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Once I made my way into the lobby, I searched the vacant conference rooms and even stepped out front to see if maybe he’d gone out for some fresh air. Lord knows I could use some. After exhausting my options on the first floor, I went to the elevators, put in the six-digit code and waited against the back wall.
By the time I reached the penthouse, my mind had conjured up so many different scenarios I was driving myself crazy. Had something happened in Mountain Grove? Had my psychopathic family finally scared him off? I’d texted with River and Quin before breakfast, so as of a few hours ago things at home had been quiet.
Luc wasn’t the type of guy to give up easily. He’d proven as much time and again over the past month, so I knew realistically there was nothing my family could’ve done to change his mind.
In the beginning, I shielded my heart against the onslaught of emotions he evoked with just a simple smile. It didn’t take long before he broke through my defenses, shattering the walls I’d built around myself as if they were cheap glass.
I was half in love with him on our first date, despite the ever-present voice in my head reminding me it was all for show. Then he kissed me and told me we were real. There’d been no question, he simply stated a fact. As crazy as it sounded, I went from halfway to full throttle, madly in love with Luciano del Toro while I was strapped to his chest, soaring amongst the clouds.
Kicking off the ridiculous heels my mother insisted I wear; I was halfway up the stairs when I stopped. My heart pounded in my chest and my palms became slick with sweat. I’d known for a while, but until that precise moment, I hadn’t allowed myself to fully believe it and the realization stole my breath.
I was in love.
With a smile on my face, I shook the thoughts out of my head and continued up the steps. I’d just turned the corner to head to the third floor when I heard a noise. Cocking my head to the side, I listened again.
Click. Click. Click.
The sound was coming from my father’s office, and like the stupid girl from every horror movie ever made, I opted to check it out. Slinking down the hallway, I briefly paused at the door before rounding the corner and stopping dead in my tracks.
“Luc? What are you doing in here?”
His eyes flew to mine the second I spoke. Those magnificent blue-gray orbs were pleading with me, but there was guilt in them as well.
“Bellezza, give me two seconds and I’ll explain everything to you,” he implored.
My feet had become glued to the floor at some point, so when I didn’t move, he turned back to the laptop on my father’s desk and quickly began typing once again.
Well, at least I knew what the sound had been.
He pulled something from the side of the computer—a flash drive maybe—and put it in his pants pocket, then came around the desk at a fast clip. I took a step back.
“Don’t.” He slowed his steps and held his hands out in front of him, as if he were approaching a wounded animal. Which I guess he kinda was. “Please listen to me.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“The federal government—”
A door slammed downstairs before he was able to say anything else. He grabbed my hand and began dragging me farther into the room, toward the small closet in the back. I was about to protest when he opened the door, maneuvered us inside, then closed us in. It was a tight fit, but with my back to his front, we were somehow able to manage.
He put his hand over my mouth just as I heard voices approach the office.
“Shhh,” he whispered in my ear. “I’ve got you. I swear to God if this goes south, I’ll protect you with my life.”
“You need to back off, Joel. I know what I’m doing.”
Oh my God. Why the hell was my brother telling Joel to back off? What in God’s name was going on?
“Pretty sure you said that the last time and the time before that––”
“I get the picture,” Max cut him off. “Christ.”
“When is enough, enough, Max? If the senator gets wind of what you’re doing, favorite kid or not, your ass is gonna be locked in a six-by-six cell faster than you can say treason.”
Luc’s arm tightened around me and I felt his sharp intake of breath. I knew my brother wasn’t a saint, actually, he was an asshole of epic proportion, but two plus two were adding up to four very quickly in my head. Whatever Luc had been searching for in my father’s office had to do with Maxwell, which meant it was not good. Not good at all.
“He’s too wrapped up trying to become the president to figure anything out,” Max scoffed. “Besides, everything points to him anyway. That’s the beauty of my plan.”
“How the fuck did I let you talk me into this?”
