The Muscle Part Three

by Michelle St. James

  “I have no idea.” Luca had his weapon drawn, but judging by the two SUVs speeding toward the house, it wasn’t going to be enough. Farrell brought enough skill for four men, but with only Marco covering the back of the house while Elia was gone, they might still be outmatched.

  “Fuentes?” Farrell asked.

  Luca didn’t have time to answer before nine men spilled out from the two vehicles. They were wearing tactical gear and carrying AKs, their body language smooth and easy, speaking to their obvious experience. They fired on the house indiscriminately, spraying the facade with bullets as casually as if they were watering the lawn.

  Farrell and Luca hit the floor at the same time, each of them crawling to one of the shattered windows on either side of the door.

  “I’ve got the guys on the left,” Farrell said. “You take the right.”

  Luca combed his mind as they fired on the men, now ducked behind the big, black cars they must have used to break through the front gate. This was way too coordinated and well equipped to be Diego. Which left only one other possibility.

  Lorenzo Sanchez.

  He was pulled from this thoughts by another spray of bullets, one of which came dangerously close to his head as it made its way through the empty window frame and into the wall of the foyer.

  “Fuck!” he shouted, returning fire. It was a temporary strategy. He and Farrell were outmatched and outgunned. They wouldn’t be able to hold off the men outside forever. He looked at the stairs, then glanced at Farrell, hunkered down on the other side of the door. “Isabel?”

  “Told her to stay upstairs,” Farrell said, squeezing off another round that sent the men outside running for cover.

  Luca breathed a sigh of relief just in time for another hail of bullets to rip through the entry way.

  “What the fuck…” He waited for the shots to be silent, then shouted out before he could change his mind. “Sanchez! It’s Luca Cassano. I want to negotiate.”

  His words were met with silence, but it was better than another storm of gunfire. A minute later, Sanchez’s voice rang out through the silence.

  “We have already tried that,” he said. “Turn over the traitor and we will leave you in peace.”

  Luca cut his gaze to Farrell, who raised an eyebrow in question. There was no time to explain. Luca only had two options. Tell Sanchez Diego was missing and hope he was willing to work together or try to continue the ruse and inevitably be shut down before he could find Sofia.

  “Fuentes isn’t here,” Luca shouted. “He’s been gone for over a month.”

  Sanchez laughed. “This asshole has cojones,” he said to his men, just loud enough for Luca to hear. “Why didn’t you tell me this at our previous meeting? Why should I believe you now?”

  Luca sighed, wishing they could have a conversation that didn’t involve shouting through the ruined front door while he braced himself to be hit with bullets from a bunch of semi-automatic weapons.

  “There’s a… family matter,” he finally said. “Fuentes has taken his little sister as a hostage. I thought it might make it harder to find him if you knew he was MIA. But now I think we can help each other.”

  Silence stretched long and thin. Farrell still had his gun pointed through a hole in the window, his big body as graceful as a lion sprawled out on the tile floor.

  “What are you offering?” Sanchez asked.

  “You help me get Diego when the shipment comes in so I can find the location of the girl, you get to keep him — and his territory — when I’m done.”

  Another pause. “Or I could kill you now and take the territory myself.”

  “Maybe,” Luca said. “But since we talked I’ve found some new information, and now I know when and where that shipment is coming in.” He hesitated, not wanting to show desperation but wanting to make it clear he had no interest in Diego’s supply. “I just want to get the girl to safety with her older sister. You have my word.”

  He watched through the window as two of the men withdrew back into the car, probably to consult with Sanchez. A moment later Sanchez’s voice rang out across the courtyard.

  “You have a deal,” he said. “But if you double cross me both women will be fed to the sharks — after we’re done with them.”

  “And I have your promise that we walk away as long as we live up to our end?” he shouted back.

  This time the pause was so long Luca wondered if Sanchez had changed his mind. Finally he spoke again.

  “You have my word.”

  Farrell looked at him with steely eyes. Luca could almost hear what he was thinking.

  The word of a drug dealer. Perfect.

  14

  Isabel sat on the floor in the studio, the ruined pieces of her art scattered all around her. She’d been retreating more and more to the room in the three days since Lorenzo Sanchez’s men had been around the house. They hadn’t been disrespectful of her. But they reminded her too much of Diego with their hooded eyes and intent stares, and she still wasn’t entirely sure they could be trusted. She understood why Luca had to work with them — she just didn’t like it.

  Most of the paintings she’d destroyed were a lost cause, the canvas shredded to the point of no repair. But there were two that might be saved. They would never be the same, of course. But with a little work and some creativity, she might be able to salvage them.

  The door to the studio opened and Luca appeared.

  “Busy?” he asked.

  She smiled. “Never too busy for you.”

  He entered the room and stood behind her, studying the remnants of the painting over her shoulder. “Looks like you might be able to save that one.”

  She looked up at him, leaned into the pressure of his hands on her shoulders. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Marco brought home food. You hungry?” he asked.

  She nodded. “A little.”

  He reached out, touched the bridge of her nose. “Why the worry?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “You get a little line on the bridge of your nose when you’re worried about something.”

