Power (The Santini Assassins #1)

17. The Truth

17

THE TRUTH

SIMONE

“ K idnap him?” Simone blurted. “Are you two crazy ?”

Luciano and Sin exchanged glances. “Yes,” Luciano replied.

“We are,” Sin said.

“We need to bring him in for questioning,” Simone said. “Questioning, not kidnapping.”

“He won’t talk,” Luciano replied.

“You don’t have enough to hold him,” Sin added.

“If we witness the exchange of money for illegal passports, I will.” Simone’s attention shifted from the men to the conference table. “Chenkus forgot the surveillance glasses.”

Sin slipped them into his pocket. “Maybe we can catch him in the parking lot.”

They made their way through the office toward reception. Down the elevator they rode and into Sin’s private parking lot. A tall white privacy fence provided a natural deterrent to freeloaders who wanted to park there. That, along with the towing signs, helped keep the public out.

The brisk, sunny day had been replaced by a cold, dark evening. Simone buttoned her suit jacket. As she scanned for Chenkus, a car drove to the exit. “Is that him?”

Someone wearing a hoodie walked up to the driver’s side of the vehicle, pulled a gun, and opened fire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shooter bolted.

Luciano pulled a gun from inside his suit jacket.

Simone grabbed her Glock. “Shots fired!”

“I’m calling for an ambulance,” Sin said.

Stuart burst out of the Rolls Royce and ran over. “Mr. Santini, I need to get you inside the vehicle.”

“Stuart, we need to help him,” Luciano said.

“Clearing the area.” Simone took off toward the vehicle.

As she approached the car, Luciano and Stuart pulled up alongside her. With her weapon drawn, she peered around the white security fence. The nearby sidewalk was void of foot traffic, the gunshots frightening everyone away. The cars on the street had vacated the immediate area, the drivers fearing for their own lives.

Stuart opened the driver’s side door while Simone scanned the area for someone in a hoodie. He was gone.

On auto-pilot, she turned her attention to the victim. And her heart sank. Guy Chenkus was gone, his lifeless eyes staring straight ahead. He hadn’t even seen his killer coming. He’d been shot in the head, in the neck, and in the chest.

Luciano appeared by her side. “Any sign of him?”

“No,” she replied. “That was the mule, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, or someone who worked for him,” Luciano bit out.

Sin joined them. “We don’t disclose what we know.”

“Agreed,” Luciano said.

“What’s your story?” Sin asked.

“We came to see you,” Simone replied. “You walked us out. We heard gunshots.”

“Put your weapons away,” Sin said.

She and Luciano re-holstered their Glocks, but Stuart did not. “Mr. Santini, I’d really like to get you inside the vehicle.”

“Go,” Sin said. “I’ll handle the police.”

The wailing sirens grew louder as she and Luciano slipped inside the Rolls Royce. Seconds later, Stuart pulled onto the deserted street. As they passed the police cars, Simone turned around and stared out the back window.

“How am I going to find this monster when he’s always one step ahead of us?”

LUCIANO

In the darkened car, Luciano peered over at her. The poker face Simone wore so well had been replaced with a melancholy that singed his soul. He knew that look. It was the look of grief and heartache and loss.

Despite what had just happened, she’d managed through the situation like a pro. First and foremost, she was an ALPHA Op. An elite group of LEOs who ran toward danger. Her courage, paired with her nerves of steel, impressed him the most.

“You did a great job tonight,” he murmured. “I know you don’t want to hear that?—”

“Thank you. If only I’d seen the eyeglasses a minute sooner.”

“If you had, we could all be dead.”

“I’m blaming myself?—”

“I get that, but this isn’t on you.”

“Are you wearing Kevlar?” she asked.

“What?”

“Body armor.” She pressed his chest. “You’re not.”

“Are you?”

“No,” she replied. “New rule. Body armor every day.”

“It’s a pain in the?—”

Simone lowered the privacy screen. “Mr. Fletcher?—”

“Stuart, please.”

