Bloodlines: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance (The Snake Eyes Series Book 4) (2 page)

Martino takes off first, happy to move his tiny, impatient legs while the rest of us stare each other down.

Finally, Lorenzo steps forward and leads all of us around the house to the backyard. I look around with wide eyes, once again amazed by the new surroundings. Bushes cover the entire grounds in rows, spread from end-to-end within the tall, stone wall that encircles the house. It seems to go on forever and my imagination soars with it.

“Let’s play a game, Enzo…”

I look over to find Giovani wringing his hands. He winks at his big brother and Lorenzo smirks.

“Sure, Gio,” he says. “Let’s play
hide and seek
.”

It’s an obvious setup. Make the dumb Lutrova boys wander around lost while they snatch up the best hiding places. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same to them back home on our estate.

“Sure,” Yuri nods, playing nice with them. “Who’s
it
?”

Everyone falls silent with shifting eyes, none of us willing to volunteer. There are plenty of fair ways of figuring out who
it
will be but I’d rather get this day over with.

I raise my hand. “I’ll do it.”

Enzo and Gio snicker, jutting their elbows into each other’s ribs while Martino picks his nose.

“Cover your eyes and count to twenty,” Gio shouts at me. “No cheating!”

I turn around and place my forehead against the nearest tree. “One… two…”

I listen to their feet trample through the leaves and grass, splitting off in four different directions around me while I count out loud.

“Stay with me, Marty!” Enzo shouts, beckoning to his baby brother. “Don’t get lost…”

“Twelve… thirteen…”

Finally, their voices disappear into the wild.

“Nineteen…. twenty!”

I raise my head and turn around, breathing a quick sigh of relief. Now, I can explore this place on my own without the damn Zappia boys hanging around. I’m sure they’ll think me an idiot for not finding them but I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what a damn Zappia thinks.

My feet take me deeper into the garden. I follow the stones along the path, my imagination clicking on as deep, deadly lakes of quicksand surround me. I balance with fast feet, hopping along them while I listen to the soothing wind tossing the tree branches around above my head.

Quick movement rushes in front of me and I look up to find nothing and no one on the path but a color catches my eye. It waves at me from a bush a few meters away, flapping up and down as if to beckon me closer. I pause, enticed by the deep, red shade, and step off the path to find a ribbon twitching in the wind.

As I grab it, a face appears out of the shrub. I jolt backward, my breath catching in my throat, but I quickly realize that there’s no danger here.

It’s just a little girl.

“Hello…” I say, staring into her small, round face. She’s definitely Italian with her frail features and long, brown hair but her eyes sparkle in ways the others don’t.

She spins around and takes off through the grass, weaving between the trees with experience as if she planted them herself.

I pause, unsure whether to chase her down or ignore her.

My feet answer for me and I follow the sound of her through the bushes, all the way to the other side of the estate itself.

I lose track of her quickly but I keep moving deeper into the garden. Finally, I find a shed lodged between two tall trees against the back wall. The door creaks as I shove it open to peek inside. It’s silent and dark. Various pots and equipment line the walls, most of which is heavily used. I squint, trying to make out the shape of her but no little girl would ever go in a place like this.

I hear the shuffling of feet and I pause. My eyes fall to the table in the corner. There’s a tablecloth hanging down to the floor, slightly skewed along the edge. I step closer to it, sensing the life on the other side, expecting to find one of the idiot Zappia boys hidden beneath it.

I raise it up and the girl flinches. She cowers a little more, pressing her back against the wooden wall.

“Hello…” I wait for her to reply but she keeps her mouth closed. “I’m Luka. What’s your name?”

The girl lowers her head, just like Beatrix Zappia did when my father spoke to her.

“You’re not allowed to speak to me, are you?”

She shakes her head.

I extend my hand to her and her little eyes drop to my fingers. “Come on out… I won’t hurt you.”

Her fingers fidget against her knees.

“Sofia!”

A woman shouts the name and it echoes throughout the grounds, traveling on the wind outside. The girl winces and I smile, recognizing the face as I’ve made it many times before myself. She knows she’s in trouble.

“Sofia?” I say her name and she perks up. “Your name is Sofia.”

She nods.

I push my hand in further. “Come on out. You don’t want to keep them waiting.” Still, she refuses to move. “Well, if you won’t come out, then I’ll come in and get you.”

Her eyes grow wide with fear and I instantly regret causing it. I lower my hand, thinking to leave her alone but I linger instead.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the red ribbon. “Is this yours?” I ask her.

She stares at it, hesitating to answer. Finally, she nods and I hold my hand a little closer.

“Here. Take it.”

She chews on her lips, wanting so badly to reach for it but I still see that little bit of fear in her eyes.

“Sofia…” I grin. “That’s a very pretty name.”

A smile spreads across her face.

The door pushes open and I spin around to find Gio barging into the shed.

“Hey!” he shouts at me, his voice instantly full of anger.
“Stay away from her!”

He grabs me and pulls me off the floor. “Let go of me!” I shout.

Gio keeps his grip on my shirt. “She’s
mine
!” he screams in my face. “Mine!
You can’t have her!
”

I shove him away and he punches at me. “I didn’t do anything, you little shit!”

He stomps his feet. “Sofia is
mine
! When we grow up, she’ll be my wife! Daddy said she was mine so you can’t have her!”

I blink, just as shocked by his words as his pathetic tantrum. Sofia?
His wife?

Our mothers rush inside and Beatrix pulls Gio away from me.

“Let him go! What’s wrong with you?” She scolds him, keeping a firm grip on his arm.

“Luka, what did you do?” my mother snaps.

“I didn’t do anything!” I claim. “I was talking to the girl and he jumped me.”

