Chapter Four

~ Nico ~

I sucked in a breath as consciousness came back to me, my eyes snapping open. My heart thundered in my chest as I scanned the room, looking for any threats.

When I didn't find any, I took a second look, trying to figure out where I was. I knew instantly that I wasn't in my bedroom. It looked nothing like this fancy room.

For one, I was in a king sized bed and not the full size one I had at home. For two, there was a freaking river outside the window. I lived in a nice quiet upper class neighborhood, not this place.

I sat up and started to take inventory of my body. The major upside was that I still had all my clothes on, except my shoes, suit jacket, and the bowtie of my tuxedo. Someone had also unbuttoned the top few buttons of my dress shirt, but that was all.

My head was a little foggy, but it was clearing fast. I didn't feel the same pain I'd felt when my mother drugged me, so I could only hope that wasn't what had happened.

I reached up and rubbed the side of my head. The last thing I remembered was Gena telling me to close my eyes and then nothing. Everything after that, including where I was, was a complete blank.

Not good.

I scooted to the side of the bed and then stood. I blinked and grabbed for the wooden bed frame at the end of the bed as the room sway a little bit. When my head cleared, I made my way over to the double doors across the room from the bed.

I pressed my ear against the cold hard wood, but I couldn't hear anything except the low noise of a television playing in the background.

Hoping that I wasn't making the biggest mistake of my life, I pulled the door open and peeked out. When I saw the outer room, I pulled the door open more and stepped out of the bedroom.

I was in a freaking hotel room. Granted, it was a really nice hotel room, much nicer than any I had been in before, but it was still a hotel room.

Why was I in a hotel room?

I cautiously tiptoed toward the sound of the television, but before I could reach it, I heard a noise coming from a set of double doors leading out to a balcony. I changed direction and headed for the double doors.

As I drew closer, I heard the low murmur of voices. I swallowed hard and peeked out. It was easy to spot the tall man standing near the railing talking on a cell phone. He was kind of hard to miss.

His shoulders were massively wide and he stood several inches taller than me. I could tell that without even standing close to him. And the muscles on this guy were insane. His arms bulged every time he moved and his legs were like tree trunks.

This guy could crush me like a bug.

I quickly turned to run until I heard the one thing able to freeze me in my tracks.

"Nico."

I gulped, afraid to hope, and slowly turned. "What did you call me?"

A slow easy smirk crossed the man's handsome face. He set his cell phone down on the small table next to him and then slowly walked toward me almost as if he thought I might bolt.

I might.

"Nico, cuore mio ."

Tears sprouted up in my eyes. "Luca?"

That smirk turned into a smile when the corners of his mouth curved up. When he finally stood in front of me, he raised his hand and stroked his fingers down the side of my face. "I kept my promise, Nico."

I gasped, my eyes rounding as the tears flooding them started trailing down my cheeks. "Luca."

"Don't cry, cuore mio . I'm here now."

I was not ashamed to say I burst into tears as I threw myself into Luca's arms. When his arms came around me, hugging me tight, I shuddered.

"It's okay, cuore mio . I'm here now and it's all going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you."

"Where have you been?" I sobbed. "It's been ten years."

I wanted to hit him for making me wait for so long, but I also wanted to kiss him since he was finally here.

"After I got out of prison, I knew the only way I could save you was if I had the money and power to make it happen, so I've spent the last several years making sure I was in a position where no one can ever take you away from me again."

That only made me cry harder.

"I'm so sorry," I cried. "I tried to tell everyone you hadn't done anything to me, but no one would listen to me, not even the police, and then your family moved away and I didn't know where you were, and—"

"Ssshhh, it's okay," Luca said. "I know, Nico. I know everything."

"How—"

The smirk was back. "I had people watching you."

I blinked in surprise. "You had people watching me?"

"I did," Luca replied. "I would have come to you earlier, but I needed to put a plan into place to rescue you and that took a little while."

My jaw dropped when Luca went down to his knees in front of me. "Luca, what are you doing?"

"Do you forgive me for being late, Nico?"

My brow flickered with a frown. "There's nothing to forgive. My parents kept us apart, not you."

My parents!

Panic seized me. "Luca, my parents. They are going to come after me."