“Call me Simone.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Or that,” she replied. “Stuart, Luciano and I need to wear body armor daily, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Absolutely, ma’am. Mr. Santini, you told me you’d wear it months ago.”

Silence.

“He’ll do it,” Simone said, “if I have to dress him myself.”

Luciano leaned over, kissed her cheek. “I’ll wear it.”

As Stuart drove them out of Georgetown, holiday lights and wreaths on the lampposts lining M Street bathed the city in a festive spirit. Christmas used to be his favorite time of year. Now, it reminded him how fragile life was… how alone he felt, even when surrounded by family.

A pang of loneliness pierced his heart and he clasped her hand. He didn’t give a damn how unprofessional it was. They were facing the monumental challenge of finding a killer who loved taunting them. Even though this enemy wielded significant power, Luciano wasn’t deterred. If anything, he was more determined than ever to root him out.

“We need to find that mule and, when we do, we’re doing it my way,” Luciano ground out. “He cooperates, he lives. If not, we take him out.”

Her gaze met his. “What happened that turned you into a killing machine?”

“I lost everything,” he replied. “Everything that mattered.”

The vehicle stopped. They’d arrived back at Simone’s. Stuart opened the rear door, Luciano waited for her to exit before he pushed into the night.

In truth, he was furious. Flat-out furious.

A family had just lost their husband and dad. Now, they would join the group of walking dead.

Like me.

He needed to go for a hard run or punch his boxing bag until his taped knuckles bled, but as his gaze found Simone’s, he knew only one thing could calm his angry soul.

Her.

“Thank you, Stuart,” she said.

“My pleasure, ma’am.”

She stared into Luciano’s eyes, but she stayed silent.

“Mr. Santini, please don’t linger outside.” Stuart retreated inside the vehicle.

“Stay,” she murmured.

This time, staying meant he would take the next step with her. A relationship… if she wanted that. Not a work fling, not another meaningless hookup.

As he soaked up her beauty, her essence, he knew his answer.

“Yes.”

By doing this, was he abandoning his past? Never. Was he walking toward his future? He didn’t know.

Her outstretched hand surprised him.

Was that a lifeline?

Take it.

He clasped her hand. “Stuart.”

Stuart exited the vehicle. “Sir.”

“Take the Rolls Royce home and pick me up here at eight tomorrow morning.”

“Where’s your vest, Mr. Santini?”

“Office and home.”

“I’ll bring you one of mine,” Stuart said.

“Thank you for doing such an outstanding job, Stuart.”

A prideful smile filled Stuart’s face before he ducked inside the vehicle and drove away.

Luciano glanced around Simone’s quiet neighborhood before they headed for the front door. Once inside, she closed the living room blinds while he bolted the front door.

“C’mon in,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

He couldn’t stomach food. “I’m good. Can I make you something?”

Her sad smile cut through him. “I can’t eat. How ‘bout a Santini whiskey?”

“That’ll work.”

In the kitchen, she flipped on the pendant lights over the center island and dimmed their brightness. He sat on a counter stool, his gaze cemented on her. She was composed, but he sensed that angst lurked below her cool exterior. After she dropped her suit jacket over a chair, then removed her Glock and shoulder holster, she poured two glasses from a brand new bottle.

“Did you buy that for me?” he asked.

“Guilty,” she replied.

He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “I don’t care how fucking unprofessional this is. I need to know you’re okay.”

She hugged him hard and he held her close. A calmness washed over him. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. After a moment, he kissed her forehead, broke away.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Big green eyes peered up at him. “Hell, no. Are you?”

I’m never okay.

“I care about you, Simone.”

“I’m scared.”

“I’ll protect you.”

“I’m scared of how I feel about you,” she whispered.

“How do you feel?”

She stiffened, then broke away. He wanted to pull her back, force her to answer, but that behavior worked with monsters, not angels. There was a vulnerability in her eyes and in her touch that made him want to protect her and always, always, keep her safe.

