Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Siobhán
“I wanted to tell you,” he said and winced. His face was white. It made his glowing red eyes all the more terrifying. “I brought you here to tell you.”
“This can’t be real,” I mumbled. “This can’t…” I shook my head.
He held up his cut and bloody forearms. “It’s real.” He pulled a shard of glass from one of the longer gashes. Blood flowed in its wake but stopped almost immediately, Luca’s skin closing around the wound.
I stared in shock, unable to move. That couldn’t have happened. Maybe it was blood loss. Had I been cut somewhere? Or a gas leak. Maybe one of the bullets hit a pipe. But even as my mind raced through every possible excuse, the truth stared me in the face with red eyes and pointed fangs. The pieces had been there all along, scratching at the back of my mind for months, nagging me to fit them together and acknowledge their connection.
But knowing and seeing were two different things, and I’d had enough surprises for one day. My body heaved—once, twice—and I vomited on the vinyl floor and broken glass.
The rush of blood from emptying my guts made me lightheaded. I sat up slowly and dabbed the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. “Aren’t you lucky,” I said, the surreal situation and my dizziness making me numb. “Other women faint or scream when they go into shock. Yours throws up.”
Vinnie Valenzano’s giant body appeared where the glass door used to be, surrounded by shattered remnants clinging to an empty frame. He stepped through, and the sign that signaled “Closed” crunched under the weight of his fancy leather shoe.
He scanned the mess, and his gaze landed on Luca, slumped against the wall, his red eyes hooded and tips of his fangs visible between parted lips. Vinnie’s unhappy expression drifted to me, then Gio. “Couldn’t get a read on the plates—unmarked. They got Vito and Gina.”
Luca let out a primal scream. His eyes flared, and his fangs elongated, sharp and deadly. “Who’s they? They’re fucking dead!”
“Save it. Don’t know.” His gaze slid to me, then back to Luca. “But I have a good fucking idea.”
My stomach clenched and seized. I dry-heaved, my body trying to expel the acid.
“Marco’s headed to Vesuvio,” Vinnie said to Gio, his voice clipped and efficient. “I’ll get word to the capi. We’re looking for a silver Hyundai. Stay here and deal with the cops.”
I shut my eyes and slowed my breath.
My ears rang from the gunfire, but loud Italian punctured my muffled hearing and made me jump. The man in the apron who’d been clearing dishes when I first arrived gestured at the shattered glass, broken chairs, and bullet holes. Vinnie raised his hands in a placating gesture. When the man didn’t calm down, Vinnie barked a few words in Italian and pointed toward the back. The man wrung his apron, spun on his heel, and marched away.
Vinnie ran a hand down his face and lifted his chin toward Luca. “I gotta get him out of here.”
“Took three in the back,” Gio said. “One’s still in there. Dr. Levine’s on his way to Vesuvio.”
“Get this blood cleaned up before the cops get here,” he said to Gio.
Gio nodded and headed for the back.
“You got enough juice to walk?” Vinnie hunched over Luca and held out a hand.
“Yeah.”
He put his other hand under Luca’s armpit.
“Fuck! Not there!” Luca snapped. “That’s where the bullet is.”
“Let me help,” I said and scrambled to my feet. Blood rushed to my head, and my knees buckled. I caught myself, took a deep breath, and pressed on.
My eyebrows knit together trying to figure out how my scrawny ass was going to help a man who weighed twice what I did to his feet. I squatted, grabbed Luca’s hand, and put one arm around his shoulders.
Vinnie and I pulled.
Luca winced. “Argh!”
“Sorry!” I said, but at least Vinnie and I had Luca on his feet.
He sagged into me, but Vinnie held him upright with an arm around his waist. “Come on, Luca. Man up. You’ve been through worse.”
Luca glared at Vinnie but straightened.
“Out the back,” Vinnie said. “We can take the alleys, but we gotta move.”
“Yeah,” Luca said with a grunt, his breath heavy and strained.
We hobbled through broken glass toward the exit, my focus darting between Luca’s pale face and the ground, making sure I didn’t trip over anything. Crimson speckled his eyes, swirling pools of browns and reds, but it was still Luca. The Luca I’d always known. The Luca whose eyes held those same red flecks when I’d told him about my scars. The Luca who brought me to the deli to share his secret. The Luca who just told me he couldn’t live without me. The same man.
