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“You can’t kill him, Zander. We aren’t supposed to kill each other.” If killing was on the table, I think there would be bodies piled on top of bodies, the most ruthless and bloodthirsty the victor; the Black Hand probably wanted to avoid that after everything that happened with the Cobra.
Zander frowned. I thought he was going to say something along the lines of, That didn’t stop someone from trying to kill you, but he said nothing. He only stared at me like he could peer inside my head and hear my thoughts.
It was a damned good thing he couldn’t, mostly because I was busy thinking about the Greenback Serpents and their leader, Atlas, and how I didn’t think it was any of the others who’d gone after me.
Something had to be done about it. I needed to find out who Atlas was and put it to rest, for good. But if my father and his men had failed for years to discover Atlas’s true identity, how the hell could I manage to do it?
The doorbell rang a while later, and Zander was quick to get to his feet. His gun was tucked out of sight, but I knew his fingers itched to get to it and use it on Luca. He offered to help me off the couch, but I waved him away, telling him, “Get the door.” My father didn’t have any men currently guarding the front door, so there was no one else to let him in.
I know. Ironic, considering I just got out of the fucking hospital from a bullet wound.
Zander continued to scowl, but he went and did as I asked. Only when he was gone did I try to get up on my own. My leg muscles were okay, if a little sore from being unused for so long. It was my midsection that screamed at me when I got up, and I held back a wince once I was up.
Who knew getting up off a couch required so many muscles to be used in your abdomen? I guess it was something you didn’t really pay attention to.
Not unless something was wrong.
I glanced down at myself. I wore white pants, along with a white blouse that covered everything up to my collarbone. Loose sleeves hung over my shoulders; I’d also put on white gloves. Heeled white boots sat on my feet. The only thing that I wished I would’ve done was take a shower, for I was certain my hair was greasy, but I wasn’t supposed to get the bandage on my midsection wet—which meant I had to figure something out eventually. Maybe when it was time to change it.
Zander and Luca strolled into the room, and the moment Luca saw me, his expression lightened. He held onto a small bouquet of roses, and he gave me a sheepish smile as he said, “You didn’t ask for anything, but I wanted to bring you something, so…” He shoved the red roses toward me. “Here.”
Before I could take them, Zander jumped between us, snatching the roses out of Luca’s hand while giving him a glare. He searched the bouquet, like he thought he’d find something hidden inside it. What on earth he thought he’d find was beyond me, and watching him search through the roses was kind of awkward.
“I’m sorry about him,” I said. “He’s… I actually don’t know why he’s doing this.” I was pretty sure he didn’t do anything remotely close to this when I was in the hospital, but then again, I’d been so in and out of sleep that perhaps I just didn’t notice.
“I mean, if I was told to watch over you, I would be the exact same way,” Luca spoke with a dimpled grin.
“Where’s your guard?” I referenced that big guy I’d seen with him the last time he’d come to the house.
“Oh, you mean Big Jimmy? He’s not my guard. He’s one of my father’s guys, and we were—” Luca stopped. “I don’t think you really care about what Jimmy and I were doing.” He looked at Zander. “You going to put those in water, or just keep going through them like you can materialize something in them? What are you even looking for, buddy? They’re roses. And they’re for Giselle, not you.”
Zander was ready to say something snarky in return, but I spoke first, “Zander, will you give it up and find a vase to put them in, please?” I hardly ever said the word please; it was something I’d gotten from my father. But since I’d made sure to say the word, Zander had to know he had no choice in doing so.
He’d find a damned vase, and while he did so, he would leave Luca and me alone.
Not that I wanted to be alone with Luca, but I didn’t think we could have any type of conversation with Zander scowling and seething with jealousy in the background.
Zander clearly didn’t want to go, but he relented, grumbling something to himself as he went, taking the roses with him. I was slow to move my gaze back to Luca, saying, “Thank you for the roses. They’re beautiful.”
“Kind of like you. And by kind of, I mean definitely like you. Have I mentioned you’re beautiful?”
A small smile grew on my lips. “I don’t know that you have, no.” I meandered back to the couch, sitting down and doing my best to stifle the groan that threatened to escape me due to the sudden sharp pain in my gut. I hadn’t taken any of the pain pills, and unless the pain got unbearable, I wouldn’t. I’d lived in pain for so long, what was a little more? It was almost freaky what your body could get used to.
“Well, you are,” Luca said, moving to sit down beside me. “Is your father not home? I assumed he’d be here, since you just got out.”
My hands fiddled in my lap. “No, he’s… I don’t really know where he is right now. Off doing business, probably.” I shrugged. “But it’s fine. I don’t need him.” I had to stop myself from saying I didn’t need anybody, mostly because I’d still be in a hospital gown if it wasn’t for Zander helping me change. I guess, every now and then, you needed some help whether you wanted it or not.
“That’s kind of shitty. Your daughter was almost killed, and you’re nowhere to be found? I’m sorry you have to deal with that, but I’m here, and you got that Zander guy, so at least you aren’t alone.”
I was measured in lifting my gaze to his. Luca’s dark eyes were just like his father’s, only they were set in a much younger face—and a much cuter face, if I was honest. “I’m okay with being alone. I’ve been alone my whole life.” If it sounded depressing, that’s because it was.
No friends. No boyfriends. Nothing but my father and whatever he wanted. I got through school, kept to myself, mostly because I was on another level than everyone else. It was a lonely existence.
And then the shit with Rocco happened, and then I’d stumbled upon Father Charlie. Things hadn’t been the same after that.
“You shouldn’t have to be alone.” Luca set a hand on mine, and I froze, tensing up. I didn’t feel his skin on mine, and yet I could still feel his warmth flooding through my gloves. It took everything in me to not pull away from him, to continue to sit there and act like I was fine with him touching me.
I didn’t want to think of his father every time I was with him. To do so would only keep the nightmares of the past alive. No, I wanted to move on, to live in the now, and in order to do that, I had to remember that I was a different person, a different girl. I’d had sex with a stranger in the Playground twice, and I’d kissed Zander. I could totally handle contact with Luca.
