Athena
The rest of the night passed in a blur. That would not be the entire truth, however. I had spent the night locked up in a bedroom like some fucking hostage.
Luciano hadn’t locked me up at first. After the whole scene he had caused, we’d gotten tired and finally, he let go. I had tried to escape several times. Who could blame me? How the hell was I supposed to stay with a mafia lord who knew that I knew his identity? It didn’t make any fucking sense.
If it were left to him, I was sure he would lock me in here forever. Ha! I scoffed, leaning my head against the wall. He would have to chop off my legs to make that possible.
Frederick would be worried sick if he hadn’t heard from me in days. I felt around for the phone I had stashed in my bra and sighed deeply. I would have to find a good hiding place for it.
Why hide it anymore? A voice in my head asked and I frowned, whipping it out. I could just send the evidence to Frederick and the FBI would be here in a matter of hours. Luciano would be gone.
My heart lurched at the thought and I doubled over. This was bad. Catching feelings for that… that jackass was bad. It had to be the doubts. Yes, the doubts. I wasn’t certain he had killed my father anymore. That had to explain why I was feeling weird.
The bedroom I stood in was surrounded by wooden walls. I had to admit, the cabin was quite beautiful, especially during the day. The early morning sun filtered in through the circular window, showing a rather beautiful scenery of cliffs and mountains behind the cabin. I stared at it until my eyes watered, trying to decipher where I was and what to tell my foster father.
But who was I kidding? I knew nothing in Sicily. Luciano had imprisoned me.
“You know very well that this is far from imprisonment.” My mind was taunted and I blinked to fight the tears that burned. Memories of him demanding an oath, asking me to swear never to leave him, I wasn’t sure if I should be happy. I had wanted to seduce him after all. I had aimed to own him but now that I did, I hated myself immensely for it. As if I couldn’t get any more confused.
Sliding down the wall, I buried my face in my knees, trying to figure out a way out. Do I give up on the mission this time and just end Luciano here? Death seemed much more appropriate.
I glanced at a bookshelf beside the bed and crawled towards it to hide the burner phone then crawled back to my position beside the door, my head swimming with so many thoughts.
A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts and I rose to my feet quickly, cleaning the tears that stained my cheeks. Damned shameful tears.
The door opened and Luciano stepped in. He looked every bit as charming. As always. I was sure I looked like a fucking hobo while he got to look like some glamorous prince of doom.
“Fanculo,” he swore, dropping to his knees before me. His large hands cupped my face. “Have you been crying?”
I looked away feeling smaller with each passing moment.
“Look at me, Raven,”
“I don’t want to,” I mumbled.
“I made breakfast,” he stated. “You need to eat.”
My stomach grumbled at that time and I considered stabbing it with a pen but held back. Being rash won’t do shit for me right now. All I needed to do was bid my time until I could leave. And I would leave. I would make sure I did.
“What did you make?” I asked, rising to my feet and watching his lips split into a wide grin.
“Pancakes.” He replied, slipping an arm over my waist. “I’ll make us something extravagant later. For now, we’ll have to make do.”
I let Luciano lead me to the dining room in the cabin. It had a small table and two chairs and looked rather cozy. The more I saw of the cabin, the more I was certain it was meant for lovers or something. Did he bring women here?
Anger pulsed through my veins at the thought. Other women?! I’d find them and cut off their hair. They would be pretty, with luscious air, and most likely did not have to betray him in the end. Unlike me.
“Stop moping around you idiot,” my mind cautioned and I sighed deeply. I couldn’t count how many times I had sighed. And it was still early in the fucking morning.
I dug a fork into the pancake and then stopped when I noticed his eyes watching my every move. “Will you quit staring at me? I don’t intend to run away yet.”
He shrugged. “Even if you did, I would catch you anyways. I’m not staring at you because of that, however.”
I dropped my fork and folded my arms. “Then why are you staring at me?”
“Habit,” he muttered, looking down at his pancakes. “You’re a beautiful woman. I often stare at you.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I said in a haughty tone. Sure I was being held hostage but that did not mean I would abandon my pride or dignity.
“Si. But you have now.” He said simply and made a clean cut of his stack of pancakes and ate it.
As we ate, my mind swam with several ideas. For now, what exactly did Luciano know about me? From the looks of it, it looked like he didn’t know I worked with the FBI yet.
All he knew for now was that I knew he was in the mafia and he would most definitely try to investigate who I am. I had to delay that for a while and-
A chuckle slipped from my lips. I was talking like I still had control over the situation. What option was there than to wait and delay? I had been taken captive already. Hell, he had even made me swear not to leave him. The only thing I could do was wait.
And it fucking sucked. Big time.
“Won’t your men be angry?” I asked, trying to quell the crazy tightness in my chest.
“About?” He asked, raising his eyes until they held mine.
Ashamed I looked away.
“Me,” when I spoke again, my voice had grown husky, thick with tears. “Will they not be angry that you’re not punishing me according to mafia laws?”
Luciano chuckled and shoved another piece of pancake into his mouth. “I am the law of the mafia, Cara. I decide the punishment.”
“That smug look won’t be on your face if you have an uprising,” I told him pointedly.
Luciano tossed his head back and laughed. “Good, you’re returning to being yourself. I thought I was going to be stuck with a brooding Raven.”
“You’re crazy,” I said, shaking my head.
“Si. I am.” He replied, reaching across the table to hold my free hand. “You drive me crazy. This is your fault then.”
“That’s so fucking cheesy, it’s a mess all over the place.” I snorted.
“And you like cheesy, don’t you Mia Cara?” He teased. “There’s that smile you’re currently fighting on your lips.”
“No, I am not!” I denied strongly and shoved more pancakes down my throat to put an end to the discussion.
After breakfast, I tried to offer to do the dishes but I supposed he didn’t trust me yet because he simply told me to get ready for a shower. Hell if I were him, I wouldn’t trust me yet.
I trudged back into the bedroom. From what I had seen, the cabin only had one bedroom. So if I had been locked in the bedroom all night, where had Luciano slept? On the couch in the living room?
Guilt surged through me again and I shook it off harder. That was his choice. To hold me down here was his choice. I had asked for it and I sure as hell did not deserve it. The bedroom had a bathroom adjoined to it. I walked in to see it had a tub in it. Well, that was lovely and it wasn’t a bad way to die I guess.
I had gotten the stupid Arabian top off when Luciano opened the bathroom door and stepped in. He had stripped off his shirt. Golden skin gleamed in the bathroom light. Memories of me touching those abs and pecs, feeling them shift and shudder under my touch assailed me. I wanted to feel it all again.
Ignoring my face which burned at the sight of him, I fixed a glare on him. “What do you want?!”
“To bathe, Gonzalez. Would you like me to stink all day?” He asked.
“You could wait until I was done!”
“I’m not much of a patient man,” he replied simply, walking towards me until his skin was centimeters away from mine. “Especially when it comes to you, Raven Gonzalez. I find that I cannot resist you.”