Page 35 of Primo DeLuca

He had left when there was still a touch of darkness in the sky this morning, and now night was starting to settle in once more. The prospect of seeing him had me up and on my feet, ready to meet him at the door.

What was it about this dangerous man that drew me in like this? I was practically bubbling with excitement and couldn’t for the life of me stop myself from walking closer to that door.

His warnings about being careful while he wasn’t around knocked me in the head, and I stopped dead in my tracks. What if it wasn’t him at the door?

Instincts controlled my feet, and cautious steps edged me back. Why was it taking the person so long to get the door open when a simple turn of the key should have done the trick?

The door sprang open, and I jumped so hard, I gripped my chest to keep my heart from popping out and hitting the floor. There was no one there, but I continued taking shaky steps back as my breaths flew out fast and hard. When I managed to get my legs to turn me in the opposite direction, a male voice that wasn’t Primo’s commanded, “Don’t move.”

The urge to run like hell had my body pulled so tight my muscles ached and the biting tension swarming around me threatened to open up a gaping hole to swallow me. I feared moving, that even an inch would be the last move I made.

The little hairs on the back of my neck that stood when danger was near were doing their job, but they were about a minute too late. Who the hell was behind me? How had they gotten into the house so easily without triggering the alarm?

Light steps drew the person closer, sharpening the edge of my anxiety. The sound of their breathing behind me registered before the cold metal butt of a pistol pressed into the back of my skull.

“Do what I say, and you will survive this.”

The hard edge to such a gently spoken sentence made me shiver before my legs threatened to give out.

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