by Bethany-Kris
“And Cecelia,” Jordyn continued in her same, soft tenor. “She knows he’s a grown man who certainly doesn’t need to be babied or coddled, but she still kissed his cheek good morning and sang him happy birthday, just like she did for his brother. What about Antony? Lucian didn’t want gifts from his family, but his father didn’t listen. The custom watch he’s wearing with the Marcello crest engraved in the face … just another reminder of where he belongs.”
Kate looked as if she’d swallowed cyanide. “What is your point?”
“It eats at you, doesn’t it?” Jordyn asked sweetly. “That they love him and hold him so much closer than they do you. It must be awful to know he’s succeeded, thrived even, in this world that should have been yours. The nightmares you must have knowing his father made damn sure he would never want for a thing, but the man couldn’t even be bothered to leave you the marital bed he fucked you in.”
“You little bitch—”
“Oh, I wouldn’t start tossing names, Kate,” Jordyn warned. “Because I guarantee the names you have for me won’t compare to the ones already labeled and stuck to you for the rest of your life. Don’t you see? You can call me anything and it’s really not going to make a difference. Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t matter how much silicone and plastic there is under your skin to make you pretty, everybody still knows exactly who you are underneath it all. You’re so dirty. That feeling on your hands you can’t get off no matter how many times you wash? That’s called filth. It’s ingrained in your pores. It’s never coming out.”
“Jordyn,” Lucian murmured, squeezing her waist gently. “It’s all right, bella.”
“No, I don’t think it is,” Jordyn replied, shrugging. “I think someone needs to say it.”
“I don’t have to listen to a thing from you,” Kate said, trying to sound dismissive but failing miserably. “You’re certainly not worth the effort.”
“Aren’t I?” Jordyn scoffed quietly. “Take a good look at me, Kate, and then look at him, too. God, it must cut you up inside to think he’s happy. That makes you an awful, terrible person.”
Lucian decided Jordyn didn’t need him to step in after that. People were far enough away not to overhear the conversation, and she hadn’t raised her voice once. She was the kind of woman who didn’t need to shout to get her point across and that made him all the more proud of her.
“And what bothers you the very most, Kate, above everything he has that you don’t, and all that he is despite what you’ve done to hurt him,” Jordyn said in a murmur, leaning a little closer, “… is that Lucian could have been your child and he wasn’t. Deny that when you look at him, you see his father in his eyes staring back at you, the very man you married and received nothing for doing so. Deny he could have been your little boy, your son to spoil, and your baby to love. His father wouldn’t give that to you, though, would he? I’d bet he knew just the kind of woman you are and couldn’t stomach even the thought of letting you raise a child of his.”
Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Jordyn beat her to it. “Lucian was born to a woman much better than you, and raised by one who has more worth in her left pinky than you do in your entire body. They made him exactly who he is, and he is wonderful. Nothing about you is good, while everything about him is. And it absolutely kills you inside to see it, to know it, to watch Cecelia love him despite your hatred, and to know Antony is proud of him, regardless of his last name.
“You are poison,” Jordyn whispered darkly. “Evil in your heart and angry in your soul. Everything you’ve ever had has turned to ruins and it was all by your own hands. If you want to destroy the things surrounding you, that’s fine, but you will not destroy what wasn’t yours to begin with. Lucian was never yours, and that’s what hurts you the most. I hope someday it kills you, too. Don’t choke on your jealousy, Kate. It’s a big pill to swallow.”
With a choked noise catching in the back of her throat, Kate’s eyes widened before she pushed off the wall and ran to hide somewhere in the crowd behind them. Lucian’s pride swelled for Jordyn as his lover took a big enough breath to make her shoulders rise. Then, she turned to him with an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Lucian laughed, loud and honest. “Dio, bella! For what? That was great.”
“Still …” Jordyn made a face, sighing.
