Chapter 16

FREYA

The days that followed were complete hell.

I had no clue how long I stayed in that room, writhing in pain thanks to the stupid tracker Luca had put in my neck.

I spent most of my time lying in bed, screaming and shaking as I drifted in and out of consciousness from the pain. I lost count of how many times I got sick.

I kept having to run between the en suite bathroom and the bed every time my stomach churned. I knew at this point I was only throwing up bile.

Finally I gave up on trying to make it back to the bed and instead just slept on the bathroom floor. I would wake, screaming, as wave after wave of immense, throbbing agony shot through my body, stemming from the tracker in my neck.

Matteo came into the room a few times with food, begging me to let Luca come in.

After he’d left me, I’d heard Luca tearing up the living room downstairs, smashing things and arguing with Matteo. It was so loud, I could only imagine what the gorgeous hotel room looked like now.

This only made me feel better about my decision to keep Luca away.

He had no control of his anger and the monstrous alter ego who lived inside him, and I wanted him nowhere near me. A few times I felt him outside my door. My pain would improve just the smallest bit. He would stay there for hours.

His constant presence made my heart ache, but I did my best to ignore it.

Every time Matteo asked to let Luca in, I would just repeat over and over again that I didn’t want him anywhere near me. I would get through this on my own.

Luca had said that eventually the pain would stop. Once that happened, I could finally get out of here. I just had to fight through it. Then I could go to a hospital and have them remove this goddamn tracker. After that, I’d be free.

But the pain wasn’t lessening. Far from it, in fact. For days the pain only worsened until I was an unmoving mess on the floor.

I couldn’t eat; I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t do anything.

And what’s even worse was that my only thoughts were of Luca. No matter how hard I tried to stop it, my mind would go back to him and his heavenly scent.

And when I thought of him, I couldn’t feel anything but pain.

I wondered if he was out there or if he had completely forgotten about me and was doing something else to fill his time. The thought made me sad.

I thought about his hair, his eyes, his chin, his mouth. I thought about his smile and how it felt to have his arms around me.

I thought about my undeniable attraction to him and how he made me feel safe—so much more than he scared me. He somehow made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

He was so gentle with me, as if I was a glass object about to break. He’d told me he would always take care of me. He’d shown me nothing but kindness since I’d met him, and yet I had still turned him away.

I mean, he’d kidnapped me. He’d almost killed a man.

He was huge and strong and could undoubtedly break me like a toothpick. And, oh yeah, he could turn into his psychotic alter ego at any moment.

~Can’t forget about that.~

But despite all of this, I still craved being next to him and feeling his skin against mine.

I wanted to kiss him again—and hold his hand and caress his hair.

I wondered how he was feeling right now.

God, he had looked so heartbroken when I’d begged him to leave me alone. I wondered if he really felt that way or if it was all an act. He could just be a kidnapper playing mind games with his victim. But what if I was really his ~destino~ and had sent him away feeling awful after he’d poured his heart out to me?

My heart tightened.

I reminded myself that I didn’t know if he was telling the truth about the whole ~destino~ thing.

Deep down, though, I secretly hoped he was being honest, because, number one, it would mean that I was actually safe with my kidnapper. I mean, the guy had said that we were basically soulmates. There was no way he’d actually hurt me.

Number two, it would explain why I was so blatantly attracted to him without even knowing him, and would provide a simple explanation for all the embarrassing fantasies that had been playing in my head since I’d met him.

And, number three, I mean… ~Have you seen the guy?~

He was freaking gorgeous. And kind, and charming, and protective, and the first person to make me feel anything other than sadness in so long.

~Oh God. Why did I make him leave again?~

Why was I pushing away the first good thing to happen to me since my dad died?

I felt myself moving before I even comprehended what I was doing.

I practically sprinted to the door and flung it open.

I was a girl on a mission.

I didn’t know where Luca was, but I decided I wouldn’t stop looking until I found him.

When I walked out into the hallway though, my eyes immediately connected with his. I sucked in a deep breath. He was sitting up against the wall at the end of the long corridor, his knees bent.

He looked exhausted.

His beard had grown out and there were large bags under his eyes. My heart broke at the sight of him. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he slowly stood, as if he was afraid to scare me away.

I hesitantly took one step toward him and then another, and then I was practically sprinting toward him. He met me halfway, and I flung my arms around his neck.

And everything was suddenly okay.