He eyed me sideways. “You’re not freaked out?”
I shot him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding? I’m wicked freaked out, but we need to get out of here.”
We moved quickly once we fell into a rhythm. For once, I was thankful for the heat; the streets were empty. Luca’s shirt was black. That helped. But my white blouse was covered in blood. The faster we reached Vesuvio, the better.
Fifteen long minutes later, Vinnie pounded his fist against the back door.
Enzo answered, and as soon as Vinnie pivoted to get Luca through the door, I got out of the way and let Enzo bear the other half of Luca’s weight. Sweat poured down my face, and my arms shook from the strain.
“Let’s get him to the couches,” Enzo said and lifted his chin to the leather seats behind the stripper pole.
Luca slumped onto the bench, resting against its back with his uninjured shoulder. His long hair was matted to his forehead, his face leeched of color. His eyes returned to their normal color, only a few red specks dotting his coffee brown irises.
Marco paced the length of the bar, shouting into his cell. He must not have liked what he heard on the other end, because he let out an angry roar, picked up a barstool, and threw it clear across the room. It hit the far wall and clattered to a stop on the floor. He shouted into the phone, and his eyes burned like hot coals.
I wavered on my feet.
Vinnie grabbed my arm and steadied me. “Gonna need you to pull it together, sweetheart. Now’s not the time, capisce?”
I nodded. “Capisce.”
“Get some towels,” he barked at Enzo. “Let’s get him cleaned up before the doc gets here.” Vinnie took out his phone, walked behind the bar, and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass.
Marco pointed his phone and gaze at Luca. “Stai bene?”
“Yeah,” Luca croaked. “I’ll live.”
Marco aimed his attention and phone at me.
I nodded.
He brought the phone back to his ear, and the string of loud Italian continued.
I sat on the couch next to Luca. His mouth turned into a sheepish half-smile that accentuated the tip of his eyetooth. It wasn’t as long or sharp as it had been at the deli, but there was no denying it wasn’t human.
“Nothing’s ever easy with us, is it?”
I huffed. “No. Never.”
Enzo dropped a stack of towels on the bench and handed one to me.
“Thanks,” I said.
I combed the damp hair off Luca’s face with my fingers and wiped the sweat away with the towel.
He grabbed my wrist and ran his thumb against the back of my hand. “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you. I should have known you were strong enough to handle the truth. You’re the strongest person I know.” He winced, and the red sparks in his eyes flared. “My mother died, because she couldn’t handle what my father was, and the thought of losing you the same way…” He shuddered and closed his eyes.
I dragged my fingernails along his scalp the way he liked. He took a couple of breaths, calmed, and opened his eyes.
“What happened to her?” I asked.
“She never recovered from the shock. My father, Gina, the doctors—they forced her to eat, but they couldn’t convince her to drink my father’s blood, and she refused to let him feed from her. That’s how my species bonds, and a human carrying a demone del sangue needs both blood and venom to survive.”
“Demone del sangue,” I repeated.
He nodded. “A blood demon.”
Loud pounding made me jump. Enzo disappeared around the corner and, moments later, reappeared with a man in khaki pants, a collared short-sleeve polo, and a full head of curly black hair.
“Luca,” the man said. “Didn’t realize you were the patient.”
“Hey, Ben,” Luca said and winced.
He eyed Luca’s blood-stained shirt. “You’ve looked better.”
Luca snorted. “You’re just jealous I still look as good as I did in college.”
“And cocky as ever I see. All right, let’s have a look.”
Luca shifted and hunched forward. He unbuttoned his shirt and winced as he pulled his arms out of the sleeves. He grabbed at the back of his undershirt. “Cazzo,” he swore, and his arms fell to his sides.
“Here,” I said. “Let me.” I pulled the undershirt over his head.
Smeared blood covered his upper back, and red-tinted rivulets of sweat trailed down the trough of his spine. Three angry welts as red as his eyes stared back at me. On his left side, the bullet had gone in and out through the meaty part of his muscle just above the clavicle, a perfect hole in his back and an explosive mess out the front. Not even an hour had passed since the shooting, yet the jagged edges of the exit wound were healed as if it had been days. Blood wasn’t pumping out of the hole, and only a thin dribble leaked from the entry wound. To the right of his spine but lower, a pair of wounds—an entry in his back and an exit on his chest—matched those on the left.