“Don’t do that, sweetheart,” Lucian said with a shake of his head. “Don’t feel badly for her or for hurting her with the truth. You were right, she deserved to hear it. I’ve bit my tongue long enough when it comes to her abuse because in some way, I felt like she was due her anger. Kate has always had to look at me and know where I came from. I don’t doubt it was hard, but she hasn’t made it easier, that’s for sure.”
“What does she truly get from it?” Jordyn asked.
“Nothing. My confusion and hurt, maybe. Especially when I was younger.”
“No more of that. She isn’t important enough to deserve it from you.”
Lucian nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“I am sorry she tried to ruin your party.”
“She didn’t—couldn’t. You’re here. Nothing makes me happier than you.”
Jordyn graced Lucian with one of her brilliant smiles. The desire to kiss her surged up swift and furious in his gut, so Lucian did just that. The kiss was hard and passionate, as it usually was between them. He could taste the remnants of a White Russian drink on the back of her tongue as Jordyn fell into his lips and embrace, sighing softly.
Even the sudden catcall whistles breaking out in the crowd didn’t stop them.
Chapter Twenty
“So, what do you think?” Fraser, a luxury Lexus dealer the Marcellos frequently used, asked.
Lucian hummed indecisively, looking the dark Lexus LFA Supercar over again. It was a sporty coupe offering fantastic horsepower and a great body. None of that was his problem, though.
“I prefer the silver chrome paint.”
“I’m aware. If you want that color, I’m going to need to order it and you’ll have to wait.”
Jordyn bumped Lucian’s hip with hers to gain his attention. “I don’t mind this matte style.”
That was the first time Jordyn opened her mouth about any vehicles in the lot since they arrived an hour ago to begin shopping. Other than very clearly explaining if he bought her a car without her consent, he’d sleep in the guest bedroom for a month, she hadn’t said much or given an opinion.
“It’s dark. It’s always going to look dirty,” Lucian explained, eyeing the black paint job. “I know this new matte paint is popular, but I don’t know. Maybe …”
“What is it?” Jordyn asked.
“If you’d drive it, then perhaps I would buy it,” Lucian finished, hiding his grin by looking away.
Jordyn sighed. “Lucian.”
“Well, if you like it and would use it, I’d have another reason to put up with the color.”
“It’s just a car.”
“That I have to be seen in,” Lucian said, scoffing playfully. “Dark colored cars look much better with women drivers.”
“That’s true,” Fraser added, smiling encouragingly at Jordyn. “Typically I find women choose dark paints colors more often than they pick lighter ones.”
“But I’m not picking a car today,” Jordyn replied sweetly. “Lucian, stop trying to manipulate me into letting you buy me a car. It’s ridiculous you think I’m naive enough to fall for it. I thought you understood how firm the bed in the guestroom is, but I guess not. Either you want this car, or you don’t. Make a choice and stick to it.”
Goddamn it.
There was nothing quite like Jordyn and her sarcasm when she wanted to make a point.
“Fine, I’ll buy the fucking thing,” he muttered unhappily. “I’m already tired of Antony’s Mercedes.”
“Good,” Fraser said, clapping his hands together. “You’re aware of the price, given I emailed you the details. All that’s left is your choice of ho
w to pay, Lucian.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Lucian, his brothers, or his father to pay for their vehicles in a rather unorthodox way, like straight cash the dealer could hide a few thousand worth under the table.
“Cash,” he answered. “In full. Get the paperwork ready and you’ll have the money.”
“The Mercedes is safer, though,” Jordyn pointed out too quietly for the dealer to hear as Fraser walked away. “At least for a little while longer.”
“I know, but if someone really wants to kill me, sweetheart, bulletproof glass isn’t going to save me.”
Jordyn frowned. “Thanks for the reassurance.”
Well, honesty was the best policy.
Lucian weaved his fingers with Jordyn’s, tugging her closer into his side. “Forget about it.”
“Right, like that’s going to happen.”
“Come on, let’s take a walk back to the Mercedes to get the money. I bet he knew I was going to buy the car and already has the paperwork practically done but for my signature.”
