Chapter 49 Amelia
Amelia
The elevator doors slide open with a soft hiss and I step out into the penthouse. Luca is right on my heels. I can feel the heat radiating off him and I know the explosion is coming. He doesn't even wait for the doors to close behind us before he starts. He slams his car keys down on the marble console and the sound cracks through the quiet room like a gunshot.
"What were you thinking?" he roars. He is pacing the living room now and his hands are clenched into white-knuckled fists. "I spend a fortune on security to keep you alive and you treat it like a game. You slipped out like a common thief! Do you have any idea how many people want you dead right now?"
"I am not a child, Luca!" I yell back. I throw my hoodie onto the sofa and face him. "Stop talking to me like I am some damsel you rescued from a tower. I am a captain in the army. I have been taking care of myself since before you bought your first suit."
"You were nearly hit by a car because you were staring into space!" he shouts. He stops pacing and looms over me. His face is flushed and his eyes are dark with a fury I have never seen before. "You are reckless and stubborn and you are making it impossible to protect you."
"Then don't protect me!" I scream. I step into his space and jab a finger at his chest. "I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask for a safe house or a bodyguard or a billionaire who thinks he owns my every breath. I have a mission. I have a brother who is hiding things from me. I have a life that is falling apart and I am not going to sit in this gilded cage and wait for you to give me permission to move."
"You are under my roof!" he bellows.
"I don't care about your roof!" I shout. My voice is starting to crack but I don't stop. "I am sick of the secrets and I am sick of the way you look at me like I am a problem to be solved. If you are so worried about security and your reputation then go be with Sophia. Go meet your perfect fiancée and have a nice dinner. Stop breathing down my fucking neck and leave me alone!"
The mention of Sophia's name seems to snap something inside him. The air in the room suddenly feels charged with electricity. He doesn't back away. Instead he grabs my upper arms and pulls me toward him until there is no space left between us. His chest is heaving and I can see the pulse jumping in his neck.
"You think this is about my reputation?" he yells. His voice is so loud it vibrates in my own chest. "You think I am doing all of this because I am worried about what the families will think? I don't give a damn about Sophia! I don't give a damn about the wedding or the alliance!"
"Then why are you doing it?" I scream at him. I am shaking with rage and frustration. "Why can't you just let me go?"
"Because I can't breathe when you aren't in the room!" he explodes.
The words hang in the air between us like a physical thing. The silence that follows is deafening. My heart stops for a second and then starts again with a frantic and painful rhythm. I stare at him in total shock. His hands are still gripping my arms and he is looking at me with a raw and desperate honesty that shatters every wall I have left.
Luca looks just as shocked as I am. His jaw drops slightly and he stares at me like he can't believe the words actually came out of his mouth. The anger is gone. It was replaced by a vulnerability that makes him look completely different. He doesn't let go of me but his grip softens.
I look at his mouth and then back at his eyes. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my face. I am supposed to be a soldier, unfeeling. I am supposed to be focused on Ren Moretti and the mission and my brother's lies. But right now all I can think about is the fact that this man just admitted he is losing his mind over me.
"What did you just say?" I whisper. My voice is barely audible.
Luca doesn't answer right away. He closes his eyes for a heartbeat and lets out a jagged breath. He looks like a man who just realized he walked into a trap of his own making. He slowly slides his hands from my arms to my face. His palms are warm and they are trembling.
"You heard me, Amelia," he says. His voice is much lower now and it is thick with emotion. "I am supposed to be in control. I am supposed to be the man who has a plan for everything. But then you walked into my life and you broke every rule I have ever had. I don't care about the mission. I don't care about the danger. I just need you to be safe."
I feel a tear slip down my cheek and I don't try to hide it this time. I am tired of fighting him and I am tired of fighting myself. The world outside this penthouse is full of people who want to hurt me or use me. But here in the middle of this room I feel seen for the first time in my life.
"Luca," I start to say.
He doesn't let me finish. He leans down and captures my lips with a kiss that is completely different from the one in the hallway. It isn't a mistake and it isn't a collision. It is a confession. It is deep and lingering and it tastes like everything we haven't been able to say. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. I pull him closer because I finally understand that he is right. I can't breathe without him either.
We stand there in the center of the living room for a long time. The city lights are twinkling outside the window and the world is still full of enemies. But for this one moment I don't care about the shadows or the lies. I only care about the man holding me like I am the only thing that matters in the world.
The kiss is deep and it feels like the only honest thing in this room full of lies. Luca’s hands are warm on my face and I am finally starting to let go of the anger. I am leaning into him and I am forgetting about the mission and the war. Slowly losing myself in him.
Then the heavy double doors of the penthouse slam open against the marble walls.
