*Hides* I know I am so fucking late, please don't kill me!

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Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power.

"How do I know that this all is not just a big scheme of bullshit to make me come with you willingly?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest and looking him in the eye.

"You don't. But its either we negotiate and you come willingly upon our agreed terms or I drag your ass out of here on my terms. And trust me when I say this, you won't like them one bit." he said shrugging and mimicking my posture.

After a while I nodded and led them to the living room, Lucca and I took the individual cushioned chairs facing each other while Danny and Jaxton sat on the couch in between. Clark chose to stand beside my chair.

"Okay Linguini, lay it on me." I said crossing my legs and looking at him.

"Linguini?" he asked amusement clear in his voice.

"You gave me a name, I gave you one. I say we call it even." I said waving my hand dismissively.

"Fair enough." He said with amusement in his eyes looking at me with that god awful smirk.

"Quit stalling and tell me your fucking conditions. I don't have all day." I snapped not in mood for chit-chat. I had a case to close, it had gone long enough already.

"Just two. First, either you stay with me or I stay at your house and second, when it comes to your safety, anything I say is final." He said with a casual tone but I could see anger behind those emerald orbs.

"Like hell." I scoffed, not believing that he would actually think that I would agree to these ludicrous conditions.

"If you think, I will let you control my fucking life, then think again." The anger in my voice would've made Mike Tyson piss his pants but Lucca didn't bat an eyelash.

He just looked at me with a speculative expression, as if to find something he knew was there. His gaze made me uncomfortable because it made me feel vulnerable. But I didn't let any of my discomfort show.

"Non-negotiable." He said after a moment, his expressions hardening into a mask of no emotions at all.

"Since when did he throw legal bullshit around?" Clark whispered only loud enough for me to hear. I just gave a minimal shrug.

"I will consider accepting your ludicrous conditions, if you accept mine." I said after a while of thinking his words through.

"I was expecting nothing less. After all this is a negotiation, the terms go both ways, don't they, tesoro?" He murmured with a ghost of his signature smirk. I scowled at him but didn't respond. Smartass.

"Caley stays where I want her to stay, not where you put her up. If I am going to stay at your house, I don't want her near all your criminal thugs so I'll make her arrangements for her to live where I can reach her easily. And second, I go to work, everyday like I used to." I said intertwining my fingers that rested on my lap.

Caley was the last of my family, so no way in hell I was going to be stupid enough to risk her life when I myself am trapped in the middle of a fucking mafia war and work was the only thing beside Caley that kept me sane, there I had control over things. And I needed control over something in my life, so no way in hell I was giving work up.

"I am not concerned with what you do with your sister, do whatever you want." He said.

"As for your work condition, like hell you will step a foot out of your room until this issue is over." He hissed, his eyes flaring with anger and finality.

"Non-negotiable." I smirked, throwing his words back at him.

He wanted a negotiation; he will have to agree to my terms before we leave this room otherwise I wasn't going to do hell. I had a glock under this chair and was in no way afraid of using it if he tried to force me.

Lucca was about to say something but Danny interrupted him by saying something in gibberish. Italian.

"Lucca, ho conosciuto Violet per un lungo periodo di tempo. Lei non si muove. Fare un compromesso intelligente. (Lucca, I have known Violet for a long time. She won't budge. Make a clever compromise)" Lucca looked at Danny for a long moment and then nodded.

"Fine, you can go to work." he said looking at me with a slight smirk. The look on his face told me that he was up to no good but as long as it didn't let me go crazy from boredom, I didn't care.

"Ok, enough chit chat, you need to pack your bags and we need to leave." Lucca said getting up and looking at me.

"Not yet." I said taking everyone in the room by surprise; Lucca looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I didn't bother to see the others reaction.

"I need to talk you. Alone." I added the last word as Danny and Jaxton made no move to get out. As soon as they heard the sharp tone of my voice they were up and out of the room in less than five seconds. Clark was already out.

"If you wanted me alone so badly, we could've just gone to your room. There was no need to scare the poor kids. But the couch is good too...better access." He said smirking as he inched closer to me. His already husky voice dropped an octave as he stared at me with dark hooded eyes.

I found myself staring back, but as soon as that happened, I snapped back to reality. This cannot be happening, he was a criminal and that made him way out of my league!

But that did not change the fact that I wanted to jump his bones then and there.

Quickly breaking my train of thought that was entering a forbidden territory, I composed myself and made sure to keep my expressions neutral.

"Come closer and the only access you will be getting is of my fist to your face." I warned, he stopped in his tracks and made himself comfortable on the couch. The amusement in his eyes growing brighter by the second.

