by Lux Miller
“It was a lot more than nothing. It was fucking badass. Dante, you were a fucking goner. They were talking last rites and shit… until she went beast mode and donated as much blood as they could legally take from her. And the way they did it… fuck, that was scary for everyone involved!”
Dante raises an eyebrow as he looks at me, then at Luca and nods. “I see… and I guess that her heroism made Father more, erm, accepting of this?” Dante swirls his finger in the air at Luca and me. “Because the last thing I heard was he was ripping up her contract because you were getting attached to her. That he couldn’t have his secret weapon having a weakness.”
Luca gives a half-bounce of his shoulder. “To be fair, I tried to follow his orders like an asshole. I tried to send her to Houston, did send her to Houston actually... but then when she overheard that you’d been hurt, she fucking snatched Mike’s gun. Right out of the holster. Then she demanded he bring her back here or she’d shoot him. Mike says she even went so far as to pop off the safety and cock the damn thing!”
Dante’s face is a mixture of horror and surprise. “You disarmed Mike?”
Blushing, I give a quick shrug. “I took him by surprise is all... “
Dante looks at Luca with a smirk, “Five dollars says that if she could get her hands on it, that gun wasn’t even loaded. Mike’s too careful for that. But I’m still impressed. Your girl has balls…”
Luca shakes his head quickly. He tightens his arms around my waist protectively. You couldn’t slip a piece of paper between our bodies right now. “Nah Dante, I assure you she doesn’t. Thanks to your meddling, I’ve seen the light… and every inch of her naked. There are no balls to be found.”
I know my cheeks are flaming red as Dante looks at me accusingly. “Emily! You fucked him?” He narrows his eyes as he adds, “Willingly?”
I nod quickly, avoiding his stare. The way he’s looking at me like I’m a disappointment cuts deep. I could easily throw Luca under the bus. I could claim that he coerced me or bribed me or even threatened me into it, but I know that isn’t true. I jumped aboard that train with no regrets. “It… I… yes, it was consensual… and it happened more than once…”
Dante’s face twists in disgust as he shakes his head. “Emily, you said you had morals! I thought you couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here? And yet, here you are… fucking my brother and turning your back on a one-way ticket out of shitsville! You could’ve had a fresh start and anything you wanted...”
Luca nods, chuckling, “She turned down twenty grand too… all to not let your scrawny ass die.”
Dante coughs in surprise, “Well shit… I didn’t think it would actually work. You know that you two are not normal, right? I can’t believe you turned down a chance at happiness Emily…”
I sigh softly and give him a shrug, muttering under my breath, “Maybe I didn’t…maybe I gave it a shot...”
Dante narrows his eyes at me, but lets my comment go. Instead, he turns his piercing green stare on Luca, amusement coloring his voice. “A woman who actually LIKES my brother? Whoa, now I really have seen everything. I can’t imagine Father is thrilled?”
Grumbling behind me, Luca responds simply. “No.”
Dante winces in pain as he shifts in the bed, “Good God that hurts…”
Luca nods as he presses the button to call the nurse. “Morphine’s probably wearing off. Like I said, assassin’s bullets that splintered upon contact. They did a lot of damage to the soft tissues and muscles in your body. You’ve got a long road to recovery. Now that you’re awake, I imagine they’re going to want to talk rehabilitation with you.”
Dante winces again, but nods. “Doubt Father is going to be keen on that either. You know how he feels about medical personnel. The fewer, the better.”
Luca’s face darkens like a storm cloud as he stares down at his brother. “The doctors have made it pretty clear that if you don’t do rehab, you may never regain the proper use of that arm. And your wrist is completely useless right now. You and I both know that with an injury like that… you know what it means outside of this hospital?”
Dante’s face twists in a mix of emotions. He looks like a man faced with an impossible decision. “Yeah, he’d rather I’d died than be crippled. A man who isn’t capable is a liability. I’ll do the rehab. It’s not like it’s his decision anyway. Maybe it’s something Emily can help with…”
Luca plops down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap possessively. His hands dig into my hips. I squirm around a bit trying to get comfortable, but he holds me still on his lap, nipping at my shoulder.
I squeak softly at the sharp flash of pain that radiates through my shoulder, but I stop moving. He’s sporting a semi and I realize with a flush that it’s because of my squirming on his lap. He likely bit me to make me stop moving. In a way, it’s a serious turn-on to know that his body responds to mine that way. I also know it’s more than a little inappropriate to be thinking of carnal pleasure at a time like this.
He clears his throat and says with his voice even-keeled, “Maybe so, but I swear to God Dante… if you ever kiss my girl again, dead men don’t need rehab.” Even I can hear the warning laced into his tone.
A sinister voice pierces the tense silence that follows Luca’s declaration. Whoever the voice belongs to undoubtedly heard Luca’s statement. Without the proper context, who knows what conclusions they’ll draw from it. “Touching reunion between brothers. Can’t say it’s my cup of tea, but it’s good to know that the Barresi brothers are as barbaric as ever.”
