Page 15 of The Prices We Pay
Leaning in close so my forehead rests against his, I answer, “I know I don’t have to. I want to. Just say the word.”
“Do it, Seb.” Enzo drops into the corner of the sectional, his usual spot. He likes to curl up there with as many pillows and blankets as physically possible.
I look back at Luca, and he nods. “All right. I’ll pull everything in the morning before I meet with her to set up her new laptop. Anything specific I’m looking for?”
“Whatever you can find. I want to knoweverything,” Enzo answers excitedly.
“Enzo, man, you’ve got to chill.” I can’t help but laugh at Dante’s exasperated tone.
“I’ve got to chill? Me? Yeah, okay, Mr. ‘Next time you’re here late, let me know so I can protect you from everything evil and scary in the world.’” Dante glares at him from across the couch, and Enzo just snorts out a laugh. “Yeah, we heard you.”
Dante’s glare deepens. “One of these days, I really am going to kill you in your sleep.”
“Keep saying that, Big Daddy. You’d miss me too much.”
“Debatable.”
“I’ll wear you down one of these days.”
“Wanna go to bed?” Luca whispers in my ear, effectively ignoring their bickering.
Standing, I reach down to help his tired frame back off the couch. “Come on.”
As we walk up the stairs to the second floor, Enzo’s voice sing-songs through the penthouse, “Sweet dreams, boys.”
I lead Luca into his room, knowing he still has to shower. Sitting on the end of the bed, I watch unapologetically as he gets undressed. The three of them wear the exact same thing when they go out on a mission—and when I have to join along, which is rare, I do too—but something about Luca in black boots, cargo pants, and a Henley makes my blood heat every time. Especially when my eyes stray to where his holster tightly hugs his muscular thigh. But as much as I love staring at him in it, I love watching him take it off even more.
As he pulls his shirt over his head, I watch the muscles in his back flex before my eyes catch a glimpse of the black band tattooed around his forearm. It’s one of only two tattoos he has, and below it reads,“In quest vita.”
Enzo has a matching one that says,“E il successive.”
“Tell me what happened tonight,” I say as he toes off his boots before neatly setting them inside his closet.
“Nothing happened. It was an easy target. We were in and out.”
“Not the job, Luca. Tell me what happened with Joe.”
He pauses for a moment as he undoes his holster. He sighs and resumes unwrapping it from his thigh and sets it on top of his dresser. “When we got back to the parking garage, Enz forgot his keys, like usual, and I had to piss, so we all went up to the top floor.” I fight the groan that wants to spill from my lips as he slips out of his cargo pants, his perfectly toned ass filling out his black briefs. “Anyway, we found her sitting on the floor in the middle of her office in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, and she was singing along to some country song while she worked.”
“She saw the three of you dressed like that?”
A small smile pulls at his lips. “Yeah. Told her we were paintballing.”
“Paintballing?” I curl my lips in, trying not to laugh. “She didn’t believe that for a second, did she?”
“No. Not one bit. She let it be, though,” he answers with a shrug.
“Okaaaay… Well, besides your terrible excuse for a lie, I’m failing to see what the big deal is.”
I’m not, actually. I just want him to say it out loud.
“The three of us just stood there in the doorway. Watching her. She just looked so, so—”
“Beautiful?”
His eyes soften a fraction as he releases a breath, seemingly thankful that I finished the sentence for him. “Yeah. She looked beautiful.”
Luca stands in front of me in nothing but a pair of boxers and averts his eyes. The insanely gorgeous CEO of a multibillion-dollar company, the man who can command a room of the most notorious men and women in the country, the man who isn’t afraid to slay monsters in the night, the manwho has confidence in spades, averts his eyes… fromme.
