by Soraya Naomi
“He hid me.” I distinctly remember that when I left my hiding place, I walked toward the cottage in a straight line, so I pull Adriano forward until we’re at the open lid of the underground space.
Flashlights are examining the area to try to find any trace of Luca.
With quivering lips, I continue, “They were fighting near where I was hiding. I could hear them, Adriano!” I point my unsteady fingers to my ears as tears pour down my face. “I heard gunshots!”
“Adriano,” a male voice shouts. “Over here.”
He takes my hand in his, and we run toward the other man. And then my heart drops to my feet as I fall to my knees.
“NO! Luca, you can’t leave me alone!” I scream and cry uncontrollably when I see Luca’s body on the ground with blood covering his face and chest.
But Adriano picks me up before I can touch him and holds me against his chest. His arms and sheer exhaustion immobilize me.
“Is he alive?” I ask.
“He’s in bad shape. We need to get him out of here,” he answers me and barks orders to his men. “You know the drill. Doc and an ambulance. Doc will take care of everything at the hospital. I’m taking her myself. Bury the other body.”
There’s another body? I didn’t even notice that.
“I want to stay with him,” I whisper so softly, but he hears me.
“We need to let the others do their work, Fallon. We’ll go straight to the hospital, and you can see Luca there.”
***
I sit on the white bed in the emergency room at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and wait for Adriano to return with an update on Luca while a young doctor removes glass splinters from my palms. The wait seems to take forever as my gaze is focused on nothing in this sterile room. I’m feeling numb, not because of the horror Ashton has inflicted on me and my loved ones, but because I don’t know what’s going on with Luca.
Tears keep streaming down my cheeks as I wait and wait after the doctor is done with my entire examination while not even knowing if Luca’s still alive.
Adriano finally enters with an unrecognizable look. “He’s in surgery.”
What is with these guys and always being in control of their emotions and expressions?
“Was he breathing? Where was he shot?” I ask.
“He was breathing, but he lost a lot of blood where two bullets penetrated the chest wall and damaged his lung. However, we transported him to the hospital fast, so the doctor said that at least the chance of infection is minimal.”
I start to cry again, so he joins me on the bed and throws his arm around my shoulder.
“The most important thing is that we got him medical attention quickly. The human body is much more resilient than you think, and gunshot wounds are usually not fatal, Fallon. Only shots to the heart or a major artery are potentially lethal when not treated immediately.”
“Is Doctor Calderone operating on him?”
“No, he’s not a chest surgeon, but I called him in so that he can take care of the hospital’s legalities: hospitals are required by law to contact the police when a bullet wound victim is brought in. Luca won’t be in any trouble because there will be no report of his admittance here; Doc will take care of that part.”
“Do you think he’ll survive?”
He snorts and locks eyes with me. “Of course. He would never leave you.”
Adriano comforts me while I cling to the belief that I won’t lose Luca now that we’ve just found our way back to each other. I won’t survive it if I lose him too.
CHAPTER 33
Luca
“Has he woken up?”
“Not yet.”
Gradually, I open my eyes and blink to adjust to the severe lighting.
“Mr. DeMiliano, good evening,” a doctor greets, accompanied by a nurse.
“Fallon?” I inquire in a hoarse voice and swallow, hurting my sore throat, but he doesn’t hear me.
“How do you feel, Mr. DeMiliano?”
“Sore throat.” I move my body slightly and experience severe pains.
“You were out for a day; it’s now evening. You were brought in last night with two bullets in your lung, but I removed them and had to remove a lobe, a section, of the injured lung. You have a thoracostomy tube in place. It’s a plastic chest tube that’s attached to a suction device to withdraw air, residual blood, or any body fluids from the chest. This helps to keep the lung inflated and once it heals after a couple of days, I’ll pull it out.” He checks my chart before he adds, “You’ve been on the ventilator all night and are now being given antibiotics to prevent lung and wound infections, along with pain medication. I would like to see you walk around a little today to prevent pneumonia, and we’ll start respiratory therapy as soon as possible. Therapy will offer you deep breathing exercises to help the lung heal steadily. You don’t have any rib fractures, but the extensive bruising on your body will hurt while healing.”
That’s all useless information to me at the moment. All I want to know is whether she survived and is unharmed, so I repeat, “Fallon?”
With a kind smile, the nurse answers, “Oh, the beautiful brunette who wouldn’t leave. She’ll be right back, sir. She just stepped out.”
Relieved, I feel the breath ease out of me. “I want to see her.”
“I’ll tell Fallon if I see her before you do,” she replies.
The doctor starts speaking again, “Since you’re otherwise healthy and in perfect condition, I believe you’ll have a speedy recovery.”
That’s good news. I can’t afford to be bedridden or physically weak for a long period of time.
“We’ll come back later,” the nurse informs after she checks my vitals.
She and the doctor clear out just as a furious James enters and begins talking without saying hello, “My underboss almost gets killed because of a woman?” Gritting his teeth, he closes the distance between us, and a look crosses his face that I’ve never seen before: a mixture of regret and pain.
