For a split second there was static, and I tensed as blood rushed against my ear drums.
“Now, you’re here alone for the first time with me because Luciano decided you’re no longer worth his effort. He’s going to ignore you because you disgust him, just like that slut did- just like you did with Trevor. You need him, but he can’t even bring himself to look at you. You betrayed him, and this is the consequence.” When the recording stopped a writhing, angry black mass started to grow where my heart was.
“Sylvi…” Hissing his name, I bolted to my feet to storm to the window. “I’m going to fucking kill him…”
“Well don’t hang up yet. I also managed to rule out the Russians- Trevor worked with them, but they have no clue about Aya at all. Marco got the safe, and he’s on his way back now. You need to get back to the mansion.”
Staring at my reflection, twisted in anger, I let out a hot breath as a tiny sliver of tension slipped from between my shoulder blades. The Russians were out- that only left the mystery party. Glancing over, I made sure Aya was still soundly asleep before leaving the window. The refrigerator hummed quietly, and I pulled open the door to grab a water bottle.
“There’s one more thing, Luciano. I talked to a friend at a hospital. She said she wouldn’t mind coming to peek in Aya’s head. With everything that went on, and Dylan called me, I’m worried about you, fratello.” Pausing with my bottle at my lips, I squeezed my eyes shut as Tyler lowered his voice. “I know you, Luciano. You raped the sister, shot her in the face, to get back at that clerk for giving Aya a new fear of you. You comforted her when she fell in the shower and almost froze to death. Does she know you love her?”
Pursing my lips together, I couldn’t bring myself to answer before Tyler sighed heavily.
“Look, just get back, okay? Once we figure out what’s in the safe you c-” A sharp gasp from behind me stole my attention, and I whirled around to watch Aya kick out her feet. If she had been covered by a blanket I wouldn’t have noticed, and my phone fell to the floor. Through narrowed eyes she whimpered, a deep crease appearing between her slender brows.
There was no warning, and my heart jumped into my throat when Aya shot up to curl around her knees. Her hands disappeared into her mass of wild, red hair, and I held my breath as my blood pounded against my ear drums. For a moment she was still, quiet, her breath coming in harsh, short pants that filled the room.
“Luciano- Luciano… no- no- no…” Aya’s head whipped up, exposing her blown pupils and tear laden eyelashes. The sight of it weakened my knees, and her hoarse whispers threatened to crush my heart. Climbing onto the bed, I pursed my lips together even as my fingers brushed her roughened cheek. More guilt poured into my belly when she jumped, a hiccup of a sob flying from her mouth.
“Stop crying, Aya.” Mumbling softly, I cupped her face as she deflated like a balloon that hadn’t been tied. Her body folded in on itself, and I carefully wrapped my arms around her. Anxiety tingled my nerves, warning me not to touch her too hard or roughly.
She would break like a china doll, shattering into a million irreparable pieces.
“Why…? Why d- did you le- leave me? I’m-m-m sorry… I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Pe- Please don’t leav-v-ve me…” My breath caught in my throat at Aya’s broken, bubbling whisper. Sitting back, I pulled her frail, cold body into my lap to stroke her hair with trembling fingers. Twisting and churning, my gut sent sharp pains through my midsection, and my legs went numb.
I can’t get rid of her if she’s like this. The thought swirled around inside my head, and part of me swelled at that knowledge. Aya was mine; I didn’t care if I ruined her chance to live a normal life because I could keep her. I wanted to keep her. Even if I never fucked her, if all she was good for was a body to drag around, that was enough for me.
“It’s alright. Basta rilassarsi, mia Aya. Nessuno può farti del male più.” Soft, shivering lips met mine, and I stiffened, struggling to avoid crushing Aya a second time. Her kiss was gentle, tentative, but the longer she kept the contact the more firm she became. The words I’d just spoken disappeared from my mind, and I cupped the back of her head with a clammy palm. Groaning against my mouth, she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck as my body recovered from shock.
Very rarely had I kissed a woman, and yet this one had initiated it.
Aya’s feathery sigh was the last kick in the ass I needed, and I curled my fingers into her hair to pull her back. My skin twitched, shoulders tense and chest tight as a growling noise ripped through my throat. Her chin bumped against my mouth, and I ground my teeth together as her scent slithered up my nostrils.
“Why did you do that, Aya?” Her body quaked in my lap, arms sliding from my shoulders and her sniffle ringing in my ears. My abdomen tightened, and behind the safety of my shorts my cock throbbed gently. The sensation rippled through me, and my eyelid twitched in frustration.
“I don’t want to go back… Luciano- I don’t want to go back. I- I… I have money. I have money- we can go. We can go away. We can go. We can go away just us, and Sylvi- Sylvi won’t bother us.” Carefully releasing her, the first thing I saw was the desperation in Aya’s eyes. It shone almost too brightly, and all thoughts about her kiss went out the window. “We can go. Please? Sylvi lied. I- I never- I never b-”
Clamping my palm over her mouth, I squeezed slightly to stop the hysterics that threatened to burst from her eyes.
“We aren’t leaving, Aya. We’re going back.” My low command brought me only a wide eyed, fearful stare, and I loosened my grip to touch her paling cheeks. “I know what Sylvi said to you, but he’s wrong. You didn’t betray me, Aya. You would never betray me- I know that. We’re going back, and after we find out what’s in Trevor’s safe I’m going to beat the living fuck out of Sylvi. He’ll never try this shit again, I promise.”
Oh-h yeah. I’m going to beat that fucker to within an inch of his life. He’s lucky I don’t want to deal with Georgio or his replacement. Not with Aya in the middle.