His Empire,Her Rules

17

Sophia's POV

We had been in Milan for a week now and I already had enough. Lorenzo was doing his best to keep me entertained and comfortable but I was itching to go home. I walked round the house looking for something to occupy my mind while I waited for him to get home from his meeting. I later settled for a movie.

The soldiers milled around the residents keeping watch but I didn't trust them anymore after the club incident so I was on alert.

It was past nine pm when Lorenzo finally came home looking pissed and exhausted. He passed me in the sitting without saying a word and so,.I got up and followed him into the living room.

He was pulling his tie angrily in a bid to take it off.

"Hey, relax." I said and gently pried his fingers off the tie. Then I untied the knot and took it off his neck. He sighed and pulled me closer burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My partners are getting on my nerves. And the fact that I'm not in the home office, they think they can override my decisions." He spat.

His eyes blazed furiously.

I ran my finger through his hair keeping his mane away from his face. I could feel some of the tension in his shoulders easing away.

"Then, let's go home." I blurted out.

His movement and breathing on my neck stilled instantly. He raised his head to look up at me as if I had just grown three heads.

"You know we can't do that." He said and stood up stepping away from me so he could look out the window.

I followed.

"I'm growing antsy from being here and being away from my family. Away from Maya. Surely, the threat you were worried about has passed now and we can finally go home. I haven't worked for a week." I cried.

"Don't worry about work, tesoro. You work for me so you get a free pass."

His words infuriated me so much that I took a swing at him and punched his chest. My knuckles met with a hard resistance and the shockwave reverberated through my nerves causing pain to shoot up in my arm and I withdrew it immediately pressing down the urge to scream.

There was an amused expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I glared at him and turned away so he wouldn't see the tears building up in my eyes. It felt like I just punched a wall.

"Come. We will find some ice to relieve the pain."

"Don't touch me." I barked.

His words had gotten on my nerves so much. I had gotten away from my father's companies to seek my own job because I didn't want anyone rumoring that I had gotten my position from nepotism and favoritism and yet that was exactly what he was setting me up for.

I wanted to prove that I can be something regardless of influence.

"I want to go home and if you're not taking me home, then I will pack my bag and run away " I threatened.

Lorenzo sighed and gripped his hair in frustration.

"Don't you see I'm trying to keep you safe?" He asked.

"I see that. But I think the threat has passed. It's been a week already." I countered.

"Not yet, Sophie. Whoever attacked you is still out there and they followed us all the way out here. I've been working on uncovering the conspiracy but they've covered their tracks well. I can't take you back knowing they could strike again without warning and I might not be there to protect you." He whispered brokenly.

I sighed and stepped closer so I could touch his face with my good hand.

"Nothing is going to happen. I promise. You can leave the security detail with me if you're that worried but I know I can take care of myself and I would let you know at the first sign of any trouble. Besides, running away and hiding here is not making much of a difference. You haven't been able to fish them out. Let's return and maybe they will strike again. It would be easier to catch them then."

"I don't like it. You want me to use you as bait."

"Not bait. I'm just willing to help you draw them out. I just want to go home and get back to work. I'm almost losing my mind from being cooped up in here all day." I pleaded.

Lorenzo didn't say anything for a few minutes. We just stared at each other in silence waiting for the other to yield.

Finally he sighed and nodded.

"Fine. But once we get back home, I'm not letting you out of my sight." He declared.

I nodded in agreement and skipped off to pack my bag. He was ready by the time I was done.

"Should we not enjoy our last night here and just return in the morning?" He asked with a wink.

"Hell, no! Let's go."

He laughed and took the bag from me. We walked to the car and got in. The driver got in too while the rest of the security detail filed into their own cars. The city lights glowed proudly as we drove by. I stuck my nose to the window and just took in the beauty of it all.

Lorenzo was on his phone the entire time. I turned to look at him and saw he was engrossed in whatever had his attention on the phone.

"Hey." I said and touched his lap to get his attention.

He looked up at me and sighed.

"I wish we didn't have to leave."

I was about to reply when a voice interrupted my words through the car intermission.

"Cobra, cobra... Secure the boss and the lady. We've been sabotaged."

Lorenzo's head snapped up instantly and he grasped my wrist.

"What's going on?" He asked.

The driver whose call sign was cobra grabbed the walkie talkie and placed it close to his mouth.

"Vulture, come in. What's the situation?" He asked.

"Our brakes have been tampered with. I don't know about yours. And someone has been on our tail ever since we left the city. Get the boss to safety." Vulture's voice filled the intermission.

Cobra sped up and took a detour immediately. Lorenzo kept looking back to see who was on our tail.

"s**t!" Cobra cursed.

The car shook violently and I yelped and fell on Lorenzo. He steadied me and held me in place, then he clasped the seatbelt over me.

"Cobra!" He called.

"Sorry, boss. Our brakes were cut too. Even the e-brake is not working."

"How did they find out about the resident and how did they get access to the car?" Lorenzo asked in exasperation.

I held on tightly as the road weaved in front of us while the car moved without any restraint. Cobra tried his best to keep the car in check. Something heavy rimmed us from behind causing the car to lurch forward. I yelped and looked back.

There was a huge Mac truck trying to run us off the road.

The truck slammed into us again.

"Cobra put some distance between us and that truck!" Lorenzo yelled.

No sooner than the words left his mouth, the truck rimmed into us again. This time harder. My head slammed against the window and black stars clouded my eyes pulling me under.