Page 4 of Tormented Hearts

LUCA 3

The drive back to Luca’s penthouse was tense, the silence thick as Phoenix sat beside him in the back seat of the sleek, black SUV. Her mind raced, every instinct telling her to run. But she didn’t know where to go—or if she could even escape the clutches of this man who now seemed to control her fate.

Luca sat with his hands resting on his thighs, his body a fortress of calm, but his mind was far from tranquil. The moment he had seen Phoenix, something primal had taken hold of him. He couldn’t explain it—it wasn’t just desire, though the hunger in him was real enough. It was something more, something dangerous. She was his now, and no one would take her away from him.

The streets of Palermo blurred past the tinted windows, but Luca’s mind was elsewhere, lost in the shadows of his past. His father, a ruthless tyrant, had instilled in him the belief that power was everything—power over business, over enemies, over women. Luca had hated him for it. Hated the way his father treated people as pawns in his game. But as Luca grew older, as he ascended to the throne of the Tempo empire, he realized that he was more like his father than he wanted to admit.

Power came with chains. Chains Luca had never been able to break.

Beside him, Phoenix shifted uncomfortably, her body stiff with fear. He could feel it—her defiance, her fear—and it only made him want her more. Luca turned his head, dark blue eyes piercing the side of her face. “You’re scared,” he said quietly, though it wasn’t a question.

Phoenix flinched at his words but didn’t respond. Her gaze was fixed on the window, as though willing herself to be anywhere but here. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how terrified she really was.

Luca reached out and grabbed her chin, turning her face toward him. “Look at me.”

Her green eyes flashed with defiance as they met his. “What do you want from me?” she demanded, her voice trembling despite her attempt at courage.

He smiled, a cold, unsettling smile that sent a shiver down her spine. “Everything.”

Luca didn’t become the monster he was overnight. His childhood was one shaped by violence, fear, and a constant need to prove his worth. His father, Alessandro Tempo, had ruled the family with an iron fist, showing no mercy to anyone who crossed him—including his own son.

Luca remembered one night, years ago, when he had been just a boy. His father had dragged him into the family’s underground bunker after a rival mafia boss had disrespected the Tempo name. Alessandro had ordered the man’s execution in front of Luca, forcing his son to watch the bloodshed without flinching.

"Power is everything," his father had said, the man’s blood still wet on his hands. "You show weakness, and you’ll lose it all."

Luca had vowed never to show weakness again. He had shut off the part of him that cared, that felt, and replaced it with cold, unrelenting control. But occasionally, something would break through that icy exterior—something like Phoenix.

The penthouse was vast, luxurious, and filled with shadows. Phoenix had never seen anything like it. The city of Palermostretched out before the floor-to-ceiling windows, but it felt like a cage.

Luca guided her inside, his hand resting on the small of her back in a way that was both possessive and protective. “This is where you’ll stay,” he said, his voice steady, commanding. “You’re safe here.”

Safe. The word seemed almost laughable. Phoenix looked around, her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn’t safe—not from him.

“You can’t just keep me here,” she said, her voice small but filled with determination.

Luca turned to face her, his eyes dark and unreadable. “I can, and I will.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Why?”

“Because you’re mine now,” he said simply, as though that explained everything. “No one else is going to touch you. No one else is going to look at you. Not unless they want to die.”

The raw possessiveness in his voice was terrifying, but what frightened Phoenix more was the way a part of her responded to it. She should be fighting harder, should be screaming, running, doing anything but standing there, letting him claim her. But there was something about Luca that made resistance feel impossible.

She wasn’t weak—far from it. But Luca Tempo was a force of nature, and she was caught in his storm.

“I won’t be your prisoner,” she whispered, though even as the words left her mouth, she wasn’t sure she believed them.

Luca stepped closer, towering over her, his gaze burning into hers. “You think you have a choice?”

The air between them was thick with tension, so heavy it felt like the room itself was suffocating Phoenix. Luca stood in front of her, towering over her with those piercing blue eyes that seemed to strip away any defences she tried to put up. His presence was overwhelming—like a storm about to break loose—and Phoenix felt as though she was standing at the edge of a cliff, teetering between fear and something far more dangerous—desire.

“You think you have a choice?” Luca’s voice was low, dangerous, the kind of tone that made her shiver. There was no room for debate in his words—only cold, hard truth.

Her pulse raced, her hands trembling as she took a step back. But no matter how much distance she tried to put between them, she could still feel the pull of his presence, like he was drawing her closer without even needing to touch her.

“I won’t let you control me,” Phoenix whispered, but even she could hear the fear and uncertainty in her voice. Luca heard it too. His lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile, and she knew in that moment that he saw right through her.

“You say that” Luca murmured, his eyes darkening as he takes a step forward, closing the gap between them, “but we both know it’s not true.”