Chapter 27

FREYA

I stared at her. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me.

“Is that why you didn’t come here once you got to Naples?” my mother asked. “Because you met your ~destino~? Because you met Luca?”

I nodded my head slowly, still shocked that we were even having this conversation.

She looked away from me with a pained expression on her face.

“Mom?” I asked. “How do you know all of this? How do you know Luca?”

She turned back to me and shook her head. “It’s…it’s a long story.”

I looked at the similar brand on her skin. Was there a tracker there, too?

“I think I deserve an explanation, mom.”

She nodded. “Let me…” she swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. “Let me get my thoughts together.”

I nodded, trying not to shake from how nervous I was. How common was it for normal people like my mom and I to be taken by mafia crime families? Were we even normal? What’s with this whole ~destino~ stuff? The whole concept sounds like it belongs in the ancient medieval times, not in modern day society.

Had my mother known all along this would happen?

“Do you like him?” My mom asked. Not the start of the explanation I was hoping for.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m going home tomorrow.”

“You’re not staying with him?”

I shook my head. “No. No, I can’t.”

My mother stared at me for a few seconds, looking hesitant. “Freya, is the don violent?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” my mother started. “I’ve heard stories about how abusive the men of the Conti family can be towards their ~destinos~. They’re possessive and controlling.

“I know what it’s like to be with a Rossi; I can’t imagine being with a Conti don.”

I sat down in shock. Luca had never hurt me, but it seemed like my mother was implying that he would. She sat down next to me and took my hands in hers.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you Freya? Have you seen the don express his anger through violence?”

I nodded slowly. “He nearly strangled someone to death. He glares at every person who looks at me.”

My mother’s shoulders slumped as a panicked expression took over her face. She squeezed my hands harder. “That’s why you’re trying to get away from him?”

Until that moment, I hadn’t ~actually~ been afraid that Luca would hurt me. He was a rough guy, sure— but with me, so far, he’d been pretty gentle.

I had different reasons for wanting to leave him.

I just knew that I would probably be better off on my own. It seemed like every person who came into my life got hurt, and I would not let that happen to Luca. I couldn’t let that happen to Luca.

I cared too much about him.

“No, that’s not why. I just need to go home,” I said.

My mother let go of my hands and crossed her arms. She nodded in understanding, but still looked skeptical.

“Do you have a plan? Because there is no way the don is just going to let his ~destino~ walk out of his life,” she said.

“I was just going to sneak out while he was sleeping and go to the hospital to get the tracker removed, then catch a flight home. He doesn’t know where I live,” I replied.

“No, that won’t work. He’ll notice you’re gone the second you leave him.” She stood and began wringing her hands again.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

She looked at me. “Is that what you’ve been wearing all day?” she asked, pointing at my sweater.

I nodded.

“So it has his scent on it and yours?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Okay. Okay, then that is what you will put near him when you try to escape. It must smell like you, but it must also smell like the new environment that you are in.”

She sat down next to me again. “And Freya, the minute you get away from him, you run like hell and you don’t look behind you. Bring nothing. It will only slow you down. If he catches you…” She paused. “If he catches you, you will never have another opportunity. You will be trapped with him forever with no way out.” Her expression was so intense, so frightening.

“Mom, you’re scaring me,” I whispered.

She gave me a sad smile and lifted her hand to cup my cheek.

“Oh, my sweet Freya, promised to the don.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I never wanted this life for you.”

My brow furrowed.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Before I met your father I was close to the Rossi family. One of the many normal families under their protection. When your father and I had you we were so happy, and then, when we got the news that the Contis had a new heir, you were chosen to be the ~destino~ of the future don. It was a great honor.”

I listened quietly, taking in all the details of the past. An entire history that I had no clue even existed.

“I’d wrap you in a blanket that smelled like Luca every night. He was wrapped in a similar blanket with your scent. It was all to strengthen the bond between you two.”

“You knew,” I said, more shocked than angry.

My mother looked away from me. “Please forgive me. I thought it was best at the time.”

I reached out and took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze to tell her it was okay. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“I didn’t learn the truth about the mafia until a distant relative of the Rossi family came back from a trip and claimed I was his ~destino~. He was terrifying. And he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had no choice but to leave you and your father behind, and after seeing how terrifying they can be, I…” My mother’s voice trailed away. “Your father and I decided to get you off the grid. We used some connections in my family that weren’t too upset to see the Contis lose a ~destino~. They helped hide you. And then, well, I just hoped Luca would never find you.”

I realized my mom was shaking. I gently reached out and touched her hand.

“Mom, does your ~destino~ hurt you?”

She didn’t answer me. She just continued studying my face as if this was the last time that she would ever see me. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

“I’m so happy to finally be able to talk to you about this, to explain myself. You have no idea how hard it was to keep this from you,” she said.

At the mention of my dad, I pulled away. She shouldn’t have been talking about him.

“You didn’t even come to his funeral.”

She fidgeted a bit. “I—”

Before she could say anything else, I heard the front door opening. I thought it would be Luca, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

My mother immediately stood and fixed her makeup that had run due to her crying.

“Katharina, is that dinner I smell?” a deep voice asked from the other room. “It better be ready on time tonight. We don’t want a repeat of last night, now do we?”

A man walked into the living room. I hadn’t seen him since I was only six at the wedding, and even then, we’d barely met, but I recognized him immediately as Carlo, my mother’s husband—and, apparently, her ~destino~.

His eyes found my mother and he approached her slowly, his gaze moving up and down her figure. He touched the hem of her skirt when he finally came to stand in front of her.

“Is this skirt new?” he asked. “It’s a bit short, don’t you think?”

