by Soraya Naomi
Leggia’s underboss, Biagio, welcomes us into the living room seating area, and we’re not searched for weapons because we all know that none of us would take the risk of using his gun in this hotel – we’re on camera and the reception saw us walking in.
I’m positive every one of Leggia’s men is packing a piece, however, as are we. Leggia’s sitting in a chair with two men flanked on either side of him.
“James, Luca, Salvatore, Adriano,” Leggia says in a fake hospitable voice as he remains seated.
“Giacomo.” James shakes his hand.
Then James and I sit across from him as Adriano and Salvatore position themselves behind us.
“So, gentlemen, I have an interesting offer for you,” Leggia starts.
James and I wait for him to elaborate.
“You’re not curious?” he asks.
“I’m not in the mood to play games,” James says calmly. “What do you want, Giacomo?”
Leggia motions to his underboss. “Get the boy.”
And Biagio disappears into the bedroom.
“Drinks, gentlemen?” Giacomo offers.
“No.” All of us decline.
We don’t ever accept drinks at meets. You never know what poison might be added to them.
Within seconds, Biagio comes out holding a blond, surfer-type hacker: Danny Mancuso. His hands are tied behind him, and his mouth is sealed shut with a piece of duct tape. His eyes round in horror as he takes notice of us.
Meanwhile, James and I avoid eye contact; we never give anything away at these meets.
“I seem to have found your hacker. Word on the street is that you’re quite determined to get him back.” Leggia’s looking from me to James.
“How long have you had him?” I question in a bland tone.
Giacomo’s attention cuts to me. “A few days. As an offer of my friendship, I’d like to propose a deal.”
I’m afraid I foresee where this is going, and I’m balling my hand into a fist to cover up the outrage that’s starting to crawl over my skin.
“I have something you want, and you have something I want.” Leggia shoots me a snide smile while he adds, “I know Ms. Fallon Michaels is in your hands. I’ll trade you Danny for Fallon.” Addressing solely me now, he inspects my reaction before moving his focus back to James.
I keep a straight face, masking the pure fury that’s scorching in my blood. He’s finally using her as leverage. I knew it was only a matter of time before he’d use her against me.
James asks, “What do you want with the girl?”
“What I want with the girl is of no importance,” Leggia retorts. “I have the guy you want.”
“What you want with the girl is important to me. I’m not into human trafficking, Giacomo. However, I do want Danny, so I’ll think about it and will get back to you.” James gets up and signals for us to depart.
Leggia’s speechless by James’s dismissal of his proposal.
Adriano, Salvatore, and I steadily follow James, but I look back at Leggia before shutting the door, and he holds up his drink to me with a derisive sneer.
We’re quiet as we get into the car. Adriano steps on the gas while I’m in the passenger seat, silently fuming and having difficulty containing my reaction. I’m losing control over this fucking situation. Fallon’s being pulled into my world, yet away from me instead of toward me.
“Do you have Fallon Michaels?” Consigliere Salvatore starts asking questions first.
“We do,” James answers from beside Salvatore in the back seat. “What’s he playing at, Luca?”
“He’s trying to drive a wedge between us. Leggia thinks I haven’t told you about Fallon. He’s still one step behind, thinking he can use her as leverage to hurt me – to indirectly hurt you and create dissention within our Syndicate. He can’t take us on as a team, so he needs us to fall apart first,” I answer tersely without facing the back seat.
“I think you’re right,” James agrees. “How did he know we had her?”
“He must’ve had her followed last night,” I say.
“Someone fill me in,” Salvatore interrupts.
“Fallon is Luca’s woman. She’s Syndicate protected now,” James explains.
“What does Leggia want with Fallon?” Salvatore asks.
“He doesn’t want anything with her,” I explain. “He’s only using her to stir up trouble between James and me. Leggia knows I’d never allow the trade, and I’m sure he thought James would agree immediately.”
