“I know how he hurt you and I don’t want to ever see you like that again, babe. He wrecked you for weeks.”
Luca nodded soberly. “I know.”
“He went back to women once. Is he giving them up? You forget that I was with you the first time you ever saw him. I saw the blonde on his arm. I saw the kind of women he likes. Is he really willing to admit he’s bisexual? What if he’s just one of those guys in denial? He’s a cop, Luca. It’s not like he can ever come out at work. The other cops will hate him. Have you thought about anything but your dick, Luca?” Corey’s face was so sincere when he asked. Luca knew the questions were coming from a place of love.
“Yes, he’s giving up women. He’s thirty-two, Corey. Imagine for a moment that you’ve been to war, you’ve been a cop, you’ve been… around…,” Luca said, catching himself before he blurted out that Kane was actually an undercover ATF agent. Luca had met all the guys on his team. His partner at the ATF was an out and proud lesbian and Thayne and Jarrett were married partners but he couldn’t tell Corey that. Sure, Kane had been conflicted when they first met.
Luca remembered the confusing feelings he’d had when he first realized he liked boys better than girls. What if his own father had seen that in him when he was little? Maybe Lucie’s illness wasn’t the only reason he left them? All those questions had been on his mind as he grew up. He’d come to terms with it and he realized in hindsight that Kane was now dealing with the same feelings. His situation was a lot more complicated than Luca’s had been and he was going to give Kane the time to work through things. He loved him. How could he get Corey to understand that Kane wasn’t a bad guy without outing his undercover status and who he really was?
“Imagine you’ve been all those things and only dated women and imagine that you’ve been raised with a strict Catholic upbringing. Now, try to imagine how hard it was for him to say what he said to me today. He loves me and I love him. I know you love me. You’re my best friend. Can you please just get to know Kane before you leap to anymore conclusions about him? Can you do that for me, Corey?”
Corey watched him for a long time, seeming to search his eyes for something until he finally blew out a breath and nodded.
“Yeah, I can do that.” Corey reached out and rubbed him on the back. “I’m sorry, Luca. I just don’t want to see you hurt again.” He took a sip of his Long Island Iced Tea and waited. When Luca smiled at him and reached out, taking his shoulder and pulling him into a hug, he felt Corey relax beneath his touch.
“Excuse me.”
Luca looked up as a throat cleared right beside them. He met stunning green eyes that stared at him intently. Slade Ruiz, the pimp that Kane had warned him of, stood right in front of him, looking just as handsome as he had the night they’d danced together in this very club. His long silky black hair fell to his broad shoulders and the dark stubble that framed his square jaw was just as attractive as it had been the first time Luca had seen him. His full lips were turned up at the corners in an alluring smile. It was hard to believe that the man was a pimp or a panderer and as dangerous as Kane said he was but Luca believed and trusted in the man he loved. He had every intention of steering clear of Slade. When Luca said nothing, the man spoke again.
“I believe we’ve danced before,” Slade said. His voice had that same rumbling low quality to it that Luca remembered. He’d been so turned on by everything about the man from the way he looked, to the way he smelled, to the warmth of his chest when they’d swayed together on the dance floor. In his leather motorcycle jacket, he still smelled the same. “Your name is Luca, right?”
“Right,” Luca repeated robotically.
“The last time we were here, you said you were tired… from looking at mug shots.” Slade grinned and his teeth were as straight and white as Luca remembered. Even the dimples in his cheeks were gorgeous. It was hard to believe this man was dangerous but Luca forced himself to use common sense for once in his life. He remembered suddenly that Slade Ruiz was probably responsible for getting Freddy hooked on drugs so that he could exploit him. Anger surged through him. He stiffened his back but almost as soon as he did, he felt someone step on his toe… hard. Luca grunted and turned to Corey who was glaring at him.
“Luca! Introduce me to your hot friend,” Corey said, turning and batting his eyelashes at Slade as he deliberately reached for the tiny red straw in his drink with the tip of his tongue.
“It’s time to go, Corey.” Luca stopped and turned to Slade. “Sorry, I don’t remember your name and my friend here has had way too much to drink.” He reached out and grabbed Corey’s forearm and began pulling him away.
