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So I settle for smiling a little before he leans down to kiss me, then rolls off the bed. “I’ll get you a washcloth.” He comes back a moment later and wipes my stomach with the warm, damp cloth. He looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. So that’s all it took. A night of sex. The thought makes me giggle to myself while he finishes up, then goes back to the bathroom.
“You know I hate to say this, but we’d better get dressed. We don’t want to get caught with our pants down when Luca shows up, no pun intended.”
He’s right. My heart’s heavy and my body is slow with both exhaustion and dread. But I have to do it, so I force myself through it while he splashes around in the bathroom for a minute.
“How is everybody?” I ask, since silence is way too awkward.
He comes out and puts his clothes on quickly, his back turned to me. “Everybody is fine. You’d be surprised how little things have changed. Talia’s engaged.”
“I read the announcement online.” And the thought of it does make me happy. “You know, I have missed them. I don’t want you thinking I didn’t. And I do feel bad about worrying them. But I was so scared after Sera. I was afraid it was going to happen to me. I just freaked out.”
“I guess that’s part of the reason I didn’t hand you over to your father way before now.”
I turn to him slowly. “What do you mean?”
He runs a hand over the back of his neck, grimacing. “Well, I would need to get you on the same page with me, anyway. I told him for a long time I couldn’t find you, you kept giving me the slip.”
“But I didn’t.”
“I know that. And you know that. But he doesn’t know that.”
“Why did you lie?”
He sits on the far side of the bed, shrugging. “Because I knew how much you didn’t want to come home. And because…”
The knock on the door couldn’t come at a worse time. “Can we continue this at home?” I ask, getting up from the bed since I’m closer to the door.
“We probably shouldn’t—no, wait!” He starts to stand but I’m already turning the knob, pulling the door open.
And now I see my mistake.
Because it isn’t Luca Bruno at the door—he was Sera’s brother, I’ve known him my entire life.
No, it’s a man I’ve never seen before.
But that doesn’t stop him from aiming a gun at me.
Chapter Twelve – Beckett
I failed her again. Damn it, I failed her again.
I should’ve answered the door. I should have checked to make sure it was Luca coming to take her home.
Now, I’m leaping from the bed and throwing myself toward the dresser, where my Glock sits.
“Don’t even think about it,” the guy grunts, grabbing Olivia before I can. He was closer to her, anyway. He holds her in front of him, the gun to her temple. “You don’t want me to blow her brains out? Then you’re gonna let me leave with her.”
“Over my dead fucking body. You’re not going anywhere with her.”
“I don’t want to have to kill you, but I will if you’re that determined.” He lets out a high-pitched laugh. “The boss is gonna be real happy to meet her. He doesn’t like people making friends with his enemies.”
“This has nothing to do with her. Let the girl go. She’s not any part of this.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. We both know she is. She’s a Giordano.”
“You’re damn fucking right I am,” she grits out, her eyes locked on me. “And if he doesn’t take the shot, then I’ll know I was wrong about him, and he’s a coward.”
“Olivia,” I whisper, staring at the gun.
