Luca

by Nyssa Kathryn

He thought she would need space? From him? Hell no. “I need to be close to you, Luca. It’s the only place I feel safe.”

  Groaning, Luca pulled Evie back into his arms. She pressed her face into his chest and breathed him in. Luca held most of her weight as she leaned into him.

  Evie vaguely heard Luca talking to the guys but didn’t listen to what they were saying. Sweeping, Evie into his strong arms, Luca walked back to the bed. Turning her head into his chest, Evie breathed him in. Luca was her safety.

  Then her eyes popped open as she was jolted by the memory of why she was here.

  “Troy…‍”

  “You’re safe, sweetheart. Troy won’t be bothering you ever again.”

  Ever again. Those words sounded good. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel some sort of guilt at the meaning behind Luca’s words, but she couldn’t muster any emotion other than relief. Was she really safe? Could she stop running now?

  Resting her head against Luca’s chest once again, Evie allowed her body to relax. Closing her eyes, she let the warmth of Luca’s body warm her own.

  As afternoon light started flooding the room, Evie’s eyes popped open. Sitting up slowly, she glanced at the pain killers sitting next to a glass of water on Luca’s bedside table. Reaching for the pills, she swallowed them without hesitating.

  Carefully climbing out of bed, her body felt stiff and sore, nothing she couldn’t handle.

  Hearing male voices coming from downstairs, Evie nibbled her lip, wondering whether she should head down.

  Stop being a wimp, Evie, she scolded herself. You’re a part of this as much as they are.

  Throwing on some clothes first, which was quite an effort in her current state, Evie headed down to the living room.

  At the sight of eight deadly SEALs scattered around the space, Evie stopped. Some wore scowls on their faces, some just frowns, but the anger could be seen on each of them. The intensity of their fury made the air feel thick and heavy.

  Wanting to turn back and hide in the bedroom, Evie almost did exactly that.

  Just as she was about to turn to go, Luca stood from the couch, moving straight to Evie’s side. Placing a kiss on the side of her head, he snaked his arm around her waist. Evie leaned into him, absorbing his strength.

  “What are you doing out of bed, sweetheart?”

  Evie shrugged. “I heard voices.”

  “How are you feeling, Ace?” Evie met Wyatt’s eyes and a hint of a smile touched her lips.

  “I’ve had better days, but I’ll be okay.”

  Giving her a nod, Wyatt returned the smile. “I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.”

  “We all are.” Evie turned to Eden. His voice was deep, but spoke with an honesty, hinting at anger over what happened to her.

  A warmth filled Evie at the other men’s grunts of agreement.

  Turning to face the rest of the guys, Wyatt indicated to the door with his head. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Within minutes, the room had cleared out, and it was just Evie and Luca left. Lifting her from her feet, Luca walked to the couch and sat with Evie on his lap.

  “Luca, I can walk.”

  Dropping his head to her hair, he breathed in and remained there while he spoke. “I need you close. I came too damn close to losing you.”

  Reaching up, Evie touched Luca’s chest with her hand. “I was so scared I wouldn’t see you again.”

  “I swear to you, Evie, nothing like that will ever happen to you again.”

  “I love you, Luca.” The words slipped from her lips. Part of her wished she could pull them back, but another part of her was relieved that they were out in the open.

  There was a moment of silence where Evie thought her heart might explode from her chest out of nerves. Then a smile spread across Luca’s lips.

  “I love you too, Evie. I’ve been wanting to say it for a while but didn’t want to scare you off.” Luca lowered his head and lightly touched his lips to hers. “God, I love you so much.”

  Evie hadn’t felt this level of happiness in so long. Possibly ever. She didn’t have to run and hide, she had friends and a town she could stay in, and she had someone who loved her. Not just someone, Luca.

  “Move in with me.” Evie’s eyes shot up to meet his.

  “You want me to move in with you? Permanently?” Was he serious? “What if you don’t feel this way once everything has calmed down?”

  “Darlin,’ what I feel is not temporary. Move in with me so that when I wake up, you will be the first thing I see every morning.”

  Tears pricked the back of Evie’s eyes. “It’s like you’re too good to be true, Luca.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  Feeling too emotional to speak, Evie nodded. Luca pulled her head to his chest.

  “I have something else to ask you too.”

  Evie raised her head up to meet Luca’s gaze again. She didn’t know whether to be nervous or not.

  “The guys and I think you’re an amazing receptionist, but we’re wondering if you would consider being our resident tech guru? Wyatt’s been splitting time and wants to get back out to do more missions and be more active at Marble Protection, so you would be freeing him up a bit. Plus, you’re amazing.” Luca reached for a pamphlet that sat on the coffee table and held it out to her. “I also found some great online technology courses that you could take. If that’s something you’re still interested in doing.”

