Bend Me, Daddy

Smoothing my hands over the material to make sure I didn't leave any wrinkles, I was torn between breathing a sigh of relief or sitting on the floor and freaking out when I felt something hard in the pocket of Luca's shirt. Reaching my hand inside, I felt cool metal and pulled it out.

A key.

I stood there staring at it, wondering if I was courageous enough or stupid enough to go back into Luca's office. I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. I still had a good thirty minutes, at least, until Luca was done with his workout. Shoving the key into the pocket of my loose cotton shorts, I went back downstairs.

I made it back to the office with no one seeing me, and once again, I closed the door behind me. Hustling over to the desk, I sat down and inserted the key into the locked drawer. It fit perfectly. Turning it to the right until I heard a click, I left the key in the lock and pulled the drawer open.

It was full of hanging files. Pushing them back on the rails to give me some room, I pulled the first one forward and opened it up. Inside were a bunch of receipts. I pulled out the first one but couldn't tell what it was for. The total spent, however, was just over a thousand dollars. I put it back where I'd found it and went to the next folder.

"What are you doing in here, Veda?"

I jumped so violently, the top of my hand hit the underside of the second drawer and I cried out in pain. My eyes flew to the person who'd spoken as I held my injured hand protectively to my chest.

Tristan stood just inside the door, looking like he'd just came in from outside. He wore no jacket, just slacks and a dress shirt with the top buttons undone. A black shoulder holster stood out starkly against his white shirt, his gun within easy reach. I hadn't even heard him come in.

"Uh...I was just looking for something."

He planted his feet and waited.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Desperately, I tried to think of something to tell him. Something that would make sense, but my mind was blank. I looked around him to the open doorway, but there was no way I'd get past him. Panic set in hard, and I swung around, looking for a way to open the window behind me. The fact that if I jumped, the chances were very likely I wouldn't survive didn't escape me. It was the coward's way out, but a much better alternative to my mind right at that moment. "Luca, I need you to come to your office immediately."

I swung around just as Tristan slid his phone back into his pocket. "No! Tristan, please! I can explain!"

He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head, his expression completely neutral. There was no outrage. Not even a lot of curiosity. He was just doing his job, and I had the distinct feeling that if I was anyone else, he wouldn't just be standing there keeping me caged in the office until Luca got there. I had no doubt I would've felt a bullet by now. A wall of muscle and loyalty keeping me in here until his boss joined us.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized my cheeks were wet, and I swiped at my eyes with the back of my hands. "I can explain," I told him again. "This isn't what it looks like."

"No? Because what it looks like is you snooping around Luca's office. It looks like you stole the key to the locked drawer and you're digging around in there trying to get information. Which can only mean you're working for somebody else. So, tell me, Veda? Am I wrong?"

Even though his voice was almost bored, his dark eyes were cold and hard, and I knew there was no way in hell I was going to get anywhere with him. I didn't know Tristan as well as I knew Enzo, and honestly, they both scared the fucking hell out of me. But whereas Enzo was quite obvious about who and what he was, Tristan was something of an enigma.

We stood like that, staring at each other across the space of Luca's large office, when he walked in wearing nothing but a pair of loose, gray shorts almost identical to mine. There was sweat dripping down his temples, dampening his hair, and tape wrapped around his knuckles. Tristan stepped aside when he appeared, with Enzo right behind him in black running pants and a white tank top, missing his sunglasses, the black tattoos on his left shoulder on full display.

Luca visibly calmed when he saw me standing there with Tristan. "What's going on?" he asked as his eyes went back and forth between us.

"Do you want to tell him?" Tristan asked me. "Or shall I?"

"Please don't do this," I whispered to him. "Please, Tristan." I don't know why I bothered. It's not like the evidence wasn't right there for all to see. There was no way in hell I could talk my way out of this. All Luca had to do was walk around his desk and he would see me standing in front of his chair, the locked drawer still wide open beside me. But some mad, nonsensical part of me kept thinking that if I just kept denying it that somehow, I would live to see tomorrow. Tristan stared back at me, not a speck of emotion on his handsome face, and waited.

