Deadly Vows - Chapter 44 (Patreon)

Luca

My watch reads 3:30 a.m. We are just now getting back. We had to dispose of the body, cover every possible track, and make it seem like we were never there. It was a lot of work, but it will all be worth it in the end.

I look at Romelo, and I can see he is just as tired as I am.

“I want my office packed. Leave nothing behind. Wake Matteo, and whatever he wants to bring, tell him to bring it. I want all the important files packed away. Do not wake Elise until the very last second, when it’s time to leave. We need to do this quickly and quietly. Tell no one of our plan. As soon as we are gone, take your loved ones and go into hiding as well. I’ll give Nicolai the same orders. You two will also be targets because you’re my right-hand guys.” He nods, and we go to work.

It takes us about three hours to get everything packed up and situated. Once the cars are loaded and the men are aware of the situation, I call a meeting. While everyone is gathering, I walk up the stairs to my bedroom. Nicolai is standing at the ready once I arrive.

“How many nightmares?” I ask, knowing that she has had some.

“Three total. The last one was the worst. I don’t know if she went back to sleep from it or if she’s still awake.”

I nod and enter the room. Elise is asleep on her side, with pillows in between her legs. I make a mental note to get her a body pillow. I gently shake her, and her eyes open immediately, laced with fear. Once she realizes it is me, the fear is replaced by joy, and I can’t help the smile that comes onto my face.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey.” Her voice comes out in a small whisper, and she blushes, looking away.

“I don’t want you to get scared, but I need you to get dressed and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes, okay?”

She looks confused and reads the time on the clock.

“I know it’s early. I just need you to do what I asked, okay? I’ll explain everything later.”

She nods and stretches out on the bed. I was planning on turning to leave, but I am so mesmerized by the action. Her hair is messy from sleep, and it looks sexy as hell. And she has worn a tank top and underwear to bed. She looks beautiful. Before I realize what I am doing, I am caressing her cheek with my hand and then cupping her face, leaning in. Her eyes are wide while she watches me. I capture her soft lips in mine. She immediately kisses me back. I can feel my dick getting hard in my pants at the contact. It has been so long since I’ve felt her lips against mine. And my body obviously missed it.

By the time I finally pull back, we are both panting. I don’t know what to say. I lean in, giving her a quick peck on the lips and turn to leave.

* * * * *

I look at all the men in the room. Men I have trained with, grown up with. Some I am related to, and some sworn in. But I trust these men with my life.

“This isn’t easy for me to say, and it honestly makes me angry. It’s time for us to disperse. There are things going on outside of the North family. Until I can figure out specifically what, our being together and in the open isn’t safe anymore. Take your families and go underground. Keep an ear out because I will be in contact with all of you. I am not disclosing my location to anyone. And neither should you. Tell no one of where you’re going. And if you do, do so at your own risk. This is much bigger than us. And until we can figure out a way to get out of this, we need to lie low. For how long, I cannot tell you. But stay ready. This is not a vacation. This is a preparation. At any moment, I can call you with the plan. We are the most powerful family in the North—hell, maybe even the world—so we will be back. And we will have our vengeance.”

Nicolai and Romelo begin passing out thick envelopes.

“In these envelopes are specific instructions made for each individual in this room. Do not open them until you are in your safe zone. And follow them. If you don’t, or anything is suspicious, we will assume the worst.”

I look around at all the faces in the room.

“We will meet again, and when we do, we will take back what is ours and get rid of the swine that dared cross the North Mafia.”

Cries of agreement echo throughout the room. These men are just as angry as I am.

I step out of the room, and Elise is in the foyer like I asked. Romelo and Nicolai are by my side.

“Luca, what’s going on?” she asks, eyeing the men exiting the room.

“I’ll explain everything in the car.” I grab ahold of her hand and walk her toward the garage with me. Sure enough, the car is running.

I can see Matteo sitting in the back seat.

“Go get in the car.”

Elise looks at me warily but walks around to the passenger seat, closing the door behind her.

I turn to Romelo and Nicolai.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you, boss?” Romelo is the first to speak up.