James recognizes the war raging inside me, so he suggests, “We’ll discuss this later, gentlemen – after Luca’s calmed down. Adriano, we need to make a stop to pick up a payment.” And he shows Adriano the address on his phone while the only thing I can think about is getting back to Fallon and keeping her safe.
CHAPTER 30
Fallon
All I can do is lie in Luca’s bed and repeatedly go over last night and the last few weeks with Luca. If I hadn’t gone into that alley. If I had just stayed inside the hotel. If I had listened to my instincts from the start, I wouldn’t be in this situation. If I had just called the police with the phone that fell out of that guy’s pocket. If, if, if...
Deep down, well, not even deep down, I knew something was wrong from the start. Luca’s vagueness regarding his business trips, the different phones, catching him with the priest, his hot and cold demeanor at times – I freaking knew this was not good, but I let my physical attraction to him win over my common sense. But I couldn’t have ever imagined he’d be a part of the mafia. Does he kill people?
I want to believe he won’t harm me, but this is a world I don’t know. How does he function as the underboss? What does it mean to work in the underworld? Drugs, human trafficking, murder? Have I been blinded by love for this entire time? He deceived me, but I allowed him to feed me lie after lie and ate it up. His intensity shone through the first time I met him. The darkness hidden behind his façade is of a corrupted man, but this corrupted man has a gentle side that I fell in love with. I didn’t fall for the man I thought I knew. I fell in love with a façade.
But right now, I need to focus and get out of here, so I keep reiterating those words when my mind wanders to what if’s. Denying my tears for now, I angrily wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, grimacing when I rub the bruise under my eye too roughly.
When I hear a key turning in the door, I jolt up.
A tall, young woman with an auburn bob walks in holding a tray of food. She smiles at me shyly as she sets down the tray on the nightstand and flinches slightly when she sees the bruise on my face.
“Are you okay?” She makes an effort to close the distance between us before she stops mid-step.
Another woman is here? Do I take the risk of asking for her help? The risk being she could tell Luca or someone else in this house and that might cause even bigger problems for me. But, of course, I take the risk.
“Who are you?” I shift closer so that she can clearly notice that I’ve been beaten. “You have to help me get out of here.” Sadly, shock is all I’m getting in return.
“Did one of them hurt you?” she asks.
Who are them? Luca and James? The other men who brought me here?
“Yes. Two guys kidnapped me yesterday.”
Her perfectly-shaped brows wrinkle in thought while she studies me. “What’s your name?”
“Fallon.”
“Luca’s girlfriend?”
Who the hell is this? I thought Luca said no one could find out I’m with him. More lies from Luca, perhaps? “Yes. Who are you?”
“I’m Camilla, or Cam. You’re here for your own safety.” She waves toward the tray. “I brought you drinks, a chicken salad, and a croissant.”
I don’t want any food, so I point to my bruise and battered knees. “Look at me! I’m not here of my own free will. They took me last night, and one guy even tried to attack me.”
She frowns, clearly not believing me.
What did Luca say t
his place was? Headquarters? Is she staff or something? She can’t be part of the Syndicate with that reaction. “Are you part of the Syndicate?”
Legitimate confusion marks her reaction. “Syndicate?”
Okay, so apparently, she’s not part of the Syndicate. “Listen to me. What do you do here? They kidnapped me; if you don’t help me, you’ll be an accomplice.”
“Adriano would never allow that,” she refutes.
Adriano? Why would she mention Adriano? “Are you Adriano’s girlfriend?”
A sadness glimmers behind her eyes. There’s evidently some history there. “No,” she resolutely answers. “I work here. I’m told you’re here for your own safety—”
“That’s not true! They took me.”
“But you are Luca’s girlfriend, right?”
I sigh heavily. “Yes. But look at my appearance. You must know something suspicious is going on here.”
Camilla snorts. Maybe she does know more about this Syndicate.
