Chapter 37 THE LAW.
\~~~RAINA.
“T… This is sick. No, you are sick,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my mouth as my stomach twisted painfully.
Nausea rushed through me and I stepped away from Luciano, my legs moving on instinct. I didn’t care what he would do or say. I just turned and walked, retracing my steps toward the exit.
The men standing around the room kept their heads bowed as I passed them. None of them spoke a word or moved. And somehow, that silence made everything worse.
The moment I stepped outside, I sucked in a sharp breath, the air slamming into my lungs.
“Shit,” I muttered, clutching my chest as if I could force the sickness down.
My throat burned, my heart racing wildly, and all I could think was how close I had been to throwing up right there on the concrete.
“Are you okay, Madam?”
I stood upright and then turned to look at Gabriel who stopped a few steps away from me, his hands clasped together in front of him, standing rigid.
“Does anyone even need to ask me that?” I snapped.
“You will get used to it,” he said calmly.
I let out a short, bitter laugh. “I thought you were different from them!” I shouted, not caring who heard me.
Gabriel was different.
He smiled more, he talked more and he definitely looked more human.
Unlike Viktor and Luciano, whose very presence smelled like blood and death.
“That man in there deserved it,” Gabriel said.
“No one deserves to be killed!” I fired back immediately.
“If anyone breaks the rules, they die. It is simple,” he tilted his head, smiling as if he had just explained the weather.
My stomach twisted as I stepped closer to him. “You are not like them, Gabriel. How does that not make you sick? How can you stand there and act like it’s normal?”
“Madam,” he started.
“No,” I cut him off. “You and I should team up, gather evidence, and go to the police. Luciano belongs behind bars. Viktor too, maybe, but Luciano? He is a monster.”
Gabriel let out a loud laugh and I frowned.
“And then?” he asked.
I hissed. “And then… justice happens.”
His smile didn’t fade. “Madam,” he said gently, “the law doesn’t live here.”
My chest tightened.
“Men like the boss don’t go to prison. They own the road that leads there.”
I shook my head slowly. “You are not making any sense.”
“I am telling you the truth,” he replied. “The truth you’re not ready for yet.”
He stepped past me, opening the car door.
“Get in, Madam. If he finds out what you just said… this conversation will be the least of your worries.”
And for the first time since I met Gabriel, his smile didn’t look friendly at all.
“Are you being threatened by them?” The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“What?” he asked.
“I mean… are you being kept here against your will?” I said quickly. “I can help you.”
He chuckled.
“And if I am?” he asked.
“I will help you,” I insisted.
Somewhere deep inside me, my own voice laughed at how stupid I sounded.
Help him?
I couldn’t even help myself.
“The boss is my family, madam,” Gabriel said calmly. “Viktor too. No one here is trapped and no one is forced.”
He stepped aside and gestured toward the car.
“So get in. It is cold outside.”
I glared at him so hard it felt like my eyes might pop out of my head. Then, without another word, I turned and got into the car.
____
I stayed seated in the car for the next few minutes, my legs shaking so badly that I had to press my hands against them to keep them still.
Gabriel stood outside like a guard, his back straight, and his eyes were scanning the surroundings as if nothing had just happened inside that building. I shut my eyes for a moment, but it didn’t help.
The image was still there.
If Luciano ever caught my lie… would he do the same thing to me?
Would he tie me to a chair, in front of all his men, and let them torture me slowly?
My chest tightened.
God, that would be worse than him just pulling a gun and ending it quickly.
At least that would be fast.
The warehouse door finally opened and I opened my eyes immediately.
Luciano stepped out, tall and unbothered, talking to Viktor beside him like they were discussing business over coffee. He wiped his hands with a white cloth, calmly and unhurriedly.
My stomach twisted as a thought slammed into my head.
He must have killed that man.
There was no doubt about it.
The cloth in his hand told me everything.
My gaze dropped to his arms as his sleeves were rolled up slightly, and I swallowed hard.
Oh, his strong arms, his steady hands.
What am I doing?
Those hands had probably ended a life moments ago and I instantly felt cold all over.
Luciano finished wiping his hands and handed the cloth to one of the men without a second glance. Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned toward the car… Towards me.
I stiffened in my seat, my fingers curling into the fabric of my dress.
This man was not just dangerous, he was comfortable with it.
And I was trapped in a marriage with him.