Deadly Vows - Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Luca is a strange person. I have never seen him be kind to anyone except maybe his father. Or Nicolai on rare occasions. But as I sit stretched out on the pool, I watch him as he teaches Matteo how to use garden shears. I honestly don’t know what it is about this kid that makes him feel obligated to teach him how to garden.

Luca is calmly explaining to him while showing him the right way to use the massive clippers. Matteo is watching him with careful eyes, focusing on what he is saying very intently. Matteo only works here three days a week, and on those days, Luca makes sure to keep him busy or keep me busy. If it’s such a big deal for him not to speak to me, why hire him to work here? Matteo must be someone really special if Luca is putting in all this effort for him. I know he can’t be Luca’s child, because the age range doesn’t add up. He can’t be related to me, because Luca hates my entire family—he even threatened me with my brother’s life—so why would he bring him here and help him out? That leaves only one option, that he is Luca’s sibling. But he must be Luca’s half-sibling, because Luca is an only child as far as I know.

I wish I could just ask him, but I know he’ll be angry if I do. Every time I say something about Matteo, he tenses up and closes himself off. So I know Matteo is a sensitive topic to him. But the real question is, Who is he?

I jump in my seat as I hear something I haven't heard in a long time. Luca's laughter. I look up and see him with his head thrown back and a large smile plastered on his face. It is a sunny day, so the sunlight is shining directly on him. Damn. I really wish Luca were at least somewhat unattractive. It would make it easier for my body to be repulsed by him when he touches me.

Luca is a puzzle to be figured out. I don’t understand him at all. His moods are up and down like a roller coaster. He’s been home very rarely as of late. Today is one of the rare days that he’s actually here. I guess he has dealings to do. I honestly don’t know what Luca’s workday consists of. I just know when he leaves and when he comes home.

He points to something, and Matteo eagerly nods as Luca hands him the clippers. As if sensing being watched, Luca looks at my direction, his gray eyes catching me staring. He gives me a sexy grin, and I immediately blush and study the book that I am reading.

“Elise.”

I jump and look up to see Luca standing over me. He moves fast. There is a light sheen of sweat glistening over his skin, and he has a small smile on his face. I hate it when he looks at me like that. He has this look of adoration, as if I were so precious to him. He is about to say something when Romelo comes running out of the house and up to Luca, panting.

“Capo, we have a problem.” His eyes are wild and full of fear.

Luca’s face shifts, and he pulls Romelo off to the side, out of earshot. I watch them as Luca takes in the news, and his face grows irritated. He says something to Romelo, and he shakes his head vigorously. Luca crosses his arms and runs his hands through his hair. Romelo nods in agreement and walks off the opposite direction.

“I have to leave to take care of something that has come up. I’ll be back home later, okay?”

I nod slowly in understanding.

Luca begins to walk away but pauses and looks at me with a serious expression. “Don’t bother Matteo.”

I nod once again, showing him that I understand. He leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and steps into the house. I wait a few minutes before I follow his lead, heading into the house to get a glass of water. Luca is already pulling out of the driveway when I reach the kitchen. I pour myself some water and take a small sip, looking out the window over the sink. I can see Matteo in the distance.

He is really focused on trimming the bushes. His brow is slightly furrowed, and he keeps shaking his head to move his hair out of his face. I laugh softly to myself. Maybe he should wear a headband if his hair is getting that long. You’d think he’d learn by now. He pauses, dropping the clippers on the ground and hunching over to take deep breaths. He has to be hot. It’s at least eighty degrees out there. I step over to the fridge and grab a cold-water bottle and head back out onto the patio.

I walk up next to him, catching his attention.

“You look like you could use a break.” I give him a small smile while handing him the water.

He eyes it untrustingly and looks back at me. “Look, Mrs. Pasquino. Mr. Pasquino said not to talk to you. And he made it pretty clear what my consequences would be if I did.”

I can feel my frustration boiling up. “It’s just water,” I say with an annoyed tone.

He stares at me for a moment longer before reaching out and taking the bottle from my hand. He opens the bottle and takes a long swig before speaking to me again.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to be nice. Thank you.” His eyes flicker to my wrist. “You seem to be healing quite nicely,” he says.

