Page 82 of Hard Lessons

This isn’t going to happen.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and balled his fists. His gun burned hotly against the base of his spine where it was nestled into his waistband. That’s where it would stay. There’d be no shots fired from his barrel tonight.

But how the hell was he going to get out of it without a bullet heading his way?

“Yes, boss,” Paulo said. “We’re on the case.”

Luca’s attention lingered on Giovanni. He wasn’t the Mafiosi guy Luca had thought he was. This instruction was below the belt, against the unwritten rules, and it dropped them to a new low. Woman and children were off limits. Even the nastiest bastards knew that.

Giovanni huffed and sat back down, picked up his cigar. “The bullet.”

Luca set it on the table, the flat side down so it stood on end.

“You tell her I got it,” Giovanni said. “You tell her I also have one with her name on it. Make sure that’s the last thing she hears before you blow her brains out.”

Luca followed Paulo outside. The cool night air soothed his tight throat but did nothing to dampen the anger inside him. He hadn’t come to London for this crap.

“Word has it she’s in Camden, at the family hotel,” Paulo said.

“We’re not going there.” Luca pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Paulo paused with the car key in his hand. “Yeah, we are.”

Luca took a long drag then shot the smoke out of the corner of his mouth. “You go kill her.”

“The instruction went to you.” Paulo’s voice was low and gruff.

“Did you hear me accept it?”

“You didn’t need to. It’s a given. What Giovanni wants, Giovanni gets. Giovanni asks you to jump, you ask how fucking high.”

“Even when it’s shooting a broad. Come on, Paulo. You ever done that?”

He frowned. “No.”

“Me neither, and I don’t want to start.”

Paulo hesitated for a moment then he opened the car door. “It’s you or her. Get in.”

Luca took a few more puffs on his smoke then flicking it aside, dropped in beside Paulo. His emotions were colliding with each other—anger, frustration, regret. He wished he were in Scotland with Serena, in bed, making love, the rest of the world fading away.

That’s what I want. Just her. Only her.

As Paulo drove in silence, Luca formulated a plan. He was done with being a piece of muscle who could be bossed around. A man with a good aim and no conscience. Because he did have a conscience, and he was the one who had to live with it.

Hotel Capri came into view. It was a dingy affair set back from the street and appeared to have once been a big family home. The C on the sign wasn’t working and the plant containers by the door held only soil. There were two motorbikes stood side by side.

“Looks quiet,” Paulo said as they crept past.

“Si, but there’ll be a few heavies inside.”

“Of course.”

They parked up.

Paulo checked his gun as they walked. “Been a long time since we were out on the job together.”

Luca grunted.

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