Luca's eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint. "I hope they do."

"What?"

Was he insane?

"Nico, I'm not the same person I was all of those years ago. I won't allow them to take you from me again. If they come after you, I will fight them, and believe me, they will not win. I'm a lot more powerful than I was back then."

Physically, I could see that, but it meant nothing against their money and connections. I don't think Luca understood that.

"I have a plan, cuore mio, but you have to agree to it first."

"What plan?"

"It involves you, me, and a minister."

"A minister?"

"Will you marry me, Nico?"

"But—"

"No buts," Luca said. "This is a yes or no question that requires a yes or no answer."

I felt like my heart spasmed as I said, "I'm engaged."

"Oh, I am aware."

Huh?

"Do you honestly think I'd let you marry someone else?" Luca scoffed. "You've been mine since I took your first kiss. I was just giving you time to grow up, but you have so I'm here now."

"Do you mean it?" Hope blossomed in my chest and nothing on earth could have made it fade. "Can we really be together now?"

"We can, cuore mio ." Luca stood and grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. "I've made plans, Nico, big plans, and I just need you to agree to them."

"Anything," I whispered. "I'll do anything to be with you."

The last ten years without Luca had been hell. I couldn't believe we were finally together now. I was also terrified that he'd be taken away from me again.

"Come on." Luca turned me and pushed me toward the doors. "Come inside where we can talk. I have a lot to explain to you."

He grabbed his cell phone real quick and then hurried to join me. Inside, he led me over to one of the two plush cream colored couches and sat down, pulling me down beside him.

"The first thing you need to know is that Gena and her father were all in on this plan of mine."

My mouth parted in surprise. "Really?"

Luca nodded. "I knew that your parents were keeping you under their thumb so I needed a way to get you away from them. I figured if I dangled a bit of money in front of them, they'd loosen their grip on you."

I narrowed my eyes. "How much?"

"A hundred thousand dollars."

I gasped, my eyes growing large. "You gave them a hundred thousand dollars? For me?"

"I would have given them a million dollars for you." Luca chuckled. "But, no, I just dangled the money in front of them. I didn't give it to them. It was supposed to be your dowry when you married Gena, but since you won't be marrying her, they won't get the money."

"And Gena and her father agreed to this?"

"Gena is my sister Marisa's best friend. She knows the whole story of how I ended up in prison and what your parents did to us. She jumped at the chance to help me save you so we could be together."

"So, what about my engagement to Gena?"

"You were never truly engaged to her. We just needed to find a way to get you away from your parents long enough for me to save you and get you away from them."

"So, that party was...?"

"All part of our plan," Luca replied. "When the lights went out, I was waiting in the pantry. I grabbed you and took you out of there while everyone else was freaking out over the lights going out. We went straight to the airport and took a jet here."

"And where exactly is here?"

Luca smiled. "We're at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side. They allow gay marriage and have no waiting period. The hotel we're in hosts weddings. We have an appointment in a few hours to get married."

"How?" I asked. "I have no ID or—" I gasped as another thought hit me. "Luca, did you say we were in Canada?"

"I did."

"I don't have a passport. They arrest people for crossing borders without a passport."

I didn't want to go to jail.

Luca smiled as he got up and walked into the bedroom. He was back a moment later with something in his hand. When he sat down, he handed it to me.

I opened it up and immediately knew it was a passport. It looked like my passport. It even had my picture in it along with a Canadian immigration stamp. The only difference was the fact that the name listed was Nico Sabatino.

I really liked that name.

I glanced up at Luca. "How soon can we make this real?"

"Soon, cuore mio, but there's one more thing I need to discuss with you before you agree to marry me."

I set the passport down on the coffee table and gave Luca my entire attention. He was so serious that I was almost afraid to hear what he had to say. "I'm listening."

"You remember how I said I spent the last several years since I got out of prison making sure I was powerful enough to take on your parents?"

I nodded.

"I took over the Sabatino family in Italy."

I waited for him to say more, but he didn't. He just stared intently at me. "And that means what exactly?" I finally asked because I didn't have a clue.

"Nico, the Sabatino family in Italy is mafia, and I'm the head of that family."

Still didn't have a clue.