6. Brooks
CHAPTER 6
brOOKS
I knelt in front of Diego where he sat on the edge of the bed, assessing every inch of him. He’d sworn he was fine, and physically that seemed like it was true. Mentally, I wasn’t so sure. Diego’s whole body shook and his eyes kept jumping from the three men in our house, who were busy making bodies disappear, to the front door and then back to me.
Luca had suggested we pack bags and that Diego grab anything he needed that Luca couldn’t easily purchase for his system so he could work. At Luca’s mansion. Because that was, apparently, where we would be staying since it wasn’t safe here.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d agreed it wasn’t fucking safe. Those fuckers had found our home. We’d be much safer at Luca’s, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little psyched to stay there. He had a heated pool and two game rooms. Two! Not to mention a full gym and a range that could be used for both gun and knife target practice.
What annoyed me was how Luca had made the decision without even asking us what we wanted and then had immediately walked away to deal with everything else, leaving me with a panicky Diego.
Despite Luca’s order, because that was what it was, neither of us moved. I didn’t know if Diego was capable of it. I’d offer to pack up for him, but if I even thought about touching D’s setup, he’d probably have a heart attack, die, then come back as a ghost to haunt my ass for touching his shit.
“Can I touch you, D?” I really wanted to hug him, but I’d settle for any kind of physical contact. I knew better than to do it without asking though. I thought he was going to say no, but finally I got the tiniest of nods. Taking full advantage of it, I placed my hands on each of his thighs and squeezed.
“What do you need from me?” I asked him.
That got a little huff. “I-I have no fucking clue. Brooks, I-I don’t know if I can walk out the door.” Just saying the words had him shaking harder, and before I could do anything, he started to hyperventilate.
I sat up on my knees so we were eye level and moved my hands, carefully, to his arms. “Breathe, Diego. C’mon, you got this. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” I did a few deep breaths, even with my own lungs burning, until Diego finally copied me.
“That’s it. You’re doing great, D.” He narrowed his eyes, even through the panic. It was enough to have me relaxing some. If he could still glare, he wasn’t having a full-blown panic attack. He’d be okay.
It wasn’t until Diego’s breathing was almost normal and tears were flowing down both our faces that I realized we had an audience. At some point, Skye must’ve come back, and now all four guys were watching us with concern.
Diego’s face turned tomato red and he flopped on the bed in embarrassment. “Just fucking great.”
I climbed to my feet and stared down all of them, daring them to say anything.
Thankfully, they all had enough common sense to keep their mouths shut and not make fun of D, otherwise they’d see how proficient I was with my knives.
Wes was watching Diego, but it was with concern, not pity or disgust, so I didn’t call him on it. “What’s making you the most worried, Diego?”
Hmmm . . . I honestly didn’t expect that question.
Diego groaned and covered his face, but he answered. “Leaving. I know I need to . . . I just— Fuck. I just can’t.”
“He hasn’t left the house since Pop’s stroke a year and a half ago.” And his panic attack had been so bad that he’d had to be sedated when we’d gotten to the hospital. “Not even to go to our parents’ place.”
It was clear none of them had realized how serious the situation was when I’d said he had anxiety about leaving. I didn’t have time to explain it, and besides, it was Diego’s story to tell.
I sat on the bed next to him. “Do you want your meds? It might help?”
Diego groaned again. “I hate taking them. They always make me fall asleep and then leave me groggy and out of it.”
“I know. It would be just this once though. You can take it then pack up your stuff before it hits, and then by the time you’re done, they should’ve hit your system.”
“Ugh.” Diego scrubbed his face. “Yeah, okay.”
“I’ll get them.” But Wes stopped me before I got up.
“I’ll go. You stay here with Diego.”
Um, okay . . . Still, I took him up on the offer because D looked relieved not to be stuck alone with the other guys. I told Wes where they were and he left the room.
I forced myself to look at Luca. His expression was very neutral, but the way he was staring at me wasn’t. I swallowed and looked away before I forgot every reason why we were a bad idea and threw myself at him.
“So, what next?” I asked, staring at the floor.
“You and Diego pack up anything you need. Just take enough for a few days. If it can be bought, don’t bother. Diego, same goes with your system. Take things that can’t easily be replaced. We’ll get you set up exactly how you like. Then once his meds kick in, we’ll leave. Our clean up guy is on his way and will make sure any trace of this happening is gone. Once we’re back at our place, we’ll work on identifying who these bastards are and who they worked for and organizing a plan going forward. First worry is getting the two of you safe.” Luca’s jaw tightened, like he didn’t want to continue. “Are Dave and Emma still at their old place?”
My mind immediately went back to the last time I’d been in that house with Luca and how perfect everything had been, until it hadn’t. Fuck, not thinking about that.
