His Twisted Heart by Ellie R Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Victoria
Another fucking day, but I’m determined not to let Luca ruin my visit with Pope. I don’t think about seeing him wrapped up with his perfect Sara. I don’t think about seeing them talking with one another, remembering the times it felt like drawing blood from a stone just to get a conversation from him myself.
Hell, I can’t stop thinking about every scenario. My mom once told me if a boy breaks my heart, don’t give them the chance to try and heal it, because if he truly cared for me, he wouldn’t have anything to heal. Luca’s broken my heart so many times. We’ve been through so much, but I have to let it go—let him go. I told him the lie because he’s bad for me. One thing I do know, though, with certainty is that I’m better off alone.
Sitting on the porch with my coffee in hand, I close my eyes, wishing I could hear the birds chirping on the tree branches. This land my grandpa gave me is my haven.
Getting the sense that someone’s approaching, I open my eyes and see Emma’s car coming up the drive, Myles riding in behind her on his motorcycle.
Setting down my coffee, I walk over to the top step and down to Emma’s car. Opening the back door, I unclip Penelope from her car seat and inhale the strawberry scent clinging to her hair. She’s the one person in my life who doesn’t realise I’m different now.
Myles is here to give me a ride to the club, and Emma’s here to check up on me. Hey, I’m not stupid. My actions have caused this, and I’ll keep my mouth shut for a while so they can feel better, knowing they’re doing all they can.
Waving to Myles, he tips his chin and lights a cigarette as Emma climbs out from the driver’s side.
“You okay?” she asks.
Nodding, I put Penelope down, and she over toward Myles.
“Are you staying a while, or are we leaving now?”
“Myles wants to get to the club. I’m just tagging along.”
I head inside and collect my bag, making sure I have my keys to lock up. Emma’s putting Penelope back into her car seat, and I decide to hop on the back of Myles’ bike.
I love Emma, I truly do, but sometimes, like today, I don’t have the energy to speak… or sign.
On the long, nearly deserted road, Myles picks up speed, and I let myself enjoy the wind whipping through my hair.
The club gates open as we approach, and the first thing I notice are the workers changing the windows over on the main house. Climbing off the bike, I sign slowly, “What’s going on?” and point toward the house.
Myles struggles to keep up if I sign too fast, so I’m always conscious to slow my movements.
“Cas is having bulletproof windows installed.”
My dad said a few weeks ago that Cas was going to be installing new safety measures around the club.
Wandering into the bar while Myles helps Emma get Penelope out of the car, I look around for Grandpa, but he’s nowhere in sight. Since he knows I’ll be here, I take a seat at the bar and wait for him to show. More importantly, Luca and Sara aren’t here, and that’s enough to let me relax.
This club has been the biggest part of my life since the day I was born. The fact that Luca and I have a history shouldn’t, and will not, put a damper on my visits going forward.
And like a bad omen, the man himself jogs down the stairs with his perfect Sara close behind him. He stops abruptly when his feet hit the floor, and his gaze settles on me. Looking back to Sara, he points her to the kitchen, I quickly look away before he can accuse me of staring, but it’s not long before he’s at my side, gripping my chin and guiding it up so I have to look at him.
His stare weighs heavy on my heart, and I burn to look away. After a moment of staring at each other,
he drops his hand and signs, “I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you.”
My breath feels like it’s lodged in my throat. He’s sorry?
He looks over his shoulder, and I follow his line of sight. Of course he’s looking at her.
I’m still staring at her hovering in the kitchen doorway when he turns back to me. As if he’s waiting for me to look at him, I give him my attention, frowning when he moves his lips and says, “I’m sorry.”
Then he’s walking away, always away from me. Ushering her into the kitchen, he closes the door behind them.
What the hell was that? Was that him saying goodbye? His way of telling me he’s with Sara now, and that he’s completely moved on?
“I’ll get a prospect to take you home,” Myles signs as Angel walks through the door.
“Don’t bother. I’ll hang around for a while.”
Watching Angel settle in at the bar, I kiss Grandpa on the cheek and wander over to the guy who made me smile the other day.
Sliding onto the stool beside him, he gives me a side glance before focusing on the liquor bottles behind the bar. He knows I need to see his face in order to have a conversation. Tapping him on the shoulder, he’s almost hesitant to look at me, like he’s forcing himself to do it. Did I get it wrong the other day when he walked me to my car and asked to see me again?
I’m fed up with getting it wrong when it comes to guys. I’m not doing it anymore.
Sliding off the stool, my feet have barely hit the floor when he reaches out and grabs onto my wrist.
When he has my full attention, he quickly releases me and signs, “I’m sorry, I’m being rude.”
“Bad day?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I’ve gotta ask, are you connected to any of the brothers in the club?”
“Only the ones I’m related to.”
