"I told you, he won't hurt you, Chloe. I don't think you understand what you mean to him."
They could hear him coming up the steps now, only making the fear course through her faster.
"You have to tell Elle he's keeping me." But hell, after hearing what Lucca was, Elle wasn't going to be able to save her. "Amo, tell Amo. He will save me. Please, Maria!"
Shaking her head, Maria didn't give in to her pleading eyes. "I can't."
Yes, you can! She wanted to shake her. This was supposed to be her friend, but the girl before her wasn't.
"W-What do you mean, you can't? He's keeping me hostage."
The door handle began to jiggle.
"It's not what you think. You're here for a reason, Chloe," Maria whispered.
"Open the door, Maria," Lucca's dark voice came from the other side of the door.
"What does that mean?" she whispered back.
His voice turned dangerously darker. "Open this door now, Maria."
"I'm sorry," was all Maria said as she went toward the door.
Please, no.
Maria's hand twisted the lock, and the door began to slowly open.
His eyes landed on Chloe, his voice coming out in a commandingly low growl as he said, "Go downstairs and wait in my office."
"She deserved to know. She wanted to hear it from a friend. You should have told her by no-"
He shushed his sister and growled, "Now, Chloe," a bit harsher.
It was impossible not to obey him, and she hated that her feet began to take her out of the room.
Holding her breath as she passed him, she stared at his cold, blue eyes that made ice run through her veins. How did I not see it? The mafia practically oozed off him. The underboss screamed from him. The boogieman … Now she knew why they had given him that name.
When he finally moved his eyes from hers to Maria, she was able to pick up her feet faster.
Running down the steps, she was prepared to run out the front door, when an unhappy Drago blocked her way.
"Office," he snapped at her like he knew exactly what she was thinking.
With nothing left but to accept her fate, she headed toward Lucca's office, hoping he wouldn't hurt his own sister and would let her go. Then maybe, just maybe, Maria would take pity on her and tell Amo about her kidnapping.
In his office, she sat down and began to wring her hands. Her hands were almost raw by the time the office door opened a while later. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. You didn't need to see him to feel his presence.
Lucca took a seat behind his desk, silently staring at her.
Looking at the hands, she squeezed them with all her might. "D-Did you h-hurt her?"
"I thought about it," he revealed. "But no. Drago is taking her home."
Relief flooded her that Maria was okay. At the same time, she was terrified to hear him be so honest that the thought had occurred to him. She now only had one last hope, and it depended upon Maria. Please tell Amo. He must save me.
He leaned back in his chair. "Tell me, darlin', why are you more scared of me now than you were before?"
"B-Because now I know the real you," she whispered.
He raised his eyebrows. "Have I not shown you the real me from the moment I met you?"
Her eyes drifted up to look at him. His eyes had returned to the blue-green shade that had captivated her since their first meeting in the gazebo, just like his rough appearance had. He was unlike the others; darker than the others, and yes, she always knew that.
"But now I-I know the truth no one would tell me because they thought they were protecting me."
No one is who they seem. She hadn't felt this alone since she had first gotten her scars.
"All you had to do was ask. I would have told you everything and anything you wanted to know about me, about the family. I told you I would never lie to you, and I meant it. You were just too scared to ask, because then it would have been real. That's why I was waiting for you to ask me. I wanted you to be ready for the truth."
Her eyes drifted back to her lap, knowing he was right. That was why she hadn't asked him.
"And yes, they thought they were protecting you, but I didn't agree with it. They lied to you; pretended to be something they weren't. I never have. I've made it obvious who I am since the beginning. I've only ever wanted you to see me for who I am, Chloe."
She remembered back to the night he had repeatedly slammed the bat down on the lifeless body, and how he had looked right into her eyes, showing his true self …
The thought that was meant only for her passed her lips, "You're a killer."
"Yes, I am. I have killed many and tortured more." The dark voice filled the space between them.
Chloe kept wringing her now tortured hands at how visible the monster in him was. She needed to get away from him. Far, far away.
Trying to calm herself, she began repeating the words, "Amo will come for me."
Lucca's voice turned deadly. "He's a killer, too, darlin'."
She started shaking her head, not wanting to hear it.
"He's killed, and so have Nero and Vincent."
Shaking her head harder, she refused to believe it. "No, Elle wouldn't be with-"
"She learned to accept it, just like you will." He said it like it was a promise.
"Amo's not like you."
"No, he isn't," he agreed. "Amo pretends to be something he's not with you."
Again, she shook her head, not believing.
She repeated the words of her last hope, "He's going to save me."
Standing, he went to the other side of the desk, towering over her. "You think Amo will save you from me?" He took a strand of her hair, wrapping it tightly around his finger.
Her breath caught in her throat, her words no longer able to come out.
"Look at me," he commanded.
When she didn't, he tugged the dark silk he held captive.
Chloe raised her gray depths slowly, meeting his blue-green ones through her lashes.
"No one is taking you from me, darlin'." Tugging her hair once more, he brought her closer to him. "You're mine, Chloe Masters. You have been since the moment I saw your scarred face. You just didn't know it."
For four long years, her body had been claimed by the one she had believed to be the most heinous of beings, but now she could feel the old bonds the devil had placed on her breaking, and new chains were taking its place. These chains were heavier, tighter, showing her that she had been claimed by a more evil being. Her body had been claimed by the boogieman.
Unraveling the strand around his finger, he was so close, almost brushing his fingertips upon her neck.
Slamming her eyes shut, she waited for it, for the moment when he would finally touch her. But seconds passed, and it never came.
She opened her eyes to find that he had already disappeared. However, the chains were still there, just as heavy, just as tight.
Twenty-Two
This Was It; The Time Had Come
Chloe had fought off the nightmares every night since the last time, but not tonight. Her body now belonged to one monster, while her mind and soul still belonged to another. Letting her demons come for her, there was no use in fighting them anymore …
Her one final hope of being saved from the devil had disappeared. No one was coming to save her, and if someone did, it was far past too late. To save her now would mean that someone worse would have to take her soul from the devil and claim it as their own. However, a man like that shouldn't-wouldn't exist, and if he did, that wouldn't be saving her at all …
"Chloe … Chloe, wake up and everything will be okay." The repeated words brought her out of the nightmare.
Opening her eyes, she saw Lucca sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with the ends of her hair that rested on the pillow.
Afraid, she quickly sat up, scooting away from him, the nightmares and her tiredness not helping.
"You really think I would hurt you, darlin'? After seeing you like that?"
I don't think you understand what you mean to him, Maria's words echoed in her mind.
Balling up her fists, her nails touched her palms and a wince of pain reached her face.
"What's wrong?" Lucca began studying her.
"N-Nothing."
Turning on the bedside lamp, he looked back at her, seeing that her balled-up fists were tainted pink. "Let me see them."
"I-I'm fin-"
"Either hold them out, or I'll do it myself," he cut her off.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, her hands shook as she uncurled them, revealing her inflamed and bloody palms.
Without a word, he got up and left the room.
Minutes seemed to pass before he came back with a box. Returning to the edge of the bed, he opened it, revealing a first-aid kit.
"Come closer to me," he instructed in a melodic voice.
She found herself obeying him, scooting slightly closer. It was either that or he would move her himself.
"You are going to let me touch you now, darlin'." He didn't ask for permission; he was telling her.
"N-No." She tried to scoot back, but he leaned into her, placing both hands on either side of her and giving her no space and nowhere to run.