Page 15 of Hard Lessons

A siren wailed in the distance.

“It’s just here.” Luca gripped Serena around the waist, urging her on. The apartment block was in view.

Luca thought her putting lipstick on was an invite to give a blowjob. Seriously. Serena always put her lipstick on when she was out in public. What the hell did it matter? Luca had taken his jealous snipes a step too far.

Well, she’d show him that wasn’t on the cards, not by a long shot. He could sleep in the spare room tonight. An apology wasn’t going to cut it. She’d make him suffer for his sharp tongue and uncontrollable jealousy; that way next time he’d keep it in check.

Within seconds they were at the apartment entrance.

The sirens were blaring louder.

“Damn it,” Luca muttered, pushing through the revolving doors. “We should have got in a car and driven miles away. I thought we’d be able to get lost on King’s Road, damn street is busy as fuck.”

“No point crying over spilled milk,” Serena said, finally dragging her arm from Luca’s grasp.

Once the physical connection had broken, she realized that she, too, had a horrible feeling David had screamed like the little piglet he was. And that would be a damn sight worse than a spanking from Luca.

They took the elevator. A sense of doom rippled over Serena’s skin. When the doors opened, the blare of the police cars was deafening—doom upgraded to panic.

“Get in.” Luca unlocked the apartment door and shoved it open. It smashed against the wall, sending a whip-like crack slicing through her eardrums.

Her heart skipped a beat as she rushed inside, kicking off her heels and slinging her purse to one side.

Luca was close behind, his dark hair stuck to his brow with sweat and his cheeks red. “Is there a safe here?”

“I don’t know?” she said. “I haven’t seen one.”

Luca dashed to an abstract picture of Big Ben and pushed it to one side. Empty wall. “Fuck.”

“Shit, Luca, they’re coming.” Giovanni’s man shut the door. Locked it and added the chain. “They’re on our tail.” He pointed a handgun at the entrance.

“Do I look like I don’t fucking know that?” Luca raced into the bedroom. “Shit, he must have a safe place here. A secret compartment.”

“Here, I have an idea.” She grabbed the rucksack and tore it open. Bundles of fifty pound notes stared up at her. “Hold them off,” she directed at Beardy.

He went into the hallway.

“What are you doing?” Luca asked.

Serena tipped the money onto the bed, grabbed up the majority of it, then shoved a few bundles back in. “Let them find this in the bag. I’ll hide the rest.”

“They’ll know how much he withdrew.”

“So we’ll tell them we panicked and ditched it in a bin on King’s Road or something.” She rushed to the kitchen and pulled down the containers of cereal, pasta, and rice. Quickly she took some of the food out then began to push wads of cash into the dried grains and pulses.

“Good thinking,” he’d followed her, “but be quick.”

“They’re here,” Beardy called.

Bang. Bang.

The door creaked under the force of the fists on the other side.

“One more...” Serena’s hands shook as she shoved the last of the money into a pasta jar, screwed on the lid then rammed it into the cupboard. Pushing it right to the back, she hid it behind a stack of tins. She thought her heart might burst right out of her chest.

“Police. Open the door!”

“Fuck.” Luca went to the window, pulled it open then wiped his gun on his t-shirt. He then threw the weapon outside.

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