"Okay then, fine. Talk away." He said looking at me with a slight smile that looked almost too good to be true.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" I asked the question that had been bugging me since the minute I woke up in that hospital room.

"Doing what?"

"Helping me, being nice to me when we hardly know each other. All I am doing is being a total bitch to you and yet you are tolerating things that you usually don't, because I fucking know that you have killed people for looking at you the wrong way. So, why?" I asked, the exasperation I was feeling clearly leaking in my voice as I resisted the urge to throw up my hands in the air but instead settled for crossing them over my chest.

His playful expressions turned calculative and then settled on a somber look.

"Let me get this straight, you don't like me being nice to you? Aren't you females usually appreciative of chivalry and kindness?" his tone was mocking like he was trying to cover something up, an emotion that he wasn't ready to show me.

"That is not the answer to my question!" I snapped, my patience was extremely thin at this point.

He looked at me some more, but instead of his gaze making me feel angry or irritated; it made me feel unnerved and exposed.

"You really don't remember me, do you?" he muttered, a small frown crumpling his features.

"Should I?" I asked shaking my head, trying my best to recall meeting him but coming up blank.

I am sure I would have remembered a personality like his. A face like his.

"I hoped you would, but you don't. Give it some time and maybe you will. I don't blame you, it has been years and I had not expected you to remember me, given the circumstances we met under. When you do remember me though, you'll understand why." He said getting up and heading out of the room.

"Oh and pack your bags. We are leaving as soon as you are done." He said before exiting.

I didn't miss the small smile playing on his lips, not because it was damn sexy, which it was, but because it clearly said that he did this on purpose, confusing me with that convoluted sentence. That bastard.

***

Who was Lucca Santos?

If you had asked me this question an hour ago I would've written you an entire biography, but now? Not so much.

He has confused me with his twisted words and vague answers. I don't like being confused.

A confused heart is better than a confused mind, because with the heart at least you have someone to blame.

As I made my way out of the living room towards the stairs, I heard an argument between Lucca and Danny. Now I know that it is not good to eavesdrop but if he is going to kidnap me, he better say bye to his privacy.

"You shouldn't have told her the last bit, now she won't stop until she finds something." Danny said not bothering to lower his voice at all.

"I am counting on that, fratello. (brother)" I could hear the smile in Lucca's voice.

He is counting on me to found out? 

Well, what can I say, we aim to please.

I walked away from their conversation before either of them could see me. Reaching my room I saw the door was already open and on my bed sat Clark.

"What are you doing here?" I asked walking towards my closet.

Although I don't live in this house the closets are fully stacked so I can come here whenever I want without worrying about packing up. Which proved to be extremely convenient right now.

"I am here to help you pack, of course..." he trailed off.

"Sure you are." I snorted knowing very well why he was here.

"And I wanted to know what happened after you practically threw us out of the goddamn room!" And there it was the reason why he actually came here.

I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow but he simply ignored me and went straight to my walk in closet and came out with my suitcases. He wasn't going without answers so might just get over with it.

"Well, I asked him why he is being so nice to me." I murmured loud enough for him to hear.

I walked into my closet only to be met with rows and rows of huge t-shirts, shorts, crop tops and skinny jeans. I hated skirts and sundresses, absolutely loathed them. I was fine with formal skirts that I had to wear for work, but other than that I wouldn't be caught dead in one of them.

"And?" he prodded.

"And he tried to sell me some bullshit that I may or may not believe." I admitted to myself and to Clark.

"Bullshit. If you are not sure that the bullshit he fed you is actually bullshit, then it definitely is not bullshit." He said in a no nonsense tone and he is right. I have never been unsure of anything.

"You know what, you are right." I said grabbing the entire row of skinny jeans and baggy tees. I went back in my closet to find some of my formals. I was not going to the firm in baggy tees.

"I know, now tell me, what did he tell you to make you all unsure?" he asked scoffing at the last word.

"No! Why are you being so nosey?!"My irritation clear in my voice.

"Yes, because then I can help you with the little glitch in your mind that is currently bugging you. And don't even try to deny its presence, I know you too well for that." He said before I could get a word in.

As annoying as he was being at the moment, he was right. What Lucca told me earlier was bugging the shit out of me. I couldn't handle that he someone knew me from somewhere and yet I couldn't remember him. It made me feel vulnerable.

"Fine..." I gave in, I could practically feel the excitement radiating off of him.

"He thinks we have met before and that I know him from somewhere. But the problem is, I don't remember meeting him at any point in my life, at all." I said from the very back of my closet. My last hope to find anything formal for office.

