Page 108 of Extradition (Mobsters + Billionaires 1)
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You mean to tell me that the people in charge of keeping my man safe are mobbed-up?”
Luca laughs softly while Edgerton looks like I’ve called his mother a whore. “I am not. This is a legal enterprise that has to operate in reality. Luca lives in this building. It made sense to reach out.”
“So when my father’s team killed yours…”
Luca finishes the sentence. “He started a war with the Stefano family. Which you finished.” He smiles broadly, despite the disrespect I’ve shown. “Why do you think I’m so happy?”
“Okay, but the first fucking thing I’m going to do is memorize who your people are, so I know if I’m fucking looking at an enemy or a friend, ‘cause one of those guys I didn’t recognize, and I still don’t know if I fuckin’ killed an innocent man or not.”
The thought that I maybe killed someone innocent makes me want to throw up. But I couldn’t chance it with Rand in the car.
“No, I saw the museum’s security footage before I deleted it. He was a sleeper for a different family. Is there anyone else who could be used as leverage against you?”
I shake my head, secretly so fucking relieved and gutted I don’t know what to do with myself. “I ain’t got no one else.”
Luca’s expression reads like empathy, something I didn’t know a mob boss could be capable of. “That’s not true, Joe. Not after what you did tonight. Anthony’s team is top-notch, but we had no indication that your father would break the treaty after thirty years. By cutting off the head of the viper, you’ve prevented further violence.”
“Probably wishing you’d just handed me over.”
Luca shakes his head. “A deal is a deal. Your father made a promise to my family, and he didn’t abide by his own words.”
Never make a promise to Luca you don’t intend to keep. Got it.
Rand tightens his grip on the back of my neck and addresses the men in his home. “If you have what you need for now, I’ll ask that you let us recover from tonight. We can regroup tomorrow when we’ve all had the rest we need.”
Luca smiles and shakes Rand’s hand. “That’s about the nicest way to ask someone to get the hell out that I’ve ever heard.” Rand seems slightly horrified, but Luca holds up his hand. “We need to give you two some space. You take care of Joe, okay? He’s good people to have around.”
Rand nods. “Yes, he is.”
Luca shakes my hand with both of his, warmly smiling. Hopper gives me a short hug, which I appreciate both for its sentiment and brevity. Edgerton, who hasn’t said much, gives me his customary nod and follows them to the elevator.
No sooner have the doors closed than I turn my face into Rand’s chest and let out a long breath, my shoulders slumping. Rand gathers me in his arms and holds me for several moments.
I continue to suck in unsteady breaths, the buttery sound of the knife sliding through muscle and bone so fucking loud in my ears. The first splash of blood on the ground, the awful sound of a silenced weapon whispering through the night air.
Breathe, Joe. Just breathe.
Rand tightens our embrace, and I’m grateful to have his bare chest against mine. His scent is familiar and comforting. I inhale him by the lungful and my heart rate slows, bit by bit.
I think about Luca Stefano’s advice to listen to Hopper’s warning. It’s the only reason I bothered to drag my besotted attention from Rand enough to focus on our surroundings. And it saved our lives.
But the price was high.
I feel so fucking dirty that I want to stand under a shower until my skin is scrubbed raw. A vision of Rand standing in the spray with me, washing me, cleansing me of my sins…
Rand holds steady, breathing in and out. Fuck, I need him tonight. I don’t know if I can even ask it of him, but I—
Breaking through my overwhelming thoughts with words both elegant and coarse, Rand nuzzles against my ear and whispers, “Watching you kill those men to defend me was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s probably fucked up, but I’ve been hard as a rock since the museum.” Gripping the back of my neck, he touches his forehead to mine, focusing me with his intense gaze. “Unless you have any objections, I’m going to clean their filth off you, and then I’m going to take you the fuck apart.”
I let out a ragged breath, and a tear tracks down my cheek. Nodding, I lift my head for a kiss.