“I see that.” She palms her forehead and turns away from me. After a stretch of silence that feels like forever since Luca could come through that door at any second and ruin my chances of persuading her to help me, she edges back to me.
“Don’t talk too loudly; someone’s manning the bedroom door,” she murmurs.
I nod my head.
And she adds in that hushed tone, “I work here. There’s a bar downstairs. I’ve never discovered anyone being held captive here and was only asked to give you your food. This...I don’t know what to do. Do Adriano and Luca know what happened last night?”
“Yes, they know,” I retort hurriedly.
She steps back and just stares me down before, unexpectedly, she spins around and is out the door so quickly that when I try to open it, it’s already locked. I slam my palm against it in frustration.
Marching to the nightstand, I grab the food tray and fling it against the door in defeat. All I want is to go back to the safety of my own home. Too many confusing thoughts are crowding me. Do I trust Luca or don’t I? I can’t take that risk again, but – at the moment – he might be my only option for getting out of here.
CHAPTER 31
Luca
As soon as we arrive back at the house that evening, I dash to the second floor with Adriano to find Cam, who’s visibly upset, behind the bar.
“How did it go with Fallon?” I ask and hold out my palm for my keys.
Cam hands them over as her eyes dart back and forth between Adriano and me. “Not good. She’s hurt.”
“What did she say to you? Did she ask for help?” I probe.
I’m almost positive that Fallon must’ve asked for help, and Cam’s answer will let me know if Fallon has gotten to her. Cam knows insignificant matters of our business, yet she’s never been involved in any Syndicate activity until today, so I have no idea how she feels about all of this.
“She didn’t ask for help,” Cam replies unwaveringly.
I believe she’s lying, so I signal to Adriano to follow me out so that I can share my thoughts in private.
“There’s a very small chance that Fallon didn’t ask for help, but I can’t imagine her not acting on her first instinct to escape. You need to talk to Cam to make sure she’s telling us everything. I’m going to check on Fallon.”
Nodding once, Adriano heads back into the strip club, and I proceed to my private room where Damian’s sitting in a chair guarding the door.
“Did she eat?” I ask.
“No. She had a tantrum. Threw the food all around the room. At least it was all wrapped in paper and plastic,” he jokes, not sensing my dark mood.
He didn’t protect Fallon last night when Frank hit her, and he should be thankful that Adriano reminded me that he’s one of our best soldiers and convinced me not to retaliate against him.
“You’re treading on very thin ice,” I warn him in a low voice. “One more screw-up from you and you’re done.”
“I apologize.”
“Go away.”
Unlocking the door, I find Fallon lying on the bed in her favorite sleeping position, on her stomach. I take Damian’s chair into the room and place it by the window, facing the bed.
After checking the bruise on Fallon’s face, I let my fingertips trail over the slant of her neck. The swelling has subsided, and since she’s lying with her knees touching the bed, the scrapes must hurt less too. I skim my fingers over the soft skin down the small of her back and push the shirt up until, no longer able to stop myself, I bend forward to place a kiss above her behind and rest my forehead on her lush body. I tightly shut my eyes and whisper her name in the dark to no one, “Fallon.”
Having her this close and yet so far is tearing me apart. I’m too fucking conflicted most of the time when it comes to Fallon. Her association with me has changed her life and will affect her future. She offered me love, and I put her at risk in return.
When she stirs under my hand and I hear the tiniest, gentlest moan come from her lips, all the blood rushes from my brain. As much as I want to fuck her, I know that chances she’ll slap me are almost definite.
“Fuck,” I mutter harshly.
I can’t take her home now. She’s in more danger there because Leggia’s started the war.
Quietly, I strip to my boxer briefs and sink down on the chair, plowing my hands through my hair to temper my rage over Leggia’s proposal: trading Fallon for Danny. Leggia’s a great threat to us, and I don’t know what James will decide.
