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“I said. Get. Up.” The tone of his voice was one any smart man would understand meant trouble, and lucky for Luca, the one thing he did have going for him was his brain. He got to his feet, making sure to keep his distance, but Dom wasn’t about to make him comfortable.
He walked around Luca, looking him over from head to toe, taking in every little detail of the one he was now tasked with keeping close…and alive. Luca glanced over his shoulder as Dom moved behind him, his fight-or-flight response no doubt signaling like a motherfucker. That was what happened when you were the prey in a predator’s sights.
“Luca,” Dom said by the kid’s ear. “Do I strike you as a man who gets things wrong?”
The only movement Luca made was to breathe. “No.”
“Exactly. So when I tell you I have the right person, don’t fucking argue with me.”
Luca did just that and shut his mouth, but the wheels were turning, that much was obvious, and after a long moment, he said, “Then who am I? If you say that my life as I know it is a lie, then tell me what you think you know.”
“If I did that, I’d have to kill you, and luckily for you, someone higher up the ladder wants you alive.”
“There’s someone higher thanyou?” The second after he said it, Luca clamped his mouth shut, as though he realized how mouthy he was getting.
Dom arched a brow. “Only by one rung, and don’t take too much comfort in that. He takes my advice more often than not.”
“And you want to kill me?”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
Luca swallowed and shook his head, muttering to himself.
“What was that?”
His brown eyes flicked back to Dom’s. The fear from earlier was again present, but so, apparently, was his resolve. Luca tilted his chin a fraction and said, “I said you’re a monster.”
Dom smirked. “Now you’re catching on.”
“Someone will come for me. People are going to be worried about me.”
“The only people worried about you already know what happened. They were in on it.”
“What?” Luca paled instantly.
Dom slid his hands into his pockets and took a step forward. “You were a favor, nothing more. And that’s all I’m going to tell you tonight. Now come with me.”
He led Luca up the two flights of stairs and down the hall, passing by several empty bedrooms before stopping at one. Dom opened the door, pushed it wide, and gestured for Luca to go inside.
From the look of apprehension on his face as he walked by Dom, it seemed he’d been expecting another chair and windowless room. Instead, he was getting a five-star hotel room, complete with luxury bedding, a large floor-to-ceiling window, and even a chandelier. Not bad for someone Dom would’ve preferred be in the gutter.
Luca turned around, a frown on his face.
“What?” Dom said. “Not up to your standards?”
“I’m staying here alone?”
“Would you prefer company?” Dom smirked and leaned against the doorjamb. “I could stay. Or perhaps you’d prefer Joe?”
“No,” Luca said quickly, running a hand over his hair. “I just wasn’t expecting…this.”
“That makes two of us,” Dom said under his breath. He nodded toward the door in the corner. “The en suite’s through there. Use it or don’t. I don’t care.”Dom turned to leave.
“Where do you stay?”
“That’s none of your business. When I need you, I’ll find you.”
Luca swallowed hard as Dom pulled the door shut. He stood there for a moment, hand on the knob, before turning on his heel. The bedroom he entered was at the end of the hall, an immense space with views of Manhattan on both sides of the room, though he preferred the curtains shut for privacy. It was a dim space compared to the rest of the penthouse, furnished in shades of dark grey, with a modern brass chandelier above the bed on a dimmer.
He unfastened his suit jacket and laid it across the edge of the bed, and then he cracked his neck from side to side, sighing as the tension left his body. As he began to remove his cuff links, he wandered over to the oversized van Gogh hanging opposite his bed and pushed a barely there button on the wall beside it.
The painting began to lift, and Luca came into view. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and his head leaning against his clasped fingers like he was in prayer.
You can pray all you like,Dom thought, and it was a shame, really, because while Luca was as close to God as he likely ever would be up here, what he didn’t seem to realize was that he was sharing space with the devil himself.
