Deadly Vows - Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Luca

I sit in my office, thrumming my fingers on my desk in annoyance. Nicolai is on speakerphone, and Romelo is standing in front of me with a stupid grin on his face. I take a deep breath.

“She did what?”

“Uh … she snatched the envelope and tore it up.”

I growl in irritation. “And you let her?”

“I honestly had no idea she was about to do it.”

“Dammit, what the hell am I trusting you with her life for if you can’t even prevent her from snatching an envelope?” 

“Sorry, boss,” he grumbles.

“When can you get another one with the information?”

“They said it’s gonna take a few days. They already closed her file, and it’ll take a while to get all that information back in one file without an appointment.”

I take a deep breath and run my fingers through my hair. “Okay, just bring her home. And try not to fuck anything up.” I hang up the phone before he can respond. “What the fuck are you laughing at?” I snap at Romelo. He’s been very brave lately.

“It’s just that Elise seems to have taken on a whole new persona in her time with Alexander. I never would have expected her to openly defy you like that.”

I roll my eyes and turn away from him, looking out the window.

“You seem stressed. Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, you finally got her back after … how long?”

“Three months,” I respond absentmindedly.

“Three months! That’s a long time to be missing a wife. Especially the way you heard her disappear. Aren’t you, in some way, glad she’s back?”

I want to smash my head onto the desk. He is right. He is. But …

“She’s fucking pregnant, Romelo. With someone else’s child. And not just anyone, Alexander’s. How am I supposed to deal with that? How am I supposed to handle raising his child?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Just make her abort it. If you’re worried about her fighting you, just drug her and do it while she’s asleep. Or you can sneak something in her food. Like shark. That’ll definitely do the trick.”

I look at him. “Unless you want to keep your tongue, I suggest you think about what you’re going to say next.”

A smile breaks its way across his face. He slowly raises his hands in surrender. “Look, Capo, all I’m saying is, if just getting rid of the child is such an issue, why let the fact that it isn’t yours get in the way of your happiness?”

The room is silent as I take in his words. He looks at his watch and chuckles, turning to leave.

“Where are you going?” I ask in irritation.

“I have a date.” He walks out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving me confused about both things he just said.

* * * * *

It’s not until twenty minutes later that I hear the front door, which means Elise is home. I stand and step outside of my office to see her walking toward the stairs.

“Elise.”

She freezes and looks at me with sad eyes. I motion for her to come into my office. I turn and don’t wait for a response. I take a seat behind my desk just in time to see her stepping into the room. Her hair is wet at the ends, courtesy of the hospital letting her shower.

Nicolai must’ve bought her a change of clothes.

I take in her appearance. Her arms are wrapped in bandages, all the way down to her palms, which had to be restitched. There are purple bruises on her arms. There is a new bandage on her forehead, and even her legs are wrapped up in gauze. Every inch of her body is marked up horribly. I have to close my eyes to calm myself down.

“Why do you feel the right to tear up those records?” I ask. I wanted physical proof that nothing is wrong. I need to know how long she’s been pregnant. I wanted the tangible proof.

I’m surprised when she glares at me head-on. “You should be able to listen to me when I tell you what the doctor said.”

I tilt my head, studying this woman now standing in front of me. She is feisty. Brave. Not the timid girl I married. And I don’t like it.

“You’re not even home yet, and you’re already defying me.”

She scoffs and looks at me in irritation. “Defy you? You’re not my father, Luca.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re right. He’s dead.”

She looks taken aback but quickly recovers. “And who’s responsible for that?” she counters.

“He is,” I state matter-of-factly.

“No. You are! You put those bullets in his body!” she shouts at me.

“Because he betrayed us!”

She laughs, but there is no humor in it.

“You think this is funny?”

She narrows her eyes at me. I glare at her as long as I can. I can’t hurt her. I can’t make her understand.

“Ahhh!” I shout, punching the wall. The room is silent. “Get out.”

She starts, “Luca—”

But I interrupt her, unable to hear her voice right now. I turn around, facing her, and am unable to even look at her face. All I can see is her stomach. The life she is now nurturing inside of her that is Alexander’s.

“I said get the fuck out! I can’t fucking look at you with that … inside of you!” I almost regret what I say. The look of hurt that flashes across her face is quick to make me rethink my words.

She takes a step toward me.

“Luca, if you’d just listen to me—”

“I don’t want to listen!” I slam my hand down on the desk, and she jumps. “Get the fuck out of my fucking office!”

I watch, torn, as she stares at me with wide eyes. Her bottom lip begins trembling, and she pulls it between her teeth just as tears begin to fall down her face. She takes a step back before running out of my office, slamming the door behind her.

Fuck.

I don’t even know where she went in the house. I stay in my office late, working on things I’ve let get behind searching for her. That’s when the screaming starts. it’s bone-chilling and causes my blood to run cold. The first thing I think is that Elise is in trouble. I jump up from my desk out into the foyer. The screams are echoing off the walls of the house.

I sprint up the stairs, pulling my gun out as I take two at a time. Her screams continue. Now that I am getting closer, I can hear her begging.

“Please, please don’t!”