I involuntarily move my arm behind my back, looking away. The stitches have been taken out, so now all that is left is a light scar. “Well, I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I mumble and begin to walk away before stopping. I never know if I’m going to get another chance like this. “Are you and Luca related? You know, like brothers or half-brothers or anything?” I ask.

He makes a face at me and laughs to himself softly. “No. I don’t have any siblings. And I never met Mr. Pasquino before last year.”

I look away in frustration. Then why is Luca so nice to this kid? And why doesn’t he want me near him?

“If that’s all, Mrs. Pasquino, thank you for the water, but I’m going to get back to my work.” He turns away from me and goes back to working on the bushes.

I huff and walk away in frustration.

*****

The sun has gone down, and I am all alone in the estate. Of course, there are Luca’s men here to keep me company, but they are just guarding the house. I have no phone, so there is no way I can contact Luca. Or anyone, for that matter. Not that I have anyone. I take a deep breath and exhale it. What am I going to do for the rest of my life?

I step into the living room and turn on the TV. I haven’t watched TV in a while. I eventually settle on some cooking channel and snuggle into the soft couch, falling asleep.

There is a tickle on my thigh. It slowly moves its way up, circling a pattern. I twitch and swat at it. There is another tickle on my face, tracing my cheek. I try to swat at it, but it starts back up. I open my eyes to find the source of the feeling and gasp when I find it. Luca is kneeling in front of the couch. The only light in the room comes from the TV, and it is causing him to be silhouetted.

I look at his face and his clothes, and he seems to be drenched in something. Sweat? He is staring at me with an emotionless expression and reaches out to touch my face.

“God, you are beautiful,” he murmurs. His hand reaches my face as he cups my cheek, and that is when it hits me. The metallic odor. I let out a small gasp, my heart rate increasing.

“L-Luca?” I reach out with shaky hands to feel the front of his saturated shirt, praying that it is water or sweat. My fingertips brush the front of the shirt, and the sticky residue that comes with it answers my question. Blood.

I immediately jump back from Luca, falling off the other side of the couch and scrambling away from him on the floor. He is still watching me with that frightening expression.

“Oh god!” I gasp aloud. Obviously, none of it is his blood, or he wouldn’t even be here right now.

He leans away from the couch on his hands and knees and begins crawling toward me with a sadistic look on his face.

“Luca, what’s going on?”

He doesn’t speak to me; it’s like he’s not even there. He grabs on to my leg, and I squeal as the blood running from his arms oozes onto me. I jerk my leg away and try to kick him.

“Come here, baby.” His voice is terrifying. He’s not himself. There’s blood all over the carpet from where he is standing. “I just want to love you,” he murmurs while moving closer to me.

“Luca, please, you’re not yourself right now,” I try to beg and hope that he will resurface, but to no avail.

He yanks on my leg, dragging me toward him so that I am trapped underneath his bloodied body, the blood from his shirt seeping into mine as he lies on top of me. I scream and cry, begging him to get off me, but he doesn’t listen. He grabs my face in between his hands and makes me meet his eyes. They are void of any emotion. His dark irises keep moving across my face as he takes in each of my features.

“You’re so damn beautiful. I’ll protect you, baby. I won’t let them get you,” he murmurs. He leans in and begins nuzzling my cheek, smearing blood all over my face. I gag from the scent.

“Luca, please,” I try again.

“Shhhhhh.” He puts his hand over my mouth, and that is all it takes for me to vomit.

He cringes his face in disgust and removes his hand as all the contents of my stomach are emptied. I take the opportunity to jump up from him and take off through the dark house. I sprint for the stairs, trying to take them two at a time, when I feel a hand on my ankle, causing me to fall and face-plant into the stairs. I cry out in pain as he drags me down the steps toward him.

“Luca!” I scream in desperation. Whatever he went to do wasn’t pretty at all, and it sent him into some kind of semiconscious state.

