Chapter 32 - Work

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I stared across the dimly lit bedroom at Luka's silhouette, hunched over the desk as he pored over documents late into the night yet again. He had been increasingly withdrawn these past few weeks, speaking only in clipped sentences when absolutely necessary.

I longed for the days when his warm baritone would fill our home with laughter and animated stories. Now a suffocating silence hung in the air, thick with unspoken tensions. I felt a chasm growing between us with each passing day that Luka retreated further into himself and the affairs of the family business.

Attempting to break through the barrier, I padded over and gently ran my fingers through his thick dark hair. "You're going to give yourself wrinkles staring at those papers all night, honey."

Luka didn't even turn to look at me, his jaw ticking. "Needs my attention."

I tried not to let the sting of his dismissive tone show on my face. "Is everything...okay? You know you can talk to me about what's going on."

"Nothing you need to worry," he said gruffly, still not meeting my concerned gaze. "Just some...complications."

I wanted to push further, to understand what had him so agitated and on-edge. But Luka's body language was like a brick wall, physically blocking me out. With a resigned sigh, I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head before retreating, the distance between us feeling vaster than ever.

As I lay awake in our bed long after Luka had finally turned in for the night, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was keeping something big from me. Whispers had reached my ear about some federal detective sniffing around our operations.

Was that the "complication" he had referred to? The fact that he felt the need to shut me out this time only compounded my worries about how serious the situation truly was.

Luka's steady breathing beside me should have been a comfort, but instead it only reminded me of how far he had drifted from me in his single-minded focus to keep our world from unraveling. I could only hope that whatever storm was brewing, we could weather it together as we had so many times before.

The heavy thud of the pistol recoiling against my palm was strangely comforting as I emptied round after round into the paper target downrange. The familiar scent of gunpowder filled my nostrils with each squeeze of the trigger.

"Everything okay, Y/N?" Susan gave me a concerned look as he approached. "You've been out here a while."

I forced a tight smile. "Just blowing off some steam, Paulie. Don't mind me."

*As if you'd understand the turmoil raging inside me right now.*

Out here on the private gun range, the muffled voices and hushed whispers that had been following me for weeks seemed to fade into the distance.

But I couldn't escape them entirely.

It started small - catching the maids falling abruptly silent whenever I entered a room. "Pardon us, Ma'am" they would murmur, scattering like roaches.

What are you hiding from me? What secrets are you all keeping?

Or Luka's cousins cutting off their conversations with a meaningful look as I approached. "Nothing to concern yourself with, madonna," they'd assure me with forced nonchalance.

Don't give me that . I know when I'm being shut out.

At first, I tried to brush it off as my own paranoia. But the weight of their furtive glances and bitten tongues only grew heavier by the day.

"Luka," I finally confronted him one night after the staff had gone to bed. "What's going on? Why is everyone treating me like I'm the enemy all of a sudden?"

He avoided my gaze, jaw ticking. "It's...complicated"

For my own good? Or because you no longer trust me enough to let me in?

I knew something was going on, something Luka didn't want me knowing about. The way his eyes would shutter closed whenever I tried to broach the subject was answer enough. He was keeping me out of the loop, shutting me out just like he had emotionally these past few months.

Maybe it was for my own protection, I tried to rationalize as I reloaded my weapon with sharp, practiced movements.

But who are you protecting me from - them or yourself?

That small, traitorous voice in the back of my mind whispered that there was more to it.

He's pulling away from you. Leaving you behind.

With a guttural yell, I unloaded the rest of the magazine at the target, imagining the faceless silhouette as every unanswered question, every hushed voice that cut off upon my arrival. When the barrel finally clicked on an empty chamber, I was left standing there amid a cloud of smoke, chest heaving.

Get a grip. Luka and I have weathered storms before. This is no different.

I knew lashing out at inanimate objects was no true solution. But in that moment, the fleeting release of pent-up anger and frustration was enough to keep me from coming utterly unraveled. At least out here, I didn't have to endure the deafening silence and accusing stares.

For now, the shooting range was the only place I could find peace from the whispers that seemed to follow me everywhere else. But I had a sinking feeling that soon, not even a hail of bullets would be enough to drown out the truth I was desperate to ignore.

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