Slade stuck out his lower lip in a sexy pout. “You forgot me. How sad.”
If Luca hadn’t been warned that this man was dangerous, he would have never believed it. He seemed so charming but then again, that’s probably how he lured men into his trap. Corey stopped in his tracks and yanked his arm out of Luca’s grip, causing his drink to slosh over his hand, making his fingers sticky. He reached out and set the margarita onto the bar.
“I didn’t forget you,” Luca snapped. He turned and glanced at Corey who was now watching the dynamic between the two of them with more concern than interest. Luca knew that Corey recognized his tone and that there was a good reason why he didn’t want Corey to know the man. “We have to go,” he said to Corey.
“But we just got here, Luca.” Corey looked confused but Luca had known his friend long enough to sense the concern in his expression.
“And we have to go now.” Luca turned back to Slade who was now frowning at them. “Sorry, I just remembered we have somewhere to be.” When Slade’s big hand shot out and grabbed Luca’s bicep, a jolt of hot fear coursed down his arm, very unlike the arousal he’d once felt when Slade had taken his hand and led him out onto the very same dance floor.
“Don’t go, Luca. Dance with me and introduce me to your cute friend,” Slade said in that low, slightly-accented voice that sent shivers down Luca’s spine.
When another throat cleared beside them, Luca immediately looked up into the visage of another, even more imposing figure. The man was huge and Luca had to crane his head up even higher than he had with Slade. He didn’t like the way the man was looking at him, as though he was something to be eaten. He was massive, like some sort of musclebound warrior from the comic book movies Luca liked so much. There was nothing soft about the man and the smile he was directing down at Luca wasn’t warm.
“What are you doing here, Martin?” Slade asked, obviously recognizing the other man. The man turned to glance at Slade and Luca noticed for the first time that he had a backpack slung over his shoulder. He absently wondered how he’d gotten it through security since the bouncers at the front never let anyone bring anything larger than a purse into the club.
“I couldn’t find our mutual friend anywhere so I took a chance that you’d be here tonight,” the huge man said to Slade. He glanced back at Luca and then at Corey, offering another smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You must imagine how happy I was when I saw you talking to these two young men. Please introduce me to your friends.”
Luca felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. He realized how much he needed to talk to Kane. He’d left him a message but he hadn’t called back. He tore his gaze away from the two large men in front of him and reached for his phone, pulling it out and realizing with shock that he’d had eleven missed calls and three texts, all from Kane. He set his thumb on the screen to scroll to one of the texts when Martin’s large hand covered the phone and his hand, engulfing it like a baseball mitt. Luca’s skin immediately began to crawl as he felt a sense of dread. He looked up, right into the eyes of the man who was now towering over him.
“You’re just the kind of man I’ve been looking for,” Martin said.
“He’s not…,” Slade said, leaning close to Martin and whispering into his ear.
Luca watched as Martin nodded slowly, looking Luca
up and down like he was deciding if he was the kind of guy he wanted. The whole thing creeped Luca out. Who was this guy? He was looking him over like he was a slab of meat at the butcher shop. His words were strange and ever since the robbery, Luca had a pretty good instinct for who and what to be afraid of. This man was trouble—even more trouble than Slade. He still held tight to Luca’s hand—the hand with his phone. He had to call Kane right away.
As he attempted to pull his hand away from the large man’s grip, his phone slid out and crashed to the floor. Martin momentarily let go and Luca took the opportunity that presented itself and bent to retrieve the phone, grabbing Corey’s hand at the same time. When he straightened and stepped back, he locked eyes with Martin, instantly recognizing an expression of anger as it passed over his face. Corey’s hand tightened in his and Luca turned to his friend.
“Let’s go, Luca,” Corey said. He was wide-eyed and his hand was trembling in his. Luca nodded, turning back to the two men as he took two more steps back, taking a willing Corey with him.
