Crap. 

I turn frantically to Luka, my eyes wide with fear. I wonder if he can see them almost bulging out of my skull. 

"Luka, what do I-" 

"Stop talking." He hisses sharp and low, standing up from the bed quickly. 

"What are you-" I start to ask as his strong hand grips around my arm and pulls me over towards the closet. 

Smart boy. He opens the white screened door quickly, moving aside what seems like ten of the same black hoodie, and grabbing some jackets to throw on the floor in front of me to hide my legs. 

"Get in." He whispers softly, and is surprisingly gentle as he helps me to hide behind the clothes that smell so distinctly of him. The whole closet is filled with the smell of smoke and sin. 

I peek through the screened panels of the closet door, my vision cut into several parallel rectangles. 

I watch as Luka runs his hand through his hair, pacing slightly before he straightens his back and clears his throat. 

"KATYA!" I flinch at my father's roar, and push my back further into the sea of hoodies behind me. 

I am too scared to even breath, and I don't even want to imagine what he's going to do if he...

"Quit shouting, I'm coming." I frown slightly in confusion at Luka's suddenly groggy voice, and I peek through the panels to see his eyes are squinted in an expression of half-sleep. 

He turns the knob and the sound of my father's footsteps echo in his room, the distinct sound of work boots on wood. I press into the hoodies, the aroma of his cologne extremely calming. 

"West, what the hell are you doing in my room?!" Luka growls cautiously. Man, he could win an oscar with his acting skills. 

"Where is my daughter, Vincenzo?" My father hisses, and I watch as he peers underneath the bed, grunting as he fails to locate me. 

I mentally plead for Luka to do something to keep my father away from the closet, my heart beginning to race even faster as I hear footsteps drawing closer to me. I shrink back into the far far corner, no longer able to peek out of the screens. 

Then there is a shadow, not my father's, pressing against the door slightly. 

"Who do you think you are, barging into my room this way? Do you realize the level of disrespect you are placing on my family? On DQ?" Luka's voice has turned cold, slippery and devilish in a moment, the false-sleep gone from his tone. 

My father's footsteps stop. A pause. 

I hold my breath, scared to breath. 

"Where is my daughter, Vincenzo?" My father asks again, but this time, his voice has leveled with considerable force, as if he's physically pressing down his rage with his bare, meaty hands. 

"I didn't even know that you had a daughter, West. Your family life is of little to no interest to me."

"She saw you, she knew your name." 

Luka chuckles, and I can picture the smirk he has painted on his face. 

"Many girls know my name, West. It comes with my presence."

"No, Vincenzo, she knew your real name." 

Luka pauses, his confidence faltering slightly. 

Come on, don't crack. 

"I'll..I'll have my men look into it."

"No, no." My father says quickly, panic rising in his voice. "Let's just keep her out of this. That brat is going to be out of my life in a year and I can't have her getting shot down before that."

I have to place a hand over my mouth to keep myself from gasping. I knew my father was a bastard, but that. That is low. 

"Whatever, West. I'm not here to be your shrink. Now, I would appreciate it if you left my room, and never disrespect me like that again. Vete." 

"Thank you, Vincenzo." 

I wish I could see the look on my father's face, because I knew he was squirming in his feet. 

The sound of work boots again, a quiet slam of a door, and Luka's long exhale. 

"Don't come out yet." I jump at the sound of Luka's whisper. "I'm going to go make sure he leaves. Stay in the closet." 

And I hear the sound of a door opening and closing once more. 

I'm not claustrophobic, but even surrounded by Luka's smell I couldn't wait to get out of this closet which was quickly turning into a furnace. 

How did my father even know I was here? 

How did Luka scare my father with only subtle threats?

"Okay." I hear Luka's whisper, making me gasp slightly. 

The door of the closet slides open and I jump out, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead. 

I settle down on the bed and put my elbows to my knees and my head in my hands. 

"Oh, my, god." I huff, raking and raking my hands through my hair. Now that my father is gone, I have to deal with the fact that I can't stay here for the night, and I have nowhere else to...

I could call Esther, or Zeke. 

I can't go back to my father's house. 

"He's gone, you can calm down." 

"I can't 'calm down'." I say, raising my fingers into air quotes. "I know he's gone but he's still there, still in my home what am I supposed to do?" 

"Just stay here." 

"What?" I say with a slight scoff. 

"Stay here." He repeats, his voice so frustratingly casual. 

"I thought this place was 'dangerous'?" I say sarcastically. 

Luka groans in frustration and sits next to me. 

"Listen, gringita, I know you can't go home, or wherever your deadbeat dad lives. And I know you don't really have anywhere else to go. This is my one offer while I am still being a samaritan for a day. So are you gonna take it or not?" 

I stare at him, my eyebrows knit together. 

Damn this boy and his logical offers. 

"Fine."

(just a little short update :))