I shake my head. “Yes.” I can tell by his reaction Nicolai doesn’t appreciate my answer. “You two are my most trusted men. Not only that, but you are my best friends. Keep in touch. Remember what I told you.”

They nod in unison. With that, I get in the car, closing the door. Matteo is asleep in the back seat, but Elise is awake.

“Luca, what is going on?” Her voice is panicked, and I can see her body shaking in fear. I should have explained to her earlier, but I have been so focused on getting out of here and explaining the situation that I forgot she is paranoid. Gosh, I am an asshole.

I grab her hand in mine as we pull out into the road. I bring her hand to my mouth, giving her a gentle kiss. “We’re getting off the grid for a while. Something’s come up, and it’s just a little precaution. I promised you I’d protect you and your brother, Elise, as well as our son, and this is me keeping that promise, okay?” She nods slowly.

We ride in silence for a little while, and I notice Elise has finally fallen asleep. I want to sleep myself, but I don’t have the time. The sooner we get off the grid, the better. I am going to protect my family, no matter what. And I will kill anyone that gets in the way.

Elise

When Luca said he would explain everything to me, I thought he was really going to do just that, but he proved me wrong, because explaining is the last thing he does. He drives us to the airport and puts us on a plane without so much of an explanation. The flight takes us about nine hours, and even then, he refuses to tell us where we are going.

“The less you know, the better.”

That is what he keeps telling us every time we ask.

Since the plane landed, we’ve been driving for about three hours. I am exhausted and cranky, but I try my best not to show it. Whatever is going on is serious, because Luca is tense and very vague when answering questions.

Wherever we are has to be another country, because the sun is coming up. Matteo is sound asleep in the back, and I can feel my eyes getting heavy, but I can’t go to sleep.

“You can go to sleep if you want to, Elise. You look tired.”

I sit up in my seat and look over at him. He still has a hard face, as if he’s trying to hide his emotions from me. “Are you okay, Luca?”

Now he looks at me. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well, you kind of came home in a hurry … and you just packed us up in the middle of the night and made us leave, and you won’t even tell me where.” I am a little afraid to admit it, but I feel like I can talk to Luca more now than ever.

He lets out a deep sigh. “There are just things going on right now, and we just need to move out of the open for a little bit.”

My heart jumps at his words, and I feel myself beginning to panic. I hate how afraid I am of everything.

I feel a hand over mine. Luca clasps my hand in his. “Elise, I won’t let anything happen to you. Where we’re going, no one can hurt you, I promise.”

After I catch my breath, I respond to him, “And where are we going, Luca?”

“A little cottage I bought on my own a few years back. No one knows about this place, not even Romelo or Nicolai.”

I look at him in confusion. If anything, Luca is the last person I expected to buy a cottage, of all things. He strikes me as more of the flashy kind of guy. Which explains why our homes are so large and his cars are so extravagant.

As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, a smile flits over his lips.

“When I was younger, my mother brought me out here on a mini vacation, to get away from the daily hell I was born into.” His smile grows larger, as if he is remembering the exact moment. “She hated having guards. So one day, she just took me and we went riding. I was about thirteen at that time. We got completely lost in a foreign country, and we came upon this cottage. It was beautiful, and she absolutely loved it. She said she wanted it to be our secret spot. That no one would know about it. Not even my father. But with her being the wife of the capo, no purchases she made would be private. So when I turned eighteen, I bought it for her. Had it renovated and everything. She used to come out here all the time.” He grows silent, and his smile slowly drops.

“I haven’t been here since she died.”

“When did she die?” My voice is an almost whisper.

I have always been curious as to how Luca’s mother died. No one ever had a clear story of how she died, or even when. But everyone knows she did. She stopped showing up to events, and Luca’s father became an unpleasant person to be around. And Luca … well, it was hard to tell if he was raised that way or if he was acting out because of what happened to his mother.

“When I turned twenty. We were going to an event. The three of us. It was a party at a friend’s house. And by friend I mean business partner. My father took off with my mother, talking to people and being his usual self. The night was going well until the gunfire started.”