For the first time ever, I see remorse flash across his eyes, and I realize right away that he’s here to strip my rank because he knows I’m putting Fallon before the Syndicate. Her survival was my only concern last night.
“Don’t make me choose, James. I will choose her,” I answer his unspoken question and cough.
A vicious glare is thrown at me. “Don’t be ignorant. You know damn well there isn’t a choice. What are you going to do? There’s no way out of the Syndicate, and you know damn well that you made a mistake when you risked your life for hers!”
“Did you talk to Adriano?” I retort. “Did he bring you up-to-date? This wasn’t solely about Fallon. It was about Ashton Banks, who’s a huge liability against our organization.”
It fucking hurts to talk this much, and my throat is extremely dry, but I need to defend myself so I can take advantage of the doubt I sense in James. I didn’t survive last night to be easily demoted due to the Syndicate regulations. Regrettably, James becomes disconcertingly quiet and turns away from me, gazing out the window, so I play my last card.
“Furthermore, you need me to find Cam – I’ve seen Cam,” I reveal, and James pivots around.
“When?” he demands to know.
“Last week.” What the hell is his interest in Cam? I’m seriously starting to think these two had an affair. “You need Adriano and me to find her again and, James, deep down you must realize I wouldn’t jeopardize the Syndicate. Adriano and I took care of everything. Don’t make a decision in anger that you’ll regret later. And don’t forget that Adriano isn’t only loyal to you, but to me too. If you lose me, you’ll lose him as well.”
Rubbing his fingers over his mouth, he scowls at me first then softens his expression. “You two handle everything with the hospital because I’m not lifting a finger to interfere with this mess.”
I nod in promise since I’m positive Adriano has already done that.
“Is Fallon in now? Has she accepted this mafia life? I can’t acc
ept your relationship with her if it puts my underboss’ life in danger – repeatedly.”
“She’s all in,” I lie. I haven’t had this discussion with Fallon, but I’ll be damned if she gets away from me again.
James studies me for a long minute, mulling over his options. Will he make a choice as my boss or as my father figure? Our familial bond wins out as he comments, “Then you and Adriano ensure no one finds out about this incident. And then I need Cam found, Luca.”
“Tell me why.”
“I’ll tell you and Adriano later. Do not disappoint me like this ever again. You scared me last night; I think I aged ten years in one day, son.” James blows out a troubled breath.
Mission accomplished for he’s gone back to referring to me as son. “Lo prometto.” I promise.
Then, at last, the one person I need appears in my room.
“Luca!” Fallon’s voice makes me forget about everything else, and I’m instantly appeased when I see her in the doorway with Adriano.
Fallon, my positive counterpart in everything, comes at me and kisses my forehead while looking back and forth between James and me.
“Hi,” she greets him timidly.
“Miss Michaels, I’m glad you’re okay. Luca, we’ll talk later.” James heads out and takes Adriano with him.
Fallon sits on the chair to my left and rests her head beside mine on the pillow.
“Do you have Ashton?” I mouth to Adriano.
Adriano nods before he exits with James as Fallon touches my unshaven jaw. And I notice the marks on her palms.
“Dolcezza, what happened to your hands?” I ask, and she looks up with moisture pooling in her eyes.
“It’s fine, just some cuts,” she explains, assuring me. “The doctor already examined me.”
The last piece of distress leaves my body. I entwine our hands and bring her knuckles to my lips. “Don’t cry. I just heard that I’m going to be fine as well.”
Her entire manner relaxes, and she leans her forehead against mine, cocooning us in our own world – like she always did when we first met. “I know. I was so scared that I was going to lose you.”
“You’ll never lose me,” I vow, tucking her hair behind her ear and ghosting my lips over hers.
Even through my pain, she manages to dispel every negative thought inside me. As usual, Fallon centers me. She calms me with the gentlest kiss she’s ever given me. One that says so much more than words. I cup the back of her head to taste every inch of her velvety mouth, and I feel her smiling. With a mere kiss, we’re truly back to being Luca and Fallon. I have my solace again. It’s one thing I wanted.
But I groan and pull back when other parts come to life, and she sends me a salacious grin.
“Ti amo, Fallon. You’ll never lose me because I’ll never leave you. You’re mine, my love.”
“I love you, Luca,” she whispers tenderly, brushing her fingers through my beard – giving me a sense of peace.
“Come lie in bed with me,” I say, but she gazes at me for a little while longer without speaking.
And it’s a perfect silent moment in time before she climbs in.
CHAPTER 34
Fallon
Luca has recovered quickly, and after a month, he’s back to his old controlling, dominant self as we sit around his kitchen island, and he expects answers from me.
“Stop overthinking every little thing. Do you know what I want? You. You, just the way you are. I want us to live and love together and to create new memories because today is our chance to live. Not tomorrow. Live in the present with me, and stop fighting your love because I’m not waiting around forever. Do you want to be with me? It’s a simple question.”
Recently, he’s been pressing the matter of us more often. In the past, we loved each other, then hurt one another by being apart, and nothing, nothing broke our bond. Throughout everything, he has been my rock.
