Page 64 of Veil of Obsession

I quickly wash my face, brush my teeth, and change into something inconspicuous before checking the tracking app. Lucio is at the gym at the moment, which will give me theperfect window to sneak in and look for it. There’s only a handful of places where Lucio would hide the necklace. He’s very predictable, which will make this easy.

My mother is on the phone with someone when I make it downstairs, maybe a relative. Dad is at another doctor’s appointment to try to manage the symptoms that have only worsened. I don’t know where in hell my brothers are, but I’d bet money that they’re off somewhere doing whatever Uncle Stefano ordered them to do.

I easily slip through the front door, unnoticed. It’s easier to take public transport because that way you’ll be able to blend with the masses, especially in a large city like New York.

The subway is as chaotic as ever. A homeless man is in the corner, but everyone ignores him, as if he’s unworthy of people’s time just because he no longer has a home. I hand him a twenty-dollar bill and give him a small smile. The smallest gesture can change an entire person’s life; either it turns out well or you get stabbed. New York’s unpredictable like that.

I don’t take a seat. Instead, I stand by the exit, my body rigid the entire time ’til I reach Manhattan. Pulling out my phone, I double check that Lucio has not returned to his apartment. I quickly pocket my phone before slipping behind the building where the staff entrance is, then find the uniform that I stuffed into a small crevice of the wall and slip it over my clothes.

From there, it’s pretty easy getting into the building and slipping into the keys room. I sneak Lucio’s apartment key into my pocket and head toward the elevators. The doors slide open, and I step inside, pressing the button to the top floor, I watch as the number ascends before stopping at floor fifteen. Stepping off the elevator, I move toward the apartment’s door.

I’m in. I look around; the place still looks like a fuckboy’s bachelor pad. Shaking my head, I know I don’t have the time tojust stand here, so I move toward the only place that Lucio hides his things in: his bedroom.

The door is left ajar, and I step inside. His room is the cleanest I’ve seen it in a while. Good. This will make my job even easier. I look in his bedside tables first to see if I can find it in there, but instead, I find the drawers full of condoms.

Gross.

At least he knows how to have safe sex.

I close the bedside table and head into his walk-in closet. But before I start to look through his closet, I check my phone to see if he’s still at the gym, and the tracking says he is, so I take that as my opportunity to rummage through his cologne shelves, moving bottles of full-sized fuck-boy scents and trying to see if he hid it in between.

Then I move on to looking through his drawers. I’m shuffling through his clothes to see if I’ll find my necklace in there, but just as I go to open the last drawer in his walk-in closet, I hear his apartment door slam.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

How could this have happened? I just checked if he was still at the gym. Have I made a mistake?

Fuck. I’m so fucked. I quickly tuck myself into the corner of his closet, out of view—but if he walks into the closet, I’m done for. I hold my breath as I hear his footsteps grow louder. He throws something on the floor of his room; I hear him searching for something before cursing low under his breath.

I’m still out of the way, so I can sort of see him, but he can’t see me.

Lucio walks into the closet and tenses for a second before he visibly relaxes and drops the shirt he had picked up.

“I should probably go back and get my damn phone,” he murmurs to himself.

He quickly makes his way out of his closet, out his bedroom door. I wait for a beat, and that’s when I hear the door of his apartment slam closed. I stand there, waiting, counting. I don’t want to risk leaving my hiding place just for him to come back into his apartment and find me.

After a couple of seconds, I decide to step out of his bedroom toward the apartment door, hoping I’ll be able to quickly slip out of here before he comes back. But just as I open the door, a hand slams over it just above my head, making me flinch.

Fuck.

“Thought you could just slip into my apartment and get back out without me knowing?” His voice is rugged, making me tighten my grip on the door handle.

I don’t turn around. “Let me out, Lucio.”

“No. You’re going to stay and explain yourself to me. Or so help me God, I will hand you over to my brother. And we both know if I do, your little killing spree will be punished. Don’t we?” He runs his nose along the side of my jaw, inhaling deeply, making me shudder at how close he is.

Too close. This is too much, too fast.

“There’s nothing to explain,” I say, trying to maintain a detached tone, but my erratic breathing gives me away.

Lucio gently turns me to face him. I keep my eyes right on his chin, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m sure I have a sexy chin, but I need you to look at me,” he says playfully.

When my gaze doesn’t waver, he tips my chin up with two fingers.