SIMONE

Yes, Simone did have feelings for Luciano, but now was not the time to talk about them. She’d been brought back to ALPHA to hunt down a mass murderer, not discuss her emotional state regarding her partner.

Chenkus’s murder was top of mind. She was being honest when she said she wasn’t okay. Death messed with her head. Even though his death wasn’t her fault, she’d been berating herself for not getting outside sooner.

“Let’s sit in the family room,” she suggested.

With drinks in hand, they got comfortable on the sofa, pausing to sip the whiskey.

“Chenkus’s death has got me spun up.” She repositioned toward him and got trapped in his beautiful bedroom eyes. “I can’t get into my feelings. We’ve gotta focus on the case.”

“Whatever you need.”

She melted. He didn’t push her to talk, didn’t insist she explain. He just let the words hang out there… for another day.

Focus up.

“Are we in over our heads with The Bomb Maker?” she asked.

He steeled his spine as a growl rumbled from his chest. The anger in his eyes was the most powerful thing she’d ever seen. It was like staring into the eyes of the devil himself.

“No,” he replied. “I will unleash my fury on the mule, The Bomb Maker, and anyone else who gets in our way.”

“Ohmygod,” she whispered.

“I’m not the man you think I am.”

Dread slithered into her soul. “Who are you then?”

“I’m a shell of a man with enough vengeance to last me a thousand lifetimes.”

She wasn’t scared of him, but she was terrified of what he would do when he came face-to-face with the enemy. Of one thing she was certain… it would be swift, it would be violent, and it would be intense.

He sipped the whiskey, set the glass on her coffee table. “When you’ve had it all and you lose it, what is there to fear when you have nothing?”

“What did you lose?” she asked.

Pain ghosted across his face, the divot between his eyes deepening.

“I lost my family,” he murmured.

What family?

“You mean like your parents or a sibling?”

“My wife and my children,” he replied. “My entire world.”

She stilled, her entire self focused on him while his heavy words sunk in. She’d run two background checks on him, but there was nothing about them in either report. He truly had lost everything, and her heart broke for him.

“Ohgod, I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” she murmured. The pain in his eyes tore at her heart. She clasped his hand, held it in her own. “Luciano, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

He acknowledged her with a nod. “I don’t talk about it.”

“I respect your privacy.”

“I have feelings for you.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I never expected this would happen. I don’t deserve love. I deserve to feel pain and loss.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s my fault they’re gone.”

LUCIANO

Luciano needed Simone to know everything. Then, she would recognize the monster he’d become and let him go. It had to be now… before he told her how he felt.

“How did they die?” she asked.

He could see that she was holding her breath, probably terrified he’d killed them himself.

“They were killed during an assassination attempt. Someone wanted me dead, and they were collateral damage.” Tears threatened to spill, but he didn’t care. He felt no shame. It was impossible to talk about them and not feel.

Even he wasn’t that callous.

She kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry.” She draped her arms around him and held him close, then broke away to sit beside him. When she draped her legs over his lap, he placed a possessive hand around her bare foot and caressed her skin.

“I’m filled with guilt,” he said. “Guilt that I survived. Guilt that, five years later, the killer is still out there. Guilt that I have feelings for another woman. It’s killing me.”

Her eyes grew large. “Me? I’m that woman?”

He smiled. How could he not? She had no idea what she brought to his life.

“I’ve never met anyone like you. You followed me around for weeks. You didn’t give up, you did everything you could to learn about my illegal activities. I was impressed by your perseverance.” He massaged her foot. “You’re very beautiful. You’re smart. You have grit and grace. You push past your fears, and I appreciate that about you.”

“God, Luciano, you say all the right things.”

“It’s the truth. We haven’t known each other long, but I’m thirty-three-years-old. I know myself, especially after having gone through so much. I know what I like, what I need in a partner. You challenge me, you push back. I like that. But I’m struggling with the commitment I made to my late wife.”

