Page 130 of In Ruins
“I guess I’ll see you when you get here then,” I murmur.
“Yeah,” he says, hanging up.
“What’s going on?” Xander asks, while chewing, and I slap him on the back of his head.
“Ow! What was that for?” he grumbles.
“Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” I admonish.
“Damn, you already sound like a dad, old man,” he grins.
“The fuck? I’m only three years older than you, dumbass. Besides, I don’t want you to choke and die.”
“Yeah, because that’ll be the thing to kill me,” he rolls his eyes. “Also, three years older than me is like ancient in this life. And by the way, I knew you freaking loved me. You can’t deny it now,” he jokes.
“Gesù Cristo.Shut the fuck up!”
“Testy, I see. Fine, I won’t tell Aldo you love me more than him. What did he say, anyway?” he asks.
“He said he ran into something unexpected when he was at Bernardo’s and that it’ll be better if he shows me what it is,” I tell him.
“What? That cryptic fucker is always going on and on with his stupid guessing games,” Xander grumbles.The two of them are like little fucking kids sometimes.
We keep chatting while he continues to work, and it’s about fifteen minutes later when Aldo walks through the door.
I lift my head to look at him, and that’s when I see the man who has stepped into the room right behind him.
“What the fuck?!” I ask, my jaw dropping. At my words, Xander spins around to see what’s going on and even his jaw has dropped at the sight in front of us.
“I come in peace,” he says, lifting both his hands up in a surrender motion, a grin on his face. I’m literally in shock as I stare at Luca fucking Bellucci in the flesh.
“Where the hell have you been, man?” I ask the million-dollar question. “Everyone thought you were dead. How long have you been back? And by the way, this is suspicious as fuck timing,” I mutter.
“You’re fucking telling me! Trust me, this is not at all what I had in mind when I came back here. It’s a long fucking story; one we don’t have time for right now, but I’ll fill you in soon. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here sooner, but it was out of my control. I’ve only been here for two days, lying low to see what was happening. Aldo filled me in on what’s going on… I was looking for her when he told me she’d been taken and was married to you. You married my sister?!” He growls that last part out.
“Yes. And I’d marry her a thousand times and in every lifetime,” I say, staring at him head-on.
“Did she agree to it?” he questions.
“Of course, she did. What the hell type of man do you take me for?” I grunt.
“Well, forgive me, but when we find her, I’m going to have to ask her if she wants to be married to you. I have no idea what went down, so I need to know whether she’s happy or was forced into this marriage. If I don’t like what I hear, then I’m taking my sister with me. What are you doing to find her, anyway?” he demands.
“No one is taking my wife from me,” I growl. “Your dumb fuck of a father basically sold her to Salvatore after youdisappeared. And Xander is still looking since she wasn’t at Salvatore’s or your father’s house.”
“What the fuck? Salvatore could be her fucking grandfather,” he spits, anger coating his every word.
“You’re telling me,” I scoff.
“Well, that makes things interesting as fuck now,” he muses to himself.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Nothing… but I never would have fucking agreed to a marriage between him and my sister. And my father is a piece of shit for agreeing to it,” he angrily states.
“Did you know Salvatore and your father were trafficking women?” I question, looking into his eyes for the answer.
“What the fuck type of man do you take me for?” he grunts. “No. I didn’t fucking know. I would have killed the asshole already if I was aware of it. That is one of the things I’d never get myself into!”
