Mafia's Devil part 37

“But—” Luciano argues.

I take his forearm and tug. If it wasn’t for the million cuts on his body, he wouldn’t have relented, but he’s weakened to the point that he matches my strength.

I give Maksim one last look. “I am very disappointed in you.”

“Hah,” Luciano smirks from beside me.

“You as well. You two are like children. Come on.”

I gently tug at his forearm again. I’m patient as I lead him out of the room and hold my breath as I pass a guard. He could snatch me, and Luciano is too exhausted to come to my rescue because Maksim did a number on him. Although he stands with his back straight and shoulders set, I know that he’s on the verge of passing out.

“Is anything broken?” I ask as I glance at his bruises. “Fuck. You’re an idiot for turning yourself in.”

“I gained his respect,” he replies.

“What are you talking about? Maksim beat you an inch from death.”

“I know how to read men like him.”

“That makes sense, because you’re just as stubborn as him!”

I send a silent thank-you to Maksim, because it seems like he ordered his men to stand down. All this bullshit is over, and I’m finally going home— well, Luciano’s home. We make it to the car with no trouble.

I open the door and set my hands on Luciano’s waist.

“I’m not disabled, goddamn it.”

“Stop. Now is not the time to act like you’re over six feet and jacked.”

“I am all of those things,” he counters.

“And you’re also beat up, so let me help you.”

He stumbles away from my hands and stubbornly lifts himself onto the passenger seat. He’s probably refusing my help because he suspects he’s being watched my Maksim through the window. The prideful idiot wants to look tough until the very end.

When he slams the door shut, I run around to the driver’s seat and turn on the engine. I want to bail out of here before Maksim changes his mind and comes after us.

“How’s the pain?” I ask him, keeping my eyes on the road.

“Fine.”

“I’m taking you to your house, okay?”

He grunts in response. He won’t admit it, but he’s in pain.

I go five over the speed limit. The last thing I need is to get pulled over and have to explain the beat up guy that’s sitting beside me.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter when my rearview mirror bleeds red and blue.

Just my luck. I know I wasn’t going too fast, so there must be something up with the plates on this car.

“Let me handle it,” Luciano says, trying to be all manly by sitting up in his car.

“No. You’ll get yourself shot.”

I roll down my window and wait for the officer. My heart is at my throat, because I don’t even have my licence.

An older Asian male appears beside my window. The police officer opens his mouth right as he makes eye contact with Luciano. He closes his mouth. Confusion and realization cross him in a flash.

“Sorry. It was a mistake on my part. You can carry on.” He taps the door, and then he’s walking off.

Obviously, he recognized Luciano and wants nothing to do with him. That’s surprising, because we’re currently in Maksim’s territory. I guess big names and faces are known throughout the Eastern coast.

“Let’s go,” Luciano says.

I snap out of my daze and continue the drive. We arrive half an hour later, and two men rush out the second Luciano opens the door.

“Touch me and I’ll strangle both of you at the same time,” he spits.

His men take his word and keep their distance, but I know he won’t do anything to me other than blow hot air, so I wrap an arm around him.

“Don’t just stand there,” Luciano grits at his men. “Get a fucking doctor.”

“You’re so mean,” I tell him.

“They get paid to not be babies.”

We make it across his gloomy entryway and into the house. It’s empty, as if all the staff knew to steer clear of the angry dragon. I don’t know how Luciano lived alone for so long. Doesn’t it get boring?

I help him up the stairs to the bed and untie his shoes, although he protests. I fluff his pillow, and he whines the whole time. Our theatrics continue for fifteen minutes when the doctor arrives. Luciano doesn’t want to take the pain medication, complaining that it will make him woozy.

“Just take it!” I explode.

He looks at me, and finally gathers my poor condition. I may not have bruises all over my skin, but my knees are swaying with exhaustion. The adrenaline is thinning out, and the stress of the past two days is looming like a dark cloud.

Luciano is much more compliant after that. It turns out that all that was needed to tame him was seeing my exhaustion.

When the doctor leaves, I lay beside him on the bed with my back facing him. My lightheadedness worsens. I take deep breaths to navigate the discomfort.

Luciano’s large palm touches my hair. After a few minutes, he caresses it, as if learning how to comfort someone.

I smile when I realize that I’m giving the grump one of his ‘first.’

At some point I fall asleep, but Luciano wakes me up to feed me a sandwich. It’s falling apart at the seams— there’s too much wet lettuce and thickly sliced tomatoes, so I know he made it.

I sit up and bite into it. To my relief, I’m feeling so awful that the poor taste of the meat doesn’t hit me as hard. Luciano eats beside me. I notice he’s wearing a long-sleeve cotton shirt, which he never does. Is he insecure about his bruises?

I don’t push it.

I finish my sandwich— which absolutely tastes like sand, and I got back to sleep happily because I can tell that Luciano tried his best.

The next time I wake up, I have meds and a glass of water ready for Luciano. We take turns to take care of each other, and we speak little. I’m okay with this cycle. I’m just glad we’re back to safety. After three days of being stuck in the room, I accept it’s time to call my father. I can’t meet him, because he’ll fight to keep me with him, and I’m done with the kidnapping bullshit.

I’m feeling better, but I know all that progress will go down the drain once I hear my father beg me to come home.

I stare at his phone number punched into the screen, and I close the app.

“Hi dad,” I record. “I gave you a scare, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened over the past few weeks. It’s like right out of the movies, but we all know that our lives are like something out of a comic book. I don’t know if Maksim filled you in, but I’m willingly staying with Luciano. He hasn’t hurt me. You two don’t know him like I do, so I know it’s hard to wrap your head around this, but he’s good to me. I want to be here.”

I pause and smile.

“I’ll call you soon, okay? I’m healthy and happy. I miss you, but I just need space after everything that went down. Don’t worry if I don’t immediately reply to your texts or calls. I love you.”

I send the recording, and he calls me immediately after. I set the phone on vibration, and step into the bathroom for a shower. I’m washing soap out of my hair when I hear the door open.

“Luciano?”

“Of course it’s me. No one is suicidal enough to walk in on my woman.”

Why is he in here, then? Does he need to pee?

I’m quiet. If not for the sound of water trickling, it would be awkward as hell.

“Can I take a peek?” he finally asks.

“What! No!” I cross my arms over my chest and face the wall to hide my girly bits, which are pulsing in excitement at the thought of being examined by him.

"What was that speech you gave about pre-marital sex, then?” he chuckles. “You’re so cute. I’m only messing with you.”

He exits the bathroom, and I’m left feeling embarrassed. Cute? I don’t want that. I want to be sexy.

I finish in the bathroom and change into one of Luciano’s shirts, which practically hit my knees. When I step out, I find the doctor in the bedroom, setting a bottle on the nightstand.

“Doctor,” I say.

He looks at me and then adverts his eyes. He’s old and has been around long enough to know how short-fused Luciano’s temper is.

“Yes, Ms. Kuznetsov?”

Damn, it’s weird being addressed as the family of Luciano’s enemy.

I look at the door to make sure it’s closed before saying, “I want to get on birth control.”

a/n: Karine is trying to get dicked-down rawwwww. Luciano is in for a surprise