Page 122 of Lucky Boys
There was some kind of understanding between us then. We both loved the same people, and even if we didn’t love each other that way, we’d always be on the same side to put our men first.
Brooks looked a little unsteady. But not because of injuries. I could just tell he was still shaken about everything. Honestly, I was impressed with how well he was handling everything. He took to this lifestyle like a champ.
“Come here, darling,” I told him, holding my free arm open to him. Brooks needed a hug badly. He needed that reassuranceand closeness. He came freely, careful not to jostle Luca, who was practically asleep on his feet.
I kissed the side of his head affectionately and held him tight until he got control of himself enough. Brooks pushed away, tears in his eyes.
“Thank you. I really needed that.”
“I’m always here for you, Brooks.”
He grinned, “I like that. A lot.” He glanced at Luca, “Please make sure he rests.”
“I will. Go.”
“Yes, sir.” One more long and meaningful look at Luca and then he was off.
I focused my attention back on Luca. “C’mon love, let’s get you to a doctor.”
We were finally leaving the hospital, and I’d never been so happy. The last three days had been brutal. Luckily, Skye, Maverick, and the rest of the team got away with only superficial injuries. Luca had a couple cracked ribs, but it could have been way worse. Especially after Skye explained how he got trapped in a room full of guards and fucking traffickers, and he wasn’t armed. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in a situation like that, though, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. All that mattered was that they all managed to get out safely.
Daniels would be fine. He’d be out for a while, and would need physical therapy, but the doctors were sure he’d have a full recovery. The same could be said for Jay, thank fuck. He made it out of surgery okay and he’d be good. Dakota being a nurse was a huge benefit, and we all knew he’d be well taken care of when he was released from the hospital.
We were still dealing with the fallout from that night. The police raided the hotel, but unfortunately a lot of the big-ticket players including Vladimir, and Luca’s former school mate Tanner, escaped. The girl, Amara, was willing to talk, and gave a lot of details about how Tanner manipulated her into sleeping with him and then kept her drugged and captive. She had been reunited with her brother, who was her guardian, and hopefully she’d be okay.
Luca and Diego had spent the last few days smoothing things over and making sure they were in the clear. Wherever Diego couldn’t manage to make them disappear, Luca used his connections to ensure Il Fortunato’s name was left out of media and police reports. For as long as I knew him, I’d rarely seen that side of him where he had the throw his weight and influence around. He usually did his best to ignore his upbringing. It was kind of shocking, but I could tell how much it exhausted Luca to act like that and every night he collapsed in my arms completely worn out.
Then there was the matter of Matty. He had spent the night in the hospital due to extreme dehydration, mostly, but was released the next day. I didn’t know all the details of what happened to him. Luca had managed to pull more strings to convince them that Matty would be in danger if they contacted his legal guardians or if his presence was made public. At the moment he was back at the estate with the guys and would remain there under their protection for now. I was looking forward to getting to know him.
Luca grabbed my hand, smiling at me. We were driving back to the estate. Finally. I hadn’t seen Diego since that night he kicked me out. We’d spoken a bunch, but I needed eyes on him and make things right again.
“I love you so much. I’m so glad you finally came to your senses and decided to be with me.”
I snorted. “I am too. Even if life got 10 times more complicated since I did.”
Luca shrugged. “Eh. In my unbiased opinion, it was worth it.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. I absolutely agreed. I wouldn’t change a thing, but still he was a cocky fucker.
“Let’s just get home. We need to be with our family.”
“Home, eh?” Luca was grinning. “Are you admitting that the estate is your home?”
I shrugged, not totally sure. It sure felt like it the last month or so since they were gone. I stayed there every night. I loved my apartment though and wasn’t quite ready to part with it.
“It does feel more like home,” I admitted, “Maybe I could live there most of the time. But I’d like to keep my apartment in the city. I want to be able to be close to Riley and Beckett when they need me.”
Luca squeezed my hand, “That’s fine, baby. Whatever you need. It’s good to have a place to stay in the city anyway. We do a lot of business there, so having a closer base is nice.”
I smirked. “Is this your subtle way of implying I work for you now?”
“Well, I was thinking morewithme. But yes?”
I pretended to think about it, even though I had already decided. I had kind of told him that already, at the hospital when I said I was going where he went, but he was likely too out of it to remember. I didn’t want to be on the outside anymore. I wanted to be with Luca and with Diego. I wasn’t sure if they discussed their plans, but I expected he and Brooks to become permanent members of the team as well.
At the very least, I knew they’d be staying at the estate for the foreseeable future. In the midst of all the chaos of the last few days one of the contacts I reached out to earlier finally got back to me. They weren’t able to prove it but word in the undergroundwas that Bradley Fieldburg had hired a hitman to kill his father. While no one knew who the hitman was and he wasn’t talking, some other mercenaries were.
One had been particularly talkative and mentioned how Bradley had been asking about two young mercenaries, a thief and a hacker, and had supposedly hired some men to take them out. My contact didn’t know what happened after that.
