Red Hot Dragons Steamy 10 Book Collection

by Lisa Daniels

  Their eyes met and Angela knew that it was likely going to be the last time she ever saw Val. No matter what she claimed, Ang realized that Val had become Mara now and the life she had created for herself was something she would always struggle to keep.

  Angela understood that deeper than she could explain.

  She bolted out the door, the keys to Tanya’s car still in her hand.

  How much time do I have before Duggan gets impatient? What if Val speaks to the Office of Personal Responsibility and tells them what she knows? The FBI would open an investigation against Duggan and we would be safe—at least from Duggan.

  It was a long shot, three years after the incident, and Valentina would hardly be considered credible in light of what had happened.

  Her cousin would be regarded as a deserter, a selfish former agent who had started a new life because she was afraid to come out of the closet.

  There was no proof of what Val claimed and it would only put Tanya in danger with the mob if they ever learned the truth.

  No, it is all on me. I have to talk to Luca and—

  “Hello, Angela.”

  She started at the sound of her name, her eyes locking on Luca, who stepped toward her, his face shrouded with malice.

  A gasp of shock fell from her mouth, the plan she had formulated dissolving as quickly as it had been formed when she read the expression on his face.

  He knows my name. My real name.

  “Luca!” she breathed. “I was just coming for you!”

  He snickered mirthlessly.

  “I bet,” he growled. “You and Mara both, right?”

  Tanya stepped out from behind her car and Angela knew it was all over.

  She and Val had both played a dangerous game in love and as a result, had likely just lost their lives because of it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Great Escape

  The idea to track Tanya’s phone had come after Luca had Carmello trace Teresa’s and learned it was still at La Perla.

  The information had confused him and he called the restaurant where he talked to Gus, the busboy.

  “No, she’s not here, Luca,” Gus explained. “She left with Tanya in Tanya’s car after their shift.”

  “Where did they go?” he demanded, his patience expired.

  “No idea. They don’t talk to me,” Gus chuckled. He hung up, furious that he was wasting precious time with the busboy.

  Luca got back on the phone with Carmello.

  “This goddamn job,” their resident tech complained. “If I had known you stronzos were going to be calling me at all hours of the day and night, I never would have agreed to this. Tell me whatever you want can’t wait until the morning—”

  His whining was abruptly cut off by Luca’s hissing.

  “If it could wait, I would have waited!”

  Carmello heard the fury in his tone and relented.

  “What is it this time?” he sighed.

  “Track Tanya’s phone.”

  He waited, listening as Carm’s fingers worked over the keyboard through his Bluetooth speaker. The entire matter was taking far too long for Luca’s liking.

  “Well?” he demanded impatiently. “Where is she?”

  Where are they? Is Tanya a CI too? Oh, I can’t believe I have to deal with this right now.

  “I’m on it,” Carm assured Luca. “They seem to be in Fort Lauderdale.”

  “What the hell is there?”

  “No idea, Luca. I’m sending you the location now.”

  Luca was already out the door when the text with the locale came in, his Saab zooming out of the small parking lot toward I-95.

  She’s off clubbing or some shit like she’s not a liar, pretending to be someone she’s not.

  On a whim, he dialed Tanya ’s number.

  “Luca!” the bartender gasped, answering after the second ring. “W-why are you calling so late?”

  “Where the hell is she?” he hissed.

  “W-who?” Tanya breathed.

  She knows exactly why I’m calling.

  “I’m already on my way to you, Tanya. If I come all the way over there and she’s not with you—”

  “I swear to God, I didn’t know anything about this until a few minutes ago. Please, Luca, I didn’t know about her or Mara or—”

  “About Mara? What about Mara?”

  His voice was oddly flat but somehow, Luca wasn’t surprised to hear that there was a connection between the women. His subconscious had been trying to tell him as much all along.

  There was an abrupt silence as Tanya realized she had said too much.

  “What about Mara?” he asked again.

  “She’s here too,” Tanya breathed and he could almost taste the fear in her voice.

  Teresa and Mara were working together. I didn’t just allow one cop into our house. I’m an FBI magnet.

  “Luca, I think there’s more going on than we—”

  “I will deal with you after. Don’t you move from there, Tanya!” His tone was a thousand blades cutting through the phone.

  “I won’t,” she promised miserably and as he hung up, he had to wonder how much she really knew about what was going on.

  Probably more than me, he thought bitterly.

  As he made the drive to Fort Lauderdale, his blood boiling, he didn’t know what he was going to do.

  If Giovanni finds out about this, I’m dead too. I have pushed my limits with the old man over the years but not like this. Bringing an undercover agent into his restaurant, into his business—this is unforgiveable.

  By the time he pulled up to the gated community, he knew he only had one choice; he had to kill Teresa—Angela, whatever her name was. It was the only way to keep Giovanni from finding out about what had happened.

  The idea did not fill him with glee and as he thought about it, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it, even if she wasn’t a dragon.

  Pulling his vehicle to the curb, he watched the front door open and the female Judas walking out onto the driveway, her head down as she appeared lost in thought.

  Look at her, carrying on with her life as if nothing was wrong. How could I have fallen for that? I don’t deserve to be capo.

