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I have no idea. But I’d escaped his place. I’ll find a way out of Luca’s. “I’ll find a way.”
“Where’s your phone?” Niko knows Luca would have taken my phone.
“I don’t have it. Hold on.” I start opening drawers in Luca’s desk. It’s a fool’s quest except there in the bottom drawer is my phone. “I found it, but I don’t know if it works.” I turn the phone on. I’m down to thirty percent battery life. “I don’t know if the SIM card is in it.”
“That’s okay.” He rattles off apps not requiring a SIM card that I can use to contact him. “Keep the phone with you, but hide it, okay? I’ll send you flight details when I have them.”
“Okay.” The line is quiet for long moments. “I’m sorry?—”
“Just come home, Aria. Be careful. Be smart. And come home.”
I hang up, shoving the phone inside my dress’s bodice. I sneak out of Luca’s office and head back to my room to change. I put on jeans and a T-shirt with a sweater over it. I slip on a pair of ankle boots and shove the phone inside. It’s uncomfortable to walk, but I make my way down to the kitchen.
“I miss Luca,” I announce. “I’m supposed to be with him.”
The young servant looks at me with a lost expression. “Mi dispiaci, no capito.” She doesn’t understand.
“Luca. Io voglio Luca. Auto?” I tell her I want Luca and improvise driving with my hands to see if I can get a car.
She bites her lip, then says something in Italian. Her eyes glance toward a small cupboard near the back door. I go to it, opening it to find several sets of keys. I pick the one that I’m sure isn’t a sports car and head out back.
“Io vado a Luca a Roma.” I’m going to Luca in Rome, I tell her.
She still looks uncertain but doesn’t stop me.
“It’s a surprise,” I tell her. “Surpriso?”
She tilts her head. “Sorpresa?”
I nod. “Yes.” I press my index finger over my mouth hoping that “shh” is a universal sign. I don’t want her to call him or tell anyone.
She nods, and I exit the kitchen into a breezeway that leads to the garage. I find the car, happy that it's a sedan, and climb in. If I can get out the gate, I’m as good as gone.
I pull the car out and head toward the gate. I don’t know where the airport is, but I plan to wait to set the GPS until I’m away from here. I don’t want the guards to see.
As I approach the gate, I’m surprised that it opens. As I slowly drive through, one of Luca’s men waves. I’m shocked. I’m also a little worried about what will happen to the guard when Luca realizes this man let me go. But I can’t think of that.
Once to the road, I turn right heading to the town using the route Bianca took me. At the first open spot, I pull over and enter the Rome Airport into GPS. The map with the most direct route feels like a lifeline.
I follow it, my hands gripping the wheel. I know I won’t be safe until I’m on the plane in the air heading to New York. But the farther I get from Luca’s villa, the more I can breathe. Soon, I’ll be home and safe with my family.
I have a pang of sadness at leaving, but I remind myself that the feeling is for the Luca I thought he was and for the life I thought we might have. But now I know the truth about him. He’s a lethal, manipulative man, and I was a fool to fall for him.
13
LUCA
Isit in the club, watching, waiting. Carmine suspected a group of Americans could be soldiers of Niko’s. It doesn’t take long for me to determine they’re likely employees of the U.S. Embassy located up the street. So, I relax and enjoy my drink. Tonight, once I return to my apartment, I’ll call Aria, and I hope to hear her enthused voice tell me about buying a wedding dress. I’m regretting my heavy-handedness with her before I left. My conscience hasn’t let me forget the hurt I saw in her eyes.
But I feel like I know her well enough to believe that she’ll get past my behavior and return to being the effervescent woman who captivated me from the moment I saw her. I love her energy and how she sees the positive and fun in nearly everything. Being around her lifts me, lights me up, and I don’t want to lose that. I definitely don’t want to be the cause of her inner glow dimming.
So, I’ll call her later and prod her to share her day. I’ll let her know the plans so far for the wedding, the vows, the flowers, and the cases of champagne I’ve had ordered. Maybe I can coax her into phone sex. My dick twitches at the possibility.
My thoughts of Aria are interrupted by Electra sauntering up to my table. She sits, and her hand slides up my thigh, brushing over my dick. It retreats from her touch.
I lift my glass of scotch to my lips. “Remove your hand.” I down my drink and prepare to leave.
She defies me, cupping me. “I can still make you happy. Your wife?—”