A deep rumble resonates in Luca’s chest behind me, but he doesn’t give the owner of the voice the benefit of a reply. Instead, he releases his grip on me and gently pushes me off of his lap. As I land on the couch beside him with a thud, I whip my head around to see who has strutted into the room of a mafia prince with a chip on their shoulder.
The cold blue eyes that meet my gaze send a shiver down my spine. They’re set into a ruddy face that’s seen its fair share of combat. An unnaturally curved, broad nose that’s been broken at least once sits between the eyes. Downturned full lips surrounded by a coarse beard of a dozen colors complete a rugged face. He'd be attractive in a roguish sort of way if he wasn’t so angry-looking.
As I open my mouth to say something, Luca places his hand on my thigh and pushes himself to a standing position. “I’ve got this. You stay here and keep your mouth shut.” Fury sweeps through me at Luca scolding me like a child. Before I can protest his demands, I realize why he’s told me to sit down and shut up.
Luca approaches the man and holds his hand out in a stiff handshake. The redheaded man takes Luca’s hand and squeezes. Their eyes meet and the tension in the room crackles with electricity. It’s obvious these two know each other and judging by their interaction, the reason why isn’t a pleasant one.
The man’s voice is gravelly as he acknowledges Luca. “Barresi. I see Karma hasn’t caught up with you yet. Though it appears Dante likes tempting fate… I thought he outgrew that when we were teenagers.”
Luca growls as he tightens his grip on the man’s hand. He steps into the man’s personal space and grinds out, “No thanks to you and your men. Too busy trying to catch me doing something to pay attention to Parker and his goons dirtying up the streets. Let me save you the time… you will NEVER find enough evidence to pin a goddamn thing on me and you know it.”
The other man remains stone-faced as Luca goads him. I can feel that not only do these two know one another, they likely have a long history. The man narrows his eyes at Luca and jerks his hand free of Luca’s grasp. I know that’s no easy feat because Luca is as strong as an ox. This man made freeing himself look like child’s play.
Luca sniffs indignantly. “They really shouldn’t let dirty pigs in a hospital. It just isn’t sanitary…”
My breath catches in my throat as the other man throws his head back and chortles loudly, a disgusting sound that echoes around the room. As he jerks his gaze back down to mee
t Luca’s again, he shifts on his feet and shoves his hands into his pockets. This motion pushes his jacket aside enough for me to see two things - a gun holster that’s strapped to his upper body and the gleaming flash of a police badge.
I’m frozen in fear as my heart thuds in my chest. Luca is openly taunting a police officer and judging by his comment, he knew this man was a cop. The officer stops laughing mid-bellow and levels his gaze at Luca. The thinly-veiled hatred in his stare makes me squirm uncomfortably, my body itching to make a run for the door.
Panic begins to wrench its way into me as Luca turns to look at me. He must sense my fear because he shakes his head quickly, holding up one hand to me. He places the index finger of his right hand against his lips and gives me a tiny wink, then turns back to the officer.
“Rossi… what gives? What on God’s green Earth do you think I’ve done now?”
The officer smirks as he settles his stance back onto his heels. “Oh, I know you’ve done shit. No Barresi is innocent. The silver spoon you’re born with taints your soul from the moment you’re born. Even sweet little Noemi isn’t fooling anyone.”
Luca snarls quietly, his nostrils flaring as he stares down the man who clearly knows how to push his buttons.
“Leave my sister out of this. Clearly you’re here for a reason. Get on with it and quit wasting my time.”
The man nods and pulls out a folded up piece of paper that he hands to Luca. Luca opens it and reads over the contents, then scowls. “Are you shitting me? I have better things to do with my life than consort with that jerk-off. If it wasn’t for the money he owes me for services rendered, I wouldn’t even bother with that side of town. He’s a worthless piece of garbage and aside from my pocketbook, nobody cares that you can’t locate him.”
The officer shrugs as he takes the paper back from Luca and folds it, then tucks it into an inner pocket of his jacket. “While that may be true, Andre Norris is now missing. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about why, now would you?”
Both of my hands fly to my face as an audible gasp slips out. It’s been several months since the shakedown gone wrong at Piacere. But hearing Andre’s name still evokes a fight-or-flight feeling in my gut.
Despite my attempts to disguise my surprise, the officer’s attention turns to me as I yank my legs up into my chest. “Interesting that your little mouse here seems to know the name. Perhaps she may have some interesting… insight… to offer? Seeing as witness statements from the night he disappeared place all three of you there.”
Luca steps between the officer’s gaze and me and I can feel my heart banging away at my ribcage, desperate to get free. Luca’s voice is calm but cold as he responds, “I’ll answer your questions, Rossi… but you leave the girl and my brother out of it.”
The officer turns his gaze on Luca and a smirk slowly crawls across his face. “Excellent. The Chief will be thrilled to hear that you are being so… cooperative with our investigation. Now, are you going to come quietly or do I need to make a show of power in front of your father?”
The officer’s tone is icy as Luca stiffens beside him, but Luca makes no outward show of emotion as he turns back to look at me over his shoulder.
