He wasn’t a complete stranger to the firm, and he chose the faculty of Business and Accountancy at the university because this would have helped him when he would have taken over his father’s business. This was supposed to happen gradually, as Claudio decided to retire, and it would have required more time to get familiar with all the aspects of the business.
“Luciano, remember the plan and stick with it. None of us will be accused of murder. The Police will certainly investigate my mother’s life, and there, my father will appear with his abuses and his criminal life. It won’t take long before another suspect populates the list.”
Nodding, he lowered his glance. “I do remember the plan; I feel like the Police will think about me before going to investigate the past life of your mother.”
“Everything will be fine; you’ll see unless there’s something else bothering you besides the investigation” Irina tried to guess his thoughts by the way he tightly gripped the steering wheel. She pursed her lips, almost regretting having asked an apparently stupid question. Obviously, there are more implications to his father’s death than just the need to stay away from any suspect.
Luciano continued to drive as if he didn’t hear what she said, but as the car stopped in front of the building where he was living, he leaned his head on the headrest.
“I guess I’ll have to solve one problem at a time,” he said after a long pause. His voice sounded calm, but the light shakes of his hands revealed a storm going on in his soul. He turned his head rolling on the headrest, and as his eyes met hers, he simpered. “This has nothing to do with us.”
His voice but a whisper, like the wind through the trees on a summer evening, as his hand reached for her thigh in an encouraging caress. He wasn’t sure whether he was trying to encourage himself or reassure her about their relationship.
“I won’t go away; I’ll be by your side, whatever the situation will turn into,” she tried to smile.
“We need to plan our actions from now on, and we need to be careful. I’m not sure whether this might mean for us to stay away from each other for a while or not...” A frown creased her forehead.
“Let’s talk about it inside, please. I can’t be alone today.” his voice trembled, overwhelmed by the thunderstorm building up in his soul.
“Sure,” she opened the door of the car and got out, hurrying to get inside as avoiding being seen. Although nobody in the neighborhood knew her, she felt like her presence should never be connected with Luciano.
With rushed steps, they hurried to the building, glancing around, hoping there were no Police cars coming for more questioning. Although Luciano was expecting them to inform him about their arrival or to get some sort of appointment to ask some questions, there was always the chance to have them around unexpectedly.
Holding their breaths until they reached the apartment, a relieved exhale escaped Luciano as he closed the door behind him. He felt his knees suddenly weak and held himself to the door, trying to keep from falling to the floor.
A subtle hysterical laughter broke the spell, freeing the tension between them. His mind got clearer and his thoughts sharper.
Luciano knew what he needed to do, and perhaps it was better going on with his life. That was, at least what was expected of him and with the time, things would have returned to a new normality. Glancing around, he wasn’t alone, he had his mother, who would have never turned her back on him, and then there was Irina, the woman who shared with him more than any other human being during his first 21 years of life in the world.
“We shouldn’t allow our fears and feelings overwhelm us. We need to be sharp, and keep calm,” he breathed, walking away from the door as his legs could carry him.
With a nod, she gleamed at him and scanned the surroundings to get familiar with the new environment. “This is a nice place.”
“Thank you, would you like a coffee?” He asked, guiding her to have a seat on the sofa in the living room. He felt the whole situation surreal, in other circumstances, when they were alone in the home of his father, having a coffee would have been the last thing he thought about.
However, in that situation, he wasn’t sure sex was even on the list of the things he could consider, especially in his mother’s apartment. It was an environment, which was still alien to him.
After his mother moved away due to the divorce, their lives seemed to divide and although he loved her, the fact of not living like a family anymore created a deep rupture in their relationship.
Thinking of bringing Irina to his bedroom, felt like abusing the hospitality of a friend.
With a grin, Irina walked slowly toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “How about you show me the rest of the house, starting with your bedroom?” Her voice whispering in his ear.
The feeling of her body close to his and the scent of her skin, melding with her perfume, was enough to make him forget about everything which gave any restraint to his instincts, and driven by the growing passion and the need to feel the touch of her skin, he lifted her from the floor as their lips fused together into a passionate kiss.
CHAPTER 7
Meantime, life for Luciano returned to normal, or at least what was supposed
