Emilia's POV
The hate should have been instantaneous. The kind I see on Baba's face every morning. The kind that occasionally flashes on Liliana's face for being the sister Paolo loved more. The kind that should have appeared on Luca's face.
But I saw none.
"I couldn't hate—" he started, but I cut him off. Maybe he didn't understand what I'd just said. Maybe I needed to explain further.
"My father is Vittorio Conti. And I'm engaged to Enzo Marchetti against my will. And now they are both looking to hurt you for last night. I'm sorry."
I pressed my palm against his chest, felt his heart pounding beneath my hand. Still no hatred in those perfect green eyes. Just... warmth. Like he'd been waiting for me to tell him.
I took a step back. Clearly something was wrong with this boy. Because when you say the names Conti and Marchetti in the same sentence, people tend to run in the opposite direction.
"They are Mafia bosses, Luca. They kill people for fun. Luca? Luca?"
"Don't yell, darlin'. I heard you."
Oh no. My pretty boy had brain damage, because clearly he was incapable of processing information.
"You are so damn cute when you worry, Emma Emilia."
I winced.
"I'm so sorry. I was selfish. You made me feel like more than just Vittorio Conti's daughter. You made me feel like me. And now they're hunting you. And you can't even defend yourself on account of your traumatic brain injury."
Luca stared at me for a long moment. Then he pulled me into his chest, wrapped both arms around me, and held on like I was the only solid thing in a spinning world.
I buried my face in his shirt and inhaled—smoke and something underneath. Something clean and warm that made me want to stay forever.
"Did you hear me? I'm a Conti."
"Yes." He almost smiled. "You don't need to scream. I just need you to admit that I'm not just a one-night stand." He cupped my face in his hands—those scarred, bloody hands—and looked at me with such tenderness it hurt. "Admit that you really came back because... well, to be honest? You love me."
I laughed. It wasn't planned. I couldn't possibly be laughing now, with his world and mine upside down, but I did.
Something about Luca made me laugh even when I shouldn't. Even when I should be crying.
"Cocky much," I said with a raised eyebrow.
He thought about it. Then he nodded.
"Yeah. Very much so. Because you love me."
I slammed my elbow into his abdomen and he feigned keening over. "Do I still love you, Pretty boy?"
His laughter echoed off the alley walls. Then he quieted, and stared at me like he was seeing me for the very first time.
"What is it about you, Emilia Conti, that makes me feel... tethered? Like..." He struggled to find the words. "Like suddenly I have found solid ground for my feet. Like I've stopped floating."
"Luca..."
"The ground hasn't been solid for a very long time, baby. Maybe..." He swallowed. "Maybe I'm the one who loves you."
I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. Couldn't even fucking breathe properly. This was madness. The height of it—because he was a stranger and I was a stranger, and now he was my good in a very bad world, and I was apparently his tether. His solid ground.
"We are—"
"Guys!"
We broke apart. Linda materialized at the end of the alley, her leather jacket streaked with something that looked alarmingly like blood. "We've got Marchetti SUVs two blocks out. Move your fucking ass."
I grabbed Luca's arm. "You're in danger."
I took off my jacket and started wiping the smears of blood from his face. I didn't miss the irony—twenty-one years old, and the sight of blood didn't bring questions or fear. My first and only instinct was to wipe it off. To hide the evidence. Because that's what Conti women did—cleaned up the mess and pretended it never happened.
"My father won't give up. Come with me." I stopped wiping and stood still for a second. "Run with me."
"Okay. I will run with you. I will—"
He stopped talking. His gaze fixed on something else—my bare arms. On the bruise Salvatore and his band of sidekicks had left on me.
"Who?" His voice was devoid of everything. Charm, humor, kindness, humanity. Just empty. The kind of empty that should have scared me. "Earlier, you said someone you hate did something and I didn't press. Now, I'm pressing. What did he do?"
"Salvatore Marchetti. He tried to— He hurt me" My voice caught. "He hurt me. He put his hands on me. Touched my...He laughed about Paolo. It's not important. I'm fine. We have to go."
Luca didn't move. His eyes stayed on the bruise, and something shifted behind them—a door closing, a wall rising, a switch flipping.
"I can't come with you."
"Why?!" The word tore out of me.
"I have to punish Salvatore Marchetti."
He said it with a straight face. Like he actually thought he could punish a man like Salvatore Marchetti. My poor, brain-damaged, beautiful boy.
"Luca! Stop it! You're coming with us!" I gripped his jacket. "Linda's got a safehouse. You'll be—"
"No."
The word hit me like a slap. "Luca!"
He didn't answer. Behind us, tires screeched. Headlights exploded into the alley.
"Baby!" Linda yanked me backward.
Luca shoved me toward her sedan. "Run."
"Not without you!"
"Run, goddamn it!" His voice cracked, raw and desperate. "I will find you!"
Linda's hand closed around my wrist and she pulled—hard.
I ran.
The sedan door slammed. Tires screamed against asphalt as we peeled onto the highway. I twisted in my seat, pressing my face to the cold glass.
Luca stood in the middle of the road, backlit by the SUV's high beams. He wasn't running. Wasn't hiding. He just stood there, watching me go.
"Luca!" I screamed until my throat burned.
He simply watched.
For a heartbeat, he raised his hand. Just like this morning on the hotel rooftop.
Then the night swallowed him.
I pressed my palm against my chest. My heart was beating so hard I thought it might crack a rib.
"I left him there," I whispered.
"What?" Linda was more occupied with getting away than my moral dilemma.
"I killed him, didn't I?" Tears ran down my face. "Oh my God. I just left that poor boy there and ran like a coward."
Linda said nothing. She just drove faster.
Behind us, the city burned with lights. Somewhere in all that fire was a boy with gold-flecked eyes and a smile that made me believe in impossible things.
I will find you, he'd said.
I pressed my hand harder against my chest, trying to slow my heart.
"He will find me, Lyn. You will see" I whispered to the darkness. "He promised."
Linda looked at me. I saw the exact moment she decided to tell me her truth.
"People lie, Baby. Promises get broken. He's gone. I'm sorry" she took a deep breath. "You and I know what they are capable of, Emilia. I love you but the sooner you forget about your one night stand, the better for us"
I turned my face away from Linda and looked at the fleeting city. Bite down on my lips to stop the tears. It didn't matter. They fell anyway.
"He was not just a one night stand" I murmured to her. I broke down completely afterwards.