Chapter 91
When he saw her, his eyes lit up at first. It was automatic. Warmth flashing through the blues.
Then he saw the bruise.
The warmth died.
His gaze sharpened instantly, tracking from her cheek to her eye. His body went still in a way that was far more dangerous than shouting.
He sucked in a breath.
“Luca… you’re here.” She forced a smile that felt brittle. “Give me a minute. Let me just pack up p>
“Come here.” He commanded absolutely. Luca did not raise his voice to be obeyed. The command lived in his posture, in the way his shoulders squared, in the stillness that settled around him. The shop felt smaller when he spoke like that.
“I just want to she began, gesturing vaguely toward the counter, toward anything that would buy her a second.
“Come… here p>
Vee swallowed and crossed the space between them quickly. “Its nothing,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. “It’s been so busy today, I wasn’t looking and a door hit me right in the face. Clumsy, haha.” The laugh was wrong.
Up close, Luca studied her face carefully. He was tall enough that she had to tilt her chin slightly to meet his eyes. Those blues. God, one could drown in them.
Luca calmed at her explanation. Or at least, he allowed his features to soften.
“You should put ice on it,” he said evenly.
“I didn’t know it would be hard enough to bruise. I’ll do that as soon as I get home p>
“Come on. Pack up. Let’s go p>
She nodded quickly. She shot Rosa a pointed look. Do not speak. Do not breathe wrong.
Rosa nodded subtly, eyes wide.
Vee gathered her handbag from beneath the counter, fingers steady despite the tremor beneath her skin.
She joined him again.
He placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked toward the door.
His car waited at the curb. Luca guided her into the passenger seat.
The thing about Luca is, he sees everything. He reads silence. He had seen the way she rushed through her explanation. He had seen Rosa’s expression too, tight with fear.
But he said nothing.
He slid into the driver’s seat.
As he pulled away from the curb, his hand settled on her thigh.
His fingers spread slightly over the fabric of her jeans. A reminder that she was within his reach.
Her body reacted anyway. Heat blooming low despite the bruise throbbing on her cheek.
“You’re quiet,” he observed.
“So are you p>
“I’m thinking p>
“What are you thinking about?” she asked carefully.
“Whether I believe you.” His gaze remained on the road, calm and focused.
“It was a door,” she insisted softly. She turned her face toward the window, watching the city blur past. She felt trapped and safe in the same breath. Wanted and cornered. Loved and owned.
Vee was quiet all the way home. Her hands rested in her lap, fingers loosely intertwined, but her mind was working through possibilities.
Inferi would not stop.
She had to deal with it before it escalated.
The car glided through the gates of the building. Armed guards nodded subtly as they entered.
When they stepped out, Luca walked beside her without speaking. His stride was relaxed, but she knew that was surface only. He had not forgotten the bruise. He had not dismissed her explanation. He was cataloguing everything.
He walked her to the door.
“I’ll like to be by myself tonight,” she said carefully. “I just want to have a bath and sleep. It’s been a long day p>
It was a reasonable request. It should have been harmless.
He studied her. “Something’s wrong,” Luca said calmly, his hands sliding into his pockets.
“Nothing. It’s nothing p>
“I’ll let it be,” he said finally. “But if I eventually find out you are lying to me, you know what I will do p>
“Really, I’m just exhausted, Luca. That’s all.” She held his gaze steadily this time. If she faltered, he would push.
After a moment, he gave a slight nod.
He stepped closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Rest,” he said quietly. Then he turned and walked toward the main building, coat draped over his arm.
Vee watched him until he disappeared around the corner.
Only then did she exhale.
Meanwhile, Luca pulled out his phone. “Hey,” he said when the call connected. “Do you think you can find out from Valentina if anything weird happened at the pizza parlour today p>
Marco responded. “Yeah. I’ll handle it p>
Luca ended the call without another word.
Something had shifted. Between the time she called him that afternoon and when he picked her up, something had changed. The energy in her voice earlier had been lighter. Teasing. Now she was guarded.
He replayed every detail in his head. The faint tremor in her laugh. The way Rosa avoided eye contact.
He slid his phone back into his pocket. If someone had laid a hand on her, they better start making their bed in hell.
Vee spent the day with Valentina as promised.
She arrived just after sunrise, the sky still pale and undecided, a soft gray stretching over the quiet residential streets. Luca’s driver pulled up in front of the house.
Veronica stepped out in a simple black dress that reached her knees, modest enough for church, elegant enough to remind her she was Luca’s woman now. The diamond pendant rested at the hollow of her throat, catching the light.
“I’ll call when I’m ready,” she told the driver. He nodded and pulled away without question.
Valentina was already waiting at the door, her dark curls pulled back loosely, face bare, eyes bright despite the shadows of recent stress. Of course, she had to explain the bruise on her face to Valentina. She gave her the same lie as she did Luca.
They headed to church first.
The old cathedral stood at the end of the main street. Its bells rang low and steady as they entered, the scent of incense thick in the air. Sunlight filtered through stained glass windows, scattering color across the pews in fractured reds and blues.
Vee knelt beside her sister, bowed her head, and tried to pray.
But her prayers were simple.
Keep Valentina safe.
Keep Luca safe.
After mass, when they were heading back out, Valentina waved enthusiastically at someone near the courtyard steps and hurried forward.
Vee followed her sister’s line of sight.
Her stomach dropped.
Cassidy.
He stood near the statue of Mary. His hair was longer than she remembered, falling just slightly over his forehead. He looked the same. And not the same at all.
“Oh shit. Oh shit p>
Her hand instinctively went to the necklace at her throat.
And then she stepped toward Cassidy.
There was no retreating without making it obvious.
“It’s nice to see you finally okay,” Cassidy said to Valentina just as Vee reached them. He always had that softness when he spoke to her sister.
“Hey, Cas,” Vee said.
His eyes shifted to her. Just for a second. Long enough to measure the bruise she had carefully covered with makeup. Long enough to take in the necklace and her outfit.
“Hey,” he answered. “So, how has it been with you two?” Cassidy asked.
But he did not direct the question at Veronica.
He kept his gaze on Valentina.
“We’ve been fine. It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” Valentina replied, unaware of the undercurrent humming between the other two.
Cassidy chuckled softly. “I’ll say. Take care p>
He stepped back, already preparing to leave. Already choosing distance.
That should have been the end.
“Cas, wait p>
She knew she should have let him go. She knew that every second she stood in front of him was a risk. The church courtyard was not Luca’s territory, but the city was.
She stepped closer anyway.
“How is work?” she asked.
It was a harmless question.
Cassidy’s eyes flicked once more to the diamond at her throat, then back to her face.
“I quit,” he said.
“Oh… why p>
“What do you want, Vee?” Cassidy snapped.
“I just wanted to say I am sorry p>
“About what?” he shot back immediately. “About your maniac showing me a video where you were begging him to fuck you? About letting me put my life in danger when you clearly didn’t need any saving? Or how about not having the decency to be straight with me and tell me to fuck off from your life but instead you wait until I get maimed p>
Vee felt the blood drain from her face.
The memory burned through her without mercy. Luca’s calculated cruelty.
Cassidy’s chest rose and fell hard beneath his shirt. He had always been lean, athletic in an understated way, but now there was an edge to him. Harder lines around his mouth. Less softness in his eyes.
“You didn’t need saving,” he continued, quieter now but no less fierce. “You wanted him p>
Vee swallowed.
She had.
She did.
And that truth made everything uglier.
Now that it was being said out loud, Vee felt like a complete cunt.
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