She stiffened, then broke away. He wanted to pull her back, force her to answer, but that behavior worked with monsters, not angels. There was a vulnerability in her eyes and in her touch that made him want to protect her and always, always, keep her safe.
SIMONE
Yes,Simone did have feelings for Luciano, but now wasnotthe time to talk about them. She’d been brought back to ALPHA to hunt down a mass murderer, not discuss her emotional state regarding her partner.
Chenkus’s murder was top of mind. She was being honest when she said she wasn’t okay. Death messed with her head. Even though his death wasn’t her fault, she’d been berating herself for not getting outside sooner.
“Let’s sit in the family room,” she suggested.
With drinks in hand, they got comfortable on the sofa, pausing to sip the whiskey.
“Chenkus’s death has got me spun up.” She repositioned toward him and got trapped in his beautiful bedroom eyes. “I can’t get into my feelings. We’ve gotta focus on the case.”
“Whatever you need.”
She melted. He didn’t push her to talk, didn’t insist she explain. He just let the words hang out there… for another day.
Focus up.
“Are we in over our heads with The Bomb Maker?” she asked.
He steeled his spine as a growl rumbled from his chest. The anger in his eyes was the most powerful thing she’d ever seen. It was like staring into the eyes of the devil himself.
“No,” he replied. “I will unleash my fury on the mule, The Bomb Maker, and anyone else who gets in our way.”
“Ohmygod,” she whispered.
“I’m not the man you think I am.”
Dread slithered into her soul. “Who are you then?”
“I’m a shell of a man with enough vengeance to last me a thousand lifetimes.”
She wasn’t scaredofhim, but she was terrified of what he would do when he came face-to-face with the enemy. Of one thing she was certain… it would be swift, it would be violent, and it would be intense.
He sipped the whiskey, set the glass on her coffee table. “When you’ve had it all and you lose it, what is there to fear when you have nothing?”
“What did you lose?” she asked.
Pain ghosted across his face, the divot between his eyes deepening.
“I lost my family,” he murmured.
What family?
“You mean like your parents or a sibling?”
“My wife and my children,” he replied. “My entire world.”
She stilled, her entire self focused on him while his heavy words sunk in. She’d run two background checks on him, but there was nothing about them in either report. He truly had lost everything, and her heart broke for him.
“Ohgod, I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” she murmured. The pain in his eyes tore at her heart. She clasped his hand, held it in her own. “Luciano, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He acknowledged her with a nod. “I don’t talk about it.”
“I respect your privacy.”
“I have feelings for you.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I never expected this would happen. I don’t deserve love. I deserve to feel pain and loss.”