I jump back so hard I nearly trip over the edge of the rug. My heart is hammering against my ribs and my face is burning. I turn beet red with an embarrassment so sharp it makes my eyes sting. I look toward the entrance and see Sophia standing there.
She looks like a different person. Her perfect hair is windswept and her eyes are wide with a feral kind of rage. She is fuming and she is shaking. She looks at Luca and then she looks at me. The hatred in her gaze is thick enough to feel. To her, this is not a complicated mission or a safe house. To her, she just caught her fiancé cheating with a stray.
"You," she spits the word at me like it is poison.
"Sophia," Luca says. His voice is deep and dangerous. He steps in front of me, putting his body between us. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" she screams. She lunges forward, her expensive heels clicking violently on the floor. "This is my home! You are my husband! And I find you with this... this soldier girl in your arms?"
She tries to push past Luca to get to me. Her hands are clawed like she wants to tear my eyes out. I am a soldier and I have fought men twice her size, but the raw, feminine fury coming off her makes me stay still. Luca catches her by the wrists before she can reach me. He holds her firmly, his expression turning to stone.
"Get out," Luca says quietly.
"I am not going anywhere!" Sophia shrieks. She struggles against his grip, her face contorting with a mix of pain and malice. "How could you do this to the families? How could you choose this peasant over me?"
"I said get out, Sophia," Luca repeats. He doesn't raise his voice, but the authority in it makes the room turn cold.
"No!" she yells. She manages to yank one hand free and she swings it toward his face.
Luca catches her arm mid-air. He doesn't hurt her, but he pins her arms down so she can't move. She is feral now, kicking at his shins and screaming insults that would make a sailor blush. She is crying, but they aren't tears of sadness. They are tears of pure, unadulterated rage.
The elevator dings and two of Luca’s security team rush into the room. They look terrified. They are looking at the floor and then at Luca, their faces pale.
"Who let her in?" Luca demands. He is still holding Sophia, who is now trying to bite his arm. "Who let her up here without notifying me first?"
The taller guard swallows hard and takes a step forward. "Boss, we tried to stop her. We really did. She just barged in. She started shouting about her position and the Colombo family. she told us she would have our families removed from the payroll by morning. She used her position to threaten everyone in the lobby."
"She is your fiancée, sir," the other guard whispers. "The men didn't know if they were allowed to put hands on her."
"I am the only one who gives orders in this building!" Luca roars. The guards flinch. "If she shows up again without an invitation, you block the elevator. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir," they say in unison.
"Now get her out of here," Luca says. He lets go of Sophia and steps back.
Sophia doesn't move toward the door. She stands there, panting, her chest heaving under her silk blouse. She fixes her gaze on me. I am standing by the window, trying to disappear into the curtains. I feel like an intruder in my own life.
"You think he loves you?" Sophia asks me. Her voice is a low, jagged hiss. "You are a toy, Russo. You are a distraction from his real life. When the dust settles, he will still be a D'Angelo and I will still be his wife. You will just be another body in the dirt."
"That is enough!" Luca grabs her by the arm and starts dragging her toward the door.
"Let go of me!" she screams.
He doesn't let go. He pulls her out into the hallway and the guards follow, closing the doors behind them. I can still hear her screaming in the hallway until the elevator bell dings again. Then there is silence.
The silence is worse than the screaming. I stand in the middle of the living room and look at the mess. A lamp was knocked over during the struggle. Luca’s keys are still on the floor. I feel sick to my stomach. I am a Russo. I am supposed to be hunting a murderer and a criminal. Instead, I am the cause of a high-society scandal.
Luca walks back into the room a minute later. He looks exhausted. He has loosened his tie and his hair is a mess. He looks at me and I see the guilt in his eyes. He starts to move toward me but I take a step back.
"Don't," I say. My voice is shaky. "She's right, Luca. This is a mess. I am a distraction. I shouldn't be here."
"Amelia, listen to me," he says.
"No," I say. I shake my head and look at the floor. "I need to go. I need to get back to the mission. This... whatever this is... it's dangerous. For both of us."
I turn and run toward my room before he can say another word. I slam the door and lock it. I lean my head against the wood and wait for my heart to stop racing. I can hear Luca calling my name from the other side, but I don't answer. I am a Russo and I have a job to do. I am not going to let a billionaire and his feral fiancée destroy what is left of my life.
I sit on the bed and pull out my laptop. I need to find Moretti. I need to find him now. Because if I stay in this penthouse any longer, I am going to lose more than just my career. I am going to lose myself.
Happy New Month, Everyone! ❤️
I promise to be as consistent as possible with updates this month, scout's honour. 🫡