“Gotta go!” he yelled over his shoulder as he turned and yanked Corey forward. They began making their way through the club toward the entrance as the two men behind him called his name. He sped up to create more distance between them, not even needing to drag Corey along since he was holding onto his hand with a death grip. The music suddenly shut off and red lights began flashing just as an ear-shattering klaxon began blaring an intermittent warning throughout the club. The sound was terrifying but the voice that blasted out of the speakers all around the room was even more so.
“Barcelona is now closed. Please make your way to the nearest exit door in an orderly fashion.”
Luca’s ears instantly perked up as the sound of Kane’s voice spoke the words calmly into a microphone somewhere on the premises. At that moment, he knew that his instincts had been right. The two men behind them were trouble and Kane had no doubt tracked his phone when he couldn’t reach him. As he struggled to move toward the front of the busy club through the now crushing mass of bodies headed in the same direction, he realized Kane had to be frantic. Something had to be especially worrisome or he wouldn’t have come here searching for him. It frankly scared the crap out of Luca but he held on to Corey like his life depended on it, realizing that every step they took was just one more step closer to safety.
“Make your way to the nearest exit door in an orderly fashion,” a new voice said.
Luca wondered absently where Kane was but in truth, he already knew. He was searching for Luca. If their roles had been reversed, that’s what Luca would have been doing. He had no idea what had prompted the evacuation of the club, but deep down he sensed it had something to do with the two large men.
Luca tried to remain calm as they moved but every time the voice repeated the need for the patrons of Barcelona to evacuate in an orderly fashion, more and more people began to panic around them. The club was even more packed than it had been at happy hour. Luca could see the red exit sign of the front door about forty feet away but there was a mass of people in between the door and them. He didn’t look back because he knew that Slade and the man he’d called Martin were looming back there, no doubt even more a danger than whatever had prompted the evacuation to begin with.
Someone behind them suddenly shouted and Luca was shoved forward. Corey’s hand was ripped away and then a second later, Luca was propelled forward into someone else’s back. With nowhere to go, he was crushed against the body in front of him, jostled by someone behind him. He panicked as he lost track of Corey and he called out for his friend. When Corey cried out from several feet behind him, Luca found that he couldn’t even turn his body to look, pinned the way he was.
People all around them were pushing for the front door as the voice over the loudspeaker rang out again. Someone screamed right beside him and Luca only had a second to gasp in pain from a hard shove in the center of his back when the massive body behind him slammed into him, taking him to his knees, and flattening him to the ground. The concrete floor rushed up at his face. The last thing he remembered was his breath leaving his body as his world went dark.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
The moment Kane read Luca’s text, he’d gone a little bit crazy. He’d immediately grabbed his gun out of his desk and run toward the door, yelling over his shoulder that Luca was at Barcelona. He hadn’t waited for Kelly or Cassidy or Mike, grabbing the first bike cop he’d found in the parking lot and asked for his keys. In seconds, he’d been on the back of a police motorcycle with the lights and sirens going as he tore through the streets toward Barcelona. When he’d parked at the front door of the club and jumped off, the patrons who’d lined up to get inside parted like the Red Sea when he flashed a badge.
Kane found the club manager first, hastily explaining that there was a bomb threat and that he needed to evacuate Barcelona immediately. When the manager stood there dumbfounded and slightly skeptical, Kane had pushed by him, found the DJ booth, and grabbed the microphone, making his own call for the club goers to evacuate. The DJ booth was up a flight of stairs at the back of the club and Kane peered through the window as people began heading toward the exit doors. When he spotted Martin Carlow and Slade Ruiz talking to Luca, Kane had felt almost instant panic. He’d turned to find Cassidy standing behind him with a breathless Mike and had stepped aside, letting Cassidy take over at the microphone. All this was why he was now charging back down the stairs to find Luca before he became Carlow’s next victim.
Trying to make his way quickly to the last place he’d seen Luca was a feat of strength and pure adrenaline as Kane pushed through the crowd, heading the opposite direction of their flight. He was tall and he constantly scanned the tops of heads, searching for the silky brown hair of his lover. He was growing more and more frustrated as the crowd thinned out. When he suddenly spotted a crumpled form lying unconscious on the ground only ten feet from him, Kane’s heart nearly stopped. Luca’s clothes were dirty and he looked like he’d been trampled. His friend knelt at his side and when Kane ran up, the young man he’d met at The Abbey looked up at him, tears streaming down his face.
