Page 15 of Lucky Boys
I forced myself to look at Luca. His expression was very neutral, but the way he was staring at me wasn’t. I swallowed and looked away before I forgot every reason why we were a bad idea and threw myself at him.
“So, what next?” I asked, staring at the floor.
“You and Diego pack up anything you need. Just take enough for a few days. If it can be bought, don’t bother. Diego, same goes with your system. Take things that can’t easily be replaced. We’ll get you set up exactly how you like. Then once his meds kick in, we’ll leave. Our clean up guy is on his way and will make sure any trace of this happening is gone. Once we’re back at our place, we’ll work on identifying who these bastards are and who they worked for and organizing a plan going forward. First worry is getting the two of you safe.” Luca’s jaw tightened, like he didn’t want to continue. “Are Dave and Emma still at their old place?”
My mind immediately went back to the last time I’d been in that house with Luca and how perfect everything had been, until it hadn’t. Fuck, not thinking about that.
Diego didn’t seem to have any interest in contributing to the conversation, so I answered. “They live there, but right now they’re in Phoenix. Dad’s physical therapist recommended they go there to help with some of the arthritis he developed.They’re doing a therapy there that might help him not need the wheelchair all the time. They won’t be back till the end of the month.
Luca looked relieved. “Okay, good. They should be safe. That way we can focus on the two of you.”
Wes returned with the meds and a bottle of water and handed them to me. I smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you. And thank you for saving my brother. You don’t know us and you still showed up.”
Wes smiled softly at me, his husky blue eyes holding me in their orbit. What they fuck was it with all these guys having beautiful eyes? “Of course. Luca is like a brother to me. We always have each other’s backs.”
Skye snorted at that, and Maverick rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. Okay . . . what was that about? The look Lucagave them shut them both up really fucking quick. I still had questions though. I’d have to get Skye alone later to get the tea. He was my best chance.
Once Diego took his meds, I practically dragged him to his office so he could pack while he was still completely coherent. While he dealt with that, I went to the closet in the gym and threw a bunch of clothes for us in a duffel.
I felt eyes on me, and without looking, I knew it was Luca. I ignored him as I took an armful of underwear and socks and shoved it in the bag.
I could practically feel the judgement from where he was standing. I whirled on him. “What?” I snapped.
Luca licked his sexy fucking lips. “Nothing. I was just checking to see if you needed anything.”
I scoffed. “Bullshit. You wanna say something. Just say it.”
Luca sighed heavily and walked farther into the room. He took a seat on the bench press. “There are a lot of things I want to say, trouble, and I have no right to say any of them.”
My breath was punched out of me. Trouble. I used to love when Luca called me that. It had never felt like an insult, like when my teachers or doctors or anyone else had said it. It was special, like I was his. Even before the name had taken on a new meaning in my brain and it had been totally innocent, I’d loved it. Now, though, all it made me want to do was destroy everything in this room and let him know how much trouble I could really be.
Of course, that would be dumb, since this shit had cost us a small fortune, even buying it from yard sales and Facebook Marketplace. I wasn’t about to tear it up. Still. I grabbed the closest thing I could find, a hoodie, rolled it into a ball, and shoved it in the duffel. Luca flinched.
“You have no right to call me trouble either,” I finally mumbled once I had my feelings under control.
“Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry, Brooks. It just slipped out.” I shrugged. “Listen, can we talk? We’re going to be living and working together, at least for the next few weeks, so I’d like to clear the air.”
I zipped up the bag and threw it over my shoulder before finally meeting Luca’s eyes. Why the fuck was he so tall? All of these fuckers. At least Skye was regular-person height. Ihatedhaving to look up to Luca, something I’d fucking loved before, but like everything else that has to do with this man, it was now ruined.
“You had three years to clear the air, Luca. I really don’t want to hear whatever excuses you have. That was a long time ago. I’m over it.” Biggest fucking lie. “Your house is fucking huge. I’m sure we can avoid each other, and when it has to do with work or anything to do with our safety, I’ll defer to you. I trust you when it comes to this. That’s why I came to you. Anything else, just—just don’t.”
Luca frowned. He stood up and took a step toward me. I took a step back. He froze, looking pained. A pang of guilt hit me but I pushed it down. I wasn’t going to feel guilty about setting boundaries. My therapist would be so proud of me.
“Brooks. I really feel like we should talk about it. Let me help you understand.”
Was he serious? “Fuck you, Luca. I need to help Diego before he passes out from the meds.” I shoulder-passed the arrogant asshole before he could say anything else and went to find my brother.
We somehow managed to get everything loaded in Wes’s car and Diego in the back seat of Luca’s SUV before he completely passed out. By the time Maverick finished talking to the cleanup guys and we finally left our property, he was dead asleep. I sat in the back row with him, in case he woke up and panicked. Diego’s legs were resting on mine and his head was mashed against thewindow. I lightly squeezed his ankle, needing the connection. Like before, Maverick drove and Luca sat in the front seat. Skye had gone with Wes, so I had a perfect view to where Luca was watching me through the mirror.
Unable to bear it any longer, I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears from coming. Fuck, what was wrong with me? So what, so he’d broken my fucking heart? No big deal. Shit happened. I’d been through way worse than Luca walking out on me after taking my virginity. I needed to suck it up, get over him and move on.
I needed to go to a club. Get my ass beat and fucked into oblivion. I was sure Luca would lose his ever-loving mind if I tried to leave and go out, but I needed to do something if I was going to survive this. There might’ve been people out there looking to kill me, but I had a much higher chance of living through that than I did being this close to Luca Castellano again.
CHAPTER 7
MAVERICK
It washours later when things finally calmed enough that I could leave my office and go check on Luca. I took a quick detour to the kitchen to put together some sandwiches. I was starving, and if I knew Luca at all, he probably hadn’t eaten. I quickly made four, wrapped them up, and then started my hunt.
