Chapter 72

I didn't see Luca again after that sleepless night. He left me alone to wander the house and ponder my death while he went about his business, preparing for his meeting with my sister’s fiancé.

Was he even thinking about me?

Would he miss me?

Twice, I tried to escape out the door. And once I was halfway over the railing of the balcony in my room before I was caught. Each time, Tristan or Enzo calmly brought me back inside and watched me as I crumbled to the floor in defeat. They never said a word. Didn't try to console me. Just stood by as I worked through my anger and grief.

On the third day, I stopped trying. I decided if I was going to die, I wanted Luca to be the one to do it. I wanted him to look me in the eyes as he pulled the fucking trigger.

On the fourth day, I was lying in bed when Luca came into my room, dressed in black dress pants and a black button-down shirt, his gun holstered under his left arm. I hadn't slept the night before and I couldn't bring myself to eat. I couldn't even force myself to get up.

He didn't bother to knock. "I need you to get up and get a shower. I'm taking you out." There was no emotion in his voice.

I didn't know exactly where he was taking me, but I couldn't see why it mattered if I was clean or not. If I were to guess, probably to some abandoned warehouse out in the middle of nowhere where no one would hear the gunshot or see my blood spilled all over the floor. Did he want to get one last fuck out of me before he offed me?

The pathetic thing that I’d become, this woman who was desperate to live, to grasp at anything that made her feel alive…she would let him.

Walking over to the closet, he pulled out a sapphire blue, one shoulder mini dress that had a diagonal split across my torso from my collarbone to my opposite hip bone. Luckily, the entire thing was tight and hugged my curves. But I still wouldn't jump around in it for fear my boobs would fall right out. I'd tried it on on a whim, and Luca had insisted I get it. So I did. For him. Even though it wasn't like anything I would normally wear.

It was, however, exactly like something my sister, Nicole, would wear.

"Get up, Veda."

Was I imagining it? Or was his voice gentler now than before?

Luca laid the dress on the chair near the closet and came over to me, sitting on the side of the bed so my body curved around his hip.

I stared straight ahead, watching the sun through the window as it began its downward descent over the lake. Luca had been right when he'd told me it was one of the most beautiful views in Austin. The sky was so big in Texas. The colors so vibrant. It was one of the things I loved about living here.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lift his hand toward me, saw it hover in the space between us for just a second before he tangled his fingers in my hair. His touch was gentle as he brushed it back from my face. Like a lover would touch someone they cared about deeply. But it was a lie. It was all a lie. Every look. Every touch. "Come on, amore. Get out of this bed. I want to take you out."

"I don't want to go," I whispered.

"I know," he said. "But I need you."

He wasn't going to leave. So I had two choices. I could get up and do as he asked, or I could lay here and refuse. In which case he would get me up, drag me to the shower, and get me dressed anyway. Then he'd take me out of the house, kicking and screaming, but out I would go.

With a sigh, I decided I'd rather save my dignity, so I rolled over to the other side of the bed and got up.

An hour later, I walked down the stairs in the dress he'd picked out for me, complimented with a pair of strappy gold heels. My hair was down the way he liked it, and I'd put on a little makeup. My eyes were blue.

Luca watched me, his heated gaze traveling slowly from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and back again. "You're stunning," he told me when I walked up to him.

I didn't reply. His compliment meant nothing to me. I felt nothing. I cared about nothing.

"Tristan and Enzo are waiting in the car."

He placed his hand on my lower back and led me outside to the SUV, opening the door for me and helping me climb into the backseat before closing it behind me. I had my seatbelt on when he got in beside me. "Let's go," he told Enzo.

Enzo caught my eye in the rearview mirror, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say something. But then he picked up his sunglasses from the dash and put them on.

I glanced over at Tristan. His expression was hard as stone as he stared straight out the windshield.

The trip into the city went by way too fast, and before I knew it, we were in north Austin. I looked out the window. A club? Luca was bringing me to a club full of people?

He opened the door for me and held out his hand. "Come on, let's have some fun."

Confused, and not knowing what else to do, I took his hand and got out of the car, careful not to flash anyone even though Enzo and Tristan were standing in front of us with their backs to the car, scanning the crowd of people in line to get inside.

Wrapping his arm tight around my waist, Luca walked us to the front of the line. A large bouncer with dark skin and multiple facial piercings took one look at Luca, gave us a nod, and unhooked the rope, letting us skip the line. Enzo and Tristan follow us in.

I looked back over my shoulder as the door closed behind me, catching the last lingering rays of the sunset, unsure if I'd ever see those colors again.