Chapter Eight
1079 Words
Anna’s POV
Anna looked into the green eyes of the man who held her and instantly looked away. Those eyes looked familiar, and they twitched something loose in her memory but it was too vague.
“So this is our bride?” the man asked, and her mind immediately descended into the gutter. What did he mean by our?
Correctly interpreting the look on her face, he laughed out loud and her cheeks reddened at the attention the noise brought.
“Oh, no,” the man said with a huge smile. “You belong to my family, you’re safe.”
She nodded, and they continued their dance. For such a big man, he could move flawlessly, maneuvering her from position to position as if she weighed next to nothing.
“What did my cousin tell you?” the man asked when the song got slower and they could talk quietly.
“Your cousin?”
He nodded at the man whose attention was, thankfully, elsewhere. It was weird to note, but Kane frightened her more than the Capo, probably because he hadn’t caught her in a compromising situation and was now supposed to marry her.
“Oh,” she said, “nothing really. We just talked a little.”
“About what?” he asked, and she looked at his face. He looked much too eager to hear what she had to say and that rung bells in her head.
“This and that. Nothing serious. You said you were cousins?” she interjected excitedly, and before he could protest the abrupt change in questions, added, “Could you tell me a little about him?”
The man frowned and stared at her face, but she maintained the innocent, wide-eyed stare. “He’s useful.” he grumbled, and she scoffed. Men.
Before she could ask a follow-up question, Matteo appeared at her side.
“I’d love to dance with my sister,” he said, holding out his hand to her.
When she went to remove her hands from that of the Capo, his hands tightened around hers. Surprised, she looked at him and found him locked in gaze with her brother.
“We’re not done.” the man told her brother.
The picture of calm and professionalism, Matteo didn’t blink an idea, merely nodding at her. “Anna, may I have this dance with you?”
She scowled at him, not pleased to have been put in their middle. Duty required that she follow Matteo since she wasn’t engaged yet, but a part of her was feeling bolstered and wanted to reject him. What was the worst that could happen? She was leaving the following day.
Yet, she didn’t give in. She looked at both of them, one after the other, before turning fully to the Capo with a bow of her head.
“I still belong to the Moreni family.”
He stared back at her for a long time, a vein twitching in his chin, before releasing her abruptly and stepping aside with a sharp look at Matteo.
He ignored it in favor of stretching out his arm again, and she took it. He led her away from the center of the crowd to the edge and they both swayed in time with the music.
She’d always been uncomfortable with Matteo and their dance was no different. She kept her eyes at the center of his chest and forced herself to breathe normally until he spoke.
“Where is Luca?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered and he jerked her closer. “Look at me, and don’t lie.”
Bracing herself, she looked up.
“I’ll ask again. Where is my brother?”
She turned to the side and caught Leila’s eyes on her, squeezing her hands repeatedly. She swallowed and kept her gaze on her.
The whole family except their father was scared of Matteo. At first glance, he looked like the most sensible one in the bunch, but underneath that calm facade, a cruel, manipulative snake lay in wait. Matteo’s bite was sharper than his bark, and most often than not, his victims never lived to tell the story.
As far as she knew, she was the only one.
“Don’t make me ask again, Anna.” he warned, and she gave in.
“I left him in my room. He was passed out.”
Because she was in the position she was, Leila could read her lips, and hers turned down in betrayal and hurt. Anna faced away.
No matter how close she was to either of the siblings, she’d always be the odd one out. They protected each other first and expected her to do the same. But she couldn’t, not with Matteo. Matteo’s brand of trauma on her was one that would never fade.
When she’d first been brought to the house, pale with fear and lashing out at everything, she’d made the mistake of doing it to him. In retaliation, he’d waited until she least expected it and taken an experimental approach to causing agony in every one of her joints and muscles. She hadn’t been able to stand for days, and there hadn’t been proof so no one had believed her.
He nodded and left her standing there, heading straight to her room. She saw Leila coming her way and just remained there, bracing herself for pain.
“You b***h,” Leila said in a low voice. “Couldn’t you do this for him? Do you have any idea what that devil is going to do to Luca now?”
She bit her lip. She did know, but no one had believed her then, and Leila sure wasn’t in a listening mood now.
“Matteo won’t hurt him much; he’ll just be scared. And Luca really should stop drinking so much.” she responded and saw her sister’s hands twitch.
But they were in public. Instead, her sister stepped on her feet, grounding down on her until she grimaced. Then she also turned away in the direction of her room.
She looked around, biting her lip against the pain, and noticed Kane’s eyes on her. Uncomfortable, she turned away and walked outside slowly, ignoring the footsteps behind her. When she leaned herself on the pillar, Kane did the same on the opposite side.
“What?” she asked, too tired to be polite.
He c****d his head and stared at her. “Are you sure you’re a Moreni?”
- Writer