The third and final hole in his back didn’t have a partner on his chest. Centered on his right shoulder blade, the bullet hole leaked, slow and steady. The stream of blood mingled with sweat and trailed down his right side.
“There’s a bullet in your right shoulder,” Dr. Levine said.
“No shit.”
“I don’t know how deep it is, but since the other two came out the front, my guess is your shoulder blade stopped it.”
“Perfetto.”
“This isn’t the best place to be poking around in your shoulder.”
Luca glared at Dr. Levine. “You don’t say,” he said in a strained whisper.
“I need to cut you open to get that bullet out, but I’m concerned it’s still bleeding. It should be partially healed.” Dr. Levine narrowed his eyes. “When’s the last time you fed?”
“Two weeks ago, give or take.” Luca lifted a couple fingers dismissively. “There was a blood bag in there somewhere.”
Dr. Levine scowled. “Why’d you go so long?”
Luca’s eyes drifted to me and back to the doctor. “Long story.”
“Well, you’re running on empty, and after digging around in your shoulder”—Luca winced—“I’ll need you healing at full capacity.”
The doctor’s gaze drifted from Luca’s face to his lap. I hadn’t realized it, but my hands were wrapped around one of Luca’s, and his other rested on my thigh.
“Can you feed from her when I’m done?” he asked.
Luca looked at me, his eyes filled with apprehension. And hope. The moment of truth—would history repeat itself? Or could I accept Luca for who and what he was?
“Of course,” I said with a smile and tucked his sweaty hair behind his ear. “Whatever he needs.”
Luca squeezed my hand, and his eyes fluttered closed. “Thank you.”
“Enzo!” Dr. Levine called across the bar. “Help me get him onto the pool table. I need the light.”
I got out of the way, and the men moved and arranged Luca.
Marco continued to pace, cell phone held to his ear, but he monitored their progress with more than passing interest.
I massaged my forehead. “I need a drink,” I mumbled.
“You and me both,” Vinnie said and ushered me to the bar. Luca lay on the pool table on his stomach, and Enzo helped Dr. Levine with the lights. “Lucky for us…”
I huffed and sat on one of the stools. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey sitting on the bar next to a glass beaded with condensation and poured a splash over the half-melted ice. He lifted the bottle in my direction and cocked an eyebrow.
I placed a hand on my belly. “I can’t.”
He glanced down at my hand, snorted, and shook his head. “Fucking Luca.” He shot back his drink and poured another.
“Argh!” A strangled scream tore through the bar. I jumped, horrified by the sound, and looked over my shoulder.
Marco blocked my view of the pool table, cell phone still held to his ear. He shook his head.
“Better keep your eyes over here, sweetheart,” Vinnie said. “You don’t want to see that.”
I nodded even as Luca let out another tortured scream. I rifled through my purse and found my Tums. I popped two in my mouth and tried to focus on chewing and not the impromptu surgery happening behind me.
My hand went back to my belly and rubbed it in slow circles. I wasn’t safe. My baby wasn’t safe. The day’s events reinforced what I’d already decided—I needed to leave Boston.
The truth about Luca’s reaction to my pregnancy and the revelations about his true nature changed nothing. They didn’t change how much I wanted to have a family, and they didn’t change my decision to raise this baby in Ireland on my own. If I needed to feed or be fed upon or both, I’d do it, but I’d do it where we wouldn’t be shot at in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.
I loved Luca. Always had. Always would. And after today, I knew he loved me too. But that changed nothing. Love wouldn’t keep me and my baby safe.
A hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed. Marco. “It’s done,” he said. “He’s in the break room down the hall.” He tipped his head in the direction of the short corridor on the other end of the bar. “After he’s done feeding, Paulie will drive you to Terme. You’ll spend the night there with Anna.”
“But—”
“This is not open for discussion, Siobhán,” Marco said, his voice raised. “I need to know you’re safe, and Terme is the best place for that until we can figure out what the fuck is going on.”
