VEDA
Luca was only gone a few minutes when Tony found me in the kitchen, sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea. Lisa was telling me
her secret to making a great soup.
Wine.
"Hey, Lisa. Veda. I'm Tony."
He held his hand out, and I stood up to greet him. He was younger than Luca, but not by much, with dark hair and eyes and a clean-shaven face. Handsome, I guess. "Hi, Tony," I said, taking his hand. "We've met before."
He smiled, and like that day in Luca's office, there was way more interest there than there should've been as his eyes roved over my face and breasts. I'd barely noticed it then, distracted as I was by the fact Luca had been shot. Not until Luca said something to him. But I sure as hell noticed it now. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember me. But I guess you do." He winked at me as he let go of my hand, his fingers lingering on mine just a little longer than they should have, then walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot Lisa always kept fresh.
An idea began to form, and I disregarded it almost immediately, shoving it away as nothing short of crazy. But it kept creeping back in, churning around in my thoughts.
This guy obviously wasn't as scared of Luca as he should have been. Even Enzo didn't talk to me with such familiarity, or touch me in any way, shape, or form that could be seen as too intimate. Not even when we were training, just the two of us. It was all business with him then. And he certainly didn't ogle my tits. Ever.
But maybe that could work to my advantage. If this guy, Tony, was too busy thinking about me naked, maybe he wouldn't pay as much attention as he should be to what I was doing.
Of course, I might be totally misreading things. Maybe he was just a friendly guy, one who liked to flirt but never carried through with the promises in his eyes. And there was a good chance my plan wouldn't work at all. But my body was the only weapon I had at my disposal right now, and this was the only chance I was going to have to get myself and my parents out of here. Luca would be gone for less than twenty-four hours. That didn't give me much time to carry out the plan that was swiftly coming together in my head.
But maybe it would be enough time to set it in motion.
Luca thought he had me exactly where he wanted me-in his bed. And if I were honest with myself, I couldn't say that I didn't like being there. But what kind of life would I have with a man like him? This man who claimed I was his whole world was also the same man who had planned to take me out of it. The man who threw me out of this house, convinced I had betrayed him no matter how many times I told him I'd only done it to protect him-to protect us-from his psycho brother. But he hadn't cared. He'd given me back my freedom, but it was a freedom that could've very well cost me my life.
I'd rolled the dice twice with him. I don't think I'd be so lucky a third time.
No matter how much my heart longed for him, how much my body craved him, if I stayed, I would spend our life together tiptoeing around this beautiful house, scared to death I would unknowingly break some rule or insult his honor. And how many chances would he give me before my luck ran out?
It all came down to one thing. No matter what he told me, when it came to my life, I could trust him to keep me safe from anyone who would hurt me... except for him.
And I was the only one who could protect myself from him.
But the weird thing was, I didn't completely blame Luca for this. He was controlling. Obsessive. Violent. Possessive. I knew this. But he hadn't gotten that way on his own. It was the hostility between him and Mario that made him that way. A game of life and death with rules that were made up by their father, rules that changed mid-game, if I went by what Luca had told me last night. And the only way to win this battle between brothers was if one of them was in the ground.
I wasn't sticking around to see which one it was going to be. Because no matter who came out the winner, I had no doubt in my mind I would be the prize. And there was only a fifty-fifty chance it would be Luca who won me.
My mind made up, I excused myself to go check on my mother.
A FEW HOURS LATER, at dinner, I began to put my plan into action. After taking food up to my parents, Lisa left my dinner warming in the oven and had gone to eat with her husband, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I'd just taken it out when Luca's guard dog stuck his head in to check on me, right on time.
"You doing okay, Veda?"
"Hey, Tony," I said with a smile. But not too much of a smile. I didn't want to expose my hand too soon. "Why don't you stay? Keep me company while I eat?"
His eyes wandered down my body and back to my face, slower on the way up. I'd changed into a pair of tight jean shorts and a red, fitted, cotton shirt with a neckline that scooped low in the back and was held together with criss-cross laces, exposing plenty of skin. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
"Are you sure? There's lots of food here. Lisa made meatloaf and potatoes." I gave him a sad smile. "It's my dad's favorite, but he won't leave my mom to come eat with me, so she took his plate upstairs. I'd go eat up there, but I'm not exactly my mom's favorite person right now." I rolled my eyes. "Annnd that's a story for another time."