AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That’s true. Now that she put it that way, it’s obvious this is all a favor to me. “He just feels bad about what that guy did to me. It wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t keeping me with him.”
“No, babe. If it was because of that, he would stop at making sure you were taken care of. Just you. Nobody goes to all this trouble unless they care a lot about somebody. That’s all I’m going to say. Deal with it or don’t.”
There’s other sounds going on all around her now which she explains before I get the chance to ask. “The nurse just came in. I’d better let you go.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“You, too. Let me know what happens with this meeting. Tell him I said good luck.” I promise I will before ending the call and placing the phone on the charger.
“How’s she doing?”
I spin on my heel to find Luca standing in the doorway, holding his hands up in surrender. Even when he looks sheepish, he’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. It’s unfair for him to look this good.
“Sorry,” he offers. “I thought you heard me come in.”
“I didn’t. Geez, you’re like a ghost.” I barely manage not to wince at the word. Not something I want him thinking about it before he’s going into this big meeting with probably his worst enemy.
“Don’t you know? That’s one of the things they teach us mafia guys. How to be quiet.”
I roll my eyes as he comes to me, his arms outstretched now. I can’t believe how good it feels to have them around me as I step into the circle of his embrace. “She’s doing fine. She likes your phone calls, by the way.”
“I like to make sure they’re treating her well over there.”
“It’s appreciated.” I lift my head from his shoulder, smiling up at him. “By both of us.”
“I’m glad. It’s the least I can do.” He clears his throat, his brows drawing together. “We’ll be leaving soon, me and Jock. The teams we already send out have swept the area and given the all-clear. We’ll be perfectly safe.”
“You’re sure?” My heart’s racing fast enough to make me feel a little nauseous and all of a sudden I don’t want to let him go.
“I’m sure. Things like this happen all the time. And by the time it’s over, everything will be settled. We’ll be able to go back to something approaching normalcy.”
I wish I knew what he means when he uses the wordwe. Am I included in that, or is he only talking about his family? And if everything does get settled, does that mean I have to go? After all, there won’t be as much to protect me from anymore if this maniac is put to rest.
I want so much to ask him. I want so much to tell him that I don’t want to go. That somewhere along the line, this stopped being a matter of being held captive. Physically, anyway. There’s definitely a part of me being held captive right now, but it’s not my body. It’s my soul. What a mess.
He touches his hand to the side of my face, and I notice the way he seems to be studying me. “What is it?” I ask, holding him tighter.
“I just wanted to make sure I got a good look at you. Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real. Like I made you up in my head—or during a wet dream.”
We both laugh quietly over that. “I’m real.”
“Then they broke the mold after they made you, because there’s nobody like you in the world. I wish—” He cuts himself off with a brief shake of his head. “We’ll talk about what I wish after I come home. Deal?”
“Deal.” And oh, God, he needs to come home.Please, God, let him come home. And let him be well when he does.
He hooks a finger under my chin, tipping my face upward before giving me a soft, lingering kiss that even now sends a sizzle of desire running through me. My fingers turn to claws, digging into his shoulders, my arms wrapped around him as tight as they can get. Tight enough to ache, but that’s nothing compared to the ache in my chest when the kiss ends.
“Do me a favor?” I ask before he lets me go.
“Name it.”
“If you do see that bastard tonight, and if you have the chance, I want you to make him suffer for what he did.”
“Delilah Jones, there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you.” He runs his thumb over my lips. “It almost feels unfair, knowing I’m going to enjoy it so much.”
Vincent knocks at the open door. “Jock just went out to the car and said it’s time to get moving.” I hold him a little tighter, just for a second, just one more time. I wish it didn’t feel like the last time. I have to believe he knows what he’s doing and everything will be okay. I want so much to believe it.
All I can do is watch him leave, standing at the front door with Vincent by my side. “It’ll be fine,” he assures me with a brief pat on my back. “In the meantime, how are you at poker? I haven’t played a decent game in forever.” I know he’s trying to distract me, and I almost love him a little bit for it.
But not as much as I almost love his brother, now sitting in the back seat of a car that could very well be driving him to his doom.