“What girl?”

I point to the table and they turn around.

Beatrix sighs and leans down to peek beneath the tablecloth. “
Sofia
— get out of there.
Now.
” She snaps her fingers twice and Sofia crawls out from her hiding place. Beatrix snatches her chin, forcing her to make eye contact. “Did you speak to this boy?”

Sofia shakes her head, trembling with fear.

“She didn’t!” I shout.

My mother points a finger at me.
“Silence, Luka.”

“Sofia…”
Beatrix seethes through clenched teeth. “Do not lie. You know what happens to little girls who lie.”

“I saw her!” Gio stomps his feet again and I hold back the urge to strike him. “She was talking to him!”

“No, she wasn’t!” I look to my mother, begging for her to believe me. “She never said a word. I swear!”

Beatrix tugs on Sofia’s arm and pulls her towards the door. “Get inside the house, Sofia.”

“Wait—!”
I step forward but my mother wraps her arm around me to hold me back.

Sofia whips her head back, casting one final glance at me before she disappears outside.

Gio fires a hard stare at me before following them and he slams the door behind him.

“Luka,
dammit
,” my mother sighs. “You couldn’t go an hour without picking a damn fight?”

“I didn’t, Ma,” I say, my eyes locked on the door. “He jumped me…”

She stands up tall and crosses her arms. “I know… I believe you.”

“You do?”

“My son only lies to me when he’s protecting
himself…
” She nudges my chin and smiles down at me. “Not little girls.”

“What did he mean?” I ask. “He said when they grew up, she would be his wife…”

“Oh…”
she nods. “They must be betrothed.”

I furrow my brow. “Betrothed?”

She waves a hand. “
Old
custom. Our family doesn’t do it anymore but some still do.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means Giovani and Sofia are promised to each other,” she explains. “When they grow up, they will be married.”

I cringe. “Doesn’t she have a choice?”

“Usually, no.”

“That’s stupid.”

She laughs. “Well, that’s the Zappia way.”

I look at the door again. “Will she be punished?”

“Hopefully not, but…” She shakes her head. “That’s not our business, Luka.”

“But she didn’t—”

“I know…” She leans down and cups my face. “That’s the Zappia way. We have our own. There’s no need to get involved in what you cannot control. Do you hear me?”

I nod, forcing the lump in my throat down.

My mother stands up and points at my hand. “What do you have there?”

I open my palm and Sofia’s red ribbon curls between my fingers. “Nothing…”

I squeeze it tight and shove it back into my pocket.

Chapter 2

Luka

Twelve Years Later

I yank the handkerchief from my breast pocket and wipe the crimson blood off my knuckles.

The thick air around me smells warm and metallic. It bleeds onto my tongue and I spit out the taste of raw, dirty pennies onto the concrete floor.

Yuri steps forward and motions me away from the chair. He looks down at the man in black tied to it and smiles. “Now, did that feel nice?” he asks him.

The man barely lifts his head. He manages a slow shake and thick blood drips down from his nose into his lap.

I wince as the cotton cloth swipes across my thumbnail and I notice the cracked edge digging into my skin.

This fucker broke my nail.

Yuri scratches his scalp, softly ruffling the black hair on his head. “I want you to know, stranger,” he says, “that we do not enjoy this. Isn’t that right, brother?”

“That’s right,” I say.

“See? We don’t enjoy it.” He steps closer and leans down to look him in the eyes. “But sometimes, it’s
necessary
. Tell us who you are and what you’re doing in Moscow and the pain will end.”

The man takes quick, labored breaths while I pick at the torn cuticle on my thumb. He’s not talking, that much is certain. I’d wager that this isn’t the first time he’s been beaten on and probably won’t be the last — assuming we let him leave alive, of course.

No crime happens in Moscow without the Lutrova family seal of approval. Big, small. Light, dark. So, when two politicians end up with bullets through both of their eyes, it didn’t take long for us to find out about it. He didn’t even make it out of the building before our guys scooped him up and brought him to the warehouse outside of the city. No cops, no saviors. Just snow and wilderness for miles. Even if he does manage to escape, there’s no way he’ll survive the exposure.

He opens his mouth and slurs his words, dripping even more red droplets down his chin.

“What’s that, stranger?” Yuri asks, leaning in.

I step forward, keeping a cautious eye open as my brother eases closer to him. Again, the man’s lips move but I can barely make out his words.

Yuri tilts his head and peeks back at me. “He’s hissing.”

“Hissing?” I stuff the handkerchief back into my pocket as I glide in closer. I hear it louder now; that sharp push of air through his red teeth.

“Yeah…” Yuri straightens up. “Like a
snake.
”

The man laughs. His face contorts with pain but it’s almost as if he enjoys it. He looks up at the two of us with amused eyes and spits blood at our feet.

“You might want to get down…” he says.

His eyes flick to the wall behind us and my ears perk to the sound.

Beep beep beep.

I grab Yuri and shove him aside as the wall explodes.

Concrete and debris knock us back and I shield my brother from the rapid pop of suppressive gunfire. We dodge the blaze and tumble down to the floor as two other men in black come charging inside. I pull Yuri with me and toss him behind the crates in the corner.

Yuri reaches for the gun on his hip, ready to go down in glory but I grab his wrist to stop him.

I watch the gunfire strike the crates and wall behind us. At this range, a true marksman wouldn’t miss so much. They don’t intend to kill us now.

I peek out and make eye contact with the gunman as the other man cuts our prisoner free. He lowers his weapon and stares back at me through his black mask, silent and cold.

The three of them run off into the snow, leaving my brother and me alone to breathe in the fierce winter blowing in from the large hole.