Page 6 of Unraveled Love

“Philly?” I gasped. That washoursnorth of where I’d been in Raleigh. “What the hell am I doing in Philly?”

“My guess? They wouldn’t take you south to Charleston. Too obvious. But if they could get you to New York, no one would have ever gotten you back.” A faint smirk appeared on his lips. “Except for me.”

He opened the door to the vehicle, and behind him were three men in black suits. They matched this man, and now that it was lighter, I could see him clearly. Hard jaw, days’ worth of scruff, wide nose that looked like it’d been broken more than once, and dark brown eyes.

But they weren’t soulless, and they didn’t look evil.

“Promise?”

“I don’t lie.” He stood beside the door, the men behind him some of the burliest and bulkiest I’d ever seen in my life. “I want to get you upstairs, get you in the shower. You’ll feel better once you’re clean and warm, Addi. Your men will be here soon.”

A shower sounded like heaven. If only I could scrub away everything I’d seen in the warehouse and the vision of Charlie on the floor, limp and unconscious.

I slid toward him, and once I reached the edge of the seat, he held out his hand. “I’ll help you up, and if you’re still scared, know I do not regret killing the men who had you. I’ve just started a war between our families in New York that I will have to deal with soon, but for getting rid of the filth, I have no regrets. No woman should ever live through what they do to women and girls.”

I placed my hand in his and almost collapsed as he gently hauled me out of the SUV, carefully and slowly like I was shattered porcelain. Every muscle and joint ached in my body.

I didn’t need a shower. I needed a bath—and a case of wine. Once I was outside, a warm blanket covered my body, draped over my shoulders. I clung to it while Luca wrapped his arm around me and held me to him as the bulky men fanned out around us.

“Does it make me evil if I’m glad you killed them?”

“No more evil than it makes me for enjoying it,” he replied, and his voice was firm, succinct. He didn’t regret it for a single moment.

He’d taken a life. Probably more than that.

And I wanted to hug him for it.

What kind of monster did that make me?

3

Addi

Luca escorted me into an elevator and pressed the button for the top floor, and we rode in silence with one of his men standing in front of us, blocking our view of the doors opening.

“Addi, this is Viktor. He’s my top guard. He and I will stay in the suite with you while you get cleaned up. I’ve called ahead, and there will be clothes for you on the bed. We willnotenter that bedroom under any circumstances unless you call for us. Do you understand?”

I didn’t understand a damn thing that had happened.

Still, I’d chosen to trust him. Jaxon had told me I could. My hands were clasped in front of me, and as Luca told me what was going to happen, the mountain-sized man in front of us didn’t move a muscle.

“Where are the other men? The ones who were outside?”

“One is staying outside. The other took the stairs. You won’t see them, but they’re there, along with others.”

We stepped off the elevator and straight into a lavishly made-up hotel suite that looked more like the most elegant living room I’d ever stepped foot in, which was saying a lot.

I cleared my throat, and in a blink, another bottled water was thrust into my hand.

“Drink,” Luca said as I gaped at it. “And then shower. You’ll get the answers you need soon.”

I took the unopened bottle of water from him and twisted off the top while Luca stripped out of his suit coat. Across his shoulders was a brown leather holster, a gun at each side. I froze, the water bottle inches from my mouth.

Guns. People shot. All that blood. A shiver rolled through me that Luca caught as he tossed his coat onto a nearby table.

“Bathroom is that way.” He pointed to the left, around the corner. “I need to make some calls, but from what I know, Jaxon and his men will be here by the time you’re done. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

His voice quieted, and when he blinked, those dark eyes of his softened. The lines around them lessened. So hecouldadd inflection, and he sounded kind when he did.

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