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Chapter Thirty-Seven

Rafael

Fuck, what am I doing?

I drop the cigarette butt on the concrete and stomp it out with my heel. Leaning against a cement post, I massage my temples and try to think straight. I just went to hell and back to save Lux, and here I am, running away from her.

And why? Because she wants to end our relationship? Because she doesn’t want to be trapped in a sham of marriage? Because she hates that I kill people, for God’s sake?

I should be upstairs, talking to her, showing her how much I truly love her. I should be making her see how real this relationship, and this marriage, is.

I need to prove to her that she’s my priority. I don’t care about any of this other shit.

Logically, I need to find and destroy Vince, but I don’t have to do that this second. The penthouse is as secure as can be. We’re safe here. We can take a few days to recuperate and work things out. Then I’ll get back out there and find him, even if it makes her angry.

She doesn’t understand how these things work. If we let him live, he won’t let us live. That’s how it is when you make enemies in this world. But that’s a conversation for a later day. Right now, Lux is my priority.

I heave myself off the post and stride to the elevator, thankful I hadn’t actually stormed to my car and driven away like I had planned. I press the elevator call button and pull out my phone, scrolling through to Lux’s name.

Luxy, I’m sorry. I’m coming back up so we can talk. Love you.

I add a cute little heart, feeling like a giddy teenager, and hit send. God, I love her. I can’t wait to hug her and make everything all right. Surely, she’ll understand if we just talk it through.

“Where the hell is this elevator?” I grumble to myself, glancing up. My heart skips a beat when I see my personal elevator moving up through the floors, heading for the penthouse.

What the fuck? No one has the new codes except for my uncles and Enzo.

I call the general elevator and dial my uncle Rocco. When he confirms that neither him, nor Joe, are heading to my place, I start to panic. I see my elevator reach the penthouse floor as I slide into the general elevator and dial Enzo.

As soon as the doors shut, the power goes out. I’m trapped in this pitch-black box illuminated only by the glowing emergency call button.

“Boss?”

Enzo’s voice almost makes me jump out of my skin.

“Fuck, forgot I was calling you,” I mutter. “You’re not at my apartment, are you?”

“No, I’m at home. Why?”

“Fuck, fuck, this is bad,” I start to panic, pressing the emergency call button to no avail.

“Talk to me, what’s going on?”

“Someone’s up there. Lux is alone. I’m trapped in the elevator in the parking garage. The power is out,” I say in one breath, trying to pry open the doors.

My phone dings, and I pull it away from my face to check the screen.

Security Alert. Forceful entry.

I put Enzo on speaker and click the alert.

“Are you seeing this?” I ask him, my eyes glued to the security footage of Vince in my elevator. He’s banging on the doors, trying to get them to open.

“I am,” he confirms. I watch Vince pull out his phone and make a call. As Vince hangs up, the power switches back on and the elevator jerks, sending me flying to the floor.

My phone skitters across the tiles, smashing into the doors. I pull myself up, quickly pressing the highest floor possible.

I’ll run the rest of the way up the security stairs to kill that fucker.

I grab my phone, but it’s destroyed. I hurl it into the wall in anger, willing this elevator to move faster. As soon as the doors slide open, I sprint out and toward the staircase.

I smash the doors open, setting off the security alarms, and fly up the stairs.

My chest burns from the exertion, but I ignore the pain, pushing myself to go faster. Lux, Lux, Lux. Her name echoes in my mind, spurring me on, giving me the drive to scale the stairs faster than I could have imagined was possible.

I smash into the penthouse floor door, expecting it to swing open, but my body bounces off. I almost topple down the stairs, but I catch myself on the railing.

My heart is hammering like thunder and I’m gasping for air, so I give myself a second to calm down. I try the door again but it doesn’t budge.

“Vince!” I scream, my voice raw and irritated with rage. “Open the fucking door! It’s me you want!”

I throw myself against the door, putting all my weight into it. When it doesn’t open, I pound and hammer on it, cursing Vince’s name. The only way this door wouldn’t open is if it’s locked from the inside, which Vince would know how to do.

Vivid images of Lux being cruelly tortured by that bastard swirl in front of my eyes. I imagine her screaming, tear-streaked face, pleading for mercy. I have to get inside this fucking apartment.

I throw my body at the door again and fly into the alcove by my elevator, smashing into the wall. Some priceless piece of art my decorator decided to display there crashes down, scattering glass under my feet.

Blood drips down the wall, and I touch my forehead, realizing it came from me. Dizziness threatens to take me down, but I fight it with all my strength and stride into the entryway.

I come face-to-face with Lux.

And Vince.

And a gun pointed at my face.