Rule #1: Never Date An A.C.E. [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13: Rule #5: When You Lie, You Must Be Convincing

He holds out an elbow and I almost laugh at the formality. But I school my expression with a small smile and place my hand in his elbow. He leads me back through the hallway I was brought here in, and we walk out the front door. Dean and Aiden stand right outside the door, their arms crossed.

"I still don't think bringing her out in public is a good idea," Aiden says, frowning. He reaches out to grab Luca's arm, "She isn't worth it, bro."

"Knock it off," Luca shakes from his grasp, his expression thunderous. "She is worth it. She's join us and our crusade and it will be just like old times, right, kitten?" I nod, worried my voice will betray my real emotions. "See? It will be fine." He puts a hand on my back pushing me toward a convertible. He opens the passenger door for me and I slide in. He jumps in the other side and we take off down a long driveway. He waves at the man stationed at the electric fence surrounding the entire property and he opens the gate for us, temporarily turning off the voltage. I log this into my memory for future use as we roar down the road.

"Where are we going?" I keep my voice light and turn to Luca.

He chuckles, "It's a surprise!"

"Wonderful," I say, keeping the sarcasm from my voice. The wind blows through my hair and I hope it's not getting messed up, worried what Luca might say about it. We soon enter a city, and I'm surprised by the skyscrapers. "What city is this?"

He chuckles, "I can't tell you that." I frown and look around, trying to find a clue of the city's name. By the time we pull in front of a restaurant, I am no closer to finding out where we are. Luca steps from the car, hands the keys to the valet and helps me stand. I don't get to see the restaurant name before Luca rushes me through the front door. We pass by the hostess, but he doesn't look worried once he sees Luca. He leads me through double doors and we find ourselves in a private room. The stereotypical scene is before me. A white table with two chairs, a bottle of champagne on ice, three candles and a single red rose in a vase.

"How...lovely," I say as he pulls out a chair for me and I sit, scooting closer to the table. He sits across from me and claps his hands twice.

A waiter hurries in, "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Deraleck, what would you like to order?"

My eyes widen at the name and I begin to correct him, "Actually, I'm not..."

Luca cuts me off, "We will have whatever the special is tonight, Antonio." He bows lightly before leaving the room.

I don't know what to say. Luca is watching me expectantly after pouring us each a glass of champagne. I had some confidence before the date, but after Antonio called us husband and wife, fear filled my bones. "Luca, I'm not really comfortable with being called your wife."

His face fell before it returned to a smile, "Right, he kind of let the cat out of the bag." He scratches the back of his head before pulling a box from his coat pocket.

I stand abruptly, my voice full of malice, "Oh no. No, no, no. I accepted the date, but I will not marry you, Luca."

He stands as well, an easy smile on his face, "I'm sure you just need a moment. How about you freshen up for a minute?"

I nod quickly and rush from the room, taking the opportunity to run from the restaurant. I fly out on to the sidewalk and run up to the first person I see, "What town is this?"

She scoffs at me, "It's Havensburg, duh." She side-steps me and continues on her way, talking on her phone about how weird I am. I roll my eyes at her attitude and start briskly walking away from the restaurant. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but my only objective is to get away from Luca. I turn down a few streets and see a CCTV camera. I stare into it, silently pleading that Alex and Levi are searching through them, looking for me.

"ISABELLA DONAHUE!" I hear Luca scream and I turn in fear. He is running towards me, his face bright red. His gun is swinging by his side and all I can do it stare at it, not moving. My brain is screaming at me to move, and just when I'm about to, Luca points the gun at me. I hold my hands up in surrender as his chest heaves up and down. "You left me looking like a fool!"

"I didn't mean to, I promise," I say as he steps closer. The gun is pressed into my chest and I take short shallow breaths.

"You lie. Rule number five states that when you lie, you must be convincing," the gun begins to shake and his finger is put on the trigger. He glares at me before uncocking the gun and putting it back into his pants. "It doesn't matter. We are heading back to my home." He grips my arm tightly and the pain travels up my arm as he pulls me along. I stumble once, but Luca continues walking so I scrap both of my knees and my non-clenched hand on the ground. He angrily throws me into the convertible once the valet brings it. The tires squeal at how fast he takes off and head back out of town.

"Don't you dare allow any of that blood to touch the inside of this car," Luca growls and I see one of my knees is bleeding. I do what I can to contain it, and luckily none of it drips. The gun is clearly sticking from his pants and I gather up the courage to grab it. But my plan is foiled when Luca takes the gun and points it at me, his anger once again flaring. "I know you, kitten."

I rub my arm to try and alleviate the pain, trying to not pay attention to the weapon pointed at me. The rest of the ride passes silently, except for the occasional angry grunt from Luca.

"I'm..." I start to say as we approach the fence to the mansion.

"If you're going to say that you're sorry, save it. Aiden was right, you are a bitch," Luca says waving the gun around. He steps from the car, keeping the gun pointed on me. "Up the stairs." I follow his order and feel the gun pressed to my back. We enter the foyer and Dean is sitting in a chair, reading. He looks up and nonchalantly calls for Aiden.

"Well, well, looks like little miss perfect, isn't so perfect," he says, as he enters the room. "I told..."

Luca pulls the gun from my back and aims it at Aiden, "Shut up." Aiden visibly gulps and nods. I smirk despite myself and the gun point is returned to me, but this time at my skull. "Move forward." I start to walk towards my room, but Luca barks to turn down the other hall. This hallway's doors are all closed and Luca uses a key from around his neck to open the one at the end of this hallway. He pushes open the door and gestures with his gun for me to enter. The smell of dust and something rancid. As I descend the stairs, Luca flips a switch to one lightbulb in the room. It flickers and then comes to life. I survey the room, the rancid smell finally explained.

Blood. And lots of it.

A figure moves in the shadows and I peer over, "Lacey?"

"Isabella?" her voice comes out raspy and I run over to her. She has a chain wrapped around her ankle and dried blood caked all over her body and clothes. But the thing that stands out to me is the large black eye she has. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Lacey," my hands touch her lightly and she shies away.

"Undo her chains," Luca throws me a key, the gun still pointed my way. I hurriedly undo them and help her stand. "Now lock yourself up."

"What?" I can feel blood drain from my face.

"You heard me," he snarls and I hurry to do as he said. I lock the chain around my left ankle and he finally puts the gun down. "Come along, Lacey. I've got other plans for you."

"Don't hurt her!" I yell.

He laughs darkly, "You can't tell me what to do, kitten." He escorts her from the room, ignoring my screams as the door is slammed and the lightbulb swings from the impact.