My mother nodded. “I’ll change as soon as I get the chance.” She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. She leaned in. “We have a guest,” she said to him. She motioned to me.

I stood. “Hi,” I said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten the chance to officially meet. I’m Freya.”

I reached out my hand, offering it to him to shake.

He walked toward me, crossing his arms and looking me over in a slow and threatening way.

“So you’re the daughter she never wanted.”

“Carlo!” my mother gasped.

~He apparently doesn’t want to shake my hand.~

He held up his hand to her and gave her a look that made her shrink in on herself. He turned back to me. “Do you have any idea how worried your mother was when you didn’t show up weeks ago? Did you stop to consider how it would make her feel, or did you only take your own selfish feelings into account?”

My mouth fell open in shock. ~Who gave him the right to talk to me like that?~

He knew nothing about my situation or what I had gone through in the last couple of weeks.

“Carlo, stop it right now!” my mom yelled.

“I—” I began, but was immediately interrupted.

“No. Do you have any idea how lucky you were that I was going to let you into my home in the first place?” Carlo shouted. He pointed a nasty finger at me. “And you took that opportunity for granted and hurt your mother in the process!”

I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t been expecting this reaction at all.

“I’m sorry I didn’t make it. Something came up and I had no way of contacting her. I lost my phone.”

Carlo loomed over me, large and threatening. He was getting closer and closer to me. “Something came up? Something ~came~ up?” he asked. “That’s the best excuse you can come up with?”

My mom walked up next to him and grabbed his arm. “Carlo, stop it,” she tried to say calmly.

He scoffed in disgust and shoved her away; she fell to the floor, knocking into the coffee table.

“You will not give me orders!” he yelled at her.

“Stop!” I yelled when he approached her again. I grabbed him, trying to tug him away from her.

A powerful blow hit my face, and an immense amount of pain radiated from my cheek throughout the rest of my body. It sent me flying sideways, to the ground. For a second, I couldn’t see anything. I only felt blinding hot pain. ~Yeah, that will leave a mark.~

“Carlo, no!” I heard my mother yell. “She is the Conti don’s ~destino~! Look at her neck!” she sobbed out. “You never knew, because you were gone when they were born.”

I didn’t do or say anything. I just continued to lie on the ground, holding my cheek, as tears of pain ran down my face.

I felt someone move the hair away from my neck. “~Donna~,” Carlo breathed out. He dropped onto his knees next to me. “~Donna~, I am so sorry! I didn’t know.”

Before I could answer, the door came crashing open. A weight lifted off me and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Luca ran into the room, his chest heaving. His expression was the angriest that I had ever seen. There were veins coming out of his neck and forehead.

He looked livid.

His eyes found mine.

“Luca,” I said. Without even knowing what I was doing, I reached for him, longing for his arms to be around me.

He immediately ran to me and kneeled down next to me. He wouldn’t stop shaking and, with every passing second, he was looking more and more like he would lose control. Bruzzatore was lurking just under the surface.

He gently touched the bruise that was already forming on my face. I expected it to hurt, but somehow the sensation just brought me more comfort. His hand came away with blood on it.

“Who did this?” he asked. His voice sounded almost demonic.

“Don Luca, I am so sorry,” Carlo said.

When I looked at him, I noticed that he was already bowing to Luca, kneeling on the ground next to us.

“I did not know she was your ~destino~. I never would have hurt her had I known.”

Luca moved faster than I could comprehend. His hand was around Carlo’s neck and he lifted him up against the wall in mere seconds.

“You dare hurt my ~destino~?” I knew Bruzzatore was in full control now.

He punched Carlo’s face so hard that one of his teeth went flying out of his mouth.

I heard my mother’s sob from the other side of the room. She was on her knees, watching as my ~destino~ attempted to kill hers. I knew I had to do something. Luca was throwing punch after punch at Carlo’s face at the same time that he was strangling him. Carlo did nothing to fight back. He was going to die if Luca didn’t stop soon.

I ran up to him, attempting to put myself between him and Carlo, but Luca wouldn’t stop punching him long enough for me to succeed. I grabbed his face and said his name, but he wouldn’t look at me.

“Luca, please stop,” I said in a panic. “Please stop. I’m in pain. I need you. Please, I need you.”

Luca looked at me. His face was a mask of fury, Bruzzatore in complete control.

I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me, so now that I had his attention, I repeated myself: “I’m in pain, Luca.” I touched my cheek softly. “It hurts. Please take care of me. I think I might pass out. I need you,” I said desperately.

Of course, that was a lie. With all the adrenaline that was running through my body, I could barely feel anything. But he didn’t need to know that. Luca shook his head violently as if he was having an internal argument. Take care of his wounded ~destino~ or kill the man who did it?

Now that he had stopped punching Carlo, I could stand in front of him.

His eyes watched me closely and zeroed in on the handprint on my face. I saw murder flash in his eyes.

“Please, Luca. Please, I just want to go home with you. I’m so tired. Please, just take me home,” I whispered.

He huffed, and I knew that he had come to a decision. He got so close to Carlo, who he was still holding up by the neck, that I was sure Carlo could feel Luca’s breath fanning his battered face.

He looked in Carlo’s swollen eyes. “Touch my ~destino~ again and you’re a dead man. There will be consequences for this,” he said, his voice shaking with anger.

When Luca dropped him on the ground, Carlo began gasping for air and coughing. My mother was at his side in an instant, cradling his head to her chest.

Luca didn’t waste any time. He picked me up in his arms so he was carrying me bridal style and began walking to the door.

I looked at my mother on the floor with her ~destino~. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”

She shook her head as she watched me being carried away.

“Don’t come back here, Freya. Never come back here.”