Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11: You Hid It Badly

Up close, he looked different than he had in the office. Less dangerous. The jacket was lighter.

He lifted the bag slightly, weighing it in his hand. "You hid it badly," he said calmly.

Her pulse roared in her ears. "You followed me?"

"You were always going to run."

Anger flared through the fear. "You said there was nothing I could do. What other choice do I have. I have to keep her safe."

"And I have to make sure she stays put," he said.

A car passed at the far end of the street, headlights sweeping briefly over them, then moving on. The city did what it always did. It looked away.

"Marco, please... please don’t do this," Vee said. "I’m begging you. She is just a child."

"It’s not my problem, pizza girl."

Vee swallowed hard and shook her head, stepping closer despite every warning bell in her body screaming at her to stop.

"Marco, you do not have to be him," she said urgently. "You don’t have to be like Luca. You are a good person. I can see that."

"Am I now?" Luca smirked.

"Let us go," she said.

"And yet, I cannot," he replied. "I cannot let you go. There is too much riding on the exchange now." He exhaled through his nose. "Luca... will be pissed."

"You don’t have to care about how he feels," she shot back, anger burning through the fear. "Just help us." She reached out without thinking, fingers curling around his arm. "I cannot let this happen to my sister."

Luca looked down at her hand where it rested against his arm.

He imagined what it would feel like to pull her closer. To tilt her face up. To see if that fire burned just as hot when she wasn’t pleading for someone else’s life. If she was the same in the throes of passion.

He stepped back abruptly, breaking the moment.

The night rushed in again.

He handed her the bag.

Her fingers closed around it instinctively, disbelief flashing across her face.

Then he dipped his hand into his coat pocket.

"Make sure you are not found," he said.

Vee was shocked that begging him had worked. The realization hit her in a delayed wave. She stepped forward, heart hammering wildly, and planted a peck on his lips.

Luca’s eyes held hers.

"What’s that supposed to be?" he asked.

Vee shrugged, a small, helpless gesture. "I don’t know," she said honestly. "But I sort of always wanted to do that."

The admission surprised her as much as it did him.

Luca chuckled. "Really?"

"Really." Her mouth twitched into a nervous smile, cheeks flushed now that the adrenaline was beginning to ebb. She clutched the bag tighter against her chest, suddenly shy, suddenly aware of how close she was standing to a very dangerous man. Then instinct kicked back in.

She turned and sprinted down the street, shoes slapping against the pavement as she chased after her sister and the fragile hope of escape.

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