The devil you begged for

032

ISLA

~•~

The house was quiet when I came back from class.

I was halfway up the stairs when the echo of the front gates rolling open made me pause. I wasn’t certain if Lorenzo was home or not so I couldn’t tell if he was the one arriving or one of his men.

I lingered anyway. Over the past few weeks, Lorenzo and I had been playing a game. He pretended he cared about me, pretended that giving me space and letting me drive myself meant he trusted me while I pretended his care touched me. I acted like I trusted him because that was the only way to get him to actually trust me, or at least, try to.

A moment later, the door opened and light footsteps crossed the floor. I leaned against the railings to watch.

I was surprised to see a woman walking past the staircase. She was dressed in plain jeans, a dark sweater, and her hair was pulled back with no effort. She stopped short when she noticed me and for some reason, I didn’t look away.

She stared at me for a moment. She looked like she was younger than me. She was walking in like the house belonged to her. I’d been here for a few months and hadn’t seen any woman around, at least not any that didn’t help with the chores around the house. “Where’s Lorenzo?” She questioned, not bothering to ask who I was the same way I was itching to do. Did she already know me?

I straightened, my fingers brushing against the railing as I tried to read her. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly, my eyes running down her body as I tried to make sense of her presence.

Her gaze didn’t linger. Instead, she looked around as though she knew her way around the house. Has she been here a lot? Who was she? Was she someone’s sister? Was she anything to Lorenzo? The fact that she was looking for him so casually meant she knew him. If they were mere acquaintances, one of his men would have informed him about her presence.

Before I could ask her who she was, footsteps sounded from the end of the hall. Lorenzo appeared in a few seconds, his jacket on his arm, his sleeves rolled as usual, looking every bit like the dominant mafia boss he was.

When he saw her, he stopped. He looked behind her, then back at her. “Who let you in?”

The girl looked offended, but didn’t seem intimidated, and Lorenzo was a master at intimidation. “Your men, of course.”

His jaw ticked. “Lucia.”

She wasn’t fazed by his tone. “You weren’t answering your phone.”

“I was busy. I am busy.” He spared me a dismissive glance before locking his attention back on her. I should have left then but my curiosity got the better of me and I remained on the stairs. “You shouldn’t be here without telling me first.”

“Well, I have something to tell you.” Her chin tilted in defiance. “It’s quite urgent.”

“Everything is urgent with you.” To every other person, that would sound dismissive but I knew how Lorenzo sounded when he was dismissing someone and he wasn’t doing so to her. He was indulging her. He had dismissed me with one look but he was indulging her.

She stared at him blankly.

He studied her for a long moment. I could tell they were familiar with each other but I badly wanted to know how exactly. I didn’t know why I was so curious about her but I couldn’t help it. In my defense, she was the first woman I was seeing around. Well, apart from the crazy one who pointed a gun at my head some time ago.

Finally, he gestured toward his office. “Ten minutes. I have somewhere to be.”

She rolled her eyes and walked past him without another word, heading straight for his office. She didn’t spare me a glance this time.

Lorenzo watched her go, then turned his gaze on me. “Upstairs,” he said.

I crossed my arms. It had been a while since he gave me a direct order like that. He’d spend a few weeks pretending to be gentle. Now one word from him and he expected me to obey? “Who is she?”

“Not your concern.” His tone was curt and straight to the point, as though he wasn’t in the mood to entertain more questions.

My tongue poked the inside of my cheek in annoyance. Did he tire of playing nice already? It hadn’t even been that long.

Noticing my unsatisfied gaze, he arched an eyebrow. “What? Are you jealous? Or do you think she’ll take your place in my life?”

I scoffed. “You’re sick.”

He didn’t need to say it again. I turned around and continued my walk upstairs. When I reached the top of the stairs, I glanced back to see that he was gone already. Was she that important? He couldn’t keep her waiting for even a second? He entertained her impromptu visits as well.

Unlike what he said, I wasn’t jealous. I had no reason to be. I just wanted to know more. The more I knew about my enemy, the better chance I had at defeating him.

I told myself it wasn’t any of my business. And it wasn’t. Still, the image of her lingered. The way she walked in like she belonged. The way Lorenzo hadn’t treated her like a guest.

It was rare to see him treat anyone like that. If she were a weakness or a connection, knowing would give me leverage.

Was she an ex? A cousin? Someone who worked for him? Someone he wanted?

I didn’t know why but I really wanted to know.

What annoyed me the most was how Lorenzo dismissed me in front of her, how he dropped his mask because of her, how he didn’t bother to play nice anymore because she was present, and especially how she wasn’t curious about me as well.