Deadly Vows - Chapter 39 (Patreon)

I look at the woman in front of me. She’s older, obviously. I can’t believe this woman sat there as my wife was tortured and beaten. And she didn’t say or do anything to prevent it. According to her, so far, she treated Elise’s wounds. She knew who Elise was, yet she did nothing to contact me.

“So what exactly happened?” I repeat to her.

She is shaking in the seat and keeps looking back and forth between me and Romelo.

“Don’t look at him. I’m the one you need to worry about right now. Elise is my wife.” I speak to her with cold words, and she flinches at my tone.

“Now, tell me what happened.”

“I … I don’t know. I just found Master Croff in the hallway with blood everywhere. He told me she attacked him with shards from the mirror.”

I stand up, getting in her face. “Then where the fuck is she?” I shout. This bitch is wasting my time, and it is driving me crazy.

“We don’t know, sir, we swear! There was no time to go out and search for her because I had to tend to Master Croff’s wounds! And then the storm rolled in! That’s all I know, I swear!”

I growl in irritation and leave the room, Romelo following closely behind me. After a moment of us walking, I hear a small chuckle from behind me. I immediately stop and turn, looking at Romelo.

“What the fuck is so funny?”

He immediately regains his composure. “I’m sorry, sir, it’s just that she said Elise cut Alexander open like that using shards from the mirror.”

After a moment of silence, a chuckle escapes my lips. I was so angry in there I didn’t even register it. But Elise has did that damage to Alexander. My Elise. My timid and frightened Elise. It is shocking, to say the least, that such a small girl could do so much damage. But what’s more shocking to me is that it was Elise that did that in the first place.

The same girl that threw up when we played Russian roulette and begged me not to do certain things to men I have tortured in front of her. The girl that freezes at the first sight of blood has nearly cut Alexander’s organs out of his body.

I turn back and begin my descent to the room that Nicolai is set up in. I open the door, and he is sitting behind the desk with a focused look on his face. He looks up upon my entrance, standing.

“What have you got for me?”

“There were cameras in the bedroom …” He trails off. “I’m still sorting through the footage to see if I can find any clues as to what happened.”

I nod in understanding. He is uncomfortable, so obviously, the videos mostly consist of him fucking my wife. There is no way in hell I am going to watch those videos. So I am going to have to wait until Nicolai comes across something.

My phone begins vibrating in my pocket, and I look at the call log to see Dr. Shotwell calling me. This means he has done the bloodwork. Now it is time to see whose blood is in that car.

“Yeah,” I answer.

He is silent for a moment, as if hesitating. “Sir, the blood is a match.”

My heart begins speeding up. I don’t say anything.

“That’s not all, sir. The blood sample you sent me … well, it seems that … Elise is pregnant.”

“Fuck!” I shout. At the same time, Nicolai jumps away from the screen with wide eyes.

“Oh, fuck,” he whispers. His eyes are darting back and forth frantically between me and the screen.

“Sir, are you still there?”

I ignore Dr. Shotwell as I walk to the computer screen to see what Nicolai is looking at. I look at the screen and see why he is so nervous. Alexander made Elise wear nothing but lingerie while she has been here. So in the video, clear as day, is a small bump beginning to form around her stomach. She is obviously pregnant.

“Fuck!” I shout, hurling my phone at the wall. It shatters to pieces.

“Everyone fucking out!” I shout.

Everyone doesn’t hesitate as they quickly try to file out. Romelo and Nicolai are among them, trying to leave.

“Not you two!”

They stop right by the door and slowly turn to me. I must look severely pissed off right now, because even they look hesitant to speak to me.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” I shout in anger. I speed around the room, attacking anything and everything in sight. She is fucking pregnant. That bastard fucking knocked up my fucking wife. I don’t even have the slightest idea of what to do next. This is all my fucking fault.

“Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone!” I shout at them. They flinch at my tone. “I’m going to fucking kill that bastard. I’m going to fucking kill him!” I can feel the rage boiling up beneath my skin. How dare he fucking touch my wife when he knows who the fuck I am! Dammit!

If I ever find Elise, I have to deal with her wanting to keep his child. I will be stuck with forcing her to get rid of it or raising his offspring for the rest of my life. Fuck! How could this fucking happen? Is she even alive? Dr. Shotwell said that it’s her blood in that car. Meaning, she wrecked it. So where the hell could she have gone from there?

“I want this whole mountain scanned by air. Get me a chopper, and I want the nearest houses to that wreck.”

I don’t wait for their response as I walk out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I quickly head up the hallway to the room where we hold that fucking cunt. As soon as I am near the door, I pull my gun out, swinging the door open. I don’t even give her time to comprehend what is going on. I unload my gun in her body.

I turn around, leaving the room and walking toward the front of the house. I run into Romelo.

“I want this place burned to the goddamn ground.” I don’t wait for his response once again.

