Chapter 6
6
CELIA
T he restaurant was cozy, with small dining rooms off a central hallway that led to the kitchen, so there was only one door. We had the room to ourselves. Large windows looked out over the harbor, and the sunshine warmed the room. As I took my seat, Luca took one at the next table, putting himself between me and the door, with a view down the hallway.
I was dismayed he was sitting so close. He’d be able to hear everything I said to Kara.
I tried to think of a way to get away from him long enough to have a few unsupervised words with Kara…without getting myself killed, if my stalker was still lurking in the shadows. I glanced over at him again, and he raised an eyebrow at me as if he could tell I didn’t appreciate that he was so close.
Kara came in, late as usual. She wore a flowing sundress that was as bright and airy as she was, and I rose from the table knowing she’d want to hug me. I wasn’t a hugger, but I’d do anything for Kara.
“Sweetheart are you all right?” she demanded, pulling back to put her hands on my shoulders.
“I’m fine,” I promised her, breaking away as soon as I could to take my seat again. “Let’s order appetizers before we talk about it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Typical. You would need mozzarella sticks before you could discuss a kidnapping attempt. Priorities.”
“There is the question of whether it was a kidnapping attempt or a murder attempt.”
“Aren’t they close enough to the same?” she asked airily, but I knew the subtext because we’d had far more deep conversations about our families—and their weaknesses—than anyone would imagine.
My father wouldn’t sacrifice much to make sure I came home safely. Afterward, he’d certainly be intent on hunting down whoever dishonored him by murdering me.
Somehow that didn’t comfort me.
“It might be different these days,” I said, because Gabriel Caruso’s interest made me far more valuable.
Then we both fell silent because our waitress had arrived. Luca watched her without seeming to look at her. I only noticed because I was watching him so closely. She took our orders, and when she was gone again, closing the glass door softly behind her, Kara said, “You can’t just text me about masked men and then not fill in the details. Tell me what happened!”
“There isn’t much more to it than that. There was one man at the window who broke it to get to me, and another man in the stall waiting for me.”
She frowned. “So…they weren’t working together?”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, just as the pieces finally clicked for me. Why wouldn’t the man who was already inside have opened the window for the other man? Had they been interrupted by my arrival too soon—or did they have two different goals? “Maybe they were incompetent.”
“One of them did end up shot.” She considered it. “Which definitely suggests their plan was not the best.”
I glanced at Luca. “Well, if I had been on my own…it might have ended differently. They must have killed the guard in the alleyway. I was running, but…” I shrugged, because the other possibility was too uncomfortable to discuss.
“But you never do cardio, even though I try to get you to jog with me.”
“Kara. I’m dealing with murderers, that’s bad enough. I can’t handle marathons too.”
She grinned, one of those big grins that made anyone smile back. She was all sweetness and light, somehow untouched by our gritty world. I wished I was like that.
“Seriously,” I said. “Spread the word in case these guys are after anyone else.”
She nodded, knowing what I meant. “Oh, no fear there. You know me.”
Luca looked at me sharply before he went back to watching for threats.
My father had told me specifically to keep this story under wraps. He didn’t want anyone to know he was under attack, in case they took advantage of a perceived opportunity.
But I wasn’t going to let my girls into danger. We didn’t know why I’d been attacked. What if they moved on to another target among the mafia daughters?
I was curious if Luca would rat me out. And by curious, I meant my stomach twisted with nerves. But still. It had to be done. Moriah could perhaps even try to run down some leads, if she could find any. She was our little band’s tech wiz in Louboutins.
“I have to run to the ladies room,” Kara said, rising from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”
Once Kara had gone, Luca asked, “What’s your friend plotting?”
“I imagine she’s going to pee, Luca.”
“Don’t play games with me. The two of you were trading looks like you had a lot more to say to each other.”
“Just girl talk. It’s strange not being able to talk openly to my best friend.”
“Best friend? I thought all of the daughters were frenemies.”
“No. Some of us are openly enemies. But she’s still the closest friend I have, and as you said in the car—I need my girl talk.”
“Too bad.”
“I know. You can stop acting like I’m going to run away from home or do something stupid. I’m terrified of that masked man, Luca. And whoever might be working with him.” My voice sharpened.
He studied my face. “Good.”
“Very comforting,” I muttered.
“Well, I can’t protect you if I can’t control you, princess.”
Fucking asshole .
I smiled at him sweetly.