I sighed. Great.

"We have a problem." Both Clark and I chorused.

I turned around to see Clark standing at the entrance of the closet, his face contorted in a mask of concentration and confusion.

"What's your problem?" Clark asked before I could do the same.

"No heels. No formals. What am I supposed to wear at the deposition tomorrow?" I sighed walking out of the closet and sitting on the bed.

"They are all at my apartment and like hell Lucca will let me go there." I muttered rubbing my hands on my face.

 If I showed up with Baggy Tees and skinny jeans at the deposition tomorrow, I was going to look like a clown, for sure.

The fucking Russians had to target me and disturb my whole life, didn't they? Fucking pussies, couldn't take on Lucca on their own so they target me! But the question is how did they know that Lucca would react like that towards me?

"Oh, no worries. I'll go get them for you, just tell me what all do you want." Clark said effectively cutting off my train of thought.

"Get me my office suits, all of them. My Loubouitons and Jimmy Choos, not the Prada, too flashy. And either my Ray-Bans or Prada sunglasses, any of them is fine." I said trying to remember anything else I could think of.

"Fine, I'll get them for you. Now my problem." He said closing my suitcases after they had been stuffed with a generous amount of clothes.

I raised an eyebrow waiting for his dramatic pause to end.

"So, I kind of have two theories about what Lucca said to you." He murmured looking at me with a very prominent frown.

"What is the problem with that?" I asked seriously not understanding the problem because I know his theories were going to be so cliched that it would I would either punch him or just ignore him.

"The problem is...I can't stop thinking about it now!" his frown didn't move an inch. I just rolled my eyes.

"Either, he is your childhood sweetheart that you have completely forgotten, in which case you are absolutely heartless or he is just trying to divert your attention to something that will keep you occupied. You know, so you won't interfere in this Russian mess, which is so fucking sweet of him!" He said with wild hand gestures.

He did not disappoint me. These theories were as cliched as they could get.

Rolling my eyes at him, I took one suitcase while Clark picked up the other as we made our way down

***

As soon as we made our way downstairs I was met with the sight of Lucca leaning against the entrance with his back facing us, talking to someone on his phone.

The first thing I noticed about him was how snugly his dark jeans fit his sumptuous behind, his hair messily disheveled and one of his back pockets was bulging because of the gun it held.

"Nice ass."Clark whispered appreciatively, only loud enough for me to hear. Turning back I saw him looking exactly where I was.

"That nice ass has a very nice gun too." I hissed irritated at his mindless ogling.

Hypocrite much? A small voice said at the back of my mind.

"And plus, don't you have a boyfriend already?" I said looking at him as his expressions turned sour at the mention of his boyfriend.

"Yeah, I do. And he is a lying sonofabitch." He muttered looking away from Lucca.

"So you going to break up with him?" I asked unable to reign in my curiosity.

From the way Clark talked about Sebastian, I'd assumed that they would last much, much longer than just a few years.

"No..." he sighed, "I am just going to make that asshole grovel for forgiveness." He said with a small smile.

"If you are both quiet done, we are leaving, now." Lucca said coming towards us and reaching for my bags and turning away for the door.

"You are driving with me and Damanio will drop the other two wherever they want." Lucca continued not even turning back to look at me.

"Wait a minute, driving with you? When did that happen?!" I asked suddenly as his words registered in my head.

Lucca suddenly turned around glaring at me. That was the first time I was truly scared of him. This was the mafia boss everyone was scared of. He looked terrifying and every nerve in my body warned me not to open my trap.

But of course, when have I have ever learnt to obey.

Seeing that I was about to protest, he beat me to it. His each word laced with venom and a clear warning. Defy and you will find yourself in a potato sack, in pieces.

"You either walk out of this house, into my car on your own free will or I will knock you out and drag your ass back to my car. And I swear, when you wake up, I will personally make sure that you don't get out of my sight, got it?" Lucca hissed leaving the house towards the driveway, not even waiting for me to process everything he said.

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Clark muttered dumbfounded, his tone matching what I was feeling.

"Wouldn't I want to know." I muttered snatching my car keys and following the moody mafia.

As I stepped out of the house, locking it on my way out, I saw a beautiful black Ferrari 458 Spider on the driveway parked right behind my car. Behind it was a shiny black Volvo. Both cars were absolutely stunning. I didn't realize that I had stopped walking and was just staring at them until Clark nudged my shoulder with his, an amused smirk on his lips.

Jaxton was already sitting in the passenger seat of the Volvo. A little far away from the cars, Lucca and Danny were engrossed in a very heated conversation, both their faces betrayed no emotions but their body language was a dead giveaway that they were pissed.

