She nodded, chewing thoughtfully. At least he didn’t have to explain the nature of his family’s business. She knew—the good and bad parts. She’d grown up knowing.
He reached over and kissed her, couldn’t help it. She was perfect for him. What he’d meant as a light caress of his lips soon had them both breathing heavy. They broke apart, both grinning sheepishly, when they realized someone walking by the window outside had stopped to stare intently at them.
Watching her blush was worth any dislike Lukas normally had for PDA. But he slid a little away from her and went back to their meal.
“I’d rather bypass some of the security and just have you move in with me at the condo.” He stuffed another bite of chicken and broccoli in her mouth, forcing her to chew rather than be able to answer right away. Her eyes narrowed at him, telling him she was onto his ruse.
He smiled.
“You can give all the social norm reasons why we shouldn’t so soon, or you can just accept that it’s what both of us really want and that it’s going to happen eventually anyway. And that we’re never going to fit neatly into social norm parameters anyway.”
“Really?”
“Honey, I’m a mobster and you’re a computer engineer, and we’re both into pretty excessive kinky fuckery. So yeah, not the social norm.”
She smacked his arm, grinning. “Jackass. I meant me moving in.”
He slipped a hand behind her head and pulled her closer. “I want that pretty much more than I do my next breath. That way I can tie you spread eagle in my bed every time you call me jackass.”
“Okay, well, under those conditions, I’m in.”
“Good. I also am going to get a membership for you for Deeper Threat. Normally, there’s a whole process and voting of the founding members and stuff, but I’m pretty sure I can bypass that.” He took a bite of noodles. “Having you out on that balcony tonight just proved you are a perfect fit for the club. I can’t wait to play with you in public.”
He grabbed another bite for her and turned to give it to her, immediately putting the fork down when he saw her face—big tears falling from her eyes.
“Jesus, princess, what is it?” He cupped her cheeks and kissed the tears from her eyes. God, he could not stand to see that distraught look on her face. “Is it the club? You don’t want to go back? We don’t have to.”
“Lukas, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“What?”
She swallowed hard. What could she possibly have to say that was this hard for her to get out?
“That night you first saw me in Deeper Threat—”
Her statement was cut off by the sound of shattering glass as a brick flew through the restaurant’s front window.
Lukas didn’t wait to see what would happen next. He threw his weight towards Reina, pulling them both to the ground and behind another table. He heard her grunt but pushed her head down with his hand, covering her body with his as the second projectile hit the ground a few yards away from them.
Even knowing what was coming, the heat from the bottle bomb was intense as it broke and the gasoline inside burned quickly in the restaurant. The table he’d pulled Reina behind blocked the worst of it—if they’d stayed where they were, they’d have been critically injured—but Lukas still felt the heat singeing his hair and skin.
The device quickly burned through its fuel, going out, but he dragged Reina towards the back door. Another could be flying through the window at any time.
“Are you okay?” He pulled her the first few feet, but she quickly started crawling with him.
“Yes. What happened? Was there an accident in the kitchen? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but that was definitely no accident.”
The restaurant staff were now in the dining area, shouting to each other in Chinese, attempting to put the last of the fire out with an extinguisher. Lukas helped Reina to her feet and kept an arm around her as he headed towards the back door.
Bruno burst through a moment later, gun in hand. Reina looked back and forth between them, brown eyes wide.
“Molotov cocktail through the window,” he told his security team member. “We need to get her out of here, right damn now.”
“You too, boss.”
Lukas gave a short shake of the head. “I want to know what the hell happened.”
Bruno was firm. “Not right now. We need to secure this location first. You’re too exposed right now. I’ve got a car in the alley.”
He could feel his teeth grinding but made an effort to keep his temper in check since more of the color in Reina’s face was leaching with every second that passed. He gave a curt nod and began walking with Bruno, his arm still around Reina. “Get everyone down here. Make sure one of our people inside the police department are assigned to this so we know what’s going on. I want real-time updates.”
“Will do, boss.”
They’d walked to the restaurant since it was only a couple of blocks away, so the ride back didn’t take very long.
“How did Bruno get there so quickly?” Reina asked after they were escorted into the elevator from the underground parking garage.
Lukas pulled her to him again, kissing the top her head. “I always have a security detail on me. Just like you’re going to.” And after what had just happened, they’d be watching her a damn sight closer. “Admittedly, we’ve never had anything happen this close to the neighborhood before. Attacking me a block from my own house takes balls.”
A shudder ran through her.
He pulled her closer, wrapping his fingers in her long brown hair. He should offer to let her go. She might have always known about La Cosa Nostra, known he was mob, but until a few minutes ago, she’d never actually experienced the violence that sometimes went along with that.
“Scared, princess? Is this more than you bargained for?”
He had no idea what he was going to do if she said yes. That she wanted out. That she couldn’t be a part of his life.
“Is it always like this?” Her words came out muffled against his chest. The elevator arrived at the penthouse floor and they stepped out and into his condo.