  “Do I?” She was touched that he would notice something about her even she hadn’t known.

  He nodded, bent down to kiss the top of her head. “So? Talk to me.”

  “I feel… nervous with so many people in the house,” she finally admitted.

  “So many men, you mean,” he said softly.

  She nodded, surprised to feel the sting of tears. She knew that she had suffered psychological damage because of what Diego’s men had done to her, but most of the time she was able to push it into a tiny box far, far away from the rest of her world. Luca had helped her work through her sexual fears, both by being patient and by not treating her too delicately when all she wanted was to feel like a woman. He’d soothed her in the middle of the night when she sat up with a start, skin coated with sweat, heart pounding like a trapped bird from one of her nightmares.

  But there were still moments when she was scared. Even moments when she was ashamed. Marco and Elia were so different from the men her brother had surrounded himself with. Even Farrell, a man of few words with a gaze that could cut steel, felt like a different kind of animal.

  Sanchez’s guards made her nervous — in more ways than one. She would be glad when this was over and they could be on their way. But in the meantime, she couldn’t hide in the studio forever.

  Luca lowered himself to his heels so he was eye to eye with her in the chair. He took her hand, gently stroking her palm with his thumb.

  “Look at me, Isabel.” She did, because she could never not look at him when he asked. Because looking at him had been the one thing that had kept her sane since Sofia’s disappearance. “I will never, ever let anyone hurt you again. Ever. I promise. Okay?”

  She hesitated, then nodded. He was good and kind, but he was also fierce when the situation called for it, and she knew he would stop at nothing to protect her.

  He st
ood and held out his hand. “Now come on. It’s Chinese. And you know how I like Chinese.”

  She smiled and took his hand. In four days they would conduct their raid on Diego’s shipment at the harbor. They would hand Diego over to Sanchez — she’d made a point of not thinking about what would be next for him, he’d forfeited a right to her love when he was cruel to Sofia — and then the future would be in front of them like a real life dream.

  Just four more days.

  15

  “Think we can trust them?” Farrell said, voice low as he eyed Sanchez’s men scattered around the pool.

  They were having one last meal before the raid on Diego’s shipment — or Lorenzo’s, as Sanchez liked to refer to it. Luca looked at Sanchez’s men. He’d developed an uneasy rapport with them in the four days since they’d opened fire on the Fuentes house. They weren’t friends. They would never be that. They were too different, and Luca knew their honor code was virtually non-existent. But he believed Sanchez would be true to their agreement, and he believed he could count on his men to hold up their end of the bargain when they met Diego at the dock.

  “I think we can trust them with this,” he said. “Sanchez wants the drugs, and he wants to take Diego out of the equation as a message to anyone else who might be thinking about betraying a territory agreement. He doesn’t care about us, and he knows we’re connected. I don’t think fucking us would be worth the backlash.”

  Farrell nodded. “Fucking Columbians.”

  The words were incongruous when said with Farrell’s British accent, and Luca laughed. They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Farrell spoke again.

  “She’s had a rough time of it,” he said, his eyes on Isabel standing cautiously by the food laid out on the bar.

  Luca sighed, his eyes on her from across the terrace. “She has.”

  She was as beautiful as ever in a long dress and sandals, her hair tied back into a conservative twist that only served to highlight her delicate bone structure and full lips. The dress revealed nothing to the casual eye, but he knew her body well enough to catch the hint of her hips, the taper of her waist, the full breasts that filled his big hands.

  “Will she be all right?” Farrell asked.

  “I don’t know,” Luca answered honestly. “I hope so.”

  “Will she let you help her when this is over?” he asked.

  “I hope so,” Luca said again, realizing for the first time how tenuous his future with her was. They hadn’t talked about it beyond getting Sofia to safety. For all he knew, she wanted to take Sofia and leave, put as much distance between them and the mess in Miami as possible, take some time to heal by herself.

  Farrell sighed and took a swig of the sweating beer in his hand. “Women. They’re going to destroy us.”

  Luca glanced at him. The words were uncharacteristic — Farrell usually steered clear of anything personal — but Luca wasn’t entirely surprised. From the moment he’d shown up at the house he’d seemed different. Still mostly silent. Still with the violent, frenetic energy that had always made Nico uneasy. But now there was something reflective in his eyes. Something that made Luca wonder what was going on with Farrell Black.

  “You never told me why you’re in the States,” Luca said. “I thought you hated it here.”

  Farrell studied the rim of the bottle. “Nothing wrong with America. I simply have my reasons for avoiding it.”

  Luca lifted an eyebrow. “Women?”

  Farrell grimaced. “Something like that.” He stared out across the pool, face pensive. “Have you ever wanted something so much you’d do anything to have it?”

  “Someone, you mean?” Luca asked.

  Farrell met his eyes, his gaze even. “Maybe.”

  Luca looked at Isabel, laughing at something Marco said. “Yes.”

  “And what do you do if you can’t have it?” he asked.