“He’s hurt. Someone must have pushed him down but then stepped… oh, God! Please help me get him out of here!”
Kane glanced momentarily at Corey and then squatted beside Luca, reaching down to gently turn his face. His nose was bleeding and looked like it was broken and there were droplets of blood near his body. Kane’s heart raced as he reached out and felt Luca’s carotid pulse, relieved when he felt the steady heartbeat under his fingers. He looked up at the young man.
“He’s okay.”
“Thank God. Please help us,” he pleaded.
Kane nodded and looked down at Luca, quickly running his hands over his limbs to make sure nothing was broken. When Luca opened his eyes, relief flooded his senses.
“Luca… baby… I don’t want to move you but we have to get you out of here.”
People were still running by them, tripping and nearly falling over them as they made for the exit.
Luca reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m all right. Someone just knocked me out. I’m not paralyzed or anything, see?” Luca began to roll over and Kane held his breath, watching his limbs and the way he moved his neck, grateful that he seemed okay. Luca reached up and Kane took both of his hands, pulling him gently to a sitting position, closely watching his face.
“Oh my God!” Corey suddenly screamed and Kane looked up to find Luca’s friend pointing. Standing at the bar, where Kane had first seen Luca, was Slade Ruiz, holding a backpack up over his head. Upon closer inspection, Kane could see the man’s hands were cuffed to the pack and then to an exposed metal pipe running horizontally above the front of the bar like the grab bar on a train. The pipe was part of Barcelona’s shabby chic interior décor which included exposed brick walls and silver ventilation ducting running along the ceiling.
“Help me!” Slade shouted. “He left me! Please! Help me!”
Kane knew exactly what was happening. Martin Carlow had done exactly what they’d predicted he’d do. He’d turned on yet another one of his partners and Slade held the backpack filled with explosives, shrapnel, and instant death. There was no helping Slade Ruiz. He knew Carlow had detonated the bomb outside of Marty’s with some sort of remote device and that’s exactly what he’d be doing as soon as he was far enough away not to be killed by his own bomb. Kane looked down at Luca, knowing that he was making the only decision he could. He grabbed him under the arms, pulled him to a standing position, and hefted him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry before turning to Corey.
“He’s holding a bomb! Get the hell out of here! I’m right behind you! Go, Corey! I’m not going to let anything happen to Luca! Get your ass in gear!” he shouted when Corey stared at him like he was crazy.
Corey turned and began to run through the almost empty club and Kane followed, with Luca bouncing over his shoulder, howling like a banshee to put him down. Kane wasn’t taking any chances though. As they headed for the exit, Kane heard Ruiz screaming and crying behind them, yanking at the handcuffs. He could only imagine the terror that was going through the man and knowing how he was about to die made Kane sick, regardless of the fact that he was a really bad man who’d been responsible for his share of untimely deaths and even murder.
They made it to the entrance and met Cassidy and Mike charging down the stairs from the DJ booth just as the explosive concussion tossed them off their feet. Seconds later, Kane was up again and Luca was tucked protectively at his side with Corey running in front of them. Mike and Cassidy had taken up the rear as they herded the last few bar patrons outside into the fresh night air. Black smoke and noise exploded out of the bar behind them, pelting them all with debris and ash as they made it outside.
There was a great creaking groan from the building as they stumbled out into the middle of the parking lot where the bomb squad, several fire companies, and Kane’s friends from the ATF were assembled. Kelly was waiting for them and ran over to them, throwing her arms around Kane’s neck and then Luca’s, hugging them both tightly and repeating over and over how scared she’d been when she was unable to fight her way inside the building the way Kane had. Kane let go of Luca momentarily and took her into his arms, followed by Dev who waited for Kelly to let go. Over Dev’s shoulder, he spotted Luca hugging Corey as his young friend cried. In all of the chaos of the night, Luca was safe and sound and that’s all that mattered. The man Kane loved had survived this time, even though they’d somehow lost track of Carlow.
Play With Me Page 30