My knees began to shake, and I reached behind me, blindly reaching for the arms of the chair. I found it just as my legs gave out and I sank into the plush leather. I couldn't take my eyes off of Tristan, mostly because I didn't want to look at Luca. I didn't want to see his face when Tristan told him what he'd caught me doing.

"Tristan, what's going on?" Luca repeated.

He nodded toward the desk.

I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as Luca hesitated for a moment, his eyes going back and forth between me and Tristan. In my peripheral vision, I saw him walk toward me, around the desk, to stand on my left side as I sat frozen, my eyes straight ahead.

Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Nel5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!

Luca was quiet for a long time. So very, very quiet. "Leave us," he finally said. "Go about your duties. I'll handle this."

Without hesitation, Tristan and Enzo left the office, closing the door firmly behind them. I cried out softly when I heard the latch click. Tears running down my face to drip into my lap, I waited for Luca to rage at me. To strike me. To do something. He stood so close I could smell his warm, masculine scent. Clean soap and dark spice and just the slightest hint of sweat.

But when he spoke, his voice was calm. Carefully controlled. "Why are you sneaking around, looking through things that are in a locked drawer?"

I didn't reply. I couldn't. My throat felt like it was closing up as silent sobs welled up inside of my chest until I thought my ribcage would burst. "Veda, look at me."

But I couldn't. I couldn't! I knew what I would see there. Betrayal. Anger. Maybe hurt. Disgust. And I couldn't bear to see him look at me like that. I just couldn't. So, instead, I covered my face as the pressure in my chest burst forth and sobbed into my hands like the fucking coward I was. I wasn't cut out for this life. I couldn't take it. And he would never, ever, forgive me. Even if he let me live. He would never trust me again.

He'd never look at me the same way.

I heard something hit the desk in front of me. "Clean up your face and get yourself together. You're not leaving this office until I have answers."

Oh god. He sounded so...cold.

Still crying and sniffling, I lowered my hands to see a box of tissues on the desk in front of me. I pulled out a few and wiped my face and blew my nose, a welcome sense of numbness coming over me now that my initial panic attack was passing. When I was finished, Luca dropped down to his haunches beside me, resting one arm on the desk and one on the chair seat next to my thigh. His fingers played with the hem of my shorts.

"Veda, I need you to be honest with me and tell me what's going on." A spark of hope burned in my chest when I thought I heard a slight tinge of warmth. Enough to make me think that maybe he'd listen and let me explain.

I glanced over at him, gauging his expression, but it was carefully neutral, his blue eyes giving nothing away. "I'm so sorry," I told him. "I didn't have a choice." "Sorry for what, exactly?"

Lost in the world of this story? Make sure you're on Ñe5s.org to catch every twist and turn. The next chapter awaits, exclusively on our site. Dive in now!

"I had no choice," I repeated, my eyes pleading for him to understand. "I did it to protect you." I still sounded like I was on the edge of panic. I couldn't help it.

He cocked his head, much like Tristan had done. "What exactly did you do?"

"I thought I was safe, once I was back here. I thought he couldn't get to me. But he did. He did." A note of hysteria had entered my voice. "He found me in my apartment that day. And the other day when we went to the lake." His eyes narrowed and I could see his sharp mind going through everyone who was with me those days. "Who did?"

"I don't know his name," I whispered. Then louder, because I couldn't lie to him, "He came into my room while I was in the closet packing my clothes. Enzo can tell you who he was."

He was quiet a moment while he thought about that. "And he was on the boat the other day?"

I nodded.

"No one spoke to you on the boat other than me."

There was note of disbelief in his tone, and I felt my chest crack wide open as my throat constricted. I barely managed to get the words out. "It was after we got home. He brought the cooler in."

A knowing expression bloomed on his face. "Okay," he said. "And who is he working for?" He cocked his wrist and his fingers brushed over my nipple. It hardened instantly as my breath caught. "Or do I even have to ask?" "He works for Mario," I told him.

I shivered as the temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop, even though Luca made no indication he'd even heard me.

Oh god. I was going to die.