Page 69 of Vow of Desire

“I’ll be ok. I’m strong. Tough. I’ll heal.”

“Inside this box?”

He goes quiet. It’s pitch black inside here so I can’t even make out his expression. “Well… probably not. But if I can get out, I can save us.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, Luciana. I don’t know but I’ll try.”

Tears hit me and I can’t help but let it all out. All the pain and fear coursing through my body. “You saved me, you know? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I vowed to protect you, did I not? I kept my promise. I told you I’d always keep my promise.”

“You did. I just didn’t realize how much. You used to frighten me. But now… everything has changed. You don’t frighten me anymore. You saved me. Thank you.”

“I’ll always save you, Luciana. Always.”

“What if we don’t make it out of here?” I ask. My voice is barely above a whisper. My foot is throbbing from the glass still in it but I ignore that for now.

“Then we’ll be dead.”

I wince. “There’s no way out?”

“I’ll find us a way out. I promise.”

“What if you can’t keep your promise?”

He sighs and pulls me closer towards him, despite the heat inside the box. “Then we’ll die. But I’ll make sure you don’t experience pain before then. I won’t let that fucker rape you.”

I slowly nod, realizing he’s right. If we can’t make it out of here, then I would rather die than be tortured. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For protecting me. Even when you’re hurt.”

“You’re my wife, Luciana. I’ll always protect you.”

I want to ask him if he loves me or if he’s only doing this out of duty. This may be the last time I get the chance to ask him but I can’t get the words out. They get stuck in my throat.

That shames me most of all.

Chapter Seventeen

Matteo

Inotice the moment Luciana looks sick. It’s been hours since we were put in this hot, metal box. I’m amazed we’re still alive in some ways. The beating I took from Dante has left me breathless and tired but I’m pushing through it. For Luciana’s sake.

She slumps against me. “Luciana?” I tilt her head back and feel that it’s covered in sweat. Her eyes are rolling back into her head from what I can tell. There’s a tiny sliver of light coming into the box but other than that, it’s hard to see. “Luciana?” There’s no room to lay her down. There’s no way out of this box. We’re going to die in here.

“My foot,” she whimpers. I let out a breath of relief. If she’s talking, that means she’s alive still.

“What about your foot?”

“It hurts.”

She’s small enough that I’m able to reach between our bodies and pull her foot into my lap. Squinting, I try to get a good look at her foot in the darkness. A piece of glass is still stuck in her skin. Her foot looks red and swollen. It’s infected. Shit.

“You’ll be ok,” I lie to her. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it, baby. Ok? Don’t worry about it.”

“Ok,” she whispers, leaning on me. Depending on me to take care of her. I have to get her out of this or she’s dead. But Dante is either determined to let us die in this box or kill us with his bare hands.

I pound on the door, which startles her to sit up. Luciana winces when she bangs her head on the roof of the box. “I’m going to get us out of here. Ok?”