“Tell me about her.”

“Linda was a friend’s sister. We met when I worked for the Santini family business.” He winked. “She knew what I did, but she didn’t care. We married, had a son, then a daughter. My life was very different. I was very different.”

“Your life sounds perfect.”

“I adored my family.”

Talking to Simone helped. He’d hoped it would, but he couldn’t know for sure… until he did it.

“They were killed when my car exploded.” He put it out there in its rawest form. No point glossing it over. It was what it was.

Compassion poured from her eyes. “Ohgod, that’s awful.”

“My wife’s car needed repairs, so I told her I’d take it in for her.” Pain sliced through him like a thousand knives to his heart. “She worked part-time and, on those days, the kids went to pre-school.”

“How old were they?”

“My son was four. My daughter two.”

She kissed his cheek, clasped his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Emotion clogged his throat, but he pushed on. He needed her to understand the weight he carried around. He needed her to appreciate the reason for his deep-seated vengeance. “I left before she did, so I only know what the arson detective told me. She put the kids in the car, and when she started the engine, the car exploded. They were killed instantly.”

Anguish poured into every crevice of his being, but he pushed on.

“I thought it was a hit by another family, but it wasn’t. I wasn’t sleeping. I couldn’t eat. The grief consumed me… until it turned to anger. I was determined to find the killer, but I couldn’t. My brother, Gabriel, who owns several vineyards in Italy, insisted I come live with him. Elsa and Carrera made me go. When I got there, Gabriel had this crazy idea that we should start our own winery. I was numb and barely hanging on. I went along with it because I didn’t care.”

Her soft caresses on the back of his neck grounded him. “How long were you there?”

“A year. During that time, I left the family business to my cousin, Willie Boy, and I threw myself into the winery to escape the constant pain. We started Santini Chianti, then through connections I started a men’s clothing line. That turned into Santini International. Santini Whiskey came later.”

“You’ve done a lot in five years,” she said.

“But I haven’t done the one thing that matters. I haven’t found my family’s killer.”

She sipped the whiskey. “Are you still searching?”

“That’s why I started the assassin group,” he explained. “After I met Sin, we formed a partnership. He introduced me to Dakota and we decided to take out the bad actors ALPHA can’t.”

“Thank you for telling me about your family,” she said. “Thank you for trusting me, especially with how we met.”

“I trust very few people, but the guys vouched for you. Slash adores you and I value her opinion.” He kissed her hand. “Why did you leave ALPHA?”

“I was leading a mission that went horribly wrong. Everyone on my team was killed and I was terrified he’d come after me.”

“Who?”

“The Bomb Maker,” she replied. “Ever since he killed Frederica and her team, I feel like I’m living the nightmare all over again.”

Desperate to touch her, he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you still afraid?”

“Not anymore. Now, I’m consumed with vengeance.”

He smiled. “That’s what I needed to hear.”

SIMONE

Simone shivered, but not from the cool temperature in her home. She was baring her soul to him, leaving herself open to getting hurt.

Luciano draped a throw blanket over her lap. “I knew about the earlier attack on ALPHA, but I didn’t know you were the lone survivor.”

“There were six of us,” she began. “We’d gotten intel that The Bomb Maker and his employees had set up their operation in a deserted house outside Leesburg. When we went to make the arrests, the house exploded.” Another shudder ripped through her. “Same as what happened to Frederica.”

“Were you injured?” he asked, stroking her leg.

His gentle caresses, paired with the concern in his eyes, helped assuage her anxiety.

“Just as my team approached the house, Luther called me,” she said. “Back then, he and Z ran ALPHA together. He’d never called during an arrest mission, so I took it.” Another shudder whipped through her. “He was screaming for us to get out. His words still haunt my dreams. I was yelling for my team, but they were already inside. I ran toward the building and the explosion knocked me back. The Bomb Maker killed my team along with his own.”

He put his arm around her. The strength from his touch filled her with encouragement… and love.