Catching sight of Luca leaving the kitchen, with a look of disgust on his face, I don’t need to ask why he’s asking. I’d put money on Luca saying something to him.
Question is, why?
Sara looks between Luca and me, her curiosity clear. I’m so done with the both of them. Luca was never mine, and like he said goodbye earlier, I’m saying goodbye too. I’m so ready to move on.
Turning back to Angel, I tell him, “I live out by the creek. You should stop by sometime.”
His smile, bright and enticing, grows. “I’ll do that.”
Shooting a look so fast past me, I’m surprised he doesn’t hurt his neck, he tells me, “Cas is calling me. I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
Nodding, I slide back onto the stool and watch him walk over to Cas and Sparky. I’m pleasantly surprised to see he has a nice ass too.
I’ll never fall in love again, but Angel could definitely be a distraction I need. At least I can talk to him.
SARA
You’d have to be blind not to see there’s something lingering between Luca and Victoria. For starters, he can’t keep his eyes off of her whenever she’s around, and I catch her looking his way just as much. He tells me nothing about them, which has me wanting to ask more questions.
I need to know what I’m stepping in on, and since he won’t tell me, I’ll ask her myself. Over my shoulder, I make sure Luca isn’t looking and walk over to Victoria. Her slender frame is what models are envious of, and her long, wavey blonde hair is thick and shiny. She’s beautiful, there’s no denying it.
She watches me approach her with wary brown eyes, and I swallow thickly as I stop in front of her.
Clearing my throat, I jump right into it. “I don’t know if you remember me? I’m Sara Lancaster.”
I get nothing from her. She just stares, her lips pressed in a firm line.
“I just wanted to say hi, and that I know you and Luca had something going on. He doesn’t tell me anything, but I’ve seen the way the two of you look at each other. Is there something I should know about?”
Her continued silence fills me with a little anxiety, but I babble on regardless to try and fill the awkward silence. “Whatever it was is none of my business, but if there’s something still going on, I just need to know.”
Again, not a word leaves her mouth. Taking a deep breath, I’m about to give up when my frustration explodes.
“I’ll take your silence as there’s nothing going on. I’m planning on staying in town and being with Luca, so I’d appreciate it if you stopped the staring when you see us.”
She has to come back with something now, but I get nothing. She doesn’t say a single word, but her stare is unnerving. What the hell is her problem? She’s so rude.
One of her brothers—I can’t remember his name—comes over and stands in front of her.
My jaw nearly hits the floor when he starts signing to her. She’s deaf! She wasn’t being rude, she just couldn’t hear me.
She signs something back to him and laughs. The sinister smirk on his lips when he looks over at me sends a shiver down my spine. Without so much as an acknowledgement, Victoria walks outside, leaving me with her brother.
I’m mortified.
“I didn’t know she was deaf,” I blurt out before he walks off.
“She can still lip read. She said to tell you, she hopes you and Luca will be very happy together.”
I’m pretty sure she said a lot more than that, but I don’t push for confirmation.
Noticing him looking me up and down, his nose flaring with slight disgust, I take a step back.
“But I’m telling you, this won’t be your happy ending with Jackson, not when the one he loves isn’t you. And trust me, it’s hard for me to say that.”
“What do you know about it?” I challenge.
“Obviously more than you, darlin’. But because I’m a prick, I’m going to let you find out the hard way, and hopefully, he makes you cry as many times as he did my sister.”
He goes to walk away, and I reach out and grab onto his hoodie. “Luca loves me, he always has.” I know he does. He admitted he thought of me every day. No one lingers in your mind if you’re not in their heart for that long.
Raising his brow, he stares at my fingers, but I don’t let go. Yanking his arm free, he says arrogantly, “I’m sure he does, but it sure as shit doesn’t mean he’s in love with you. My opinion, he never got closure, which is the only reason why he would think of you. Mark my words, you might have been his first love, but my sister will be his last.”
My mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. I can’t think of a single thing to say to that.
“Ask him why he begged my old lady to teach him how to sign so he could still talk to my sister.”
Chuckling, he walks off, but I don’t try to stop him this time. When I turn, I come face-to-face with Luca, who drags me into the kitchen and slams the door shut.
My back hits the wall and I freeze.
“Why were you talking to Tor?”
“I was hoping to get answers from her that you won’t give me.”
Bracing his arm on the wall above my head, his face is mere inches from mine. This is Luca, he’d never hurt me.
“You don’t need to know anything.”
“I just want to know what she was, or is, to you.”
“She was a fuck,” he grinds out, but I see the flicker in his eyes. He’s lying. He felt more than lust for her. A wave of jealousy hits me at the thought of them together.
“Was? And now?”
I can’t ignore the way he looks at her.
“I’m going to say this once, so listen. What I had with Tor is over, and was over before you came back.”
Placing my hand on his cheek, I swallow my insecurities and choose to believe him.
“Okay.”