Chapter 32 TO KILL.
\~~~RAINA.
“Oh, fuck!”
I shrieked as I shoved Luciano away from me with every bit of strength I had left.
My heart was beating so loud I could hear it in my ears.
“You were going to use the restroom!” I snapped, pointing at the bathroom door like it had personally offended me.
Luciano didn’t move, he didn’t even blink.
He just stared at me amused, like he was watching a movie he paid for.
And whatever was going through that man’s head, God knows I don’t want to know.
I took several steps back, running a shaky hand through my hair while the other gripped my waist.
“You look so troubled, biscuit.”
Of course.
Another stupid nickname.
Can this man rest already?
“I am leaving,” I declared. “Help yourself to the restroom and when you are done, I’m sure you can find your way back to the dining room. I will be waiting there for you.”
I turned to leave, but…
“Wait.”
His voice stopped me instantly and I hated that it did.
I slowly turned, and he was still watching me with that unreadable expression.
“It’s getting late,” he said calmly. “So I’m thinking we spend the night here. Perhaps we could meet your sister before we leave. I should talk to your parents to have her return home as soon as—”
“God, how jobless are you?!” I hollered before I could think twice.
And there was silence.
His brows rose slightly, and for a split second, I regretted everything I’d ever said in my entire life.
“Why the fuck are you so obsessed with my sister?!” I yelled, because apparently my mouth had a death wish today.
“Use the fucking restroom, and let’s go home after dinner! That’s all we’re here for, no?!”
“I am going to assume,” Luciano said slowly, raising a brow, “that you didn’t just use that tone on me.”
His eyes darkened in anger.
Oh God. Oh fuck.
“Listen… Luciano, I…” I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry again. “I didn’t mean…”
“You have grown a lot of wings,” he cut in, shaking his head. “And hell, I let you.”
Smart, Raina.
So smart of you, riling up this man of all the men in the world.
He took a step closer, and I took one back till my back hit the wall.
“If I decide to remain in this premises until your sister returns,” he said calmly, too calmly, “there is no one who can stop me. Not even your father.”
My stomach dropped.
“I know…” I whispered, closing my eyes for a split second, “I know, okay?”
When I opened them, he was still there, still looking at me like he could see straight through my skull.
Luciano didn’t move for a moment.
He just watched me like he was waiting for something like he was giving me a chance to dig myself deeper.
Then he stepped forward slowly and hurriedly like he owned the air around us.
His palm brushed my waist firm enough to remind me exactly who he was, and then he leaned in slightly.
“Good,” he murmured.
Then, without another word, he walked past me and opened the bathroom door.
Just before going in, he paused, his hand on the doorframe, Luciano glanced back at me over his shoulder.
“I won’t repeat myself again, solnishko,” he said quietly. “You will control your tone and your mouth,” then the door shut behind him.
I exhaled a shaky breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding and my heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.
Why am I like this around him?
Why does he get under my skin so much?
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady myself.
“Jesus…” I muttered under my breath, “I need help.”
And then I straightened my dress, grabbed the doorknob, and prepared to walk back to the dining room like nothing had just happened, even though everything had.
___
Not long after I returned to the dining room, Luciano walked back in too, and the whole place fell silent again.
My parents were talking before, scolding me in a whisper about why I hadn’t stopped him from making this surprise visit.
Very funny.
Very, very hilarious that they think I have any say in anything Luciano chooses to do.
“Dinner is over. Let’s go home, sunshine,” he said, his voice sharp with annoyance.
And he didn’t wait one second after saying it.
Luciano turned and walked out immediately.
I exchanged glances with my parents who looked just as startled as I felt.
“Did you offend him in the few minutes you showed him the bathroom?” my father hissed.
I didn’t answer. I grabbed my bag instead, stuffing it with the things I came with.
“Answer me! What did you do?!”
“Don’t start with me right now, Father,” I snapped, my voice low but shaking.
“If you get our cover blown, I swear, Raina, I am…”
“It is me who has been living with that male for almost two months!” I fired back. “If you don’t have better advice for me on how to survive that hell, don’t add to my misery!”
I didn’t wait for more. I rushed out, aware they were hurrying after me.
When I got outside, Luciano was leaning against the car, his arms folded, and expression unreadable. I stopped in front of him.
“You didn’t touch your food,” I said quietly.
He didn’t answer, he didn’t even look at me.
He just moved away from the car, opened the door, and said,
“Get in.”
I turned my head toward my parents who stopped walking, and for one stupid second, I wished something or anything would happen to keep me here.
I didn’t want to go with him.
Not like this.
Not when he was in that mood… the same mood he had on our wedding day.
But I didn’t argue. Not like I could.
I got into the car gently, and he shut the door with a loud thud that made me flinch.
Whatever Luciano said to my parents afterward, I didn’t hear it.
I only watched as they bowed to him, actually bowed, before he walked around the car.
Just how powerful was this man to make my father, THE Arthur Monroe, shiver like that?
Luciano got into the car, calm as ever, his phone already pressed to his ear.
“Did you find him?”
His voice was low, and controlled.
I stared ahead, pretending I wasn’t listening.
“I don’t care. Just bring him to me. Dead, or alive.”
My eyes widened, and I slowly turned to look at him.
Gabriel kept driving without a word, like this was nothing new.
“I have no use for them. Finish them off,” Luciano added, and ended the call.
The call dropped, and the car was silent again.
I swallowed the huge lump in my throat, shifted in my seat, my palms suddenly sweaty.
By finish… he meant to kill, right?
Right?