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“Dirt,” Elio cuts in. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. I honestly can’t think what it’d be. But if there’s something, we’ll face it like we have everything, brother. Together.”
Elio keeps staring at the screen. For a second, I think he’s going to break. Then he shakes his head. “This is about the orphanage.”
“Ah, right, yeah. The orphanage we could easily fund ourselves without that congressman’s help.”
“I love you, Luca,” he says unexpectantly.
“It must be serious if you’re saying that.”
Elio sighs. “Please, for me, just drop this.”
“I can’t promise that. Anyway, Colt’s not a dog on a leash.”
“The few times I’ve met him, he seems… dark, odd.”
“Odd?”
“Like he could put a bullet in a man’s head and think nothing of it.”
I laugh savagely. “That’s rich coming from us.”
“I’ve never done that easily. Maybe you can pretend it doesn’t mean anything to you, but I know you, Luca, and it does. But Colt, he seems different.” He taps a few keys. “I’ve sent you an email. If you want long days, you’ve got them. In the meantime, I’m going to see my wife and my kid.”
He stands up, leaving the office without another word. A moment later, my cell phone vibrates.
It’s day one, and I’m already missing you like crazy.
Despite what we discussed—the whole kid thing—I feel the same. I’m hungry for her. I burn for her. Every inch of me roars out to be with her every single second.
We’ll be together soon, I reply. Unless your dad’s plan works. Unless this week apart makes you stop wanting me.
Yeah, right, she texts. Being away from you is just making me want you more.
Me too, Ruby. So damn bad.
CHAPTER 23
Colt
“What are we doing, eh, boy?” I say, glancing into the rearview.
Shadow stares at me, his head tilted like he understands. He looks ready for a fight, though, as usual. I look across the street at the frat-style house Nate Kingston shares with some other boys who call themselves men. When I heard the story about what this asshole had done, I figured I could spare some time, maybe in the dark hope that he’d show himself to be an even worse kind of predator.
Sometimes, the darkness in me threatens to eat me whole. It threatens to turn me into a complete madman. If Nate did something really evil, I’d have an excuse to let out some of that darkness. So far, he’s just been drinking, partying, driving expensive cars, and generally being a waster.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I tell Shadow. “I should probably just let this go.”
I’m about to start the engine when I pause. My heart starts nearly pounding out of my chest. I bite down and force all the emotion deep into my gut, where it dies. I push down any idea that I could be soft or feel a goddamn thing.
A woman is walking across the lawn toward the house. She’s holding something sharp in her hand—maybe a screwdriver. Wavy brown hair spills from a baseball cap. She’s wearing denim jeans and a hoodie. There’s no way I can know, from this angle, that there’s something special about her. There’s no way I can know she’s the woman who will change my life and heal some of this darkness in me.
Yet, somehow, I do.
No, no, I don’t. That’s crap. I need to get a grip.
I know one thing, though. I can’t let her go in there and get herself hurt.
Climbing from the car, I jog across the lawn. “Stop,” I snap, getting closer to her.
She turns, staring at me, a shiver moving through her curvy body. Don’t notice her body. Don’t notice how beautiful her eyes are. I tell myself this strictly because I’ll completely lose my mind otherwise.
She’s got two different colored eyes: one a pure, bright blue, the other a deep and somehow attractive green. My heart is still hammering, much more than it has in years. From the car, Shadow whines, though he won’t leave the vehicle without my command.
“What are you doing?” I growl.
“None of your business,” the woman says, putting up a tough exterior, but behind the layer of gruffness, it’s like I can see the scared young woman beneath.
“What do you think you’re going to do with that?” I say, nodding to the screwdriver in her hand.
“The right thing,” she snaps, turning as if she’s going to walk away.
I grab her shoulder. Hell, what’s happening? It’s like electricity sparks between us. She turns back to me with a gasp, then quickly steps away, glaring at me. I could stare into those mismatched eyes all day long.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m a friend of Luca’s,” I tell her.
Those alluring eyes widen, flooding my mind with a whole bunch of confusing thoughts. I keep my focus on the task at hand. I can’t let myself think about leaning down, kissing her, owning her. What is this woman doing to me?
