She needed air. Space. Distance. He could feel it the way one feels cold before the wind hits. She needed to escape the conversation.
He watched her go, watched the door close behind her. Luca leaned back against the sofa, eyes closing as he exhaled a long, tired breath that dragged pain through his ribs.
He should have waited.
If he had known he would meet a woman like Veronica Scalese, he would have waited. He would have endured his father's pressure longer. He would have been more stubborn. More defiant. He would have told the old man no and meant it. He would have delayed the marriage, delayed the convenient union.
But he hadn't known.
The timing mocked him.
*****
Marco stayed busy when Luca was indisposed. Specifically, he worked on Bastardi's men.
Luca had been very clear.
Keep them alive but torture them till an inch of their life. He wants the satisfaction of killing them himself.
They had touched Luca's woman. That alone sealed their fate.