Jordyn didn’t seem entirely pleased about his dismissal of the threat still looming over Lucian’s life, but she followed him back through the parking lot without pushing it further. He was grateful, really, because whether he wanted to admit it or not, no one was any closer to figuring out who, or why, someone was looking to end his life.
There was nothing to gain from it, honestly.
Sure, Lucian’s position as a capo in the Marcello Cosa Nostra put a bulls-eye on his back, but that was nothing. It would be more likely someone would came after him once Dante was boss and Lucian worked as his underboss. At least then his death would offer someone a chance to move up in the family. No one stood to inherit Lucian’s wealth as of now, so that was out of the question.
It just didn’t make sense.
His death would be pointless.
That made it all the more worse.
“Hey, where did you go?” Jordyn asked as Lucian popped the trunk to grab a black bag.
“Too far inside my head,” Lucian replied.
Jordyn leaned into his side, her soft mouth pressing a kiss to his throat over his pulse point that made him shudder and his cock grow thick. “Well, stop it. The faster we get back to the condo, the quicker I’ll get you out of your head and into something else.”
Lucian smirked roguishly. “In you, I hope.”
“Maybe, if you’re good.”
“If that’s your standard, I have no chance, Jordyn.”
Jordyn laughed lightly, her hand coming down to graze suggestively along his groin. “Good thing I like you when you’re bad.”
Cazzo, Lucian loved this woman.
“Let’s not waste time, then.”
On the trek back towards where the Lexus was situated in the lot, Lucian noticed Fraser intercepting their walk with paperwork and a pen in hand. Lucian didn’t say a thing as he scrawled his name and date where the papers noted he needed to, and then handed the papers back over.
“I don’t need to count it, do I?” Fraser asked, glancing down at the black bag before tossing a look over Lucian’s shoulder.
The shake in the man’s tone caught Lucian’s interest. Never had he screwed the dealer around before, so even joking about it was offensive. Something prickled at the back of Lucian’s neck, making his hair feel like it was standing on end.
Again, Fraser glanced somewhere behind Lucian, as if he was looking for something, or someone. It was only then Lucian noticed the dealer hadn’t brought him out keys for the Lexus. Lucian dropped the bag of money to the ground, just to see what Fraser would do.
Then, as Fraser made a move to retrieve the bag, the man took a step back from Lucian as quickly as he could. When the dealer looked for a third time over Lucian’s shoulder, he knew something was so wrong about the situation. He had the distinct feeling if he tried to seek out what Fraser was looking for, it wouldn’t end well.
Some people called it instinct, but Lucian knew the sensation bubbling up in his chest was more about the sudden oddness in his surroundings than anything else.
Silencers only muffled the sound of a gun going off. It wasn’t soft, but more like a muted pop. Lucian barely registered the sound of the gun blowing somewhere behind him in the quiet car lot in time, but he heard it.
Lucian reacted in what felt like milliseconds. Jordyn’s chest met Lucian’s arm, taking her down to the ground. She tried to catch herself as Lucian fell, her cry of pain and surprise hitting him straight in the heart as her blue eyes met his, terrified.
“Lucian?”
“Shhh,” he whispered, soothingly. “S’okay, sweetheart.”
It was only then he noticed Fraser was beginning to move farther away from their spot.
“Don’t move!” Lucian snarled at the man. “I’ll put a bullet between your eyes before you even get the chance to run, you bastard.”
Oh, someone was in a lot of trouble. Lucian was pissed.
Knowing that while they were on the ground whoever had had taken the shot didn’t have a second chance to take another, Lucian forced Jordyn to stay there until the screech of tires squealed in the near distance. Quickly, he popped up from the ground only to catch a glimpse of a dark colored sedan that wouldn’t have caught his attention before it disappeared out of sight.
“Up,” Lucian ordered Jordyn, offering his hands for her to take and keeping his sharp gaze on Fraser. “Go to the Mercedes.”
“Lucian—”
“Go!”