He pulls me down the stairs so that I am lying on the hardwood floor. I look up into his eyes and whimper in fear. He is angry. “Don’t you dare run from me! You’re my wife!” he shouts.

I close my eyes and cringe. He flips me over on my stomach and shoves my dress up. I immediately begin to struggle in panic.

“Luca, please stop! You’re covered in blood. Please don’t do this!” I frantically cry out.

He flips me back over so that I am lying on my back. I am crying so hard in fear right now I can feel my breathing come out in quicker pants as a panic attack takes over. Luca moves a little, and I open my eyes. I am looking up the barrel of a gun. He is aiming it directly at my face.

I open my mouth and close it, unable to make any sounds. I don’t know what to say or do. The gun moves to the underside of my jaw, and he presses the cold metal against my skin. He leans in slowly and begins kissing the other side of my jaw lightly.

“Don’t say a word,” he whispers.

He continues to kiss me lightly down the side of my throat, slowly making his way to my collarbone. There is no sound except for my frantic breathing and his kisses. His hands are roaming all over my body. I can only struggle underneath him. I close my eyes tightly as the tears fall freely down my face.

Suddenly, Luca is lifted off me. I open my eyes to see Romelo and Nicolai on either side of him. They are covered in blood as well, but not as much as Luca is. They struggle with him, slamming him into the wall. His eyes are still on me; he has a crazed look in his eye as he watches me.

Nicolai and Romelo are shouting at him, trying to calm him down, but he is not listening; he is just watching me with that terrifying expression.

“Elise!” I look up, and Nicolai is shouting at me. They are having a hard time restraining Luca. He is trying to break free.

“You have to run. Go lock yourself in your room—”

Nicolai is cut off as Luca breaks free of him, elbowing him in the face, splitting his eyebrow. Blood trickles down the side of his face. Luca scrambles toward me, and Romelo tackles him from behind, pinning him to the floor.

“Go!” he shouts.

“Don’t you dare, Elise!” Luca growls out.

That is all it takes for me to take off. I sprint up the stairs, down the hall, to the farthest room I can find, and lock the door. I slide down the door, my legs trembling. I hold my hands out in front of me and look at all the blood, someone else’s blood that is now on my body. A scream tears its way from my throat. I beat the door with all my might, letting my anger and frustration flow.

I am stuck here. I am stuck in this. I can’t do anything about it. Luca is sick. He is more than sick. He is deranged. A person that loves blood and gore, killing and murders. And I am married to him. There is no way I can change this man. He has been this way all his life.

I can hear the struggles of Romelo and Nicolai. If it weren’t for them, there is no telling what would have happened to me.

*****

Rain. I can hear it. It isn’t light either. It’s a heavy and dark rain. I open my eyes to see the dark raincloud covering the sky. Water is soaking everything. I sit up and feel the tightness of my skin. I look at my arms and the front of my dress to see the crusted blood still on me. If I hadn’t vomited last night, I would at this moment.

The room I’m in has no bathroom. I walk to the door and slowly open it a crack, looking down the empty hallway. I have to get this stuff off me. I look down the corridor, and Luca is nowhere in sight. I step out into the hallway, looking for the nearest room that has a shower in it. Once I find one, I hurry and strip my clothes off, turning on the steaming water.

As soon as the warm water hits my skin, I begin to cry. I look down at the water flowing down the drain and cry even harder as the water tints. I immediately grab a towel and begin scrubbing my skin. And even when I’m done, I continue to scrub it even harder. I scrub and scrub and scrub until my skin is screaming in pain. My body is red from the heat and all the constant scrubbing I have done. I collapse on the bathroom floor and let my loud sobs echo off the wall. I take the scrubber and continue to scrub my skin, growling in frustration.

A pair of hands encompasses mine, and I look up to see Luca staring at me. A scream tears its way out of my throat, and I back away from Luca as fast as I can, slipping and falling back down as I try to escape. He steps into the shower, still not making a sound. He is wearing clothes, so they get drenched as soon as he steps in.

“Please …” I close my eyes in fear. I don’t even know what I’m begging for.