  Despite his anger, Luca could not deny the flood of emotion he felt for her.

  She’s a traitor, he thought furiously, jumping from the car. She needs to know what will happen to traitors if they mess with the family.

  But the bravado in his head did not match what he felt, as if the words were planted there by rote.

  Whose words were they? His father’s? Giovanni’s? They weren’t his, that was for sure. His heart wasn’t in the familia. It was inside this treasonous witch who had betrayed him in every possible way.

  “Hello, Angela.”

  She started at the sound of her name, her eyes locking on Luca, who stepped toward her, his face shrouded with malice.

  “Luca!” she gasped. “I was just coming for you!”

  He snickered mirthlessly.

  “I bet,” he sighed. “You and Mara both, right?”

  Her complexion was opaque as Tanya appeared in view, her expression defeated.

  “Get Mara and get into the car,” he growled at Tanya, but she shook her head.

  “No,” she told him, standing firmly on the pavement, her arms crossed over her chest. “I can’t do that.”

  He raised his gun toward her but he instantly noticed that his fingers trembled.

  “Tanya, go get the other one,” he hissed. “Now.”

  The blonde did not need a second instruction and she bolted toward the house, leaving Luca to stare at the woman he had been so sure about, so wrong about.

  “Get in the car,” Luca snapped, willing his hand to steady, but Teresa stood where she was, showing her own weapon as she raised her hands.

  “You’re not going to shoot me, Luca.”

  “You don’t know me!” he spat. “Don’t pretend you ever did.”

  “I do know you,”
she replied softly, gingerly stepping toward him. “That’s why I know you’re going to hear what I have to say before doing anything you’re going to regret.”

  “You’re a damned cop!”

  “No. I’m not.”

  Confusion overtook him and he lowered his gun slightly.

  “You’re not?” he echoed disbelievingly. “Is that the story you’re going with?”

  “I was a cop,” she sighed. “But I’m not anymore.”

  He peered at her, his jaw locking in defiance, but he read the truth in her face.

  She can’t hide what she’s feeling, he thought. She’s a terrible actress, a terrible liar.

  He loathed that he was lowering his guard, reading her face for absolution but not finding what he needed there.

  “I was sent here to find the woman you know as Mara,” she explained, taking another step toward him. “But I wasn’t authorized to be here.”

  He processed the words, trying to see if they fit with what he already knew.

  “Why were you sent to find her?” he growled. “Is she a cop too?”

  The brunette paused as if considering his question, but Luca felt a stab of betrayal as he understood the truth.

  “She’s hiding from the same man who enlisted me to find her, a rogue agent who stole from the Menottis. He needs to be stopped, Luca, and you need to help me stop him. If you do that, you will never see me again, I swear.”

  The agony in her voice was apparent but he closed his ears to it.

  She couldn’t be trusted and he wouldn’t fall for it again.

  He chortled without humor and raised the pistol again, waving her toward the car.

  “I don’t owe you anything,” he spat. “Get in the car.”

  “No,” she agreed, unmoving. “You don’t owe me anything. You have saved me a dozen times over in just a few short weeks.”

  Unexpectedly, he found himself moved by the words but he forced himself not to show his feelings.

  She’s manipulating you. You can’t believe anything she’s saying. You have to kill her and Mara. Your own life depends on it.

  Instinctively, he looked up toward the doorway and out walked his ex-girlfriend, her face gaunt as she stared at him imploringly.

  “No!” Mara cried out, seeing the gun. “Please, Luca, put that away.”

  “You have no right to tell me what to do,” he spat back at her. “Shut up and get in the car.”

  “Luca,” she whispered. “I had to get away from Duggan. I had no choice.”

  “Looks like you’re doing just fine.”

  “I’m not!” Mara insisted, shooting Angela a wary look. “Duggan is still going to come after me, after us.”

  “Us?” Luca echoed. Mara nodded.

  “Now Angela is on his list too. We know too much, Luca. He recruited my cousin to find me and now he’s going to take her out too.”

  He looked from Mara to Teresa and suddenly realized that he felt absolutely nothing toward the woman he had spent years furious with.

  There was no more anger, no sense of loss.

  It was as if he were staring at a total stranger.

  Teresa changed all that for me, he thought, eyeing the slender girl inching toward him. But her name isn’t even Teresa. It’s Angela. I never really knew her.

  “Luca, you have to help us stop Duggan. It is the only way to ensure none of this gets out.”

  “Or I can kill you both. All three of you,” he retorted flatly, his hand at arm level as his finger curled around the trigger.

  “You won’t do that—” Angela started to say but her words were cut off as a shot rang through the still night.

  Everyone hit the ground simultaneously, Teresa gaping at him in shock.

  “You shot me?” she squealed, looking at her body for damage, but he shook his head as another bullet whipped past them.

  “Someone else is shooting at us,” he hissed, keeping his head low. There was no time to look. They needed to find cover.

  Luca grabbed his lover’s hand, yanking her toward him behind the Saab, slowly raising his head to look over the hood.

  Teresa grabbed his shoulder and yanked him down.

  “Stay low,” she hissed. “You don’t know where they are.”