I clamped my mouth shut. Now was not the time to argue, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to spend the night with Anna. I hopped off the barstool.
“Go,” he said and kissed the top of my head. “He needs you.”
Luca sat in the middle of a couch, his back to the door, left shoulder and head resting against the cushion. His skin was clean, and a square piece of medical gauze covered the wound on his right shoulder. He was pale—paler than before—and his chest rose and fell with slow, regulated breaths.
Dr. Levine stood behind the couch, furiously typing on his cell phone.
I sat on the couch facing him and ran my fingernails through his hair. “Hey.”
He swallowed and lifted his eyes to meet mine. “Hey.”
“How are you?”
“I’ve been better.”
“He needs to feed,” Dr. Levine said and shoved the phone in his pocket. He walked around the end of the couch and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll let you to it, but don’t wait so long next time.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Luca said.
Dr. Levine snorted. “Nice meeting you…”
“Siobhán,” I said.
“Siobhán.” He reached into his back pocket, retrieved his wallet, and pulled out a card. “Call or text me if anything seems off, but he should be fine once he isn’t starving .” He aimed the last word at Luca.
Luca chuckled and winced.
“Later, buddy,” Dr. Levine said and made for the door.
“Later.”
The door clicked shut.
Luca searched my face. “You sure you want to do this?”
I ran my fingernails through his hair again. “Absolutely.”
Faint red specks appeared in the coffee-brown field of his eyes. “Come here.” He tapped my leg. “Put them across my lap.”
I did as he said and scooted closer. I draped my arm along the back of the couch and rested my head on top of my arm.
“Stay just like that,” he whispered.
“Will it hurt?”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a mischievous smirk. “No. The venom feels good.” He brushed his lips across mine. “Very good.”
My lips parted on an intake, my body tingling from being so close to Luca again, like it came alive in the presence of its missing piece. He placed soft kisses along my jaw and nuzzled the space below my ear the way he’d done so many times before.
“I’ve dreamed about this,” he said, and the words tickled my neck. I tilted my head on instinct, craving more. He placed a kiss there and lingered. “Dreamed of pressing my fangs into you and tasting you.”
I shivered, his dark declaration as sinful a pleasure as his lips. He ran his tongue along the hollow of my neck where my pulse pounded for him. He closed his lips over the soft space in an open mouth kiss.
“Thank you,” he whispered against my skin.
A sharp pinch made me gasp. My eyes went wide, and my hand flew to Luca’s shoulder. He groaned, and the pinch transformed into a burning pressure. The sensation crept up my neck, following the path of my artery to my head before shooting back down. And with my heart’s next beat, pleasure spread through my veins like wildfire.
Each heartbeat heightened my sense of touch, and desire pooled in my core. Every press of his body against mine, every brush of skin on skin, created a surge of carnal bliss.
Luca’s tongue caressed my skin beneath his fangs as he drank, directing my blood into his mouth. With each pull on my neck, his fangs delivered more of his delicious venom, and animalistic sounds wrought from satisfaction rumbled through his chest.
His hand traveled up my leg to my back, and he pressed me closer, taking more of what he needed and I wanted to give. I clung to his shoulder, and my nails dug into his skin. High, flighty sighs and breathy gasps of pleasure escaped me as the heat in my veins continued to build. My body was on fire, alive with Luca’s venom, and my heart was full, bursting with intimacy. No more secrets, just our true selves connected like never before.
His mouth slowed, and he relaxed his grip. He pulled his fangs out of my neck, swept his tongue across the wounds, and kissed me there. I shivered.
He looked into my eyes. “You’re perfect,” he whispered.
Color had returned to his face, and his eyes flared a bright and brilliant crimson. His lips were swollen and pink, and the sharp tips of his fangs extended beyond a smile filled with adoration. Luca the blood demon was as beautiful as Luca the man.
He cupped my face and ran his thumb along my jaw. “How do you feel?”
Relaxed. Consumed with pleasure and hope. Utterly in love. I leaned into his touch. “Better now that I know you’ll be okay.”
He wrapped his fingers around my nape and pulled me into him, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to be okay.”
My heart squeezed. For me and for him. For the love we shared and the inevitable end to this brief moment of happiness. Because he wouldn’t be okay after I told him I was leaving. And still, it changed nothing.