I open my eyes and see Luca reaching above me. He still hasn’t said a word. He grabs a large towel and wraps it around my body, turning the shower off. I keep the towel wrapped around me as we both walk down the hall into our bedroom. He still doesn’t say a word; he only lays a dress on the bed for me to wear and exits the room quietly. I don’t bother putting on the dress. I settle for a sweater shirt and some leggings. I don’t want to wear anything he has picked out.

Once I finally leave the room, I head into the kitchen. My stomach is growling, seeing as I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday. I step into the kitchen and freeze. Luca is standing at the counter, with a coffee mug in his hand. His head immediately turns upon my entrance, his gaze meeting mine head-on. I immediately take a step back, ready to leave the kitchen.

“No. I’ll go,” Luca says softly and exits the room without sparing me so much as a sideways glance. His mind seems to be somewhere else.

I peep around the corner to see where he is going. He has his back to me and seems to be heading toward the direction of his office.

I am sitting in the kitchen, quietly munching on a piece of toast, when Nicolai walks in. I gasp as I take in his face. Where Luca has no scratches or bruises on him, Nicolai has stitches above his eye and a swollen cheek. His eye is also turning black. He meets my gaze and immediately freezes.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still in here.” He tries to duck out of the kitchen.

“Wait!” I call out, and he stops, turning slowly. “Did Luca do that?” I ask.

He looks as though he doesn’t want to respond. “Yes. But please don’t say anything to him about it. You weren’t supposed to see me.” He steps closer to where I am on the barstool. “It’s not his fault. Sometimes he just loses control. Please don’t hold it against him.” He looks at me with pleading eyes.

I nod to give him peace of mind. He then hurriedly exits the kitchen.

I look out the window, wishing more than anything that the rain would stop falling. I sigh. I wish Matteo were here. Even though I never get to speak to him, something about him just sets me at ease. It makes me happy to see his innocence and optimism. He won’t come back for another two days, and that’s only if the rain stops.

A loud rapping on the back door startles me, and I spill my mug of coffee all over the counter. I look up and see none other than Matteo standing on the other side of the door. He is wearing a tank top and some shorts and is getting soaked in the rain. I immediately jump up from the counter and run to the door, pulling it open.

“Oh my gosh, Matteo, are you all right?”

He looks panicked. “I … I’m so sorry for barging in like this, I just don’t know anyone else. My mom had no friends, I didn’t know who to call, I don’t know what to do …” He keeps mumbling in a panicked state, not really making any sense. He looks as though he is in shock from something.

I grab his face in my hands, making him focus on me. “Matteo, calm down. How’d you get here?” Our house is literally in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest bus station is forty-five minutes away.

“I took the bus into town and walked … well, ran,” he says.

I take in his frantic form and step around him to close the door. “Come on.” I grab his hand and lead him into the living room. The fireplace is going, luckily. I sit him on the couch. “Wait right here.”

He doesn’t seem to be listening; his eyes are empty, and he looks as though he is in a daze.

I sprint out of the living room and pass Luca’s office. The door is closed. Obviously, he didn’t hear us, or he would be in the living room by now. I grab a blanket from the cover closet and run back to the living room, sneaking a glance at Luca’s office, making sure the door is still closed. When I arrive back into the living room, Matteo is sitting with his head in his hands. I wrap the blanket around him and take a seat next to him, rubbing his back.

“Now, tell me what happened.”

“I … I tried to call Mr. Pasquino, but he didn’t answer. I didn’t know who else to call, so I came here. You guys are the closest thing I have to a family.” He pauses and begins to cry even harder. “My mom … she’s missing. She won’t answer her phone. And she never leaves without leaving a note. I tried the police, but they said they couldn’t do anything for twenty-four hours. And they hate her. She’s been in trouble with the law quite a few times.” He looks up.

“This isn’t like her. She knew how dangerous the world was. She always stressed it to me. She wouldn’t just up and disappear like this.” There is worry evident in his eyes.

“Okay, how about I go get the keys and I’ll take you home, and we’ll begin our search there, okay?”

“But what about Mr. Pasquino?”

