Page 48 of Lucian

“I didn’t say that. It’s just a lot to take in at nine in the morning, Lucian.”

“Did you not hear what I told you in bed?”

“Yes, I heard you. I told you what I wanted, too.”

As perplexing and reckless as those odd feelings were.

“Good. You’re just fine for me, Jordyn, and that’s what I care about. None of the rest matters.”

“But—”

“One day at a time,” Lucian interjected softly.

“Then why does it feel like we just hit fast forward?”

• • •

“You’ve told her about us,” Antony said, circling the rim of his whiskey glass with his finger.

It wasn’t even a question. Lucian’s father simply made the declaration and then grew silent, letting his son absorb the words. Sitting beside his father on the porch of the large Tuxedo Park home, overlooking the back yard, Lucian tried not to let his anger show with Antony.

He failed.

“I have,” Lucian admitted. “Not the major details, or all that we do, but the important parts, she knows.”

“She’s an outsider, not family. You know how important loyalty and confidentiality is to us. If you were any other man, and not my son, I would be expected to kill you for doing that.”

Lucian frowned, knowing he’d disappointed his father by exposing their secrets. “She’s important to me. I can’t explain it, but she is. I have to follow it through, Papà. You have to trust me, take a step back here, and let me do this how I see fit.”

“She would have to be important,” Antony muttered. “Otherwise, I’d be seriously concerned over your lack of judgment. I have never been as confused by you in all your years as I have been these past weeks. Hiding things from me. Neglecting your responsibilities. Making dangerous decisions. You haven’t stepped foot in this house in over two weeks. Had you not needed your mother’s help collecting things that girl needed, you wouldn’t have called her once. It was like you dropped off the radar. This is not the respectful, smart boy I raised. Where did he go, Lucian?”

“Don’t patronize me. You came that first night, so you saw what he did to her. You can’t blame me for pushing other things to the side so I could deal with the things she needed first.”

“She does seem as if she’s doing a great deal better,” Antony said quietly. “Although I’m sure you’ve seen a lot more of her than I have.”

Lucian refused to answer that unspoken question.

“What are you going to do, now?” his father asked.

“What I have been doing. Keeping her close, and safe. With me, of course.”

Because there was no way in hell Lucian could imagine him handling someone else watching over Jordyn and protecting her.

“I imagine you think you can do it best, too.” Antony sighed. “This will not be as easy as you think.”

“I never thought it would be, actually. I do need your permission to do what I have to if needed.”

Fact was, because Antony was the Marcello boss and technically had control over Brooklyn, his men couldn’t be involved in handling issues unless he gave his permission for them to do so. It was even stickier if the issues involved other made men, but this didn’t.

“They’re going to be looking for her, if they haven’t already. Jordyn mentioned Will demanded she be back to work after a week. That time is long passed, now.”

“I want you to be careful,” Antony said.

“He labelled her Club Property. I think the time for careful has passed. If he gets his hands on her, I won’t see her again. I can’t risk that. I need to handle it.”

“What about your apartment in Manhattan? I can’t see MC members spending a great deal of their time in those streets. She’d be safer there, say if you needed to handle something alone. Which you often do and I need you to keep up with your normal business,” Antony said pointedly. “You have higher security there. If you’re insistent on keeping her with you, that’s where you both should be, not in Brooklyn. You’re too close to them.”

Lucian was aware of that. “She was too hurt to be traveling those first few days. Besides, Manhattan wouldn’t just be a step out for them, but her, too. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable with my status and money.”