She was practically vibrating, her eyes drawn to his arm as tears welled. “But—”
“Jordyn, not the time to argue!”
“But your arm!” she cried.
As Lucian attempted to pull his cell phone from his pocket, a faint sting radiated though his upper right arm. A warm, wetness seeped into his suit jacket. Glancing down, he knew immediately what had happened, but his adrenaline was running too high to really feel the pain, or care.
The bullet had nicked his arm before continuing on to wherever it finally landed.
Merda. It’d been close.
They were aiming for his back.
• • •
Jordyn paced back and forth in the bedroom, listening to Lucian cuss at Paulie as loud as he could while the doctor stitched his arm up in the connecting bathroom. Apparently her lack of patience and constant voicing of her worry wasn’t needed in the bathroom, so she’d been designated to bedroom and told to stay there. She didn’t appreciate that.
Dante slipped out of the bathroom with a roll of his eyes just as Lucian cursed angrily again.
“Cazzo. Stick me with that fucking needle one more time, Paulie, and I swear to God …”
“Shut up. Grit your teeth. You get shot, you get stitches. You know this.”
Jordyn flinched. “Is he—”
“Fine,” Dante interrupted, giving her a look. “Just acting like a child because he needs a few stitches.”
Jordyn released a shaky breath, wishing the desire to cry would go away. “Where’s Gio?”
Usually if one brother showed up, the other one did, too. Lucian refused to go to a hospital, vaguely explaining it would be reported and the police would get involved. They ended up back at the condo instead.
“Questioning Fraser,” Dante said darkly.
A shiver crawled up Jordyn’s spine at what those words implied.
“Antony?” she asked.
Where were these people, Jordyn wanted to scream.
“With Gio,” Dante explained. “Probably having a grand time getting the man to talk.”
Oh.
“And before you ask,” he continued, cocking a brow. “My mother was hysterical to the point of a breakdown, so Antony demanded Paulie sedate her. She won’t be happy when she wakes up, and you can be sure she’ll come here without invitation, breaking down the damned doors to see Lucian.”
“I don’t care,” Jordyn mumbled. “She’s his mother. She has a right to be concerned.”
“Not
all women would feel the same. Anyway, Paulie is almost finished. Lucian is pissed off to the high heavens, so you might want to give him a while to chill out and let the painkillers kick in. Go have a nap or something. We’re going to be here for a while.”
Jordyn didn’t even want to think about moving farther away from Lucian than she already was. “I can’t, Dante.”
“You can or I will make you. Go, Jordyn.”
“But—”
“My brother may enjoy you stubborn and combative, but I don’t. And, to be fair, I’m not head over heels in love with you like he is. Lucian doesn’t think clearly when you’re involved. I will only ask one more time for you to give him some space. Right now, even if he doesn’t think so, he needs it. Frankly, we all need to have a discussion that you really shouldn’t be privy to, either.”
Defeated, Jordyn nodded solemnly. “Tell him I’m going to nap in his office, or something. Try to, anyway.”
“Thank you,” Dante said as Jordyn turned to leave.
She scoffed, loud and rude, refusing to grace him with a response to his comment. What in the hell was there to be thankful for?
Well … Lucian was alive. There was that.
Despite the anxiety eating away at her heart, once Jordyn was alone in Lucian’s office with the door closer, she felt just a tiny bit better. Enough to breathe, to think, and to cry. And she did, lying back on the leather couch with her hands fisted against her mouth, she sobbed. Cried until her chest hurt and her face was soaked with tears.
The bullet missed going through Lucian’s back to hit his heart by a little less than a foot.
How was she supposed to deal with that?
It was no longer Jordyn in danger with Lucian being her protector. At least when it had been like that, it was easier to manage the fear. Now, she felt useless. There was nothing she could do to help him.
Was that how it was going to be?
Every time they left the safety of the condo, they needed to look over their shoulders for a gunman waiting for his mark?
Eventually, the emotions catching up to Jordyn overwhelmed her into exhaustion, and for a short time, she slept.