Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Family over everything, that was what I'd been told.
That said, there was another voice inside my head, one that said Luca was an honorable man, that he wouldn't offer his word if he didn't mean it. Even if that went against rules and traditions. Even if he might pay the consequences for disobeying them.
I sat there for a long time listening to the waves crash, smelling the salt water and the slight, but unmistakable, fishy smell to the water, trying to decide which option would be the least likely to have me dead in a ditch somewhere.
And then the second text came in.
Different.
Less formal.
Less tame.
More raw and real and vulnerable.
- I never responded to your text to me. A part of me was worried I'd overstepped a line, taken advantage of a situation, that you regretted it. For the record, I didn't. And if my brother hadn't interrupted, I would have liked to show you how much I wanted that, how much more there could have been. I'm not saying this with future expectations, but in the interest of clearing the air. I was a chickenshit not to do so before. Come back. Future or no future, come back. Let's fix this together.
I couldn't imagine men such as Luca—with powerful positions, with all the money and influence, who lived a fearless lifestyle—often found a reason to be vulnerable, to open up. They didn't need to. And if they didn't need to, when they did it, it had a lot more impact, it rang a lot more true.
I didn't immediately respond, though, doing battle with the two lanes of thought until they collided at some point around sunup.
Yes, it was dangerous to go back.
No, it was not a good idea to do any more kissing—or anything else—with Luca Grassi.
But despite all that, I decided the only option was to go back.
And that if things did progress with Luca, then I was going to go ahead and let them.
Eventually, if all things panned out, I would likely be back in Venezuela with my sister for a while. And then back in California. A whole country away.
It would be over.
I would have no connections to the New Jersey mob anymore.
It seemed relatively low risk.
If it came to that.
Taking a deep breath, I shot off a text with my location, asking him to come alone.
From my position, I would be able to see him before he saw me, would know if he honored his word or not. And would have just enough time to slip away if I saw Lucky or Matteo tagging along.
And then I waited.
I didn't have to wait long, though.
I saw Luca's car driving up about half an hour later, and pulled into a spot. He climbed out looking as flawless as ever in one of his dark gray suits, his face even scruffier than the day before.
I waited as he looked around and tried to find me, staying in the shadow of a boat waiting to go in the water while I made sure no one else followed.
Confident he was true to his word, I took a step out, waiting for Luca's gaze to find me.
When it did, I saw genuine relief there, something that made a weight drop from his shoulders, that made his jaw loosen.
"I was worried about you," he admitted, both of us walking toward one another.
"Likely not as worried as I was that Matteo and Lucky were going to execute me."
"I've talked to them."
"Talked," I repeated, hand raising, sliding across a bruise on his cheek. "Is this from talking?" I asked, snatching my hand back when I realized I was stroking his face.
"Sometimes I use my hands to get my point across," he told me, shrugging it off. "He had it coming," he added.
"I wanted to slap him," I agreed, nodding.
"Calling him a dick took some balls," he told me, almost looking a little proud of my runaway mouth.
"I think I was just surprised. That something like that came from him. And then Lucky."
"Everyone has a little darkness in them. Matteo and Lucky's just stay buried until they feel like they need it."
"I'm not a threat to your family," I insisted.
"I know that. But they don't. Yet."
"Are they going to be in charge of me when I go back?" I asked, stomach churning at the idea. Especially because I'd now made a fool of all of them, and even if I wanted a little privacy, it was unlikely they would ever give it to me seeing as I posed a clear flight risk.
To that, Luca took a deep breath, looking past me at the choppy waves. A storm was brewing. In the world. And, if I wasn't mistaken, in Luca as well.
It seemed like ages before he turned his focus back to me, his dark eyes guarded.