POV: KATHERINA
Luca noticed the changes in my behavior since the night of his party, but he didn’t question me.
I know he didn’t see Rick and me conversing because he was busy talking to Benjamin, and then later, he left the backyard.
Things are pretty much the same between Luca and me, and we rarely see each other due to his hectic work life.
Meanwhile, news about me had started to spread over the media along with Luca, and I know it’s just the beginning.
Any hopes of contacting the cops to get my family back were in vain. But though I could do nothing about the situation, just knowing where my parents were brought a little peace.
Earlier, I didn’t even know where Luca would’ve hidden them from me, and I feared that they might even be in this home, in a secret room or something, and I would’ve regretted it when I found out.
Later in the evening, a gardener came to check the indoor and outdoor garden, and I couldn’t help but get suspicious.
I’ve lived in this house for three months now, and no gardener came to check the plants, so I started pruning the creepers and taking care of the others.
“I see no deficiencies or diseases in any plant. They are all healthy,” Becky said, giving me a bright smile.
“Yeah, they are,” I said, looking at the creepers and plants.
“The money plant showed some discoloration before, and I gave some compost to the maids to add. I guess it worked,” she said, running her fingers over the money plant leaves.
“Was it because of a nutrient deficiency or high pH?” I asked.
“It was due to the pH. I’m glad they have regained their original health.”
“When was the last time you visited?” I asked. “I mean, I’ve been here for a long time now, and I never saw you before."
“Luca told me that you’re taking care of them,” she turned around to face me. “You’re good with the pruning. Where did you learn it?”
“My mother’s a botanist. Thanks.”
“That explains,” Becky replied before going out to the patio.
I spent some time with her, asking about some of the plants I didn’t know, and Becky educated me. I helped her water the plants after adding compost and planting a few new ones she had brought.
It was good spending time with her. She spoke about the outside world and her other customers, who were a pain in the ass and paid her poorly.
She was gone before dusk, and so were the maids, leaving me alone in the sober house. I was preparing pizza, ignoring whatever the maids prepared for the dinner when the doorbell rang.
Luca usually didsn’t ring the bell since he carries a key of his own, but when he notices the lights on, he does it on purpose.
However, it wasn’t Luca standing behind the door. It was Edward. I opened the door hesitantly.
“Hey, Katherina,” he greeted me before entering and walking down to Luca’s office, carrying a black file folder in his hand.
I went back to the kitchen and took the meatballs out of the oven when the timer went off. I took out the pizza and was sprinkling pepper on it when Edward walked out of the office, closing the door.
“I smell food,” Edward said loud enough for me to hear him.
I placed two slices for him on a plate when I heard his approaching footsteps.
“I made some pizza; I hope you like it,” I said and took my seat on the stool while Edward sat facing me.
“Thanks,” he replied and ate just one slice since he had to get going. “Come and lock the door.”
“Will Luca be late tonight?” I asked when we reached the door.
Edward gave me a sly grin before opening the door. “I’ll make sure to tell him you miss him.”
“I don’t.” I frowned at him.
Edward shrugged in response and took a step outside, and that’s all I was able to comprehend. What happened next put me in shock.
Edward stumbled and fell inside, clutching the spot where a bullet hit him, blood blotching his white shirt.
“L-lock the door!” Edward spat the words with much difficulty as another shot hit the door, making me tremble in fear as I stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded.
“Lock the fucking door!”
I quickly ran and locked the door. Edward stood up, supporting his weight on the wall beside him. His bloody hand was fumbling with his phone before he put it to his ear.
“What’s happening?” I asked as the gunshots continued. I stepped far away from the door, panic rising in me.
I didn’t hear what he was screaming on his phone as I was too preoccupied with listening to the bangs. The bullets started to come through the windows, shattering the glass.
Edward pulled me along with him, and we entered Luca’s office.
“Lock the door.”
I did as I was told before turning toward him. He walked straight toward a huge bookshelf after picking up the black file folder he had placed on the table.
I don’t know what he did, but the shelf came a little forward and moved sideways, revealing a passage. Lights at the corners illuminated the way.
We entered, and Edward quickly punched the password at the side, making the door shut.
“Here, hold this,” he said, handing over the folder. “We’ve got no time. Walk fast.”
We walked along the tunnel in silence for a few minutes before a spiral staircase descended further down. The passage became more spacious and brighter.
Edward’s left arm was covered in blood that was continuously dripping down on the floor, but Edward wasn’t bothered.
He sometimes grunted in pain and put pressure on the wound and asked me to walk faster.
When the tunnel came to an end, Edward opened the circular opening at the top and bent down for me to climb on him and get outside into pitch darkness.
I quickly gave him my hand as support, but Edward shook his head, took a deep breath, and jumped up, both hands holding his weight as he grunted in pain and lifted himself up.
Through the light reflecting from below, I was able to figure out we were inside a cottage before Edward closed the lid, sinking us into the darkness.
“Edward.”
“I’m right here.”
I felt him beside me before he grabbed my hand and walked around in the dark like he knew his way.
A dim light flickered, illuminating the whole room. My eyes quickly scanned the area. Edward released my hand and sat down on a dirty sofa.
We were in a cottage—a dusty cottage, I might add. A thick layer of dust covered everything from the broken windows to the floor mat.
I looked out the window to see a vast stretch of trees bathed in the darkness of the night. The cottage looked old, with spider webs decorating the corners.
Edward grunted in pain, and I was immediately by his side.
“What are you doing?” I asked in horror as he pressed a knife deep into his wound.
“Trying to take out the bullet.” He grunted and let out a strangled growl, his breathing deep and slow.
“It’ll lead to infection.”
“I don’t care! I just want the fucking bullet out of my system!” he screamed. He was drenched in sweat, and his white shirt was red now.
The knife started to sink deeper, and he let out a small scream of pain. I didn’t want to witness this, yet I couldn’t seem to divert my eyes from it. It looked more painful than anything I’ve seen.
Edward took a deep breath and closed his eyes before flicking the knife out. The bullet fell with a thunk on the wooden floor.
Edward released a sigh, his body relaxing as his hand fell aside, his breathing coming back to normal.
The bullet hole was bleeding, and I looked around to find anything to put pressure on the wound, but there was nothing that could help the situation.
I was looking into drawers when my eyes fell upon a dark passage, where the light couldn’t reach.
“Switch is on the left,” said Edward when he saw me walking into the passage.
My hand searched in the dark before flicking on the switch, illuminating the hallway. At the end was a room with no door, and I slowly walked inside.
It was a dingy bedroom with a wooden cot attached to the wall with a dirty white mattress and a wooden chest at the foot.
There was a tiny broken window toward my right, and the walls around the room were covered by drawings done by a child.
One of them caught my eye: a lady with a small boy by her side and a house behind them. Quickly averting my eyes from the walls, I went to the chest and opened it.
A scream left my lips when rats ran out from behind the chest. I pressed my back to the window behind me and tried to calm my breathing.
“Don’t make a sound, Katherina,” Edward’s voice came out as I warned.
Carefully looking at my feet and the surrounding, I looked at the chest, filled with clothes. I rummaged through them and found some dresses and clothes for a little boy.
My eyes immediately went to the images on the wall. I guess a mother and a child lived here.
I took one of the dresses and tore it. I entered the small bathroom at the corner and rinsed the cloth before filling a bucket with water and going back to the living room.
Edward’s eyes shot open when I sat next to him.
“Remove your shirt.”
“Aren’t you supposed to say that to Luca?” he said, smirking, which only made me stare at him.
He removed the shirt slowly, grunted when the cloth touched his wounded flesh. I wet the cloth and wiped the blood from his skin to reveal an ink-free chest.
There was no cotton or bandages, so I tore another dress and wrapped the cloth around his shoulder under his armpit, and the bleeding finally stopped.
“Does it hurt?” I said, careful not to touch the wound.
“Bearable,” he whispered.
The silence was broken by the buzzing of his phone in the pocket. Edward pulled it out and started speaking in Italian.
I stood up and took the bloody bucket back to the bathroom, and washed my hands.
“We’re staying here for the night,” Edward said. “Till Luca comes.”
I nodded and dusted the couch across from him before settling down.
“Where’s the file I gave you?” he asked.
I quickly looked around, not remembering where I placed it since everything was dark. The file was on the floor, away from the opening we came in from.
I got up and got the file for him. Edward placed it beside him.
“Go to sleep, Katherina. Luca won’t be here until three or four am.”
“Who are they?” I asked softly.
Edward took a breath, his expression surreal.
“Luca has many enemies.”
“Will he… kill them?” I asked hesitantly, recalling the way Luca shot the men in front of his hotel.
“Yes, he will. They are in the house now as we speak.”
The image of the living room filled with corpses struck my mind, making me shiver.
“You’ll be fine. Luca will have my head if anything happens to you, so don’t worry about anything. Go to sleep. I’ll watch over you, princess.”
A rustling noise and a cool breeze woke me up. Opening my eyes slowly, the first thing I saw was the night sky and then Luca.
He was looking into the forest with his arms around me and my head on his chest.
I shivered when the cool breeze brushed me, my hand immediately coming up to clutch his shirt as I snuggled closer to his warmth.
Luca looked down, sleek hair falling into his eyes as he stared at me. He slowed his pace before looking back and speeding up.
I craned my neck to see Rickard walking in front of us. There was no sign of Edward.
“Where’s Edward?” I asked.
Luca didn’t reply. In fact, he showed no sign that he heard me.
“Where’s Edward, Luca?” My voice was irritated.
“Go back to sleep,” he said softly.
“But Edward—”
“Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep,” he said with the same soft tone.
“Don’t talk to her that way,” Rickard said.
“Mind your business, Rick“ he grunted.
Rick gave me a guilty smile before turning around and walking, with Luca following behind. I looked up to the night sky with a full moon and stars.
The breeze was becoming colder, and my bare feet were freezing. Luca pulled me close to his body and started walking faster.
His sleek black car came into view when we approached the lonely road. Rickard opened the door, and Luca slipped in with me.
“Go to sleep,” Luca said, staring down at me as I sat on his lap.
“I’m not sleepy,” I replied.
He hummed in response and pulled me to his body. Wrapping my arms around him, I laid my head at the crook of his neck. It’s strange. In spite of everything he’d done to me, I felt safe in his arms.
He’s dangerous and the epitome of destructiveness, yet there is a different kind of peace in his presence that I’ve always overlooked. Luca relaxed beside me, and I felt him kiss my head.
It’s fucking ridiculous that he brings me pain, pleasure, and peace.
The car came to a stop in front of his hotel, Morte. I stared at the hotel, remembering when it was shattered and broken with bodies lying all over. Then Luca took my hand, and we walked in.
Taking the stairs, we reached the third floor. The hallway was beautiful, reminding me of the hotel we stayed at in London.
Rickard unlocked the last door and opened it. Luca motioned me to get inside.
“Stay here. Don’t open the door unless it’s me or Rick,” Luca ordered.
Rick was standing at a distance, watching down from the railing.
“Okay,” was all I was able to say.
He took a step to leave but then walked back inside and pulled me to him by my neck before placing his lips on mine for a short kiss.
He then turned around and started to walk the way we d come with Rick trailing behind.
I locked the door and sat on one of the couches, my so mind filled with questions that sleeping was the last thing I could do.
This was the second time I’d witnessed a shootout with his enemies, and even though it should scare me to death, it didn’t.
Rick said that Luca wanted me to get used to his life, and sadly, I am getting used to it.
The worst thing is that I was starting to understand Luca for the way he was, even though I knew nothing about him and wasn’t even trying to get closer to him.
He beat me when I didn’t obey him, fucked me when he wanted to, and showed me his rare good side when he felt like it.
He kept me caged up in his beautiful home in the middle of nowhere and protected me from his enemies.
I didn’t know how much longer I could take this, and there was this emotion that kept building up inside me that was so gut-wrenching.
Solace…