“Yes and no. Incendiary weapons being thrown through restaurant windows at me? No, that’s a first. But people who want to hurt me? Yes, that is part of my life. Will be part of your life.”
She stopped in the middle of his living room, looking so little and lost in his sweatpants and t-shirt. “Your world is a little scary.”
His gut clenched. He swore to himself that if she wanted out, he would let her go. Right now. Because after today, he would never be able to.
He didn’t touch her, although his fingers itched with the need. “My world can be scary, princess. But there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you safe in it, I promise you that. If you want out, you’re going to have to tell me now, because I’m not going to have the strength to let you go a few months from now. Hell, I don’t even know if I’ll have it a few minutes from now.”
She closed the distance between them. “I don’t want to go. I just can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to either of us.” He yanked her to his chest, relief flooding his system. “Except possibly having heart attacks from all the mind-blowing sex we’re going to have. That’s the real danger.”
She laughed softly as he led her over to the couch and sat with her in his lap. “I think that sort of danger is the type I can handle.”
True to his word, Bruno provided updates as he had them, via text. Lukas kept Reina in his lap as he called his brothers, explaining what happened, discussing who could be behind it. He kept hoping she would relax, but she didn’t seem to be able to. Probably not unusual, given the circumstances. She was still stiff in his lap, even as a huge yawn fell from her mouth.
“Time for you to go to bed, princess.” Unable to let her go, he picked her up and carried her in there himself. He placed her under the covers, which she drew up to
her chin, her features still pinched.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure out who’s behind this.”
“I know you will.”
He brushed a lock of hair back from her cheek, giving her a rueful smile. “Anything else bothering you beside almost getting lit on fire?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. “No, nothing I can’t handle. You’ve got a lot on your plate right now—I don’t want to add to it. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ve always got time to help you, princess.”
“No, this I need to handle on my own.”
He wanted to push it. Didn’t like that she had secrets—maybe important ones—that she was keeping from him. but now wasn’t the time.
“Secrets get naughty girls punished, you know.” He grinned at her, but it faded when he saw tears in her eyes.
“I know.”
His phone rang with a call from Bruno. Lukas took it, planning to revisit this conversation immediately after getting the update. Whatever was bothering Reina needed to be addressed. But by the time he got back to her, she was asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Forty-eight hours later, Lukas was ready to put his fist through a wall. What a complete and utter clusterfuck.
After a day and a half of looking into the bottle bomb at the restaurant, the cops—and the paid men on the inside who were looking at it from a different angle—had come to the conclusion that it didn’t have anything to do with Lukas or La Cosa Nostra at all.
A turf war, but not his.
Evidently, this sort of property damage had occurred before in a few other Asian restaurants across the city. Lukas and Reina just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Which should’ve made him feel better, and would if he’d been able to get in touch with Reina to tell her the news. All day long she had avoided his calls, had been since he put her to bed the night before last, her secrets still between them.
He’d given her the benefit of the doubt yesterday and even this morning. Things had been crazy, too many details demanding his attention. He’d agreed when Reina told him she needed to go back to her apartment to get some work done. She’d been escorted by two of his best men, another set keeping watch full-time on her apartment.
He hadn’t had much time to call her yesterday, had just sent her a simple text to say good night.
I’m glad I won’t be in this bed without you much longer.
She’d answered with a simple: Good night.
Today he’d had more time to call, but she hadn’t picked up. At first, he hadn’t worried or even been annoyed: she was busy, had a career. He didn’t expect her to drop everything for a phone call from him.
But as the hours went on, he’d become concerned. Only the fact that his team assured him she was still in her apartment kept him calm. Finally, after dark, when he still couldn’t get through, he had someone from the team actually go check on her.
Only to find she wasn’t there.
She was fucking lucky a call from one of his men at Triple Threat came in just moments after he realized she wasn’t in her apartment. She had snuck out. Gone to the night club for crying out loud.
What the fuck was going on?
Later, when she had a particularly vicious little pair of clamps on her nipples, a large glass dildo up her ass, and was sobbing from his very thorough whipping of her thighs and ass with a riding crop, she could apologize for scaring him and ditching her protection detail. Right after she shared whatever secret was causing her so much angst.
He was on his way to the club now, Bruno driving since he and his brothers had agreed that no one went anywhere alone for a while, when a text from Brax came through.
You need to get to Deeper Threat right now.
Jesus. Something else.
What’s going on?
Reina.
Lukas waited for more of an explanation from his cousin, but nothing came. What was Reina doing in Deeper Threat? She couldn’t even get in there without him.
Except she could, couldn’t she? She’d done twice.
But why? Why would she want to go there now without him? It didn’t make any sense.
He was dialing Brax’s number to get more information when a call from Dominic came through.
“Dom. What’s up?”
“Do you have Reina with you?”