  With tentative fingers, Evie reached down and took it from him. As she slowly leafed through it, her emotions were all over the place.

  “What do you think, sweetheart?”

  “I’m scared that I’m going to wake up, Luca, and be back to who I was a couple of months ago. I didn’t know that I could ever feel this happy.”

  Running his hand down her cheek, Luca left a trail of warmth. “I hate that that asshole made you believe that you weren’t deserving of happiness, Evie. You will never go back to that again. Ever. Okay?”

  Nodding, Evie moved her lips to Luca’s. “I love you, Luca, so much.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  EDEN SAT IN the booth at the back of the bar watching.

  It had been a month since things had gone down with Troy. Eden was glad the fucker was dead. He had felt no remorse for the guy after Luca had ended him. He deserved to die after what he did to Evie. What he had been doing for years.

  The anger boiled inside Eden that any man could do that to a woman. Much less a SEAL. Someone who was supposed to have honor. Troy was damn lucky he was dead, or Eden would have done the job himself.

  Watching Luca and Evie on the dance floor, he noticed how out of time they were to the music. Their slow movements were in complete contradiction to the up-tempo beat. They didn’t seem to care in the least.

  Evie had recovered well in the last month, but Eden knew that the emotional recovery would take a lot longer. Luca would be there to help her along the way.

  Eden had never seen his friend so happy. Wanting to be happy for him, Eden took another swig of beer and tried to swallow his resentment. Apparently, it was just him that fell for women who lied and betrayed you.

  Eden cast his gaze away, not wanting to be reminded of what he’d lost.

  What a load of shit, he’d never had Shylah. She had known about the project all along. There was no other explanation for her disappearance. She was working in the damn medical department at Project Arma, administering the drug. Sleeping with him at night and injecting him with experimental drugs during the day.

  Eden’s grip tightened on his beer. Not a day passed where he didn’t think about her, and he hated himself for that.

  Turning his head, Eden heard his team before he saw them. At least there were some benefits to being lied to about the shit being put into his body. He should be thanking Shylah for giving him his abilities. Too bad she dropped off the face of the planet.

  Giving his friends a nod as they moved to sit ar
ound the booth, Eden kept his eyes downcast. Luca was the only one from the team not at the table, but they all knew he would be listening from the spot where he stood with Evie.

  Finally glancing up at his friends, Eden didn’t mince his words. “You’re late.”

  “Nice to see you too, buddy,” Asher said as he gave Eden’s shoulder a shove.

  “It would be nice to see you on time for once.” Looking away, Eden wasn’t in the mood for Asher’s banter tonight.

  A laugh escaped Asher that made Eden want to slug him one before Mason cut in, “I think some beers are needed.”

  As Mason got up, the team started talking around Eden.

  He knew he was being a dick but couldn’t be bothered with niceties and small talk. He hadn’t been bothered for the last twelve months.

  Flicking his gaze back to Luca and Evie, he pushed down the jealousy.

  He’d been suspicious of her at the start. Putting her in the same group as Shylah and assuming all women were liars. She’d proven him wrong. Proven herself to be loyal. Her feelings for Luca were real, that much was obvious.

  Mason returned with a round of beers. Eden took one, not caring that he’d downed his first much too quickly. Other than finding everyone responsible for Project Arma, he didn’t care about much these days.

  “Any news on what happened to Troy’s body?” The group quietened at Kye’s question.

  “We’ve found nothing. His body was cleaned up like it was never there. Like Luca and Evie were never there. No evidence on who raided Luca’s house and stole Evie’s laptop while she was in the hospital either. Betting my last dollar on it being the same people, though.” Frustration bled from Wyatt’s words.

  “We know it was Carter and his boys. They must have cleaned up the body, raided the house then gone straight to Evie’s hospital room.” Bodie spoke what they all suspected.

  Carter was the leader of the other SEAL team. Troy’s team. They had attacked at the hospital while Evie was recovering.

  Eden’s jaw clenched at the memory of the assholes getting away. They’d been right there for the taking, and they’d slipped through Eden’s fingers. It damn near killed him to think about.

  “We need to find them.” Eden didn’t hide his frustration.

  “We’re working on it.” Mason placed his hand on Eden’s shoulder. He had been there in that room as well. Felt the same gut clenching regret that they’d gotten away. They’d had a chance to make some people from Project Arma pay. Get information out of them, and they’d let it slip.

  “How could they have swiped the body, raided Luca’s house, and taken her laptop, leaving no evidence?” Asher spoke the words quietly, but all seven men heard him.

  “They were clean. It’s nothing that we couldn’t do. The bigger question is, who’s giving the orders?” Wyatt asked, hand tightening around his beer.

