Page 12 of Deadly Vows

“I—”

I trail off, watching him attempt to compose himself, but fail. His eyes are filled with anger as he looks at me, his milky skin turning red from the force of my strike. My heart beats in my chest louder than the blood roaring in my ears as I try to remain upright. Luca snatches me instantly around my arm, dragging me around his desk. I struggle and scream, begging him to release me, but it all falls on deaf ears as he continues to drag me. In my panic, I notice a pair of scissors on his desk, snatching them up in an effort to protect myself.

I don’t know what it is my father has been dealing in, but whatever it is pissed Luca off. And I saw what he did yesterday to the man who crossed him. I won’t be going down without a fight. Luca shoves me roughly into the wall, and I cry out, holding the scissors firmly in front of me as I slide to the floor.

Luca’s eyes narrow as he watches me. He then laughs, shaking his head.

“What? Are you going to kill me with those? Was this the plan if he was found out?” he growls. I shake my head, tears falling fast and hard.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say. My voice betrays me, barely able to be heard properly. But Luca hears me. His amusement disappears, a frown forming on his lips.

He bends to my height and holds his hand out to me. “Give me those.”

I don’t comply. But he doesn’t get angry, he looks irritated.

“If you want me to trust you, hand those over to me now,” he says.

I contemplate my options, slowly lowering the scissors. I barely have them lowered when Luca’s hand reaches out.He simultaneously takes the scissors from me, wrenching me around with his knee in my back and his hand in my hair, gripping the locks roughly.

“Did your father teach you nothing? What you just did, you should be killed for.” His grip tightens. “No one threatens my life and lives. No one.”

My mind immediately flashes to the words I saw tattooed on his back, our first night together.

Mors Tua, Vita Mea1

He presses the tip of the scissors against my cheek, holding it firm as he speaks.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. Not yet,” he says.

I flinch as his grip tightens, my sobs filling the air. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

“Unlike you, I take my vows very seriously. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you since our wedding. And one thing I have learned about you is that you have a pattern. Every morning, and every night before you go to bed, you brush your hair.” As he speaks, he moves the scissors further away from my cheek until they are deep into my hair. I shake my head slightly, begging him not to do what I think he is about to do. But it only spurs him on, his smile widening as he watches me break down at his mercy.

“Thirty-four strokes, isn’t it?” he asks.

“I swear, I don’t know anything, please—”

“Don’t,” he growls as his knee presses deeper into my back. He releases a disappointed sigh, his hand pulling at my strands.

“I love your hair, Elise. It’s so soft and long. But do you know who else loves it? You do,” he says.

Luca’s grip loosens, but it isn’t because he releases me. The sound of scissors slicing through my locks accompanies my screams, my hair falling in shreds around me. Luca isn’t finished, however. He presses his knee into my back, holding me firm against the floor as he grips more of my hair.

“The next time you decide to threaten the life of the future head of this family, I suggest you think about the consequences.”

1. Your Death, My Life

Chapter Six

Elise

I’ve never cut my hair. I may have trimmed the ends to prevent damage, but I never purposely cut it to make it short. I’ve never even seen myself with hair shorter than my waist. But now, as I sit in front of the mirror once again, I can’t stop running my fingers through the chin-length tresses. Luca has stripped me of the one thing I had control over in my life. Now, it barely falls past my chin. It was the only way to salvage what was left because Luca had cut it so unevenly. Luca had a stylist come over, and I had to smile as she cut my hair shorter than it’s ever been.

I force my sobs down as I pull at the strands once again.

“No matter how many times you pull on it, it won’t grow back.”

Luca’s voice pulls me from my brooding, and I look to see him standing in the corner of the reflection with his arms crossed, watching me. He always watched me with that expression, and now I know it’s because he’s studying me, getting to know me in the same way he knows his enemies.

---