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“Luce?” I say and she turns to me.
“I’m sorry.” She wipes a stray tear from her cheek.
“What happened?”
“My brother, Luca,” she shudders. “He used to look at me like that. I don’t know—it took me back to a place I didn’t like.” She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to talk about it any longer. “I’m sorry if I overreacted.”
I act on instinct, pulling her into my arms and giving her a quick hug before she sits back again. “You didn’t overreact, Luce. You were right to show that asshole he can’t put his hands on you. I would have if you hadn’t.”
“Thank you for letting me deal with it.”
“You were a fucking legend in there.”
“You think so?” She smiles at me. Fuck, she is so desperate for approval it makes me want to kill every person who ever hurt her and made her believe she was worthless. Luckily for them, the ones who did the most damage are already dead.
“Yes.”
“Thanks, Jax,” she says and then I don’t know if it’s the emotion of the day but she flings her arms around my neck and hugs me. I hug her back, feeling like a complete deviant because she feels so fucking good in my arms that I never want to let her go.
Fortunately, the rest of the day is much more uneventful and I drop Lucia off at her parents’ house after our final meeting, where Matthias is waiting for her.
“Are you not coming in?” she asks.
“No. Your dad is still at the hotel and I need to catch up with him,” I lie. Well, it’s not a complete lie. I am going to meet with him, but I have something else to take care of first.
“Okay. Thank you for today,” she whispers. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you this morning.”
“You were a pro. I’m proud of you.” I smile at her.
“Thanks. Please don’t tell my dad I screwed up on my first day.”
“Hey. You didn’t screw up. Some asshole put his hands on you and you dealt with him. What happened after is between you and me. I just told you I’m proud of you and I wouldn’t lie to you, Luce.”
“I know.” She nods but her eyes brim with tears. “I hate thinking about him, Jax,” she says as she looks down at her hands, and I assume she is talking about her brother, Luca. “I do my best not to, but when I do…”
Before I know it, I pull her into my arms and brush her hair back from her face. “It’s okay,” I say in her ear.
She melts into me and I bury my face in her hair, inhaling the familiar scent of the shampoo she always uses.
“I’m sorry. We shouldn’t…” She pulls back and wipes her face with her hands.
I frown at her. “Shouldn’t what?”
“Nothing. I…” She shakes her head. “Thanks, Jax. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“If you’re upset, I can stay a while longer.”
“No. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. You should go take care of whatever it is you need to do.” She places her hand on the door handle.
“Yeah. Bye, Luce.”
“Bye.”
I watch her climb out of my truck and walk up the driveway to the front door of her parents’ house and wish there was some way I could make her see just how incredible she really is.
I take off my jacket before climbing out of my truck. The sun is setting but the yard is still open. Walking to Mason’s office, I’m pleased to see he and his goons are still in there. They are sitting around his desk with serious looks on their faces, as though they’re discussing business.
“Jackson?” Mason looks up in surprise when I stroll inside without knocking. “Is everything okay?”