  Oliver met Eden’s gaze. “Commander Hylar.”

  The team was quiet for a moment. Hylar had been their commander, and they had trusted him with their lives. He had been the one to sign them up to Project Arma. Being betrayed by him was like being betrayed by their father. It had hit them all hard. All evidence pointed to him receiving monetary incentives to volunteer their SEAL team for the project. He may have even been providing weekly reports after training sessions on how effective the drugs were.

  “We’ll find him.” Mason’s voice was quiet but deadly.

  “Then what?” The frustration built in Eden. Would they be able to turn him in? Kill him? Would they want to?

  Wyatt took a swig of his beer before he spoke. “We’ll deal with it then. One step at a time.”

  The team didn’t speak for a moment. Eden’s mind went back to the same place it always went.

  “What about Shylah? Find anything on her?” He hadn’t asked about her location for a while. Every time he did, he held his breath, not sure if he wanted her found or for her to stay hidden.

  Wyatt’s response was always the same. There was never a trace. This time Wyatt hesitated. Eden’s heart sped up a fraction.

  “There was a sighting of her. She was working at a hospital in Georgetown.” Eden went still. A million emotions went through him.

  “It was definitely her?”

  “Yes. I confirmed the picture.” Confusion filled Eden. He didn’t know whether he felt relieved or anxious. He tried to calm himself as Wyatt continued, “She’s not working there anymore, though. She handed in her resignation last week. I haven’t found her since.”

  The feeling of loss hit Eden hard. Shylah was found. She had been within reaching distance. Then she was gone.

  Motioning that he wanted out, the guys moved so he could exit the booth. “I’m going to head off.”

  Turning, he began walking, not waiting for a response. Shooting Luca a look before he left, he saw his friend watching him. Turning away quickly, Eden didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes. His brothers knew what Shylah had meant to him. How much her betrayal had cost him.

  Pushing outside, Eden started walking toward his truck but was stopped by Wyatt’s hand on his arm. Turning reluctantly, Eden waited for his friend to speak.

  “Do you want me to find her, Eden? Now that we have a confirmed sighting, it won’t be too hard to track her.”

  Did he? What would happen after she was found? He couldn’t stomach handing her over to the authorities. He wasn’t going to get close to her and leave himself open to that kind of hurt again. So why would he want her found? He had to let her go. He needed to focus on finding everyone else who had a part to play in Project Arma. That should be taking all his time and energy, not the woman who pretended to love him only to betray him.

  “No, I don’t want you to find her.”

  Wyatt stood there for a moment longer before giving Eden a slight nod and walking back into the bar.

  Eden’s feet felt heavy as he finished walking the short distance to his truck. Getting in, he forced his mind off Shylah as he began the drive home.

  He lived further out than the other guys. He’d bought the house because he wanted quiet. Solitude. He didn’t want to deal with neighbors every day. People were too much work. They asked too many questions that were none of their business.

  Eden knew he’d made the right decision about Shylah. Why couldn’t he get the damn woman out of his head then? His hands tightened around the wheel as her face yet again popped into his head. Her laugh, her smile. She was always at the forefront of his mind. Like a damn cold that he couldn’t get rid of.

  They were done dammit. There was no way to ever recover from what had happened.

  Pulling his truck over to the side of the road, Eden banged his fists against the wheel in frustration. How was he supposed to get over her when she never even told him to his face what was going on? The last day he’d spent with her had involved her waking up in his damn bed.

  Pulling out his phone, he dialed Wyatt’s number.

  “Hunter?”

  “Find her,” Eden said the two words and hung up.

  Sitting there a moment, he let what he had just done turn over in his mind. He deserved to know the truth. He needed answers. He needed to know why him? Why did she pick him, make him love her, only to betray him? Eden would find her and find out the truth, even if it destroyed him.

  ALSO BY NYSSA KATHRYN

  PROJECT ARMA SERIES

  (series ongoing)

  Uncovering Project Arma

  Luca

  Eden

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Nyssa Kathryn is a romantic suspense author. She lives in South Australia with her daughter and hubby and takes every chance she can to be plotting and writing. With a background in teaching, Nyssa finds that she can let her mind wonder in the writing world. Always being one to read and write when she should have been working, Nyssa decided to take the leap and make writing her career.

  Nyssa has always been an avid reader of romance novels. As a teenager she would lose herself in Young Adult and Contemp
orary Romances. As she got older her interest moved onto the romantic suspense genre. It was from here that she started dabbling in writing. Nyssa wrote her first novel in 2017 but didn’t start publishing her work until three years later. Working in the industry has solidified Nyssa’s love for all things romance.

  Facebook | Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads