Panic wraps around my throat, making it hard to breathe.
What are they planning on doing to me?
“Please,” I beg, digging my heels to the ground. My desperate plea only seems to make them more excited as they keep pulling me away.
This can’t be happening. I can’t let them hurt me. I have to fight or do something… scream. I suck in a deep breath, about to let out a cry for help when I see a large shadow move beside us.
Before I realize what’s happening, a hand wraps around Daniel’s throat. He lets go of my wrist, and his friend lets go a second after.
“You fucking punk!” Lucca’s deep voice booms through the air.
With one hand wrapped around Daniel’s throat, he holds him in place while starting to smash his other hand into his face.
The air stills in my lungs as I stare at Lucca. His face is distorted with rage, his lips curled in a snarl, and his eyes… his eyes are darker than black.
I’ve never seen Lucca like this. He almost looks like a different person.
Frozen in shock, I watch as two guys try to get Lucca off Daniel, but Lucca simply shoves the teenage boys away, like they are nothing more than fruit flies. Two more guys are running off, leaving their friends behind without a second glance.
Lucca’s fist tumbles down on Daniel’s bloody face until his body goes slack. For a moment, I think he is dead. Lucca let’s go of him, and I watch in horror as Daniel crumbles to the ground.
“Fuck, man! You killed him,” one of Daniel’s friends yells as he pushes himself back on his feet.
“He isn’t dead, but he will be, and so will you. If one of you fuckers ever touch her, talk to her, or even think of her, I will end you,” Lucca growls, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is serious. “I will find you, and I will kill you in the most painful way I can think of, and trust me, I can think of a few.”
I almost pee myself. My whole body is shaking, my feet are cemented into the ground, and my throat feels like there is a golf ball lodged inside.
Daniel is coughing and gasping for air on the ground, while his two remaining friends look at Lucca with pure terror in their eyes. With pale faces, both of them nod before helping Daniel to his feet and dragging him away.
“Are you okay?” Lucca turns to me, his eyes soften and his body relaxing. “Claire, talk to me. Did they hurt you? Let me see your arms, kiddo.”
His voice is soothing now, the menacing tone he’d used on my attackers is gone, and back is the sweet and caring guy I know. He steps in front of me and reaches for my wrists. Gently, he pushes up my sleeves and inspects my wrists one by one.
There is blood on his knuckles, but his touch is so tender, it makes me question if what I just witnessed was a dream.
“This will never happen again,” he warns, but his voice is still kind. “You should have told me, I could have scared them sooner. They won’t bother you again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I thought you were going to kill him,” I admit, still a bit shaken up.
“I just wanted to scare them, Claire. He’ll have a bruised face and a bruised ego, but that’s all. Hopefully, he learned his lesson.”
Only then do I realize he thinks they were the ones who put the bruises on my arm in the first place. Relief washes over me in waves. Lucca thinks he fixed my problem, and even though he did fix one of them, the biggest one is still my own.
Lucca won’t ask any more questions, and for that, I’m thankful.
“Come on, let me take you home,” Lucca coos, holding his hand out to me. I take it and let him walk me back to his car.
This is the Lucca I know, the nice guy who cares for me. I don’t know what I thought I saw in his eyes before, but I must have imagined that darkness.
Lucca could never actually kill someone. He is way too nice.
5
Lucca
She’s looking at me like I’m Jesus, and I just turned water into wine. With her unruly red hair framing her face, her pale green eyes seem even brighter as she glances at me with wonder.
She doesn’t have the first clue who I really am or the evil that runs through my veins. I’ve killed, stolen, lied, and cheated. I’m the devil, waiting for you to slip up, so I can come to claim a piece of your soul.
I should tell her the truth, tell her that she just got a glimpse of the real me. I should tell her that I am a killer, that I’m an enforcer for the mob, and couldn’t love it any more than I do. I should tell her that I almost killed the guy who touched her, matter of fact, I still might.
But the reality is, I don’t want her to look at me like that. I don’t want her to know the real me. The thought of her seeing me in another light makes my stomach ache.
Plus, she’s just a kid. She doesn’t need to know the gritty details of my life.
Opening the passenger door, I take off her backpack, and I lift her into the seat. I watch her buckle up before I place her bag in the backseat.
Quickly, I walk around to the driver’s side and get in.
As I turn on the car, I glance over at Claire noticing how small she looks sitting in the large leather seat. Sometimes, I forget how tiny she is.
“Next time someone bothers you, you tell me right away, okay?”
“Okay,” she murmurs, but I don’t quite believe her.
“Did you tell anyone else about it? Your dad or your teachers?” I ask as we drive down the road.
“No.” She shakes her head and starts to shift in her seat, nervously. “Telling people makes it worse. I don’t want to draw attention to myself.”
“Not when I handle it. You tell me, and I’ll take care of it. Deal?”
She nods, but I’m still not convinced. “Maybe I should talk to your dad?”
“No! I’ll tell him,” her voice climbs and drops again when she adds, “he doesn’t like you very much.”
I noticed. The question is, why? Clearly, it’s not because he worries about his daughter’s safety or wellbeing. Could he possibly know who I work for? Is it possible he’s simply scared of me?
A few minutes later, we pull up in front of my place. My eyes immediately go to the beat-up Honda in front of Claire’s house. Her dad must be home early from work.
The front door flies open, and her father steps out on the porch. His eyes immediately find mine, accusing me of something without even knowing what happened.
“I-I got to go,” Claire’s voice is shaky, and when I look over to her, I notice that the rest of her is shaking too.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… I mean… I’m not supposed to get in anyone’s car.”
“I’ll talk to him, explain what happened.”
“No, it’s fine.” Claire opens her door and slides out of the car.
Unbuckling myself, I’m about to get out of the car and run after her when my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Fuck!
I fish the sleek device out of my pocket and unlock it. Markus’ name flashes across the screen, and I know I can’t ignore the call, not even if I wanted to. Pressing the green answer key, I bring the phone to my ear.
“Yes,” I say, hoping I can keep the annoyance hidden from my voice.