Signed To The Mafia King - Chapter 108: Chapter 108

ALINA
When I blinked my eyes open the next morning, I wished I could go straight back to sleep.
My eyes were still stinging slightly, and my entire body felt heavy.
I clenched my eyes closed again and sighed, stretching slightly before kicking my legs out of bed.
“Get into bed, Alina.” I heard Luca’s voice coming from the foot of my bed.
I searched for him in the gloom till I saw his shadow sitting on the bed.
“The doctor says you need to keep your eyes closed as much as you can.” He continued when I stood.
“I'm fine, Luca. Where's Victoria?” I stood in front of him, blinking softly.
My sides were aching badly, which made no sense since I hadn't fallen or anything.
“Victoria has been taken care of. You don't need to worry about her.” Luca kissed my eyes, pressing his face into my chest.
I ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, I'm not worried about her, she's the one who needs to worry about me.”
Luca lifted his head and gave me a warning look. “I'm serious, Alina. I've dealt with Victoria. She won't be back. I want you to let it go.”
His arms tightened around me and he bit back a sigh, angling his head to look into my eyes. I slanted my head back when I saw the worry banked in his eyes.
“Were you worried about me?” I questioned him though I already knew his answer. Luca had held me the entire night, the same way he'd carried me protectively yesterday.
I hadn't been able to see him, but I'd felt his arms around me, I'd heard his voice barking orders to the others, I'd heard his threat to Victoria.
“I couldn't breathe, Alina. I couldn't think straight. I was worried you'd lose your sight, that you'd be broken somehow. I'm sorry that I allowed this to happen.”
I held me tighter, loving the bruised quality of his voice, loving how he held me like he would never let me two steps away from him again, loving the protective possessiveness in his voice.
“It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have allowed Victoria into my office when I knew the sort of person she is.” I said.
He stood and took my hand and we walked out of the room together. He didn't answer me but he led me to the dungeon.
When he opened the door, he stepped back and turned on the light.
Victoria was tied up on the floor. Her eyes were clenched tight but she was shivering. She curled up into a tighter ball but opened her eyes.
“Please let me go, Luca, please.” She whimpered pitifully.
Her whimper was a reminder of my pain, the burn, the sting, the fear and worry in blind, groping darkness and yet, I knew my pain was nothing like hers.
Whatever Luca had done to her was a thousand times worse.
I gasped, cupping my hands over my lips, retching violently. “Jesus, Luca. What did you do to her? You have to let her go.”
Victoria’s body was curled up into a fetal position like a child, but both arms were completely scarred and broken.
In some parts, the flesh was so burned that you could see the bone underneath. She wouldn't be able to use either of them again.
“She had to feel a smidge of what she did to you.” Luca said coldly.
He turned me away from her, but gazing at him, at his clenched fist, at the right angle of his jaw and the rawness of his voice, I saw that it hurt him to do this to her.
Luca didn't touch women. He didn't hit them and I knew that. But he'd hurt Victoria. He'd hurt her irreversibly because she had hurt me.
I was horrified it, but in a terrible way, I understood the extremes we were willing to go for love.
“Luca?” I took his hand, slipping my fingers between us. “Please look at me.”
Luca’s jaw bunched tighter than before, yet his eyes lifted to mine.
“I am sorry too. I am sorry that you had to do that to her.”
He swallowed, dragging deep inhales into his lungs. “She had it coming. I don't regret doing it Alina. Anyone who hurts you will experience a thousand more times the pain you did. But I regret that I had to do it. I regret that I had to do it to her.”
He bowed his head again and I took his hand and walked him out of the dungeon.
Marco was standing outside. “Check if she's dead. If she isn't, have the doctor check her out and get her home.”
He nodded and walked into the basement. I went into our room with Luca, then decided against it and we walked instead towards the children's room.
The last hour had been a dark one, we needed lightness, and giggles and joy and unsoiled innocence to lighten the chill in the air.
“Can we sit with the children? You don't have to talk, but let's sit with them?”
He nodded and that's what we did. Maya and Leo were already at breakfast so that's where we went.
Megan was feeding Maya who immediately held her arms out to Luca. He lifted her into his lap and snuggled her face into his shoulder.
Leo looked much brighter but he didn't say much, instead focusing on his food. I was glad to the silence as I watched Luca.
I rubbed at the ache behind my eyes. The soft hiss of the espresso machine made me flinch.
I hated that something so small could remind me of her, of the sting, of the burn, of the panic in the dark.
Luca stroked his fingers over Maya’s arm, kissing her hair gently, his eyes soft.
When we were done with breakfast, I led all four of us outside into the sunlight.
“I have to get to work soon.” Luca muttered. “Mr. Talciro is expecting me.”
I shook my head vehemently. “You're not going today. We need a day off. We need to rest and regroup.”
He sat glumly, staring at the children who were running circles around each other.
“How can I touch them? How can I be a father to them? How can I do that to Victoria and still be the man they think I am? How can I hold Maya when I have that on my conscience?”
His words were soft and dripping with anger and disgust at himself.
“You did what you had to. You protected your family.” I was the one who had gone through the pain, it was Luca who had hurt Victoria, and we were both facing the emotional fall out of that.
Our world was dangerous, sometimes you bore your scars in silence, and other times like now, you questioned whether it was all worth it.
Footsteps intruded on the moment. Marco walked over to us, his brow furrowed with worry. Marco didn’t look at me, his gaze was locked on Luca.
“She’s dead,” he said. “Victoria is dead.”