“He’s busy right now,” I lie. I don’t want to bother with Luca. One, I am terrified to speak to him, and two, there is no telling what he’ll do if he finds out Matteo and I are speaking to each other. I grab Matteo’s hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze. “We’re going to find her, okay? It’ll be all right.” I give him a light smile.

I head toward the garage. Luca keeps all the cars in there and the keys to each hanging on their own hooks on the wall. We step into the garage and turn on the lights. The garage is underground, like a parking garage, so Luca won’t be able to hear us leave, especially with this rain. I grab the first set of keys I lay my eyes on and press the button. The Audi lights up. Perfect.

I don’t have a license, but I know how to drive. Hopefully, we won’t get pulled over on the way to Matteo’s.

* * * * *

I can’t help feel pity as I look around. This place is filthy. It is obvious that a drug addict lives here. But it isn’t obvious a fifteen year-old boy lives here. There is trash everywhere, burnt foil, clothes, dirty dishes, and food residue. The place is tiny and grimy. I look at Matteo in disbelief.

“Matteo, you live here?” I ask.

He nods, not speaking to me. In all honesty, this place doesn’t look livable.

“I told you my mother blew all the money. This was all we could barely afford.”

He walks toward me with an eviction notice in his hand. I feel my heart break for this boy. If all this is happening to him, what could possibly be Luca’s connection to him?

A loud noise startles me out of my thoughts. I turn and see Matteo has thrown something across the room in frustration.

“Why are we here? We should be looking for her, not searching where she’s not. I already looked here,” he growls in frustration.

“Matteo, we need to see if she left any clues of where she might be or anything. Maybe she did leave a note, just not in her usual spot? It never hurts to double-check.”

He is staring at me in frustration, and I turn away from him, reaching on the top shelf of the bookcase for any stray paper. My shirt rides up slightly, and I hear a gasp, followed by the yanking of my shirt.

I immediately look down in horror but am met with the same horror. Matteo is staring at me in shock.

“Dear God, did he do that to you?” He motions to my side.

Shit. I was careless. He’s seen my side. He’s seen Luca’s name. I don’t answer him.

“Elise, that’s his name … and that’s not a tattoo. It looks like it’s been … carved into your skin,” he says in disbelief.

“Matteo, this isn’t about me. I’m fine. We need to find your mother.” I walk away before he can respond, feeling stupid. How could I have been so careless?

I step into the hallway, and there is a closed door.

“Matteo, whose room is this?” I ask.

He looks at me with irritation before answering my question.

“That’s my mom’s room.”

“Why’s the door closed? Did you close it before you left?” I ask. His eyes widen in realization. “No.”

I make a face and turn back to the door. I slowly turn the knob.

“Well, then, she must’ve come home while you were gone. She must be in he—”

I am cut off as I open the door to his mother’s room. A scream rips its way from my throat, and I back away from the door as quickly as I can. Bile immediately rips its way from my stomach, and I hunch over. Matteo is coming my way quickly with a worried expression. I immediately slam the door shut and brush past him, trying to pull him with me.

“No, Matteo, don’t go in there,” I plead, with my eyes at him.

“Why?” His face grows panicked as he takes in my tone. He turns his head toward his mother’s room and tries to step that way, but I hold his arm steady, shaking my head.

“No, Matteo.”

He looks at me and at the door and back to me in a panic.

“We need to get Luca. He’ll know what to do …” I trail off.

I’m an idiot. I should have never come here in the first place without Luca’s knowledge. Then it hits me. If someone has been here to kill Matteo’s mother since he’s been gone, they could still be near. And we could be in danger.

“Matteo, we have to leave now.” I begin to grow panicked and paranoid, looking everywhere. I don’t even think Matteo knows what Luca is into. Possibly, someone that sees Luca’s connection with Matteo is looking to hurt him somehow. But why? Nothing is making any sense.

I am tugging frantically on Matteo’s arm, but he is in shock as he stares at his mother’s door.

“Matteo, please. Our lives could be in danger.”

This catches his attention, and he looks at me questioningly. I don’t have time to explain, so I drag him out of the house and into the pouring rain, right into a large body.