When I reach the secret garden, my smile widens in wonder.
It’s so beautiful.
Soft lights frame the fountain, making the water sparkle as it falls over the statue. I take a deep breath as my eyes savor the sight before me.
Staring at the woman whose longing gaze is locked on the cherubs, I wonder if my life would’ve been different if my mother hadn’t left or died.
Again I ponder why she didn’t take me with her if she is alive. There are so many unanswered questions surrounding her, it draws a sigh from me.
My thoughts turn to the impossible – escaping this life. I might not know much, but I know you don’t just run away from the Mafia. There’s only one way out. Death.
Awareness creeps up my spine, and my gaze quickly darts around the garden. It feels like someone is watching me, and my stomach tightens.
As I take a step back, Lucian’s voice comes from the shadows to the left of me, “Stop.” My body freezes, and then he makes himself visible as he steps out of the darkness by a nearby tree.
When he begins to walk toward me, I slowly inch around the right side of the fountain until we’re both bathed in the lights.
Lucian stops, and thankfully he keeps his distance. He tilts his head, and his gaze drifts over my face.
I see the questions form in his eyes, and then he says, “You’ve piqued my interested.”
I fist my hands at my sides to keep still while everything in me screams for me to run away from the danger this man represents.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips before I reply, “That was not my intention.”
“You’re unlike any woman I’ve met before,” he states. He takes a step closer, and it makes my whole body tense up, which he notices. “You fear me?”
“I’d be stupid not to,” I answer honestly. “You can kill me, and there’s nothing anyone will do to stop you.”
Like Dante, you can do what you want to me, and I just have to allow it because you’re stronger than me.
Lucian takes a deep breath, and then he surprises me by saying, “I won’t. Not unless you give me a reason.” His gaze drifts away from me to the fountain. “You shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s not safe.”
Before I can stop myself, the words spill from my lips, “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Lucian’s eyes snap back to me. “Every word that leaves your mouth intrigues me.”
A frown forms on my face. “Again, that’s not my intention.”
I just want to be left alone.
The corner of Lucian’s mouth lifts, and the sight makes my heart beat faster.
It’s all an illusion, though. Lucian Cotroni is death and pain wrapped up in a strikingly attractive face and a body most women would probably drool over. He’s more dangerous than Dante, with whom what you see is what you get. Lucian lures you in with a sexy smirk and his low voice – like a spider spinning a web.
Not wanting to be in his presence a second longer, I begin to walk toward the path leading back to the castle.
When Lucian suddenly takes hold of my wrist, my breath catches in my throat, and I instantly yank out of the light grip he has on me. The fleeting touch leaves heat branded on my skin.
My feet move fast to place my body out of his reach, and it has Lucian holding up his hands in a surrendering stance. I’d believe it if it weren’t for the grim expression tightening his features.
“I have no intention of hurting you,” he says, his voice low and cautious.
I don’t believe you. Men like you only know how to destroy.
“I’ve learned something about you, but I don’t know how much of it is the truth,” he continues to talk. When I just stare at him, he asks, “Were you held captive?”
The question rips through the fantasy of freedom I’ve managed to weave around myself since I set foot on St. Monarch’s grounds.
My heart begins to thunder in my chest as the memories of my ‘captivity’ creep through the cracks in my mind. They’re always there, lurking in the shadows, ready to claw at my soul… or what’s left of it.
“I just want to be left alone,” I squeeze the words out through a tight throat.
A dark frown settles on Lucian’s face, and then he nods his head. “I’ll send a guard to watch over you.”
To my absolute surprise, I watch as he walks away without another word.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief, and lifting my hand, I place it over the panicked organ slamming against my ribs, while I watch Lucian’s confident frame fade into the darkness.
He actually listened?
I didn’t expect him to.
Seconds later, a guard walks toward me, and with a nod of his head, he stops near a tree.