no way I was going to stop. I had no idea who was where, but I cut corners and zigzagged through driveways and apartment buildings trying to lose them. Luckily, I’ve been living here for four years, so I knew the area enough to work my way home. I just had to get inside my apartment building before they got me.
My apartment building finally came in sight, but I didn’t slow down. I ran for all I was worth, but I knew opening the front lobby doors was going to give them time to catch up with me, but there was no help for it. I had no choice.
I ran up the steps and keyed in the code to the front doors. As soon as the buzzer sounded and the lock disengaged, I swung the door open and started running again. I bypassed the elevator and ran up the stairs. My apartment was on the fifth floor, but adrenaline and fear didn’t care anything about that.
I could feel myself slowing down around the fourth-floor landing, but I still gave it my all. This was my life we were talking about. I knew it as surely as I knew my name.
There was a small measure of hope that all my running might wake someone up, but I quickly doused that hope when I realized that person might very well meet the same fate as me if anyone came around to help me. I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t want anyone else dying because of me either.
I finally made it to the fifth-floor door, and I swung it open, making a run for my apartment. Unfortunately, my apartment was at the end of the hallway, but I didn’t see any Mob members anywhere, so I took that as a good sign.
I forced myself to speed walk down the hallway instead of running because I really didn’t want anyone else getting caught up in this deadly drama. I wouldn’t say I had friends in the building, but I had apartment neighbors that I got along with. We were...neighborly and were a united front against the lazy super, but that’s it. However, I didn’t want to see any harm to come any of them.
As I got closer to my apartment door, I pulled my purse over my head, unzipped it and started looking for my keys. I thanked God for having the foresight to zip it up earlier in an attempt to stave off a mugging because I didn’t lose anything in the chase. But, right now, I hated the precious seconds it was taking me to locate my keys.
I needed inside my goddamn apartment now.
I finally found my keys in the mess inside my purse and my hands were shaking as I grabbed the doorknob and tried to fit the key inside the keyhole. Trying to steady my hand, two things happened at once: at the same time that the lock finally disengaged, a hard, unyielding body slammed into me from behind.
My mouth opened to let out a blood-curling scream, but a large hand slapped over half of my face before another hand grabbed me by the arm and ripped me around.
Eyes wide with terror, I looked up into the face of the Devil. It had to be the Devil. The folklore claims that the Devil is really one of the most beautiful entities to have ever exist. He was a fallen angel after all. He wasn’t all horns and hoofs and disfigurement. He was really beautiful in a breathless kind of way. So, this man before me had to be him. I’d never seen a man so stunning.
And he was going to kill me.
And then he confirmed my fearful thoughts when he leaned in, smelling like cedar and spice, and said, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to lead the Devil to your front door?”
Chapter 5
Luca~
Her big blue eyes were inflamed with fright. Her body was frozen and shaking at the same time. She looked like she was facing Death, and she should be, because she was.
I kept my hand on her mouth as I reached behind her and twisted the doorknob. I pushed the door open and walked her backwards into her apartment. I didn’t take my hand of her mouth when I shut and locked the door behind us.
I leaned down into her face and said, “I’m going to remove my hand. But I must tell you, if you scream, or if you make any attempt to run,