“Stay here with Dante. Trust nobody but him or Mike. Release paperwork is already signed. Do not let my father intimidate you. He has no power over you. The NOPD aren’t the brightest lights on the Christmas tree, but it won’t take them long to figure out that I had nothing to do with Andre’s disappearance.”
With a curt nod of his head, Luca ducks out of the room, followed closely behind by the officer. Feeling a twinge of guilt in my chest for what just happened, I turn to Dante. Concerned, I ask, “Is he in trouble?”
Dante shrugs. “He’s a leader in a well-known crime syndicate. He’s always one wrong move from trouble. My guess is that somebody is missing that scumbag Andre. He probably had more than one debtor. And since nobody can find him...” Dante clears his throat and lowers his voice to a whisper, "and they never will, mind you…” He smiles and returns his voice to its normal volume and octave. “... they gotta turn over all the rocks if you will. People get antsy when they can’t get their money. Questions get asked and the answers have to be found. Since Luca has known associations with Piacere, it’s not a stretch that they would start their investigation with him.”
Realizing his short tirade has done nothing to settle my qualms, Dante smiles softly and lowers his voice. “Emily, I reckon if they had a shred of evidence to link him to anything, they’d have walked him out of here in cuffs and at gunpoint. His partner didn’t even show up to back him up. They’re grasping at straws…”
I swallow down the bubble that has formed in my throat as the officer’s threats of taking me in for questioning echo in my mind. Dante must sense my worry. He adds softly, “Emily, if Luca thinks of you the way I think he does, he won’t let them anywhere near you without a warrant sworn out for your arrest. Even then, he’ll fight them. It’s what he does. He may be a monster… hell, we all are… but he does right by the family.”
I nod emptily as I stare at the doorway. Within seconds, a broad-shouldered man fills the empty space and his familiar voice reaches my ears as my eyes remain unfocused. “Indeed,” croons Mike’s gentle lilt, “...I’d say with the way he just protected you, he considers you part of that family...”
TWENTY-ONE
“You are a psychotic she-devil wench hell-bent on destroying my soul!”
The wild abandon that meets my gaze causes my belly to constrict with laughter. It takes every ounce of my willpower to keep one hand firmly grasping his arm as the waves of laughter consumes me. Even clamping my other hand over my mouth doesn’t deter the giggles from slipping out. And he is NOT amused in the slightest.
He grunts and narrows his eyes at me. “I… I’m...sorry,” I spew between uncontrollable tittering. His helpless look of betrayal is a sharp contrast to his intimidating stature as he looms over me.
I hold my hand up to his face and inhale several sharp breaths in an attempt to stop the fit that is gripping my belly like a vice. His expression turns stormy as his normally bright green eyes darken and narrow to slits.
“Emily… I fail to see how any of this is funny.”
The sharp bite in his tone snaps me out of my reverie. I clear my throat, my cheeks flaming as he stares down at me in disgust. I grimace as I shift my arm that is still held aloft over my head. It’s supporting his injured arm and keeping it out of the therapeutic heated water of the pool. But it’s heavy and I have almost dropped it on my head more than once.
Dante may be a gentleman under his tough exterior, but he's not going to take kindly to having his shoulder wrenched out of position. The private rehabilitation nurse recommended getting Dante outside in the sunshine whenever possible. Thus far, that task has fallen to me.
Not only does Luca not have the patience for this, hell I barely do, he’s been swamped with work. And things have gotten no less complicated than before. In addition to everything else, Luca is now playing a horse and pony show with the police department over Andre’s supposed disappearance.
I don’t know who reported the creep missing, but they can rot in hell alongside him. I can assure you that nobody who isn’t owed money by him is missing him. Okay, so I missed the relative security he once offered me at first. But now that I’ve come to understand the price of his protection, Andre deserved what he got.
Regardless, Luca’s been pulled in for multiple rounds of questioning regarding the investigation. He assures me not to worry about being called in myself. I suspect he’s told the investigators some of Andre’s darker secrets. In doing so, he probably revealed my darkest secret too. But if it keeps me out of the cold, dank offices of the NOPD, Luca can tell them anything he wants. I didn't feel safe there the night my father died. I haven't ever felt safe there.
Shaking my head quickly to bring my thoughts back to the task at-hand, I look up at Dante. The arm I’m supporting is wrap
ped in gauze and as I ease his arm down to his side, Dante flinches. There’s a certain spot where he always flinches when I’m putting him through the painful rehab exercises prescribed by his doctor.
“Fuck,” he spits over my head.
I nod sympathetically and sigh. “Dante, I know it hurts… but it hurts because the muscles are trying to adhere to the fragments. Your doctor says that once sufficient scar tissue grows around the fragments that they will no longer try to attach to your muscle. Then you should have better range of motion without as much pain. For now, we do the damn exercises like they’re prescribed.”
He opens his mouth to launch another volley of insults at me. I clear my throat sharply and reach up with one hand and cover his mouth. “I am not the enemy here, so quit yelling at me before I drop your arm like the damn fifty pound sack of potatoes it feels like. You’re not the only one this hurts, so hush…”