I watch Luca closely. I can feel the anger and despair he feels while reliving this nightmare.

“They caught her. They tortured her and did horrible things to her. And when we thought we had her back, they let her walk out of that car across the street to us and they shot her just as she was near. They shot her no less than five feet away from me. I had to watch her die, because we trusted them. We trusted their word. We thought if we did what was asked of us, they would return her to us. But they didn’t. They lied.”

His hands tighten around the steering wheel. The ride is silent except for Matteo’s soft snoring in the back seat.

I can’t imagine what Luca feels. He knew his mother. He grew up with her, and he spent a lot of time with her. Judging from the way he speaks of her, he really loved his mother. And she was killed in front of him when he was about to save her. All because he trusted what people said. Now I can see why trust is such a huge issue for him.

“I didn’t know who you were when I did what I did to your mother. I knew you were too young to remember it, though, or understand what was going on. I had no idea they were going to make me marry you years later. And I am sorry for that, Elise. But I almost had her. She was right there, right in front of me. And they shot her in the back.” He sighs.

“I loved my father, I did, but my mother was everything to me. A part of me died with her. A part that I never thought I’d get back. That is, until I met you. The moment you said ‘I do,’ I could feel it. You healed a part of me I never thought I’d get back.”

His eyes meet mine, and he looks shocked. There are tears running out of my eyes. My heart is bleeding for Luca. I have never seen him so open before about something so personal.

“Don’t cry for me, Elise. I’m not a good man. I’ve done some things that I can never take back, and some things I don’t even regret. I couldn’t save my mother because we were weak. We trusted when we should have taken. I won’t ever let that happen again.”

His eyes drift back to the road. I look down to my stomach, which is now carrying a life. When he is born, will he end up like Luca? Can I save him from that fate?

The thing I fear most is that my son may never know me like I never knew my mother. Or if he does, he’ll end up like Luca once I am gone. Luca says he’ll protect me, but in the back of my mind, I

know that is an impossible thing to promise.

Luca isn’t a good man, that I know, but he has good tendencies. He has moments when he makes me forget all the horrible things. And he has moments when I forget he even loves me. But I know the good tendencies must be something his mother instilled in him. He is a mix of both of his parents, and he’s been with his father the majority of his life. But now that his father is gone, he has moments when he looks at me with so much love that I almost forget the hell that he dragged me through. Almost. And I have his mother to thank for that.

“What was her name?” I ask.

He looks over at me, and a small smile pulls at his mouth.

“Lucia. Her name was Lucia Pasquino.”

I smile at him, rubbing my stomach subconsciously. Lucia.

We arrive at the cottage an hour later. It is in the middle of a forest, but the land around it is cleared out, with a security gate around the property. And there is a large pond behind it. It is a beautiful home. And it looks very warm and inviting. Luca pulls up the driveway, parking the car outside and turning it off. Once he helps me out of the car, we walk inside the front door. He turns, speaking to Matteo.

“You can go and pick which room is yours.”

Matteo doesn’t hesitate to take off up the stairs. There has to be at least five bedrooms in this place, and it still looks clean, as if someone upkeeps it.

“I have people come in and clean it every two weeks,” Luca says, as if sensing my thoughts.

He grabs ahold of my hand, leading me through the large foyer. I can feel the heat from his hand seeping into mine. It is comforting, the grip he has. As if he doesn’t want to let go.

“We’re going to take the master bedroom downstairs. I don’t want you walking back and forth, up and down the stairs in your condition.” He smiles at me, opening the door to a beautiful room with coral walls.

The sun is shining through the large windows, and I can see down the path to the lake. There is a large bed in the middle of the room, with a fireplace and two walk-in closets.

“Luca, this place is really beautiful,” I whisper.

He and his mother renovated this place and it really turned out beautiful. He gives me a quick kiss on my temple.

“Thank you. I want you to get some rest. I know you’re probably tired. If you need anything at all, my office is down the hall to the left.” I nod, and he threads his fingers through my hair, giving me a searing kiss.

“You can leave the door open if you want to. I love you.” He walks out of the room before I can respond.