His Twisted Heart by Ellie R Hunter
Chapter Thirty
Luca
With Victoria gone, I can breathe and focus on Sara. I twiddle the ends of her hair, not a flower or bead in sight.
“What happened when you left me?”
It’s the only question I’ve been burning to ask since she came back.
“For a while, I stayed in motels using the money I took from you. It was so much money, but I knew it wouldn’t last, so I spent as little as possible. I picked up waitressing jobs, and one time I got a job at a motel I was staying at, cleaning the rooms. I struggled to keep up with school, but I managed to find a local charity that helped runaway teens. I ate when I had to, spent money only when I had to. I saved more than I ever spent, and after I turned eighteen, the charity helped me rent an apartment, and I worked every shift I could pick up. At night, I’d write my stories.”
“How did you go from waitressing to writing full-time?”
“I followed some of my favourite authors on social media and saw they independently published their work online. I debated for ages. I had the cost of editors, formatters, and cover designers. It was one night, I had just finished the worst shift ever, and I thought fuck it. I found some amazing women in all the right fields, and the rest is history.”
The smile on her face while she speaks tells me she’s happy with where her life has led her. It also tells me her staying in Willow’s Peak won’t make her happy.
“Aren’t you missing your new life?”
Her smile is replaced with a frown. “Is that you saying you want me to leave?”
I see her paranoia is still there, deep down. I roll my eyes, wishing I could stomp on the doubts that creep around her mind.
“I am missing it, but being here with you takes the sting away.”
“You’re going to have to go home at some point.”
“Maybe you could come with me? We always talked about getting out of this town.”
Once upon a time, I was prepared to leave Willow’s Peak with her, but not now. My place is here. It’s rare when I do, but when I look into the future, I see the club and my family. Tor’s smile pops up, flooding my mind, but I shake my head to rid myself of the image and focus on Sara. She doesn’t belong here, and I won’t ever leave. Living up shit street sounds about right.
“Luca? Are you listening?”
“What?”
“Is leaving town something you still think about?”
This conversation is leading to a dead end. Grabbing her hand, I pull her with me and lead her outside. At her car, I swing her around to face me, her expression wary of what I’m doing. Letting go of her hand, I hold onto her face.
“I’m happy you’re safe now, and you’ve made a good life for yourself. You need to return to it.”
Her brows knit together in confusion. “I don’t understand… I’m here for you.”
“You’re here for the past me, but he doesn’t exist anymore.”
Leaning around her, I open her door, but she kicks it shut.
“You never did belong here, and you don’t now. But I do.”
“Luca…”
I stroke her cheek, her skin as soft as I remember. “We were never meant to be. This is the goodbye we should’ve had.”
When I step back, she moves forward, latching her fingers onto my shirt.
“A goodbye I don’t want, Luca. Seeing you again, I can’t walk away. I don’t want to.”
“We’re not kids anymore—” Her lips crash onto mine, and my first instinct is to pull away, but the younger me moves his hands into her hair and clasps the back of her head.
Her tongue sweeps over mine, and the need to deepen the kiss takes over. Yet the way she’s kissing me screams, she wants soft and gentle. Tor would’ve matched my hunger, fighting and taking whatever she wanted.
The two couldn’t be any more different. Kissing Tor shouldn’t be what I’m thinking about, and it doesn’t feel right kissing Sara with another girl in my head. Pulling away, the desperation to continue fills her eyes, but I’m distracted by someone clearing their throat behind us.
Fuck me. It’s Mason and Myles.
“Go back into the bar,” I tell Sara. She doesn’t argue, probably glad I’m not trying to send her away.
“You know, you need a unanimous vote for the patch,” Mason feels the need to inform me.
Myles picks at his fingernails and drawls, “I’m not in a giving mood with my votes, especially to assholes who hurt my sister.”
Laughing, I take a step closer to them. Show one inch of weakness in front of the twins and they’ll eat you alive.
“If I wanted, I’d be seeing your sister any time, any place, and I’d still get both your votes. If you want to be assholes about it, you know I’ll fight back.”
Mason’s glare is more sinister than Myles’, but there’s no doubt they’re both up for a fight.
“What’s going on here?” The three of us look to Mom and Bonnie as they make their way toward us.
Mom’s gaze is more sceptical than Bonnie’s, and she’s waiting for an answer.
“Not much. These two were just telling me I should be patched in already.”
Her brow arches, and she looks over the twins. “Is that so?”
“Sure, Aunt Lana,” the twins say simultaneously, throwing her wicked smirks.
Rolling her eyes, she looks to me. “Luca, a word?”
She walks off toward the main house, expecting me to follow, and I do. It’s my mom.
Inside the kitchen, I lean against the doorframe.
“Where’s your friend?”
I can’t help the smirk at her tone.
“She’s over in the bar.”
She narrows her eyes, and I roll mine, waiting for her bombardment of questions.
“You don’t seem as happy as I’d expect you to be having her back.”
Shrugging, I admit, “I’m still getting used to it.”
“And how does Victoria feel about her being back?”
There it is, what she wanted all along, and now I’m the one narrowing their eyes.
“I’m not blind, boy. You and Victoria have been close for a long time. I’ve seen the way you watch her. It’s no secret to anyone here.”
Fucking hell. Mom is like Google, she knows everything. Crossing the kitchen, she straightens my cut.
“The night she lost her hearing, she ran out of the Mercy clubhouse in tears. Were you the reason she was crying?”
“You already know I was if you’re asking.”
“What did you do?”
My lips stay firmly sealed. I’m not getting into it with her. It’s shit she doesn’t need to know.
“Talk. Now.”
“It isn’t any of your business, Mom.”
“Boy, did I not push you out of a certain area that’s really not natural to do so after nineteen hours of extremely painful contractions?” Here we go. The giving birth card she pulls out every time she wants to extract something from me. “Everything about you is my business.”
She won’t give in until I tell her, so here goes.
“I made sure she caught me fu— having sex with someone else. She ran out because of what she walked in on.”
Mom can be a stone wall when she wants to be, but right now, she’s full of disgust.
“If I were the slapping kind, I’d slap you so fucking hard, my hand would hurt for a week.”
I blanche at the thought, thanking my lucky stars she isn’t the slapping kind.
“I raised you better than that. Why, Luca?”
“Yes, I’d like to know why too.”
Kyla hovering in the hall is the last thing I need.
“I knew you had something to do with why my daughter doesn’t love life anymore.”
I grind my teeth, debate on whether I should slip out the back door and avoid this clusterfuck of a headache. But standing here saying nothing seems to be infuriating her even more.
“Your mom might not be able to slap you, but I can.” Darting forward, I clearly see her advancing, readying her hand. I catch it easily before it connects with my face, and keep a hold of it.
“You don’t want to do that,” I warn.
“Luca,” Mom warns.
Dropping her wrist, I step around her and head out to her yelling, “This isn’t over!”