  A male’s voice boomed out through the night and even Luca recognized it, even after hearing it one time.

  “Val! Get your ass out here!”

  That would be the superintendent.

  “I will kill every one of these cretins if you don’t show yourself,” he spat. “Not that they don’t deserve it. Mobsters and a fallen cop. You’re just like your cousin, huh, Angela? Couldn’t keep your eye on the job. Had to sleep with the first guy who made eyes at you.”

  Luca bristled at the words but Teresa seemed to sense his desire to pounce, placing her arm on him protectively and shaking her dark tresses in warning.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Terry called tauntingly, shooting toward the women cowering near the entrance of the house. “I’m not leaving here without you, Val. I’ve been looking for you for three damn years. If I hadn’t thought to follow Luca here, I would have never found you. God knows your cousin is as deceitful as you are. I should have known your entire family was no good.”

  Luca cast Teresa a sidelong glance, watching her jaw twitch at the agent’s leering words.

  Sleeping with me wasn’t part of the script, huh? he asked her silently but she didn’t meet his eyes.

  He didn’t know if that made him feel worse or better. He knew he didn’t have time to analyze it in that moment.

  “I’m here, Duggan,” Mara yelled suddenly, stepping forward. “You can take me. Leave everyone else.”

  The bird-man sniggered and slowly, the top of his head came into view from over the car.

  “How very noble of you,” he chortled sarcastically. “You’re suddenly worried about the welfare of other—”

  His sentence abruptly ended as Luca emerged, his body fully shifting into the beast inside.

  “Luca!” Teresa hissed but he ignored her, his tail whipping against the Saab as he neared the petrified agent.

  “W-what the hell?” he squeaked. He raised his gun to fire off another round, the bullet landing squarely in Luca’s chest, but he barely felt it. Through his peripheral view, he saw Teresa shift too, confirming what he’d already known about her as she unhinged her rose-colored jaw and unleashed a spray of fire toward him.

  Duggan screamed in protest but he dropped to the ground, rolling to put his blazing body out of its misery. Finally, he stopped rolling, his eyes still wide in death. Time froze for a brief moment as the two couples stared at one another, unsure of what to do next.

  Luca recovered first. Instantly, he morphed back into his mortal frame, nodding at Teresa to do the same.

  “Get him into the car,” he growled, looking around the deserted street for potential witnesses. “We have to get rid of the body.”

  The women sprang into action immediately, dragging the agent toward the trunk of Luca’s car.

  “Go back inside the house and clean up,” Luca told Tanya and Mara. “We were never here. If the cops come knocking, you saw and heard nothing. Capisce?”

  They nodded in unison.

  “Come on, Ang,” Mara called, waving for her cousin to follow.

  Luca tensed and looked at Teresa. She returned his gaze with pain in her eyes.

  He knew he couldn’t kill her, not even if what she had told him had been a lie. The feelings he had for her were far too strong and while he had no guarantees that she would disappear as she promised, he still knew that he could not put a bullet in her.

  “You can go,” he told her, turning away, but she grabbed his arm.

  “No. I’m staying with you.”

  “Ang, come with us,” Mara insisted, but neither of them looked at her.

  “We’ll go together, Luca,” Teresa whispered. “Anywhere you want. I know you want more out of your life than this. Let
’s go start somewhere new, together.”

  He scoffed but there was no conviction in the sound.

  How long had he envisioned himself untangled from the family, ending the generations of family ties to the mafia?

  The opportunity was presenting itself with bells on—a slain FBI agent, the possibility of the family being infiltrated.

  If he left that night, Giovanni would understand why and never send anyone after him.

  “Luca…”

  He whirled and stared at her with narrowed eyes.

  “I don’t even know your real name,” he snapped. “How could you think I would just up and leave with you?”

  “I don’t know anything about you either,” she replied softly. “I’m giving you—us—a chance to learn everything we need to know without targets on our backs.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, his heart hammering.

  “Luca—”

  “Angela!” Mara’s voice was filled with panic. “You have to come inside.”

  She finally addressed her cousin, shaking her head.

  “No,” she sighed. “I’m staying with Luca… aren’t I?”

  He eyed her and slowly nodded.

  “Yeah,” he mumbled and the word lightened the insurmountable weight on his shoulders and her face exploded into an expression of relief. “What’s your name, for real?”

  “It’s Teresa Milano. She is the girl I have always wanted to be.”

  “She’s the girl I fell for,” he conceded and a quavering smile formed on her pale but full mouth.

  “I’m in love with you too,” she breathed. “You’re my mate and I’m yours.”

  Luca knew there was only truth in her words.

  She is willing to give up everything tonight and leave with me. Even with Mara offering her protection, she is choosing me.

  He studied her impassioned face and slowly dropped his lips to hers.

  I won’t let her go. She belongs with me.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered as they parted. “I know just where we’re headed.”

  “Where?”

  “Sardinia.”

  A slow blush of pleasure filled her cheeks.

  “Perfect.”

  “What’s going to be perfect is when I finally take your ass,” he rasped. “It will be on the Tyrrhenian Sea.”

  “Sounds kinky,” she laughed, her body relaxing against him.