We don’t leave the house until three hours later. I look behind us as the place goes up in flames. I’ve had Alexander shipped to the catacombs already, so he isn’t in there even though I really want him to be.

I sent everyone else home besides Romelo and Nicolai. I sent Matteo home also. He is of no use with a broken wrist. He will only be in the way. And if there is any more danger lurking, he will be the first one the enemy will aim for. It is now time for us to search the surrounding area for Elise.

Lucky for us, the sun is still up, so we have plenty of time to search. The chopper above us is scanning the area. The voice comes through the coms.

“There’s a cabin about fifteen miles from your current location, but you can’t get there by car. You got to go by foot.”

We follow the chopper’s directions and end up pulling off the road. We stop once we get close to the cabin. Everyone files out of the car, getting their gear on.

We silently trudge near the cabin, the only sound is our boots crunching the thick snow. I am nervous as hell. Even though it is negative degrees outside, I am sweating. Seeing Elise on camera is one thing, but seeing her in person—and her stomach is probably bigger now—I honestly don’t know how I am going to react to that.

I can see the smoke from the chimney over the trees. I look at Romelo and Nicolai, motioning for them to cover my rear.

We finally exit the trees, and the cabin comes into view. The lights are on, but the curtains are drawn, so I can’t see anything inside. We will just have to play it by ear. If we barge in and Elise isn’t here, we are screwed, but if she is, then barging in may be the thing that will save her.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Whatever is beyond this door may change me. I am terrified of what I may find. I haven’t seen Elise since she left me because I told her about her mother. And now she is pregnant. After she was captured and auctioned off.

I kick in the door and take it all in at once. There is a dog growling at me, with his teeth bared. There is a man with a knife in hand, standing defensively. And dear God, there is Elise behind him. My Elise. My wife. She looks so beautiful as she stares at me in shock. He hair is in long waves down her back, and her skin has a healthy glow to it. I look at her arms and see hideous bruises sported across it. There are bandages on each of her hands, gauze wrapped around them. She is wearing baggy clothing.

Romelo and Nicolai are right next to me as we all stare one another down. Her eyes slowly fill with tears, and she steps from around the man. He grabs her arm, and rage immediately flashes to the surface as I take in the sight. Who the fuck is this man? I step forward with my gun at ready. The dog’s growls grow louder, and I am about to put the miserable mutt out of its misery then.

Elise seems to sense the directions of my thoughts, because she murmurs something to the man and pats the dog’s head lightly, getting its attention. Its growls grow quiet as it watches her approach me.

I take in her face and feel so much happiness within me. She is alive. She is alive, and she is safe. I reach out, about to grab her, when I pause. Now that she isn’t hiding behind that man, I can see her more clearly. Including her stomach, which is protruding a little too far from her shirt. I have to wipe my face of emotion. I want to stare at her in disgust, but then I want to kiss her. An inner battle is waging war deep within me.

I reach out to cup her face but immediately let my arm fall at my side. I have never felt so conflicted in my life. To finally have her back. Be with her. But at the same time, I can’t shake the thought that she is pregnant with someone else’s child.

She takes a timid step toward me, her face twisted in confusion, and I immediately step back. I feel sick.

I can feel the stares Nicolai and Romelo are boring into my back. I don’t know how long I have been staring at her. These feelings are overwhelming, and for once in my life, I have no idea what I am supposed to do next. Then my gaze focuses over Elise’s shoulder, and I take notice of the man on the other side of her. I take a step forward, pushing her behind me.

“Who the fuck are you?” I don’t like him already. His gaze shifts to Elise, and I feel my irritation rising even higher. “Don’t fucking look at her! She’s not the one holding a fucking gun. I said, Who the fuck are you?”

He looks at me and slowly raises his hands.

“I’m Eli. I meant your … wife no harm. We found her passed out in the snow and couldn’t just leave her there with all those injuries.”

I narrow my eyes at him. There has to be more to this than just helping her. This man is trained in some area. His stance when we walked in is one of a man that knows combat.

I step closer to him, and the dog’s growls grow louder.

“Shut that thing up before I put a bullet in its head.”

He clicks his tongue at the dog, and it immediately relaxes a little. He watches me with careful eyes, observing me like I am observing him.

“Who the fuck are you?” I say again.

“I’m Eli.”

“And I’m fucking Luca. Who the fuck are you?” I say again. I don’t like how he is avoiding the meaning of my question.

“I’m no one. I just found your wife and—”

He stops mid-sentence as I cock my gun so close to his face. A smug grin passes his face.

“I don’t think your wife would appreciate you shooting me, Luca,” he says. He puts emphasis on my name. And I currently am not in the mood for mind games. I fire my gun, and I hear Elise shout behind me. Eli hunches over, a new hole in his thigh.

“I don’t think my wife appreciated that either. Doesn’t mean a fucking thing to me.” I turn away, looking at Romelo and Nicolai.

"Let's go."

