Page 93 of Deadly Vows

As we pass the dining room, Alexander’s staff is cleaning. I also notice that there is more than one plate on the table.

We finally reach the front door, and I step out into the cold. The bastard lives in the mountains away from any and allcivilization, making it difficult to even spy on him. If he is hiding something, this is the perfect place to do it.

“We’ll wait at the bottom of the mountain. I want eyes wherever we can get them. I don’t trust him, and we are running out of time,” I say to Romelo in irritation.

Pretty soon, I will have to leave this search to my men. I’ve been away from my duties for too long. And between this and whatever trouble is coming our way from Arianna’s involvement, I am stretched too thin. And once I return to my duties, I might as well kiss ever finding Elise goodbye.

Chapter Forty

Elise

I don’t know whether to feel disappointment or satisfaction from the events I just witnessed. My hands throb in pain from banging them against a door that Luca never had a chance of hearing me from. But my excitement is high as I watch Alexander struggle to pull the knife lodged into his shoulder blade out.

I laugh aloud, watching him on the camera. I don’t know why he would provoke Luca in the way he did, knowing that he actually does have me. But I’m glad he did. I’m glad Luca gave him a taste of what’s to come. I continue to watch him struggle on the screen, his cries of pain echoing in the panic room as he rips the blade out, throwing it across the room.

“Holy shit,” I murmur to myself as I watch it slide under the shelf.

Luca and his temper have unknowingly given me a way out.

My eyes are straining from my attempt not to blink as I watch him stand to leave the room, his hand over the bloody wound.He doesn’t bother to get the knife from its hiding place as he leaves, giving me more hope than I’ve had since arriving here. I thought I would feel more helpless after watching my chance at escape leave. But I know my husband. I know that if he’s here himself, he suspects Alexander highly. He won’t leave the area completely. He’ll at least have his men watch for a few days or even stay himself somewhere on the mountain.

I just have to get out of here and find him before he leaves.

Alexander doesn’t release me from the panic room for hours. By the time he does release me, his wound has already been treated, and he’s more than happy to use me to get his revenge for what Luca did to him.

“Ah!” I groan as my back throbs in pain, preventing me from pulling the sheer robe on. My body is covered in bruises thanks to Alexander, making moving difficult. I still don’t understand what kind of man he is—only that his actions seem to be fueled by his hatred for Luca.

It’s another cruel part of our world I was shielded from.

The whole reason I’m in this current mess is because I fled from the safety of my home, propelling Luca’s enemies into action. Though I can never forgive him for what he did to my mother, I understand why it was seen as necessary. We were never important enough to my father to protect. We were only seen as pawns—pawns big enough to make a plan over decades that would eventually take down the Pasquino empire.

I pull in a shuddering breath as I study myself in the mirror. The sight causes tears to form, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t give Alexander the satisfaction. My body is a reflection of what it’s like to be in the crosshairs of this world. The bruises Alexander left pale in comparison to the man whose name remains carved into my flesh—the man I long to return to. The man who is also responsible for the scar near my temple.

But I see now I have worse things to fear than Luca. In fact, Luca seems to be the only one who can protect me from those things.

I jump as the door rattles from Alexander’s loud knock.

“You’ve been in there long enough,” he calls through the door.

I grit my teeth in pain as I quickly pull the thin lace robe over my shoulders, my irritation for Alexander’s kinks growing by the day. At this point, it only makes sense that he enjoys the humiliation I’m enduring as Luca’s wife.

I push open the door, lowering my eyes as I step out of the bathroom.

“Can you give me actual clothes to wear? At least until the bruises heal?” I ask.

Alexander has me roughly around the arm, smashing me into the wall. I flinch as he presses against me, his erection straining through his pants as he holds me between him and the wall.

“Who the fuck do you think you are speaking to me that way?” he hisses.

I feel the color drain from my face as he looks at me with a seething hatred that wasn’t there before. He’s angrier than I thought about Luca. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to be found, let alone stabbed, on the same day.

I can’t help but laugh.

“It’s scary, isn’t it? Being right in his crosshairs?” I narrow my gaze, leaning into him. “I told you he would find you—Agh!”

Alexander roughly smashes me into the wall, my head knocking against the wood from the sheer strength he uses. I know I shouldn’t provoke him, but I can’t help it. Not when I see the fear lingering behind his gaze.

His hand roughly wraps around my throat, squeezing.

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