During lunch, I skirted around the details of my strange relationship with Gabriel Caruso. I wanted my girls to look into why he might be so interested in me, too, but I couldn’t openly ask in front of Luca.
Still, I had a feeling Kara would relate this conversation in detail to Moriah and Natalie, trying to identify whatever I needed to survive…and for us to stay on plan. But I desperately wished I could just talk to them all freely.
It was useful having everyone assume we hated each other, though. Even if one of us were caught…the others wouldn’t fall. No one would’ve thought the four of us could survive a road trip together, let alone plot the detonation of four mafia houses.
“It’s not surprising to me that he’s drawn to you,” Kara said. “He might’ve been stupid when we were teenagers, but every boy is stupid at that age.”
I scoffed.
“You’re a knockout, Celia. Someday you’ll get revenge on your father and brother for all the nasty things they’ve ever told you.”
I stared at her in shock—she was talking about our plan in front of Luca.
“By not believing them anymore,” she finished. “You’re the best conspirator in their bullshit, believing them.”
She’d cut too close to the truth. I swallowed, trying to find the right words to get us back on safer ground, but found myself blurting out the truth. “It’s difficult to drown out the voices of the people who are supposed to love you, even when?—”
Just then, there was a sound of screeching brakes. An impact rocked the front of the restaurant. Panic spurted through my chest. Kara and I both jumped up, and I was sure the shocked look on her face mirrored my own.
Luca had his gun in his hand, barking at us, “Stay here!” Then he was gone down the hallway.
“They should let you carry a gun of your own,” Kara said, then grabbed my arm. “Come on. We’ve only got a second.”
I stared at her. Then I understood—she had engineered the distraction when she went to the bathroom, so we’d have a moment alone.
“I need a way to communicate with you all now that I’ve got Luca guarding me,” I whispered.
She nodded. “I’ll talk to Moriah. We’ll get you something. Do you think you could sneak out of the house and meet me or Natalie at Club Barcelona for a hand-off? Friday night at midnight?”
“I don’t know.” I cast a glance over my shoulder. Luca wasn’t far away, just barely out of hearing distance. I could see him just inside in the hallway. He’d be back any moment.
“Don’t know or don’t want to because your hot new bodyguard will be mad?”
I dismissed that thought. We didn’t have time to talk about my feelings, even though it certainly bothered me a little to know Luca would see me as a spoiled brat. Besides, it might ruin my chances of winning him as an ally, to some extent or another. “I’ll try.”
“Do you have any ideas who targeted you? Where should we start?”
“I don’t know. But I think it’s suspicious that Gabriel took a sudden interest in me, and then I was attacked.”
“It’s not suspicious for someone to think you’re gorgeous, idiot,” she told me. “But yes, I agree that the whole situation is weird. Is your father backing off with Gabriel?”
I shook my head.
“Do we need to make sure we take him out too?” They were strange words coming from my best friend’s hot-pink-lipsticked mouth.
I hesitated to add Gabriel’s name to my kill list, even though I knew I should. “I’ll have to marry him if he pursues me. It’s too risky to try to evade a wedding.”
Luca was coming back down the hall.
She winked at me—always a bad sign—before she stage-whispered, “How do you feel about your smoking hot new bodyguard? He’s a serious upgrade.”
“It doesn’t matter to me if he’s attractive,” I said stiffly.
She let out a laugh, as if I’d just confessed a crush. “Mm-hmm.”
“We’re heading out,” Luca told me. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll see you—” I began to say to Kara, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me close to his body. I collided with the hard muscle of his side as his arm wrapped around me.
Kara’s lips parted in a smile of surprise and delight as she watched my bodyguard, gun in hand, hustle me out of the room. Her expression was a blur before he pulled me down the hall.
“When I say move, we move,” Luca growled as soon as I was in the car, and we were pulling away from the curb. “That accident outside was suspicious as fuck.”
He raked a hand through his hair, looking anxious before his gaze cut back to the rearview mirror. “We aren’t being followed.”
“Good,” I said, knitting my hands together in my lap and trying to look nervous. I didn’t want him to know that I had never been in any danger.
“I don’t trust that girl,” he said abruptly. “She’s up to something. You don’t need her as a friend.”
“She’s harmless. Just a bubbly, sweet society girl, really, even if Daddy is standing behind her with a dozen men with machine guns.”
He scoffed. “You’re na?ve.”
