Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
The gates were already open when we reached the Salvatore Estate. A dozen armed guards stood out front with machine guns strapped to their backs, guns in their hands. They looked like they were ready for war.
Luca slammed on the breaks in front of the garage, and Kali slammed into the dashboard.
“What the fuck, Luca?” Kali groaned, rubbing her shoulder.
Ignoring her, he ripped open his door and ordered the guards standing watch at the entrance to deal with the girls. Kali was pulled out of the car by a tall man with dark hair, dressed in a suit. I hopped out of the car and followed Dom toward the front of the house.
Luca barked at the guards to take Kali and me into the movie room as he removed a gun from the holster on his chest. He walked in the opposite direction with a purpose, determined to kill me with silence.
“Luca,” I called out.
He stopped moving, and with his back to me, he said, “I’ll be fine, D. Go in the house.”
A guard grabbed my shoulder as the other steered Kali and me inside. They led us down the long tiled hallway and told us to sit on the sectional leather couch in front of a massive flat-screen television. Kali sat on the cushion next to me. She dropped her purse on the coffee table, kicked her heels onto the floor, and tucked her feet beneath her butt.
She turned to me, her eyebrows lifted. “Damian and Bash texted me. They’re on their way home from the office.”
I wrapped my arms around my middle to calm my nerves. “Still think I should run?”
She bit her lip, considering my question. “You’re probably safer here than anywhere else.”
“Luca’s enemies know where he lives. They almost got me once.”
When Luca strolled into the room with Marcello at his side, I rushed over to him. I pressed my hands to his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my fingers.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Luca brushed a strand of hair behind my ears. “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I thought about his proposal in the closet. Luca wanted to marry me because that would make me a Salvatore, which would mean his family would never turn their backs on me. They had a code, one they would never break. No matter how much Arlo disliked me, he would take care of his son’s wife. Which meant Luca thought something might happen to him.
“I’m not worried about me.”
Luca hooked his arm behind my back and smirked. “Don’t worry about me, baby girl. I have everything under control.”
“Tonight, we’re having dinner alone.” He kissed the top of my head, then patted my ass. “Go keep your friend company. I have a few things I need to discuss with my father before our date.”
Three hours later, I walked into a small dining room with a patio that overlooked the bay. Dom closed the doors behind me, and my throat just about closed up at the sight of Luca, dressed in a black suit, his back to me. He stood between the open French doors. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach filled the silence in the air.
His hand shot out at his side, beckoning me to come forward. I crossed the room and slipped my fingers between his. We stood in silence, my heart hammering in my chest before he spoke.
“I could never live someplace without water. The sound helps me sleep. I have always liked the way the water moves, the patterns it follows. You can learn a lot about life from the weather.”
I looked up at the strength in his jaw and the hardness of his features.
“Sailors used the saying the calm before the storm to describe the peacefulness in the weather right before a storm hit.” He leaned down, his eyes on me. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Exactly. This is the calm, our last moment of peace before my enemies bring the storm to Devil’s Creek. I tried to prevent this…”
“Your feelings for me don’t make you weak, Luca.”
He slid his arm behind my back and pulled me into his chest. “You have always been my weakness. I can handle anything. But losing you would be the worst thing imaginable. The last shred of my humanity is dangling by a thread, held together by you. You think I’m an animal, a monster, but you don’t understand what I would become without you here to ground me.”
“You’re capable of much more than violence.”
He dipped his head down to brush his lips against mine. “I know nothing but violence. My father trained me to hunt, kill, and destroy.”
“You’re not violent with me.”
“I’ve hurt and punished you. I have done things you didn’t deserve. I’m not a good man. I have never been good enough for you. But I want you. I need you. I can’t let you go.”