Page 105 of Deadly Vows

My eyes widen when I realize what he’s asking, and I shake my head.

“No. He didn’t touch me in that way,” I murmur.

But before Dr. Patterson can leave, Luca stops him.

“We’ll get the tests anyway,” he says.

Dr. Patterson nods, quickly making his way out of the room to leave me and Luca alone. After a moment, I break the silence.

“I’m not lying. He didn’t touch me,” I say, looking at Luca.

He watches me steadily for a moment, obviously trying to approach the subject delicately.

“It’s just a precaution. You never know what could have happened to you. Men like Alexander do twisted things,” he says gently.

Nausea hits me as I think of what his words mean, and he immediately notices my shift in mood. He places his finger under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.

“Alexander will never be able to touch you again. I swear, Elise. You are safe now,” he says.

His eyes linger on the bruising under my eyes, and I see his controlled rage as he tries to keep his composure. He releases a breath, his hand dropping from my face.

“Fuck…I’m so sorry, Elise. This is all my fault. I never should have told you about our past. I never should have let you leave,” he says.

His brows are furrowed as his features shift into regret, something I’ve rarely seen on his face in the time we’ve been married. Even hearing an apology is strange.

I release a shuddering breath, letting my tears fall. There’s nothing I can say that would make him feel better—nothing that would change the past. We were born into a fucked up world. Both sides of the same coin. This is the life we’ve inherited from our parents, and there’s no running from it.

Luca’s hands gently hold my face, his thumbs running along my jaw as he pulls me in for a soft kiss. There’s no power in it, no possession. Just gentle relief. And when he pulls away from me, his stormy eyes are a swirl of unreleased emotion.

“I love you, Elise. I’ll never let anything like this happen again,” he says.

The last time he said those words to me, I felt dread. But at this moment, I feel protected. I believe him. I give him the best smile that I can, placing my hands over his arms, as I lean into him to press our foreheads against each other. And I just breathe.

Luca slowly pulls away, his thumb continuing to stroke my cheek as he speaks.

“Elise, I need to know everything that happened. So I can protect you—protect all of us,” he says.

My hands slowly lower to my thighs, digging into my skin as I try to calm myself. The memories of everything I went through are devastating. They signify a broken world to me. But I know Luca is right. And I know from the conversations I had that we are not out of the woods.

“After the wreck, I woke up in a room. A man came in, asking me to testify against you. And when I refused, he sent me to the auctions,” I say, thinking of the smug grin on his face as they dragged me from that room.

Tears burn my eyes as I recall the meeting. The man’s cruelty is something I can never forget.

“He said they were really after you, and that catching me was a mistake. He said that Ari had contacted him before she died…and that you had inherited too much power to be left unchecked,” I say.

Luca is quiet, but I can tell by the way he stops stroking my cheek that he is trying to control his emotions. He is livid by this information.

“Did the agent give you his name?” he asks.

I slowly nod. I’ll never forget his name. “Jeffries.”

Luca scoffs, grumbling something to himself under his breath. But before I can ask what, the nurse steps in with a smile.

“We’re all set for you, Mrs. Pasquino,” she says.

I look back at Luca, my distrust of anyone who isn’t him coming to the forefront. Especially after telling him the story of how I was abducted. But he gives me a charming grin of reassurance.

“I’ll be here when you get back.”

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