  “You learn to live with it,” Luca said, thinking of the long months when Nico and Angel had been apart. But Nico hadn’t been living then. Not really. And now Luca understood. He would go on breathing without Isabel, but it would only be an approximation of living.

  “I tried that,” Farrell said, draining his beer. “Didn’t bloody work.”

  Luca hid his surprise. What kind of woman would it take to bring a man like Farrell to his knees?

  16

  She woke up when the sun was just a promise on the horizon behind the house. A soft yellow light leaked in through the open balcony doors, and a salty breeze blew the sheers on either side. She expected Luca to be asleep, but when she turned her head she was surprised to find that he was wide awake and looking right at her.

  “Good morning, sweetheart,” he said, reaching out to smooth back her hair.

  She smiled. “Good morning.”

  Then she remembered what day it was, and she felt the smile fall from her lips.

  He leaned over and kissed her, then smoothed the bridge of her nose. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”

  She shook her head against the crisp white pillowcase. “You can’t promise that.”

  He propped himself up on his elbow. “Clearly you don’t know who you’re dealing with here.”

  She laughed a little. “Nice try.” She sighed. “It’s not that I don’t believe in you. I just want to be practical, prepare myself for every eventuality.”

  He rolled on top of her, his body smelling of clean linen and salt and the sex they’d had until the wee hours of the morning. “Then prepare yourself for Sofia. Because I’m bringing her home to you.”

  There was so much certainty in his voice she couldn’t help but be swayed. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she was lying to herself. So be it. She believed him. Believed in him. He had brought her this far. She would have faith that he would bring her the rest of the way home.

  Fool, a voice in her head whispered.

  It was the voice of reason. Luca and the others were going to raid an enormous drug shipment worth millions of dollars. Even under the best of circumstances it would be dangerous. But this was ten vicious men on two sides of the same battle — and that wasn’t including Diego. Anything could happen, and she knew it was true even if Luca wouldn’t acknowledge it.

  The thought sobered her further. She wanted more mornings in bed with Luca. More whispered secrets in the dark. More of him moving inside her, his body staking its claim on hers. The future was a big blank space. She had no idea where she and Sofia would live or what they would do next, but she knew that she wanted Luca to be part of it.

  “What will happen?” she asked. “After its over.”

  He started kissing her neck, working his way up to her ear where he nibbled at the lobe until she squirmed under him, already wet.

  “That’s up to you,” he murmured. “What do you want to happen?”

  “What do you want to happen?” she countered, gasping when he nudged open her thighs, pressed his erection against her swollen sex.

  “I want this,” he said, pressing into her until his tip slid against her clit.

  She opened her legs further, positioning herself for optimal pleasure under his cock. “I want this, too.”

  He leaned down, captured her mouth with his as he centered the thick head of his erection against her opening. “When I say I want this, I mean I want it forever,” he said. “I want you forever. Do you think you can handle it?”

  She swept his mouth with her tongue while her hands worked their way down his back to the tight muscles of his ass. “I can handle it.”

  His expression grew serious as he gazed at her. She could never doubt him when he looked at her like that. His gaze was so full of love, full of all the certainty she felt when she was with him.

  “Say it,” he said, sliding his cock against her until she writhed under him, desperate for him to fill her. “Say you want it forever.”

  She moaned, wrapping her legs around his thighs. “I want it forever. I want you forever.”

  He dropped his mo
uth to hers and kissed her deeply while he impaled her.

  She cried out, grabbing his ass, pushing him all the way inside her. “Make me yours,” she gasped.

  He lifted one of her legs onto his shoulder, slanting his body over hers so that he could drive every inch of his massive cock inside her, until she wasn’t sure if it was pleasure or pain she was feeling.

  “You already are mine, sweetheart. You always were.”

  17

  Later that day, Luca took the passenger seat in the lead car with Marco, Elia, and Farrell. Sanchez and his men pulled into position behind them and they made their way down the long driveway. He tried not to think about Isabel, pacing the house and waiting for word.

  He’d been surprised when Sanchez opted to come along. He’d pegged him as a guy who liked to keep his hands clean, and god knew he had enough muscle to do the dirty work for him. But he’d shown up that morning with the others, even forgoing Kevlar when they’d suited up.

  They were armed to the hilt, both with the weaponry Luca had stockpiled in the weeks leading up to the raid and with the arsenal brought by Sanchez and his men. Luca knew it was still no guarantee. They had no idea what they’d be up against. Normally, Luca would feel comfortable guessing his opponent’s motives and strategy, but Diego was a wild card made even more wild by his drug use and the bitterness that seemed to blot out all reason. Had he been good to Isabel, she would have happily supplied him with the money he needed for the business. She’d even offered to sign over half of it to him.

  Instead Diego was at war with Sanchez, and he’d made an enemy of Luca as well. He was in hiding, probably low on money, making stupid mistakes like going after his colleague’s supplier.

  Elia navigated the SUV onto the highway. Everyone was silent, but Luca was used to that. Small talk was usually kept at a minimum when you were about to put your life on the line, and all the planning had already been done.

  The pieces of the game were in motion now. There was nothing to do but play.