MARKED
594 Words
Chapter 9
The warehouse air felt heavier now. Raina’s heartbeat still hadn’t slowed since she looked the tied man in the eyes. The entire room seemed to buzz—guards whispering, crates shifting, shadows watching.
She wasn’t invisible anymore.
She wasn’t ordinary anymore.
She was now Luca Moretti’s wife-to-be, and everyone in that warehouse knew it.
Whispers started.
“That’s her?”
“The one the boss is keeping?”
“She survived the hit?”
Raina’s stomach tightened. She hated the attention. She hated the fear. But she hated more how true one fact was:
Everyone was staring at her like she mattered.
Like she was important.
Like she was… Luca’s.
Luca took one step closer to her, his body heat brushing against her skin. “You did well,” he said quietly. No softness, no warmth—but something like approval burned in his eyes.
Raina looked away. “I just did what you told me.”
“That’s why you’re alive,” he replied.
Before she could answer, one of Luca’s men rushed forward.
“Boss. We have a problem.”
Luca’s jaw tightened. “Speak.”
“They know about her.”
Silence.
A cold, dangerous silence.
Raina’s blood ran cold. They? Who’s they?
The man continued. “We intercepted a message. Someone is offering a bounty… for her. Alive.”
Raina felt her knees weaken.
Luca didn’t move, didn’t blink, but his entire presence darkened like a storm collapsing over the city. “How much?”
“Two million.”
The air in the warehouse snapped.
Even the tied man looked up in fear.
Raina’s breath shook. Someone wants me? Alive? Why? What did I ever do?
Luca turned his head slowly toward her. His eyes burned—dangerous, protective, furious.
“You see?” he said, voice low. “This is why I gave you the choice. This world isn’t a game. You’re a target now.”
Raina swallowed hard. “B-because of what I saw?”
“Because you are mine,” he said, voice cutting like a blade, “and my enemies will use you to destroy me.”
Her lungs froze.
Before she could speak, another man entered the warehouse, sweaty and shaking. “Boss! Cameras picked up movement on the east side. They’re here.”
The tied man on the chair started laughing, the kind of laugh that sounded like a warning. “You can’t protect her,” he rasped. “They’ll take her. They’ll—”
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Luca’s fist slammed across his jaw, knocking him out instantly.
The entire room went silent.
Luca turned to his guards. “Seal the entrances. No one gets in. No one gets out.” His voice was lethal. Commanding. Final.
Then he grabbed Raina’s wrist firmly—but not painfully—and pulled her close.
“Stay behind me. Do not speak. Do not move. If someone reaches you…” His eyes locked onto hers. “…they won’t take you alive. I promise you that.”
Raina’s heart trembled. Terrified. Confused. But also something else—something she couldn’t explain.
“Luca…” she whispered, but he didn’t let her finish.
Gunfire exploded outside the warehouse.
Shouts echoed.
Footsteps thundered.
The lights flickered.
Luca stepped in front of her, shielding her with his entire body.
“Welcome to my world,” he said quietly as the doors began to shake. “The part you can’t walk away from.”
The warehouse doors burst open.
Raina screamed.
And the fight for her life began.
- Writer
