AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe not at the moment,” Elijah huffed. Putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he glanced up at him and winked. “But she will be, soon enough.”
I felt Luca’s body go stiff with rage. It surged forward powerfully, getting ready to strike. It was everything I could do to hold him back.
“By the way,” Elijah turned back at me. “You’re not nearly as fast as you used to be. What happened to your seven-and-a-half minute mile? I mean under the circumstances—”
“Get the hell out of here!” I snapped.
Elijah’s smile widened. He stood back up and shrugged.
“No.”
The word was simple, defiant, and totally infuriating. I wanted so badly to rip him to pieces. Even better, I wanted Luca to rip him to pieces and then rip those pieces into smaller pieces.
But I knew what would happen the moment we touched him.
“What’s going on with the house?” Elijah asked mockingly. He squinted around Luca to peer up at it. “Seems like construction might’ve stopped… or something.”
Luca’s expression was deadly now, and downright frightening. But Elijah didn’t seem fazed.
“Maybe you ran out of money?” Elijah suggested. “I mean, if you need a loan or something, I’m sure we could work out—”
“A loan?” Luca sneered.
“Yeah, sure,” said Elijah. “I mean, I already told you what I’d pay if you—”
“If I needed a loan, I sure as hell wouldn’t come to you,” Luca said needlessly.
I was confused for a moment, but then I saw the change in his eyes. All at once, and with the discipline of a true warrior, I felt his body relax.
“I’d eliminate the useless middle man entirely,” Luca continued mockingly. His mouth twisted into a sugary sweet smile. “I’d just go straight to yourdaddy.”
The way he dropped the last word was devastating to Elijah. Like a punch to the gut.
“Daddy’s got money, right?” Luca pressed.
I froze, watching the confrontation unfold before me. Now it was Elijah’s body language that changed. His teeth came together, his jaw clenched. The shoulders that were still heaving from his impromptu run across town were motionless now, and going tighter with every second.
“You’re forgetting that I could bury you,” Elijah seethed. “In more ways than one.”
“Why, because you’re a Navy SEAL?” Luca went on. “Is that it?”
“Oh man,” swore Elijah scathingly. “You don’t have anyideawhat you’re messing wi—”
“What team were you on?” asked Luca. His voice was mock laughter, but his eyes were deadly serious. “And don’t say ‘six.’”
“Team four,” Elijah spat.
“And where’d you see action?”
For a brief, awkward moment, Elijah hesitated. “Lots of different places.”
“Okay. Name one.”
Again, Elijah stumbled over the answer. I could see the confidence draining from his face.
“They didn’t usually tell us where we were going,” he responded finally. “We just went.”
“Really?” Luca blinked in surprise. “You just… went?”