“That’s rough,” he murmured.

“I blamed myself and I had survivor guilt. ALPHA was concerned that if the killer knew I was alive, he’d come after me.”

“Is that why you worked for Mitus?”

She nodded. “I was there for three years. It was like being in witness protection. I was me, but with a fictitious past. Only Colton knew the truth. I had PTSD, but I felt safer behind the gates. After I got the mental help I needed, I improved. I was cleared to return to ALPHA, but I wasn’t ready, so I worked for Z. When Frederica was killed, I knew I had to take the case.”

“We will find him,” Luciano said, his voice velvety and low, yet brimming with his signature brand of confidence.

“We have to,” she replied. “He’s taken so much already.”

His loving smile touched her heart. “Thank you for being vulnerable with me. I will have your back, Simone.”

“I know that, and I’m grateful.” Then, she offered a little smile. “I’ve got yours too. You know that, right?”

He kissed her. One kiss filled with so much love, she melted.

“Yes,” he murmured before kissing her again. “I do.”

He broke eye contact to stare at their clasped hands, resting on the throw blanket. “I told you I’m struggling with the commitment I made to my late wife.” He fixed his eyes on hers. “I’m falling in love with you, Simone.”

Her heart rejoiced. She captured his beautiful, chiseled face in her hands, and she kissed him.

Tell him.

“I’m falling in love with you too.” She breathed deeply, hoping to slow her rapidly beating heart.

They came together in a powerful embrace. When it ended, he said, “Love isn’t stagnant. It grows stronger or it fades away. If we are each other’s person, nothing and no one can stop it.”

She kissed him again, then murmured, “I could love you for a long, long time.”

His smile filled her with hope. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself.

“We have a killer to catch and The Bomb Maker to hunt down,” she said. “I need to start working now .”

He rose with her in his arms and carried her up the stairs. “I’m going to love you first, then we work.”

LUCIANO

In her bedroom, she snaked her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. Desire spread through him. He was ready to lose himself in her passion, her beauty, and her soul-filling strength.

The bedside table lamp was on, bathing the room in diffused light, but his attention was solely focused on the woman in his arms.

“I need you, Luciano. Fury-filled you. Broken you. Loving you. I don’t need you to comfort me and protect me. I need you to remind me that we’re alive. That we’ve got what it takes to hunt down these monsters and eliminate them.”

He framed her face in his hands and he kissed her. A wild, deep, biting kiss powered by greed and passion. She slowed it, ending it with a soft peck. Off came her shirt. She stepped out of her heels, removed her dress pants. Simone in a black bra and black thong was a perfect vision and the best escape.

“We don’t deserve to feel good,” he said, the guilt creeping back in.

She placed a finger over his lips. “One hour.”

He collected her hand in his, dotted her warm skin with kisses before he married his lips to hers. Her throaty moan ripped through him, kicking up the heat. She ended the kiss and helped him out of his jacket and shirt.

With her attention cemented on his pecs, she pressed her mouth to his chest and kissed him. As he toed off his shoe boots, she sauntered over to her queen-sized bed, tossed the throw pillows onto the floor, and threw back the linens.

“I know the demons that chase you,” she murmured, “and I’m going to help you escape them… for a little while.”

He removed his pants and boxer briefs, his jutting erection at-the-ready. She caressed his shoulders, scraped her fingernails down his chest and his abs until her hands came to rest around his shaft. While she fondled his balls, she massaged his shaft sending pleasure skyrocketing through him. When he stroked her bare ass, a groan shot out of him.

“I need you, Simone,” he bit out.

“I’m gonna take good care of you.”

She released her hold and collected a pillow. “Lie on the floor facing the bench,” she commanded.

Unexpected, but he’d go with it.

“I’ve never done this, but I’m going to give it a try,” she said as he lay down.

After tucking the pillow under his head, she collected a bottle of massage oil and eased onto the bench. She removed her bra and his attention dropped to her breasts, her pert nipples beckoning.

