Dreadnought (Nemesis #1)(13)
“Oh.” Chloe bit her lip. “Who is he?”
Lucca smiled. “A friend.”
Lucca, Drago, friend. That meant at least three people knew she was here. Honestly, she was shocked he would even call someone a friend. It didn’t seem like Lucca had any friends. Not even he and Drago acted like friends.
When she noticed him still smiling as she continued to bite her bottom lip, she quickly stopped and looked down at her wringing hands.
“I’m trying to be nice to you, Chloe, by letting you do your courses online. In order to do that, you have to be able to contact your professors and turn in your work. What happens if my friend is busy when you decide to say help me again?” Lucca rose up off his knees, making himself sit straight up, intimidating her even more. “I’m not sure if I can trust you yet. I’d hate to have to punish you, darlin’.”
“I-I thought you said you wouldn’t h-hurt me?”
“I wouldn’t ever hurt you, but”—his eyes turned the cold shade of blue—“I wouldn’t be opposed to hurting someone you care about.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. Elle. “Y-You wouldn’t t-touch her. She’s Nero’s girlfriend.”
Lucca leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees once more, leaning in even closer to her. Her heart began to race out of her chest. His face was so close to hers she could feel his cold breath sting her skin with each word he spoke. “You don’t think I would do it”—reaching out, he twirled a lock of her black hair around his finger, like he had done the night he had captured her—“to keep you here with me longer?”
Staring into his cold eyes, she didn’t have to look too deeply to see that he would.
“You would,” she whispered.
He let the strand slip from his finger. “Then don’t make me.”
She supposed she shouldn’t be shocked anymore by him, but somehow, her mouth dropped to the floor.
Lucca stood, taking the laptop with him. “You’ll get this back when I trust you again.”
If his eyes weren’t still the cold shade of blue, she would have thought he was hurt that she had tried to get help. However, that would be impossible.
Lucca wasn’t capable of such feelings. She had just been fooled by his kindness from last night, but that was just an act.
Ten
Sold Her Soul to the Boogieman
“You are wanted downstairs.”
Chloe had locked herself away in her room again after Lucca had left her in the living room this morning. This was the time Drago usually told her dinner was ready, but today he was demanding something different. As much as she didn’t want to go, his presence left her with no choice.
Following him downstairs, the wonderful smell of food entered her nose, making her empty stomach growl. When they reached the dining room, she was met with the same vision as yesterday, except for some slight changes, like there was only one plate at the dinner table and Lucca was already eating his steak and mashed potatoes.
“Sit with me,” he ordered as Drago disappeared, leaving them alone.
Chloe cautiously sat down next to him, squeezing her hands in her lap, as Lucca cut deeply into his steak, carving off a small piece before eating it.
Once the piece was chewed, he finally addressed her. “I want to make a deal with you, darlin’.”
Chills went up her spine. She wasn’t sure anyone would come out alive from a deal with the boogieman.
“What kind of d-deal?”
An evil smile appeared on his lips. “You will stay here with me, and if you still want, I promise to let you walk out that front door at the end of your first semester.”
“T-That’s it?” He won’t let it be that easy.
“I have rules.”
Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat, too scared to even ask what they were. I knew he wouldn’t.
“The first one’s easy, as I will also do the same for you.” He began cutting another piece of his steak. “When I ask you a question, you must not lie.”
Her brow furrowed. “So, I can ask you anything and you will tell me?”
“Yes, but only ask me if you want the truth.”
She had been ready to ask him a question before his warning changed her mind. She would have to think harder about if she really wanted to know certain things about him.
“W-What else?”
“I want to spend the evenings with you. You will eat dinner with me every night, and after, I want to help you overcome”—Lucca’s blue-green eyes rose, holding her gaze—“your fear of touch.”
Chloe’s blood ran cold, not wanting to take part in those plans. “N-N—”
“Then you will stay here for as long as I like,” he said nonchalantly, going back to eating his food.
Her nails dug into her palms. He was giving her an ultimatum. She feared if she was ever going to walk out of that door, she would have to give in.
“Is there anything else?” she whispered.
Lucca looked back up at her. “One last thing. When I ask you to do something, you will do it. But know I will not ask anything of you I don’t think you can handle.”
This was it. She was signing her life away. Lucca was going to take away everything she had clung to, the things she had used to survive.