Page 7

“Let me stop you right there,” I cut in with a laugh despite the rage pumping through my veins at his comment. “First off, you weren’t promised any fucking thing. Whether or not I sleep with you is at my discretion. It is not guaranteed because you bought me dinner a few times, and I’m thinking that I didn’t miss all that much if you have to be this much of a prick to make up for your micro penis and lack of skills in the bedroom. Have a nice fucking night, douchebag.”

I turn and walk away from him before he can get another word in, yanking the restaurant door open in my anger and marching up to the counter. As the person in front of me places their order, I close my eyes and take a couple deep breaths to calm myself down but it’s not working as well as I hoped. I have the urge to go back out there, find Luca, and rip into him again but I keep my feet rooted to the floor and clench my fist as I blow out a breath.

“Can I help you?”

My eyes pop open and I find the young girl behind the counter staring at me expectantly. Sucking in another breath, I push my anger away and step up to the counter to place my order. After she rings me up and takes my money, I walk over to the pick-up area and sit in one of the chairs along the wall, closing my eyes again. Luca’s comment flicks through my mind but I shove it away as I rest my hand on my belly as my mind drifts to just how much my life has changed. God, before this baby came along, my life revolved around going out, having fun, and doing whatever I damn well pleased. I was going to clubs three, four times a week, having sex with any man who caught my attention but now, the only damn thing I want to do is get my food, go home, and look at baby clothes online.

When I first met Luca, I was clinging to my former life, the one I had before those two pink lines appeared on a pregnancy test but the truth is, I was changed from the very moment I knew there was a baby in my belly, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself. It’s so clear to me now. If I had really wanted to continue living my life that way, I could have ditched Luca and found someone on the dance floor to show me a good time or I could have flirted with the bartender who was honestly five times hotter than the asshole I showed up with but I didn’t do any of those things. Instead, I stayed on my date with boring ass Luca because I knew there was no way I would go to bed with him but I would rather not dive into the implications of that right now.

The girl behind the counter calls my name, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I sigh as I stand up and collect my food. My hunger returns with a vengeance as I walk out of the restaurant and sigh, eager to get home and look up nursery ideas while I eat.

“No, please,” a voice calls, full of fear, and I scowl as I look around for the source of the voice but I don’t see anything. The sidewalk is empty, too empty for a Friday night, and an eerie feeling washes over me. Before I can talk myself out of it, I drop my bag of food off in the passenger seat of my car and set off toward the direction I think the sound came from. I walk around the restaurant as another cry rings out from the alley in the back of the building and my feet stutter along the pavement. I should turn around and head back to my car, but I couldn’t live with myself if someone was hurt and I didn’t do anything to help them.

With my heart racing, I creep around the corner, into the alley, and stop when I see three men standing about forty yards away from me, two of them advancing on the third man as he backs up like he’s trying to blend into the wall behind him. He’s shaking and a soft whimper occasionally breaks through the sounds of the city as he holds both of his hands up in surrender.

What the hell?

Moonlight glints off of something, dragging my attention to the knife in the first man’s hand as he takes a menacing step toward the third man. I take a step back as my heart hammers in my ears and my stomach rolls. It all clicks into place but it feels like my brain is moving through sludge as I try to think of something to do in an effort to save this poor man from his fate. I don’t have a weapon of any kind on me but I have to do something to try and stop this from happening, don’t I?

“Please!” the third man pleads. “I can pay you back. I just need a little more time.”

One of the men chuckles, stepping into the light, and I can’t stop the gasp that tears through me when Luca’s face comes into view. All three men turn to me in unison and Luca looks like a completely different person to the cocky little shit who just called me a bitch. This man with dead, cold eyes and an evil sneer… he’s a killer. Stumbling back, I grip the wall, my mind racing and still somehow completely blank as I stare at his face, trying to understand what is happening right now but I can’t make it make sense.

Luca hands the knife to his friend before turning back to me with a frown as he pulls a second blade out of his boot. “Take care of him, Gio. I’ll handle the girl.”

He doesn’t even finish his statement before Gio shoves the third man against the wall, covers his mouth with his free hand, and plunges the knife into his chest. The man’s muffled scream sears itself into my mind and I cry out, taking a few more steps backward as I try to process the scene unfolding in front of me. Gio pulls the knife out and sinks it into the third man again and again, making sure there is no way he’ll survive this ordeal. Blood soaks the front of his shirt and drops onto the pavement beneath them, staining this spot with a horror that nothing will be able to erase. Water splashes onto my hand and I glance down as a single drop rolls across my skin and drips off the tip of my finger to the pavement.

What is that?

Reaching up, I brush my fingers over my cheeks, realizing that the drop of water was my own tear as more fall from my eyes and Luca shakes his head as he begins slowly closing the distance between us.

“You shouldn’t have come out here, Izzy…” He looks almost regretful and the implication of his words slam into me with the force of a bullet. Oh, God… he’s going to kill me, too… because I saw everything… because I can identify him…

My heart jumps into my throat as I stumble back again, my mind racing.

Run!

Someone, somewhere, screams the word, or maybe it’s only my own mind screaming at me but either way, I choose to listen - turning and taking off down the alley as fast as I can in my boots. It’s not fast enough and I stumble, trying to stay upright.

Damn these shoes!

I glance back, compelled to see how close Luca is to me and I find him a little ways back, marching toward me with a look that sends ice whipping through my very soul. I stumble again and when his eyes meet mine, he picks up the pace, advancing toward me too quickly. Terror claws at me, shredding me to pieces as I struggle to get away from this madman. Oh, God, I’m not going to make it. Why did I come back here? Why didn’t I just go home and mind my own damn business?

Run!

I push my legs to go faster as I glance behind me again. Luca is so much closer this time and he lunges for me but I’m just out of his reach. A sob tears through me as I turn back to the street in front of me, praying to God that I can make it in time. Pain blooms in my chest and spots dance in my vision as I try to push myself to go faster, be stronger but I’m at my limit and I know it. I turn to glance back at Luca again but before I get a good look at where he is, he slams into me and knocks me to the ground. Pain explodes through my body and I scream, hoping we’re close enough to the street that someone will hear me.

“Shut up,” he hisses, flipping me to my back and slamming his hand over my mouth as he presses the blade of the knife against my throat. Tears leak down the sides of my face and I close my eyes, thoughts of my mama, Ria, and my friends running through my head. “You should have stayed the fuck inside.”

Clearly.

God, I’m such an idiot.

Luca presses the knife harder against my skin and I feel my flesh tear underneath the blade. It’s not a big cut but I know it’s just a preview of what’s to come.

“Bet you’re wishing you weren’t such a bitch to me right about now, huh?”

“Actually, I’m wishing I had punched you in the face,” I whisper against his hand, thinking about how I could be safe and cozy at home right now, going over baby names or thinking about the nursery instead of lying in this dirty alley, about to die.