Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Then why are you wearing the police uniform? Why did you stop me?”

The playful tone evaporated from Luca’s face as his face turned serious. He crouched down to my level, his eyes locking with mine. His voice dropped, low and serious.

“Come on, Ari,” he said, using the childhood nickname that only my friends and family ever called me. It sent a shiver through me. “You and I both know why I stopped you. You and I both know why I’m here.”

I knew what Luca was saying. Of course, he was here for that… But there was a part of me, a big part of me, that just thought this was all a misunderstanding, and that things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.

As I shook my head, trying to push down the rising panic, I asked,

“I don’t understand… I mean, what do you want?” the question sounded stupid, even to me.

He turned all playful again, flashing that familiar smile that used to make me feel like everything was alright, but now, it felt like the mask of a man I no longer recognized.

“Oh Ari,” he said with a chuckle, leaning against my car casually. “I used to think Asher was crazy when he would go on and on saying that you weren’t dead, that there was nobody found, but his father was relentless with the fact that you had died in that fire. And so everybody believed it, even your parents, but Asher always felt that something else had happened to you.’

His words hit me like a blow. Asher… Asher had never stopped searching for me. He’d never believed I was dead.

Luca’s gaze sharpened, and he gave me this intense look that made me half-aware, made me self-conscious, and put me on the spot. I didn’t like it. It was like he was assessing me like he was dissecting me, as if he was trying to figure me out with his stare.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry as I asked,

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