She trickled oil into her hands and rubbed it all over her tits until they glistened. His cock bobbed up and down in approval. A barely-there smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she caressed her thigh, then her calf, and finally her foot. Jolts of energy powered through him as she ran her long fingers over her provocative toes.

After covering her feet in oil, she laid them on his chest. Then, she dragged her toes down his torso until she’d sandwiched his cock between the soles of her feet.

“Yes,” he rasped.

Her feet on his throbbing cock was driving him wild with need. He couldn’t wait to see what she’d do next. Moving slowly, she began to rub his cock with her feet. Back and forth, up and down, she glided over his hardness with her talented toes.

“Fuck, that feels good.” The mounting pleasure turned his cock hard as steel.

Then, she caressed his balls with one foot while rubbing the underside of his cock with the other. Again and again while the pressure continued building.

A raspy groan rumbled out of him and he grabbed her feet, put her soles together, and began thrusting through the arch.

“You are so fucking hot,” he ground out.

She retook control, placing the head between her long seductive toes while gliding on his cock with her other foot. Euphoria had him grunting through the pleasure.

“Come for me,” she commanded, the grittiness in her voice pushing him closer to the edge.

She worked the head with her toes, faster and faster until the orgasm exploded out of him.

His groan thundered through his chest, the ecstasy lifting him from the depths of hell.

She slowed, then stilled, their searing connection taking him higher still. Then, she retreated into the bathroom, returning with a towel. After cleaning him up, she held out her hand.

He stood, threaded his arms around her, pressed his lips to hers. The intensity of their kiss had her grinding against him while her hungry moans sliced through the quiet night. They tumbled into bed, their mouths ravenous, their tongues eager. The second they connected, he knew.

She’s the one.

The one he would never have. Being alone was his punishment for?—

She stopped kissing him. “Come back to me,” she whispered. “Don’t go there. Not yet.”

He pulled her close, kissed her softly, and breathed her in. She was dealing with her own demons, yet she was there for him.

And she wanted nothing in return.

He planked over her, kissed her. “You’re an amazing woman. Thank you for the gift.”

“Mama’s gonna need some foot practice,” she murmured.

“You’re a fantastic lover.”

Her smile told him everything he needed to know. She’d done that for him because his needs mattered to her.

Their kiss was filled with love, their gazes still locked on each other. He moved from her mouth to her nipple and was rewarded with a moan. She arched into him, ran delicate fingers through his hair.

“I love when you suck my tits,” she murmured, urging him on. When he bit her nipple, she cried out. “Yessssss”

He ran his fingers over her pussy, appreciating how soaked she was, then slipped his fingers inside. She spread her legs, welcoming him to probe, to stroke, to tease.

The faster he went, the more intense her sounds, but when she pushed into his fingers, he gently removed them.

Her sad face made him smile. “I’m hard again. Condom?”

“No condom. I’m on the pill. I want nothing between us. But if you’re seeing other women—which is none of my?—”

He kissed her. “Just you, Simone.”

She guided his penis to her core. “Mmmm, yes.”

He pressed inside, withdrew, pressed in farther, withdrew. Just skin on skin. She rolled them sideways, lifted her thigh, and he sunk in farther. They moved slowly, but the fire in her eyes ravaged him like a wildfire burning across an open prairie.

On her side, she raised her arm over her head and ground into him. The oil on her breasts let her glide easily. Faster and faster they moved, the intensity of their lovemaking taking him to another crescendo.

“I love how good you fuck me,” she ground out. “I’m gonna come.”

She kissed him, then started bucking while she cried out through the release. When her insides clamped down around his cock, he exploded inside her.

Their mutual groans filled his ears with the sweetest sound while they surrendered to the intoxicating passion.

Staring into her eyes, he knew. For a ruthless assassin who had a strong dislike for the law, he was falling in love with a top-secret law enforcement agent … and he was powerless to stop it.