He could feel his heart begin to hammer against his ribs. “No. She slipped her security detail and was spotted at Triple Threat, then I just got a cryptic text from Brax that she was at Deeper Threat. What the hell is going on?”
Dominic muttered a curse foul enough to singe his eyebrows. “That anomaly in our computer system? Our guy figured out what it was. Someone was hacking, but it wasn’t being done remotely. The only way it could be accessed in that way was through the onsite server room.”
“Jesus God.” He couldn’t even believe what he was hearing. Knew what was coming before Dominic even continued.
“It’s worse than you think. The program being used was incredibly complex. It was stealing money from multiple accounts, but not very large amounts. It was also collecting some sort of data. What sort, I have no idea, but…” Dominic trailed off.
“Just tell me.”
“It was all linked to Torres Software, Luke. I’m sorry.”
Lukas closed his eyes, rage and despair battling for control over him. Reina had used him to access the server room? Started a relationship with him so she could steal from the family?
“I’ll call you back, Dom.” He clicked end on the call.
No, she hadn’t used him for access to the server room. She’d already been in there, he’d just happened to catch her. But why would she get involved with him if she was stealing from him? Keeping your enemies closer?
And, Jesus, why would she even fucking do this in the first place? Reina hadn’t even been a part of Torres Software when her father was alive. Why would she be now, especially for illegal activities?
His blood turned to ice. She’d been taking money from numerous accounts housed in the Deeper Threat server rooms. That would include multiple mafia-connected individuals. Ones who wouldn’t stop to ask questions of Reina. Would let their fists or weapons do the talking for them.
He might be pissed as fucking hell at her, but he couldn’t stand the thought of Reina’s gentle body being broken the way mafia members would—rightfully, in their mind—take their justice.
Another text from Brax. I’m not sure how long I can keep them from hurting her.
Fuck. “Bruno, get me to the club, right fucking now.”
Bruno slammed on the gas. Lukas beat out a text to his cousin.
Do whatever you have to.
The five minutes it took to get him to the back door were the longest of his life. He leapt out of the car before it even stopped completely and through the club door, holding a hand up to keep security from stopping him then rushed to the private stairwell—punching in the same code Reina had hacked—and moved downstairs, praying he wasn’t too late.
At the bottom, he threw the door open and rushed forward, not sure whether to be relieved or not to find the normal sexual escapades going on around him. He saw Brax standing near one of the rooms for private play, designed like an office.
“I convinced them to wait for you. She’s not seriously hurt, but…”
“Thank you, cuz. I owe you. Call my brothers and get them here too, just in case.” He didn’t stop to say more. Reina wasn’t seriously hurt, that was all that mattered. But Lukas wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep it that way on his own.
He entered to the room to find a half dozen of the people his family had done business with for years. Some actually members of La Cosa Nostra, others trusted colleagues. All of them pissed. Margo and Victor two of them.
“Your pet has been naughty, Lukas,” Margo said, pointing to a corner over his shoulder. He turned and found Reina kneeling on the ground there, naked, with a ball-gag in her mouth.
&n
bsp; Victor had already used his considerable talents in knots and binding on her. She was frog-tied—her wrists bound to her upper arms, ankles bound to her thighs. He’d gotten creative from there, using a separate rope wrapped around each knee and tied to the back of her waist to keep her legs sprawled open, completely exposed. A different rope, also tied at her waist, kept her wrists back by her shoulders, breasts thrust forward.
The ball-gag was tight, uncomfortable. Tears were streaming out of eyes that pleaded up at him.
“In case you’re tempted to feel sorry for her,” Margo continued, “you should take a look at this.”
He walked back to the table, watching security footage on a laptop. First a shot from six weeks ago, the night they’d first had sex. It was very definitely Reina sneaking down the hall and into the server room.
“She was caught red-handed tonight coming out. And word is, she’s been stealing from all of us,” Victor said.
Lukas turned back to Reina and crouched down in front of her. “I don’t want you to say one single word except to answer my questions.” She nodded, and he unclipped the ball-gag. “Did you set up the program to steal from the accounts of the people in this room?”
“Yes, but—”
He raised an eyebrow at her and she stopped, looking down. Only then did he let her continue. “But what?”
“I still have the money. None of it was spent. It’s not what you think.”
“What we think, pet—” Margo crossed until she was standing right beside Lukas “—no, what we know, is that you took money of ours that wasn’t yours. And if I didn’t happen to know what a fondness Lukas has for you, you would’ve already been subjected to a much harsher penalty. La Cosa Nostra doesn’t tolerate being stolen from.”
“Please, I’m sorry. I did take it, but not for my own gain.”
Lukas had heard enough. He put the gag back in her mouth, fastening it behind her head. He grabbed a blindfold and white noise headphones from a drawer.
“I’ll let you think about what you’ve done while we decide what’s going to be done to you.” She wouldn’t be able to see or hear anything as they talked about her fate, which would hopefully encourage the wronged people in the room to be willing to talk this out.
Lukas Page 13