“Is that so?” I didn’t feel na?ve. I felt stupid that I couldn’t figure out exactly what Gabriel was plotting.
Luca seemed more anxious than he had when he shot a man. I watched him curiously, noticing the way his jaw hardened. He worked it back and forth slightly in concentration as he drove.
What made this situation so different?
“You are on lockdown,” he told me unapologetically. “Until I have this situation under control. I’m not risking your safety on another lunch.”
He sounded…worried.
It was an unexpected thrill, having this man seem to feel anything when it came to me other than professional pride.
“Fine.” I lifted my chin.
“Fine? You’re agreeing?”
“Protect me,” I said in a mocking tone, repeating his earlier words. “Control me.”
He shot me a glance. For a second, I could have sworn heat flashed in his gaze. Had he liked hearing me say those words ? The thought that I’d turned on this alluring, dangerous man was…intriguing.
Too much so, then he was focused on the road again.
His worry made me feel a little guilty—but only a little. In the end, he was still the man who had signed up to work for my father. I kind of enjoyed his protective bossiness…I had to remember that none of it was real.
Just like those made men in my past, calling me princess. I was nothing to Luca Direnzo other than a job…and an opportunity.
GAbrIEL
I strode through the dark luxury of the underground casino. I’d come a long way since David and I used to practice sleight of hand, cheating each other outrageously at cards.
My baby brother would be pissed if he knew all the plans I had for his pretty little childhood obsession.
I’d had my men check in on his grave. The grave was carefully kept, with playing cards and chess pieces—always knights—left in place of flowers. I had left the grave intentionally abandoned.
Was Celia coming and tending the grave ? That was an interesting thought.
I couldn’t imagine her bodyguards would willingly let her visit, given how upset Mal had been with his daughter and my dickhead brother fucking in all the uncomfortable places teenagers fucked. Cars, hotels, the beach…
Christ, fucking on the beach was punishment enough. Sand everywhere.
To Mal, taking his little girl’s precious V-card had been a crime worthy of death. There’d been no way for me to keep David in this world. But I could certainly get revenge for all the years I had spent living without him.
My phone buzzed, and I checked the caller. Christ . If anything was going to make my day worse than recalling the past with my brothers, it had to be this dickhead in the present. I picked it up anyway. Hopefully he was calling with useful information about Mal.
“Hey. I’ve got news about Celia.”
“Is she alive?” This plan would work a lot better with her alive and breathing. Cooperating even, although I could work with her whether she consented or not.
“Yeah. But someone’s tailing her. It’s not part of the plan.”
“Find out who else is trying to take Celia and why.”
He hesitated, and I could hear the shift in his breathing, and knew him well enough to be fucking annoyed.
“What?”
“She might have a stalker.”
“Then deal with it.”
“Yeah, thanks. I didn’t think of that.”
I hated a smartass. Especially this one.
“Hey,” he added. “There’s something else.”
“You could just tell me instead of being a drama whore, drawing everything out.”
“I just love to hear your voice, though.”
“Celia?”
“I thought you said the girl was obsessed with you.”
“Yes.” She’d always hung around me before she got her hooks into David, although she’d been shy and pink-cheeked. Still, there’d been no denying the way her eyes used to light up when she saw me.
“Well, it’s been a while, Gabriel. She doesn’t trust you now.”
“Maybe she is smarter than Royal and her father.” Low bar .
“I’m serious, she’s suspicious. I think you need to up your game. Make her like you.”
I scoffed.
“This job is going to be a lot easier with a willing bride, Gabriel.”
“She’d lick my shoes to get out of that house. She’s going to be a willing bride.”
The words summoned an image with more power than I expected. I could see myself standing fully dressed as a naked Celia writhed in front of me, her pink tongue licking across my polished black shoes.
She would be the instrument of my revenge. And given how much her asshole father had been willing to destroy for her honor, I looked forward to owning her. Not because she deserved it, but because they would be humiliated through her.
Though in my fantasy, she looked up at me, and her eyes were…eager and willing. She slid her hands up my thighs when I gave her permission, before she reached for my cock, smiling at the chance to wrap her mouth around me.
Now I was fucking hard in front of the high rollers’ table. Awkward .
Thinking back, her eyes hadn’t lit up like they once had when she saw me. She’d been studying me. I’d just assumed she was too stupid for it to matter. And while I wouldn’t admit it out loud, I was irritated by the thought I’d lost her adoration.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s turn this Cinderella bullshit up to ten.”