Page 96 of Ruthless God

My stomach hollowed from the thought of inviting him in, but there was no excuse I could think of to give him.

“Massimo isn’t home. Perhaps you can come back when he’s here.”

Something like anger flashed in his eyes before he quickly changed his expression to an easygoing smile. I didn’t trust that smile at all.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure Massimo is on his way and will be home soon. I’ll wait for him in his office.”

Marco moved toward me, leaving me no choice but to get out of the way so he could get inside.

He turned to look at me, a cruel, amusing smirk twisting his lips in such an ugly way. “You’re a skittish little thing, aren’t you?”

I didn’t say anything about that, and it didn’t look like he was expecting a response anyway because, with a laugh, he walked away further into the house.

I looked outside, debating whether to wait outside or go to one of the nearby houses, hoping I would run into one of Massimo’s brothers.

But chances were, they probably weren’t home either.

I closed the door to the house and walked further inside, but Marco was nowhere in sight.

Where did he go?

I saw my phone on the kitchen island, so I hurried over to it and texted Massimo a quick message before searching for Marco.

I found him in Massimo’s office, rummaging through the desk and muttering something to himself.

“I don’t think Massimo would be happy to see you going through his office.”

He looked up, startled by my voice. There was something almost… frantic about him that had my heart racing. I stepped back as his eyes took me in. They darkened over the move.

“No? Then why don’t you tell me where he hid it, Luna?”

He walked around the desk, taking slow, measured steps toward me. I backed away, trying to put as much distance between us as I could.

“Hide what?”

“The blade.”

“The blade?” I asked. I could see his anger rising every time I repeated after him, but nothing he said made any sense, and I didn’t know how to answer him.

His eyes glinted. “Would the fucker really be stupid enough to carry around the blade used to murder his old man?” Marco asked with a maniacal laugh, making me back away even further from him.

I should have listened to my instinct and left the house when I had the chance.

“No, he wouldn’t have. If those old fuckers found out he was the one to kill Amadeo De Luca, they would have his head. He hid it here somewhere, and you’re going to help me find it, bitch.”

He came toward me. My heart pounded fiercely in my chest as I turned and ran out of there. My phone beeped just as I got near the door. I looked down at the screen to see Massimo had texted back, the banner showing me his text.

Get out of there.

Too late.

My hair was tugged back roughly, causing me to fall back on the ground. I looked up to see Marco standing in front of me. He twitched slightly, his eyes shifting from side to side. I didn’t know what it looked like when someone was on something, but I imagined this was how it was.

Was Marco… on drugs?

I blinked, my entire body freezing up. I needed to run—to try and get away from him, but my legs wouldn’t work. It felt like my heart had slowed down, each beat heavy and painful, and my reality suddenly didn’t feel real.

Reality came back when I felt him pull on my hair. So did my fight-or-flight response. I struggled in his grasp, trying to get free.