My heart aches again when I pick up my phone and open the message from Lucio’s number. It makes little sense.Why would he send this or even say this?
I’m more confused by the time I get up. When I pad into the kitchen, I don’t notice the package on the table. It’s only when I settle in with my coffee that I see it. A silver box. Square, large enough to carry a necklace perhaps, but deep enough to hold something far more dangerous. Tied with a black ribbon, it beckons.
Tugging at the silk material, I allow it to fall free, then lift the lid. On the velvet cushion below is a gun. Silver glints in the morning light. The handle has hand carved wood where my fingers and palm would hold on to it. A small heart sits on the panel, and beneath it four letters two above the heart, and two below.
L. R. and R. L.
Lucio’s and my initials.
My heart kicks in my chest painfully when I think about him. Lifting the weapon, I notice a small card attached. It’s bound to the barrel with a string. I tug it free, setting the gun down, then read his scrawl.
Bella,there’s never a moment I’m not with you. But when I’m gone, you need to live too. Lucio x
Shaking my head,I close my eyes and will those words away. I’m not sure where he is or why he has sent this to me, but something is amiss. My fear that he would be injured on one of his jobs has always made me anxious, and this right here only makes me wonder where the hell he is.
I’m not sure who would have left this in here, but I know Lucio always had his men watching me. They weren’t obvious about it, but there were times their gazes would burn through me. If he’s dead, one of them must have broken in, left this here, and it would have been under orders.
I know that nobody can have tomorrow guaranteed, especially in this life, but I never expected it would take Lucio from me. Whatever happened, I have a bad feeling about his disappearance. First my father, now the man I love. My chest is tight. My lungs struggle to pull in much-needed air. Even as I try to fight the wave of emotion, it holds me tight when I consider being alone in this world. I always thought Lucio would be around. I wanted him to be immortal, never leaving me. But I know it’s not possible. It never was.
Thinking about both of them gone, murdered, it cuts. It slices through me like a knife and I struggle to pull in air. My phone buzzes wildly on the table, distracting me from the pained thoughts of losing two men who meant the world to me. When I glance down, it’s Lucio’s number flashing on the screen. Swallowing the emotion that’s choking me, I swipe my finger over the screen.
“Hello?”
“Ah,Principessa,” a voice I don’t recognize comes from the other side. A deep, foreboding tone that tells me he’s not friendly. He’s not family. And he’s not calling to inform me that Lucio is alive.
“What do you want?”
“Sassy.” He chuckles darkly. “Your boyfriend took from me, and I will soon take from him.” The warning is clear. It sends an icy shiver down my spine, turning my posture rigid. “There will be consequences to his actions. And you, my dear, will ensure that his life was not a waste.”
Was.Tears prick my eyes, and I will them not to fall. “Who are you?”
It’s certainly not the man from the bar last night. His accent was far too distinct. The man I’m talking to now sounds older—with a deeper, gruffer voice.
“Who I am doesn’t matter,” he responds with another rumble of laughter that sets me on edge. “I will collect soon. And nobody can stop me.” The line dies. I’m met with silence.
The gun that sits silently on the dark velvet is my only hope. To become like Lucio. To fight, kill, and maim. For years, I begged him to take me away. For us to run far away. But he always told mesoon. Never a promise, just a word.Did he know he was going to die?
The loneliness I tampered earlier surfaces like a monster clawing its way through me. I’m alone. Andrea is nothing to me. He’s merely a person I knew in another life. I haven’t heard from my mother. I keep trying to call, but she’s no longer answering. Anxiety tightens my stomach and I have a feeling that they have murdered her along with my father.
Perhaps she’s beneath the water of the pier only minutes from the apartment. A wave of nausea hits like a wildfire, slamming into me, causing me to retch. Racing for the bathroom, I make it to the basin just in time. Nothing comes up because I haven’t eaten in two days.
* * *
“You’re late.”Andrea’s frustrated tone comes from behind me as I race into the office to drop my backpack. He stalks into the small space and settles behind the antique desk that was once where my father would sit when he came into the club. The thing is, my brother looks ever the asshole with his fingers pressed in a steeple, elbows on the desk.
“I had class. It ran over and I made it here as fast as I could.”
“I agreed to your begging when you pleaded with me to allow you to go and study, but it shouldn’t be interfering with business. I don’t have a lot of staff on tonight, and for you to be late is unacceptable,” he bites out.
Frustration and anger fuel me as I step toward the desk. “Do not speak to me like that. I’d like you to remember, I do this because Dad wanted me here, not for you. I’m here because it’s my duty. If you have a problem with me studying, then fire me because I’m not giving that up.” I shouldn’t poke a sleeping bear, but he’s really gotten under my skin tonight. Once I’ve finished my tirade, he rises. Leaning on the desk with flat palms, he gets in my face with a sinister smirk playing on his lips.
“Don’t forget, little sister, I’m the one who holds the key to your trust fund. I can cut you off at any time with one click of a button, then you’ll have nothing. Abso-fucking-lutley nothing. Do not fuck with me,” he growls, sending fear racing through me.
Because he’s the older sibling, he was granted the rights to our trust funds. Even though I’m over eighteen, my father’s last will and testament stipulated Andrea as the head of the family, which gives him the right to pay us the whole amount or a monthly ‘salary’. Of course, my brother being the asshole he is, decided to hold us hostage with our own money.
“I better get to work, since I’m late standing here arguing with you over something I have no control over.” With that, I head into the bar and step behind the counter and take a quick glance around, noting there are two waitresses on staff tonight, both delivering a round of drinks. It’s quiet now, but give it an hour and the place will be filled to the brim with immaculate suits, foul-smelling cigars, and the mixed scent of various expensive colognes.
“Hello, Raina.” One of our waitresses, Shanique, places her tray on the counter as she greets me with a smile. She’s a stunning girl with mocha skin and big brown eyes. I know my brother only hired her for her looks. He doesn’t care what her goals are, and when I found them fucking over his desk, I knew she was only here for him. Not that it bothers me, but sometimes I wish he’d act like a brother instead of the heartless dickhead he’s turned into since my father died.