I resolve that my new plan with Fallon is going to be full disclosure. I’ll fill her in on everything tomorrow. Everything. She has to know how much danger she’s in, or else she’ll never agree to stay here. But I won’t pose it as a question. If she realizes she can leave, she’ll take that option.
Abruptly, Fallon’s eyes open and land directly on me with a faraway look as she sits up and speaks, “I read once that the first twenty-four hours of being kidnapped are crucial. Most people who aren’t found in those first twenty-four hours are never found. My twenty-four hours are up.” And then she glares at my naked chest.
“I’m trying my best to protect you,” I defend, not moving a muscle.
“Then explain it to me, Luca. I think you owe me that. Keeping me in the dark is only scaring me.”
Her emotional turmoil is evident in her lithe frame. She was lethargic this morning and was obviously angry this afternoon when she threw the food around the room, and now she wants answers. But silence is all I can give her in return because she’s acting suspiciously strange, not like herself.
Adding to her odd behavior, Fallon gets up and discards her shirt and boxers right in front of me, and confronted with her sweet body that’s captivated me ever since we met, I can’t help but reach out to stroke the soft skin of her stomach with my knuckles, regardless of her actual intent.
Fallon straddles my lap, and as our bare skin connects, I ache to bury myself inside her, but instead, I clutch the armrests of the chair firmly to keep from touching her, allowing her to play her game.
Is she going to seduce me in the hopes that I’ll release her?
“You love me, Luca.” Not a question but a statement.
She rubs herself over my boxers while streaming her nails up my chest, over my shoulders, and down my arms as she rotates her hips and moans quietly. I’m hardening underneath her and hold in a deep growl while our eyes are steadfastly fixed on each other.
Which one of us will end this game first?
Fallon pries my fingers loose from the chair and places my hands over her beautiful breasts, and falling for her seduction, I grip them without losing eye contact. Then she nudges down my boxers slightly, exposing my already raging hard-on and grinding her wetness all over me.
Fuck. I want to lose myself in her warmth.
I squeeze her breasts hard as I watch her sliding over me. But when I glance up, I’m confronted with our situation and bitterly thrown out of my need to fuck her. Her eyes aren’t filled with lust. Ins
tead, she’s staring at me with a calculated look.
Oh, there’s the look I was expecting.
Having enough of her game, I cup her ass, standing up as she winds her arms around my neck, and throw her back on the bed. Instantly, I cover her body with mine and widen my legs, forcing her knees apart, and growl while pushing against her center as my blood keeps rushing south and I try to clear my head. But I swear I hear her moan as well, making it almost impossible for me not to let lust take the reins.
Planting one hand next to her head, I trace my other palm over her knee and slowly up the inside of her thigh until the tip of my thumb flicks her core, and she whimpers again, startling herself as we watch each other. At this point, I don’t think either of us knows what we’re doing anymore.
She wants me to fuck her so that she can hate me, and I’m annoyed by her hostile manner, so I take her chin between my fingers and thumb and capture her mouth with mine, prodding my tongue between her parted lips while panting furiously, showing her that she still belongs to me. But when I pull back an inch, keeping us face-to-face, and see that her calculating look has been replaced by anxiety, I’m scalded with guilt, so I let out a heavy sigh and decide it’s time to put an end to our emotional tug of war.
As I rest both elbows next to her ears, still lying atop her completely, I respond to her earlier question, “I do love you. I’m risking everything to keep you safe. You just need to validate that all I want to do is hurt you because I’m part of a mafia that did this to you, but I’m still Luca too. You want a good reason to end this relationship when all is said and done, but I’m not like that guy who forced himself on you yesterday.”
“You’re not? What is he? Isn’t he one of your men?” she spits and wriggles her body, but I remain unmoving.
“He was,” I answer.
Her eyes turn to slits.
“Did you think I’d allow someone like that in our Syndicate? You know nothing of us. And you don’t know me at all if you think I’d tolerate someone forcing himself on a woman, let alone you. He’s been taking care of.”