*****

Elise

I don’t know whether to feel relief or fear now that Luca has shown up. Initially, he shocked me when he walked through that door. But Rocco had picked up on his scent and began growling, causing Eli to immediately jump into action. Whoever he is, he acted just like Luca at the first sign of danger.

I look behind me frantically at Eli on the ground in pain. I hate that Luca shot him, but I am glad he shot him in his leg instead of killing him. Eli looks up at me with pain in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I mouth to him, not wanting to set Luca off.

He looks between me and Luca and shakes his head.

We trudge through the snow for I don’t know how long, the cold air seeping through the sweater I am wearing. Luca hasn’t even said two words to me. As soon as he laid eyes on me, his whole demeanor faltered.

I knew the moment he spotted my stomach. Right now, he’s calm and collected. I’m scared to death he is going to mistake this child for Alexander’s. I have to tell him the child is his.

“Luca …,” I say.

He doesn’t respond to me; he is just walking with his back to me.

“Luca,” I try again. But he still doesn’t say anything.

I reach out to grab his sleeve. As soon as my skin makes contact with his, he jerks away from me. The movement is so sudden and unexpected I fall flat into the snow. Romelo and Nicolai, even though they are ahead, falter in their footsteps, looking at me in concern. But Luca keeps walking. Not acknowledging me at all. I open my mouth, but in all honesty, I haven’t the slightest idea what to say.

My emotions are all out of normalcy, so I can feel tears welling up in my eyes from his blatant neglect. He barely even looked at me when he found me. Nothing but confusion was on his face once he stepped in that door and saw me. No happiness. I saw a flicker of disgust before he hid it.

The snow is beginning to seep into my palms, chilling me to the bone. It also is seeping into the pants.

Nicolai and Romelo exchange looks. They stopped, but Luca continues walking.

“Luca!” I try again, louder.

He still doesn’t respond.

The tears begin rolling down my face, and I can feel the sting they leave behind from the icy air. I drop my head and let the tears flow freely. He won’t even look at me. Won’t even acknowledge me. He tops the hill and disappears. Romelo whispers something to Nicolai, and he nods, taking steps toward me.

He bends over and helps me up from the ground, pulling his jacket off and wrapping it around my shivering shoulders. We trudge through the snow in silence. Romelo has now disappeared from our view too. I can’t get the way Luca looked at me out of my head. He has only ever looked at me in adoration and need. But for once, he actually looked like he hates me. Like I disgust him.

As we walk in silence, something dawns upon me. Everything. Every pain-filled moment I have gone through is because of Luca. Everything was calculated in his mind. But with every pain-filled moment came a moment where he revealed something to me about himself. That he would always protect me. The only person I have to fear in this world is him. Because if anyone else even tries, he would do whatever is necessary to see that I come out alive.

He proved that when he saved me from my father, when he jumped in front of a bullet for me, when he protected my brother and took him in for my sake. When he warned me about Ari.

Everything that he has put me through, I should hate him for it. I do hate him for it. But now as I walk in the silence, I realize how much I depend on him. How much in his own twisted head he cares for me. And how much he believes he is doing right. He is fucked up. And that is the fault of this family we have both been born into. It is his job to be fucked up. Being the capo, you can’t be soft and sane. You have to be hard and maniacal. Being with Alexander, I’ve seen firsthand the type of people he deals with. Luca was protecting me from people like that. I know he was way overboard with me for no justifiable reason, but with everything that I have been through, just the thought of being near him, near safety, makes me feel comfort.

As I walk in the silent, snow-filled forest with Nicolai by my side, I realize something. As much as I hate him, the pain I am feeling from his neglect, from his disgust is too much. I stop in my tracks as it hits me. How could I possibly be feeling this way after everything? Everything he did to me and my family, to innocent people. How could I feel this way after he had tortured me and destroyed any hope I have? After he abused me and everyone around him. After he manipulated me. What the hell is wrong with me?

I love him.

* * * * *

“Tests came back negative, so you’re all in the clear.” The nurse smiles at me as she sets the envelope with my results down on the counter. The first thing Luca made me do is come to the hospital to be tested. I try to return her bright smile, but I just can’t. After he left me in the snow, Luca didn’t even bother to ride in the same car as me.

Nicolai just got a call and said we have to go to the hospital. For me.

The nurse senses my attitude and gets up to leave.

As she opens the door, I catch a glimpse of Nicolai on his phone. He looks stressed. He sees me watching him and says something into the receiver, walking toward the room. He steps in, looking around, and spots the envelope on the counter. He grabs it and is about to leave.

“The nurse said everything came back negative,” I say.

He pauses in the doorway. He is silent for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and turning to me. “Luca asked me to bring him the results.”

I narrow my eyes at him, not knowing what to say. He is only following his boss’s orders, but that doesn’t lessen the sting.

I stand up, walking toward Nicolai. He is watching me with wide eyes. Probably nervous. I yank the envelope from him, catching him off guard, and tear it up until it is in shreds at our feet. I use all my force to shove him out of the room and slam the door in his face.