Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Come With Me

Luca froze. Completely. His arms stayed rigid at his sides, muscles locking. The sensation was unfamiliar. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged him like this. Well, except for Nonnina.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and Vee pulled back instantly, mortified. "Sorry," she murmured, stepping away, suddenly self-conscious.

"Come with me," he said quickly, already turning toward the door to hide the disruption she had caused. He opened it and gestured for her to follow. He led her down the corridor toward Marco’s office.

"Boss." Luca said quickly as he opened the door. "She needs five minutes with you." He stepped aside just enough to usher Vee forward, his hand gesturing.

"Oh..." Marco drawled, lifting his head slowly. "Come in."

Vee stepped into the office, her spine straight, her fear carefully leashed. She looked at the frightening man in front of her, taking in the expensive suit, the cold eyes, the stillness that suggested violence didn’t need to be loud to be effective. "Good morning," she said.

"Get to it," Marco said flatly. He was imitating Luca now, down to the cadence, the faint curl of disdain.

"Uh okay." Vee swallowed and launched forward before her courage could evaporate. "My name is Veronica Scalese. My friends call me Vee. I am Vito Scalese’s daughter. I run the pizza parlour." Her hands were clasped in front of her. "See, it’s just me and my sister. She is all I have...My dad spends all his time lazying around. He loves us, but the alcohol clouds his mind, he... he makes wrong decisions."

Behind her, Luca yawned deliberately, an exaggerated show of boredom. He rolled his shoulders and gave Marco a subtle signal with his eyes, a silent instruction to speed things along. The performance was flawless.

"I said get to it," Marco asserted.

"You cannot take my sister. Please." Vee’s breath caught, but she forced the words out anyway. She lifted her chin, meeting Marco’s stare head-on. "Take me instead." It was a sacrifice offered plainly. Behind her, Luca shook his head slowly.

Marco cleared his throat. "A deal is a deal, Miss Scalese. Your sister it will be. End of story."

"No! No!" Vee rushed forward frantically. "You cannot do this!" Her hands reached out.

Luca reacted instantly. He caught her by the waist as she screamed again. "No!" she cried. His grip was firm, his arm banding around her middle. The contact was intimate and shocking all at once, her back pressed against his chest as she fought him with every ounce of desperation she had left.

He lifted her easily off the ground as she kicked, sneakers scraping uselessly against the floor as she tried to propel herself back toward the office door. "Let me in there!" she shouted, tears spilling freely now. They streaked down her face unchecked, blurring her vision, soaking her lashes. "She’s all I have! Please!" The plea ripped through her. She clawed at his arm, fighting a man who barely had to exert himself to restrain her.

The guard at his station stiffened, eyes snapping to the scene unfolding. His hand hovered at his gun, fingers twitching as instinct screamed threat. But even he hesitated. Luca had the situation handled—or rather, contained. With one arm, Luca held Vee against him, turning smoothly and crossing back into his office without breaking stride.

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