My heart is pounding in my chest as I pump my legs faster to get to her. How the fuck could someone have gotten past security to get into this house and attack her? The screams are coming from our bedroom, and I kick the door open with all my force, aiming my gun at the assailant.

*****

Elise

I am back in Alexander’s cellar, tied to the table he loves to use. He is over my body, squeezing the life out of me with his bare hands as he assaults my body. I scream and beg him to stop, the tears coming fast and my air supply being cut off. He pulls out a knife, aiming it right over my stomach.

“Please, please don’t!” I shout.

“Elise! Elise!” I am jolted awake, a cold sweat drenching my body. Gray. Steel-gray eyes are staring at me with worry. He is holding on to me.

There is silence as we stare at each other. My breathing comes out in pants as I get choked up.

“Oh god, Luca!” I shout without even realizing what I am doing. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him close to me. “It was so real … I was there … I was back with him …”

I sob into his chest, and he slowly wraps his arms around me, rubbing my back in comfort.

“H-he was killing me … while I was tied up …”

“Shhhh. You’re here with me, Elise. I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear. You’re mine to protect. I will protect you. No harm will come to you … or that child. I swear it.”

His words make me feel so much better. He’s going to protect me. He said he is.

We sit like that for a while, and I sob into Luca’s arms and he comforts me. He tells me how I am safe and he’ll protect me.

After I quiet down, he stands up to leave, and I immediately freak out. I reach out and grab his arm with my bandaged hand.

“Please don’t leave me.” My voice comes out in a whisper.

Being in this dark room alone terrifies me to no end. I feel like someone is going to come and take me at any moment. I drift into these nightmares and imagine Alexander with me again, and that is terrifying.

Luca watches me with concern and slowly sits back onto the bed, looking at me with worry.

“I’m going to go take a shower, then I’ll come right back and lie with you, okay?” He is speaking to me as if I were a child. I nod slowly, and he stands to head into the shower.

“C-can I come with you? I don’t want to be alone.” I look at the ground as I speak, not wanting to see his face. Every time Luca looks at me, I can see the disgust that lurks beneath his gaze.

I feel a hand over mine and stop shaking. I hadn’t even realized I am still shivering in fear.

Luca’s hand slowly wraps around mine, and he pulls me from the bed toward the bathroom. I sit on the chair as he draws a warm bath, the steam fogging up the mirror. He sits on the edge of the tub, testing the warmth of the water. He still doesn’t look at me, though. And quite honestly, I am okay with that. As long as I can be in the same room as him, I feel safe. Luca always means what he says, so if he tells me I will be safe, I feel I can believe that of him.

Luca stands and slowly begins to shed his clothing. He keeps his back to me as he does so. Once he is completely naked, he turns to me, holding his hand out to me. I stand slowly and walk toward him. Once I reach his arms, he pulls my shirt over my head and begins to remove my underwear. We stand for a moment as he takes in my naked form. His eyes trail down to my stomach. He reaches out, slowly unraveling the gauze from around my arms, revealing the cuts and bruises that lurk underneath. He reaches around me and puts some gloves on my hands since I have stitches in the palms and they can’t get wet. He stares at the marks along my body and slowly pulls me in for a hug, and we stand like that in the middle of the bathroom, naked, in each other’s arms.

He pulls away from me, walking toward the water and sinking himself in. He still doesn’t say a word; he just looks at me, and for the first time since my rescue, he smiles at me. He brings his hand out of the water, holding it out to me. I walk toward him and lower myself into the tub with him. He lies on his back and pulls me in between his legs. His hands rest over my stomach. I can feel his chin resting atop my head.

“He told me that you were dead. That he killed you.” He brings his hands up and begins playing with my hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so lost in my life. I thought I’d really lost you.”

I just listen to his voice, letting it soothe my crazed nerves.

“Actually, I have felt like that before. When you called me. Right before that wreck. Hearing the terror in your voice, your screams, and the sound of the car crashing … that terrified me.” He sighs.

“I’m a terrible person. I know that. I was made to kill your mother, right in front of you, and you don’t even remember it. Your father even wanted us to send you back to him bloodied and bruised so that he could stage a war. And I was the one that was chosen for the task. All I wanted was to protect you. I tried. But I also ended up hurting you. That’s just the kind of man I am.” He gives a deep chuckle.

“But dammit if I won’t protect you with every breath in my body. You have nothing to fear, Elise. He won’t be coming back for you.”

We sit in the tub until we both turn pruny. Luca takes care of me every step of the way. I don’t even have the energy to wonder why he is being so kind to me after his explosion in his office, and I don’t care. That nightmare was so realistic. And the fact that it really happened at one point makes me realize something. Luca is the one that is going to protect me no matter what. He kept me protected until the one time he let me out of his sight. Now I see why he makes me stay with him all the time.

I can feel myself drifting off to sleep, and I can feel Luca’s arms around me. Protecting me. My eyelids grow heavy, and I close them.

I hear Luca give a muffled laugh.

“I told myself I couldn’t raise Alexander’s child, but if taking it away means hurting you even more, I don’t think I can do it,” Luca whispers. His voice sounds as if he is in disbelief.

I open my mouth.

“This isn’t Alexander’s child, Luca. The baby is yours.”

I don’t have the energy to listen to his response as sleep overtakes me in the comfort of his arms.