Diego didn’t seem to have any interest in contributing to the conversation, so I answered. “They live there, but right now they’re in Phoenix. Dad’s physical therapist recommended they go there to help with some of the arthritis he developed.They’re doing a therapy there that might help him not need the wheelchair all the time. They won’t be back till the end of the month.
Luca looked relieved. “Okay, good. They should be safe. That way we can focus on the two of you.”
Wes returned with the meds and a bottle of water and handed them to me. I smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you. And thank you for saving my brother. You don’t know us and you still showed up.”
Wes smiled softly at me, his husky blue eyes holding me in their orbit. What they fuck was it with all these guys having beautiful eyes? “Of course. Luca is like a brother to me. We always have each other’s backs.”
Skye snorted at that, and Maverick rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. Okay . . . what was that about? The look Luca gave them shut them both up really fucking quick. I still had questions though. I’d have to get Skye alone later to get the tea. He was my best chance.
Once Diego took his meds, I practically dragged him to his office so he could pack while he was still completely coherent. While he dealt with that, I went to the closet in the gym and threw a bunch of clothes for us in a duffel.
I felt eyes on me, and without looking, I knew it was Luca. I ignored him as I took an armful of underwear and socks and shoved it in the bag.
I could practically feel the judgement from where he was standing. I whirled on him. “What?” I snapped.
Luca licked his sexy fucking lips. “Nothing. I was just checking to see if you needed anything.”
I scoffed. “Bullshit. You wanna say something. Just say it.”
Luca sighed heavily and walked farther into the room. He took a seat on the bench press. “There are a lot of things I want to say, trouble, and I have no right to say any of them.”
My breath was punched out of me. Trouble. I used to love when Luca called me that. It had never felt like an insult, like when my teachers or doctors or anyone else had said it. It was special, like I was his. Even before the name had taken on a new meaning in my brain and it had been totally innocent, I’d loved it. Now, though, all it made me want to do was destroy everything in this room and let him know how much trouble I could really be.
Of course, that would be dumb, since this shit had cost us a small fortune, even buying it from yard sales and Facebook Marketplace. I wasn’t about to tear it up. Still. I grabbed the closest thing I could find, a hoodie, rolled it into a ball, and shoved it in the duffel. Luca flinched.
“You have no right to call me trouble either,” I finally mumbled once I had my feelings under control.
“Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry, Brooks. It just slipped out.” I shrugged. “Listen, can we talk? We’re going to be living and working together, at least for the next few weeks, so I’d like to clear the air.”
I zipped up the bag and threw it over my shoulder before finally meeting Luca’s eyes. Why the fuck was he so tall? All of these fuckers. At least Skye was regular-person height. I hated having to look up to Luca, something I’d fucking loved before, but like everything else that has to do with this man, it was now ruined.
“You had three years to clear the air, Luca. I really don’t want to hear whatever excuses you have. That was a long time ago. I’m over it.” Biggest fucking lie. “Your house is fucking huge. I’m sure we can avoid each other, and when it has to do with work or anything to do with our safety, I’ll defer to you. I trust you when it comes to this. That’s why I came to you. Anything else, just—just don’t.”
Luca frowned. He stood up and took a step toward me. I took a step back. He froze, looking pained. A pang of guilt hit me but I pushed it down. I wasn’t going to feel guilty about setting boundaries. My therapist would be so proud of me.
“Brooks. I really feel like we should talk about it. Let me help you understand.”
Was he serious? “Fuck you, Luca. I need to help Diego before he passes out from the meds.” I shoulder-passed the arrogant asshole before he could say anything else and went to find my brother.
We somehow managed to get everything loaded in Wes’s car and Diego in the back seat of Luca’s SUV before he completely passed out. By the time Maverick finished talking to the cleanup guys and we finally left our property, he was dead asleep. I sat in the back row with him, in case he woke up and panicked. Diego’s legs were resting on mine and his head was mashed against the window. I lightly squeezed his ankle, needing the connection. Like before, Maverick drove and Luca sat in the front seat. Skye had gone with Wes, so I had a perfect view to where Luca was watching me through the mirror.
Unable to bear it any longer, I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears from coming. Fuck, what was wrong with me? So what, so he’d broken my fucking heart? No big deal. Shit happened. I’d been through way worse than Luca walking out on me after taking my virginity. I needed to suck it up, get over him and move on.
I needed to go to a club. Get my ass beat and fucked into oblivion. I was sure Luca would lose his ever-loving mind if I tried to leave and go out, but I needed to do something if I was going to survive this. There might’ve been people out there looking to kill me, but I had a much higher chance of living through that than I did being this close to Luca Castellano again.