Sometimes the course of your life is determined when you’re at your absolute worst. The worst moment of my life led me back to the love of my life. Since the day my parents died, Luca hasn’t left my side. He fought for me, he protected me, and he put me back together, broken piece by broken piece. And the defining moment in my life was when I decided to call Luca on the day that I lost the two people I will forever miss. That day brought us back together. That day sparked a love that we so desperately suppressed. That day shaped me into the person I am today. There isn’t a doubt in the depth of my heart and soul that I want to be with him.
“Yes,” I answer, and his smile is my reward.
He comes up behind me as I’m perched on the bar stool.
“Then I want you to move in with me permanently because I want you to be at our house when I come home at night,” he explains with his chest against my back, warming me in a cuddle while his hands find their way under my shirt, searching for bare skin to touch.
Happiness is right within my grasp as I look over my shoulder into Luca’s piercing green eyes. I’m tired of always worrying, and he’s the one that protects me. He deserves my commitment. He deserves to have the love we shared when we met a year ago, and I deserve it as well.
“I want that too.”
His lips curl up. “Bene.” Good.
However, there’s something else I want to discuss with Luca, but I’m not sure how to start. “Luca...”
“Yes?” He pecks my neck and then adds when I remain quiet, “You can tell me anything.”
“The police called today. They pretty much told me that the investigation is going nowhere. Nothing has led them to Ashton, even though I’ve dropped his name several times. They still treat me like I’m an annoyance. I-I’ve been living with this...this longing for revenge, and I didn’t tell you because it’s scaring me somewhat to admit it to myself, let alone to someone else.”
He turns the bar stool and palms the back of my head in reassurance, urging me to go on.
“I just want justice for my parents, and it’s eating me alive that Ashton’s still out there after everything he’s done to me, my parents, and to you.”
“I told you the police won’t give you justice,” he says and combs my bangs to the side with his fingers.
“I’m starting to understand that.”
“What do you want? Do you want me to take care of it? All you have to do is say the word,” he offers, unaffected by my admission, probably because he’s detected this change in me.
“Yes...No.” I palm my forehead, but Luca takes my hand and entangles our fingers.
“You’re not an evil person because you want retribution for all that’s been done to you. Do you want me to take care of him without giving you the specifics?”
I nod an approval, and Luca’s mouth turns up into a devilish grin.
“This is kind of turning me on,” he admits in a deep voice, laced with yearning.
“You’re crazy,” I throw back as he wedges himself between my legs.
“Crazy to get inside you.” He takes my hips in his hands.
I wind my legs around his waist, and my skirt rides up, exposing my naked thighs.
His lips trail kisses across my collarbone and up my throat until he meets my gaze, squeezes my ass and whispering, “I’m happy that you’re moving in permanently.”
Keenly, I brace his neck, pulling our bodies close together as his mouth claims mine. I’m absentmindedly playing with the hair at his nape as he massages my hips and his hands move over the rounded curves of my behind, making me writhe into him. His grip becomes more solid as I feel him stiffening through his pants, and I relish in his taste as our tongues push and pull desirously. But then Luca’s hands glide down my arms and position my hands, palms flat, on the granite top behind me, so I’m forced to lean back a little.
“Keep them there,” he commands and nuzzles my neck, kneading my breast with one hand and yanking up his white dress shirt to unbutton his charcoal slacks.
Then he slides his knuckles up the inside of my bare thigh, nudging my pant
ies aside to rub the head of his arousal against me. My hips jerk forward as just the tip moves inside, and he bites my lip, groaning.
“You’re always so wet for me.” He bunches my skirt in one hand to watch himself sliding slowly inside me, making us one.
Locking my feet behind him, I rest back against the counter, whimpering and arching from the exquisitely delightful sensation of him filling me completely.
“Luca...” I pant.
“I love it when you scream my name,” he mutters through short breaths, pushing in deep and then riding me hard.
No more slow as he grabs my hips and hammers into me, rattling the bar stool and almost tipping us back, but I keep a firm grip on the island behind me as his eyes hold mine. We’re both entirely dressed, yet intimately connected on our own level.
“I love you,” I say around moan.
My husky voice isn’t holding back any emotion, and I welcome his passionate thrusts as he growls and bends forward to nip and kiss a path down my throat.
“Ti amo così tanto.” I love you so much.
Luca circles his hips, and I explode with pleasure traveling from my core to the tips of my toes as he keeps up his brutally rough thrusts until I feel him swelling inside me and emptying with a low groan, collapsing against me. I cradle his head against my breasts as our chests rise and fall, and we just caress each other for several satisfying minutes.
“Do you have time for a shower together?” he whispers and bites my nipple through the fabric of my shirt, causing me to shriek.
“It’ll have to be quick because I’m meeting Wade in the park. Just to catch up,” I reply before he lifts me up and carries me to the bathroom.
***
I’m waiting on the park bench for Wade with my book in hand when I notice a shadow from the corner of my eye, and Wade slides in next to me.
“Why hello,” he greets with a cocky grin plastered on his face.
“You’re in an awfully good mood,” I reply.
Wade lost his job at the precinct, which gave him mixed feelings.
“Guess who works as a private detective now? And I’m in a good mood because I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