"Take the car to my apartment and bring me my clothes to the office tomorrow. I'll be there an hour early." I said throwing my keys at Clark. He nodded taking off.

As I approached the two men their words faded into whispers and then nothing. Both stared at me with strikingly similar and funny looking faces. Both had concern and curiosity etched on them. 

They looked wary and suspicious at the same time. Their conflict was as obvious as the fact that Lucca Santos was the only person who looked sexy as sin when he was pissed.

Shocked, at where the last thought came from, I approached both of them with a guarded, unemotional look.

"Leave us." Lucca said looking at me. For a moment I thought it was meant for me until Danny gave a slight nod and left without a word.

"Rude much?" I muttered loud enough for him to hear it.

He simply rolled his eyes and walked to the driver's seat.

"Get in the car tesoro." He said peeking from the rolled down window of the passenger seat.

I hesitated a moment. I was getting in the car with most feared mafia boss. He could shoot me without a moment's hesitation and dump my body in a dumpster and light it up for all I know.

"If you are waiting for me to open the door for you, tesoro that will only happen after you have opened your legs for me." He said winking at me and effectively breaking my train of thought.

I scrunched my face in a mask of mild disgust and got in without a word.

The car ride was silent with me messing with my phone and listening to songs with my headphones on and Lucca driving, deep in thought.

 We both seemed happy with the silence that surrounded us. It wasn't awkward or suffocating, but rather pleasant and welcoming.

Beyonce's Heaven came onto the playlist. That was the only song on the playlist that was bittersweet.I hated it and loved it at the same time. 

 It reminded me of my parents.  It reminded me of all the laughter we shared, of all the advice my parents gave me that helped me be strong for Caley when they were not there, it reminded me of the time my parents taught me that love can change a person and most importantly it reminded me of them and how I used to be when they were here.

A tear slipped down my cheeks without me knowing. I quickly wiped it, not wanting Lucca to see me cry. I turned head to see if he had seen it only to see him turning his head in the direction of the road. He had seen me cry, but he decided not to bring it up. 

I was grateful for that.

I looked ahead to see that we had already reached the mansion.

It was breathtaking.

This mansion did not look like a place where criminals lived. It was clean, well maintained with no trace of blood on the walls what so ever and above all it was just a beautiful sight to sore eyes.

I know that I have no right to make that judgment seeing that I don't make home visits to drug lords and criminals on a daily basis. But I am judgmental by nature, sue me.

Entering the mansion through the double doors I was met with a very quiet household. Not silent but calm.

The interior of Lucca's mansion was chic and sophisticated. 

 To my right, behind the double winding staircase was a kitchen and to the left was a living room. The house was bathed in soft hues of golden, white, copper and daark red. The steps on both the staircases were carpeted with in a deep maroon carpet. The floor of the ground level was tiled with cream colored tiles. It was beautiful and breathtaking.

Lucca turned and walked towards the living room. I had two choices, stand at the doorway awkwardly or follow him as I didn't know where to go. I chose the latter.

As we entered the living room, I saw a man sitting on one of the sofas, his back facing us.

"What are you doing here?" Lucca asked him while I was busy admiring the potrait that hung above the fireplace. It was of a family.

A woman with dark hair, almost black and blue eyes was sitting on the chair wearing the most beautiful red gown I have ever seen, she was holding a small child in her hands, no more than a year old I think. And behind her was a striking young man with hauntingly familiar green eyes. 

He was not smiling, his expressions were stern and cold as he stood behind the chair, one hand protectively and gently holding the woman's shoulder as she looked straight at the camera with a loving, almost content smile. The child seemed to be sleeping.

"I got news on Ivan- what the hell is she doing here?!" someone with a very familiar voice spoke.

I turned my head in the direction of the two men to see one glaring at me and one looking confused like a lost puppy.

"I'm touched, you remember me!" I smirked at him and he all but looked ready to lunge at me.

Suddenly, I had a feeling that this is going to be fun. Staying here might not be as bad as I thought. Maybe.

I am the violence in the rain, I'm a hurricane.

A/N:

Who do you think that is? Any guesses, lovely readers?

Any thoughts on what's going to happen next?

Haha...I think I have made it a habit of leaving each and every chapter at a cliffhanger. #sorrynotsorry.

I am in the middle of my exams and I myself am surprised that I uploaded this chapter, so bear with me if its shit. I am sure I'll come back and edit it, once my exams are over. They are taking forever!*sighs*

Until next time then. Happy reading my beautiful, sexy readers!

Hasta La Vista! ;)