“Well, I don’t,” she snaps.
“Are you sure? You looked pretty worried when Dimitri was taking me away. Do you really not want to have a good relationship with me again?” If we ever even had one. There was always a tension between the two of us, ever since we were little.
Slowly, Susanna approaches me. For once, her eyes soften. “I was maybe worried. But then Luca told me that you were fine. That he got you back. So, I stopped worrying.”
“Susanna… please.”
“What do you want from me, Nina? You married Luca. You’re getting to live a fun life. I’m not. I will never be happy about it.”
My mind flashes back to me and Luca having sex yesterday. How it was passionate and exciting but it also left me feeling empty in some way.
“I’m not as happy as you think,” I say. “We can work this out, Susanna. That’s why I came here. I’m trying to make Luca proud.”
She scoffs. “See? It always comes back to Luca.”
“He is my husband. It’s to be expected.”
“I don’t care. I was your sister first.”
The hurt in her words startles me and makes me take a step back. “Susanna…”
Before I can say anything more, the doorbell rings. With a frown, our mom answers it… only to reveal Gabriel on the other side. I tense. How did he find my home?
“Mom, shut the door,” I scream but before she can do anything, Gabriel storms inside.
“Get out,” Mom orders. Gabriel doesn’t listen to her.
“Your husband is proving to be a problem,” he says to me. “So you’re going to help me with that.”
He grabs me before I can react and drags me towards the door. When my mom tries running at him, he holds up his gun, stopping her in her tracks. “Don’t even think about it.”
She walks back to Susanna, trying to protect her… since she can’t protect me. I’m Luca’s now. No longer my mother’s. And now an enemy of Luca’s has come to collect.
Gabriel drags me from the house and forces me into the back seat of a car. And I am kidnapped again but this time, I’m not sure I’m going to make it out of this alive.
Chapter Fourteen
Luca
When I find the note from Nina that she went to her old home to see her sister, I know in my gut that something is wrong. Whenever Nina is around Susanna, she’s at risk at falling into old patterns. That’s the last thing I want.
I rush over to Maria’s house and pound on the door, ready to get Nina back. But what I’m not expecting is for Maria to look terrified when she opens the door.
“What’s wrong?” I ask right away, stepping inside the house. Susanna is hovering behind her mom, looking worried. “Tell me.”
Maria’s shoulders slump. “That man… Gabriel showed up and took Nina. He has it out for you. I called Alek and told him just moments before you showed up.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. If Gabriel has Nina, that means he’s truly coming for what’s mine and that cannot stand. “How did he find your house? How did he know Nina was here?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why was she over here anyway?”
Maria’s look hardens. “She is my daughter. She has a right to come over here.”
“Not when Susanna is here,” I say without thinking.
“What does that mean?” Susanna asks, placing her hands on her hips.
