20. Luca
Chapter 20
Luca
A urora’s name lit up my phone which meant one of two things: she was going to yell at me for who knows what or it was Roman trying to reach me.
“Where are you?” she asked when I answered, and I could picture her green eyes narrowing in agitation.
“And here I thought you were the nice one,” I mused, staring at my father’s limp body. I’d come to visit him again and the sight of his bloodied face brought me pure joy. Courtesy of your one and only.
“Maybe if you weren’t late for dinner, I’d still be the nice one .”
Right, the goodbye dinner for Irina. A farewell I had no intention being a part of because she wasn’t leaving. I wouldn’t let her.
“I’m on my way.” I sighed before hanging up.
I set the bottle of wine on the kitchen island in front of Aurora as she feigned annoyance.
“A peace offering for being late.” I smiled at her, knowing she could never stay mad at me. Honestly, I think she’s always been one for dramatics, so I play the part to keep her happy.
Ever since she came into our lives, she’s been a light, more so because of her ability to tame the beast, as in her husband.
“You’re lucky it’s white and not red.” She snatched the bottle and put it in the fridge to chill.
“You traumatized me the last time I brought red.”
The sound of her chuckling came out playful as she peered at me. “You were scared, huh?”
“ Terrified,” I joked, bulging my eyes for theatrics.
“Well, take your terror into the dining room. Everyone is already seated.”
“Will Enzo be here tonight? I haven’t seen him around lately.”
Her smile faded as she planted her hands on the kitchen island. “He’s not doing well with Sofia being in rehab.”
I nodded my head in understanding. It wasn’t a secret that Sofia was unwell—had been for a while now. And that Enzo had become a shell of a ghost because of it.
We only hoped that whatever it was, they’d get through it.
“I’ll check up on him when I can.”
“Thanks, Luca.” The green in her eyes dampened into a forest hue. “He’ll be happy to see you. ”
After a few minutes of helping her around in the kitchen, we joined the others.
Irina was to my left, her presence so beautiful, I couldn’t help but rest my hand on her thigh. Touching her was never enough, I’d always craved more and more.
Her face turned a light shade of pink as I moved my hand further up her thigh, my fingers resting in between.
Memories of last night resurfaced, and I had no doubt that she was doing the same.
Roman stood abruptly, his chair scratching against the floor and catching our attention.
“A toast to Irina,” he said, holding his glass up, a dark aura radiating from him. As he walked around the table, I tracked his movements with suspicion until he stood behind her. In swift motion, he held a gun to the back of her head. “For being a fucking liar.”
The room stilled, the air thickening with tension as all sounds ceased.
It was on instinct—a reflex as I stood and pulled out my own gun and held it to Roman’s head. “Put your gun down, brother.”
A flicker of dismay and surprise crossed his features before it hardened into anger. “She means nothing to you.”
And that was all it took for my composure to shatter. “She means everything to me.” I breathed hard as adrenaline coursed through my veins. “She is everything.”
We stared at each other as understanding dawned on him. He didn’t have to say it for me to feel the void of my betrayal.
“I invited you into my home and accepted you as family.” He removed his attention from me, speaking directly to Irina as she stayed seated. “Only for you to manipulate us like the snake you turned out to be.”
“Roman,” I warned. He was my best friend, but I wouldn’t allow him to speak to Irina with that tone.
“Shut up, Luca,” he seethed, his body rigid. “This is none of your business.”
“Put your guns down,” Aurora demanded in distress, rounding the table to where we stood. “ Please .”
Nicolai surprised me by standing from his seat and inserting himself between Irina and Roman. “Not here. . . ” Pain marred his features as he looked at him almost pleadingly.
Irina tilted her head to the side—uncaring of being held at gunpoint—and peered at our youngest member. “You broke our promise?” And the hurt in her voice was enough for me to feel a fiery rage settle in my bones.
Nico didn’t meet her gaze, and I was at a loss for what had conspired between them and this promise .
“Someone tell me what the hell is going on.” Aurora’s voice came out strained. “Right now!”
“Don’t do this.” Irina peered at Aurora, but her words were directed at Roman. “She’s pregnant .”
The tension in the room was scathing, and it was stretching thin, on the verge of snapping.
“Tell her.” Two words from Roman, carrying underlying steel as he pressed the end of his gun further into her scalp.
Irina’s face portrayed an internal war as her gaze flicked to me and I didn’t think she realized that her eyes were searching mine for comfort .
As if she knew the predicament we found ourselves in, she shook her head in defeat and my heart pinched tightly.
“I’m the daughter of Ivan Morozov,” she whispered, averting her eyes from me. “The Pakhan’s daughter.”
My blood ran cold in disbelief as I stumbled back. That was impossible.
“And Nicolai is my brother.”
There was a ringing noise blaring in my ears as we all stood stunned by her words.
Irina being the daughter of the Bratva’s leader was one thing but Nicolai being her brother. . . that was catastrophic.
It suddenly made sense why Roman appeared to be a second away from pulling the trigger.
She wasn’t in Italy to visit her best friend; she was here to take Nicolai away.
Everything she told me was a lie, and I fell for it.
“Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t spill your disgusting blood across my table.” Roman asked.
I pulled the safety off my gun, the sound powerful. “You do that and yours will follow.”
I hated Irina in this moment because even though she played me like a fool, I would always carry this burning need to protect her.
“I told you to stay away from her, Luca.” His eyes had turned a dark shade of midnight, a brutal current blazing in them. “And now you’re defending a traitor.”
“You don’t order me around.” I shook my head, fury rippling in my veins. “Not when it comes to her.”
Aurora wrapped her hand around his biceps, urging him to calm down. “There must be some sort of explanation to all of this.”
Irina eye’s glossed over in an ocean blue as she watched her best friend defend her even now when she’d hidden her true identity.
If I knew anything about this woman, it was her love for Aurora, and I knew it must’ve killed her keeping this secret from her.
“What explanation, anima mia? She’s a fraud who tried and failed to take away my so- ” He paused, closing his eyes as the muscle in his jaw worked. “Nicolai.”
“Irina.” Aurora gazed at her, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head in bewilderment. “Why?”
“I’m sorry for lying to you but I won’t apologize for who I am,” she stated before turning to face Roman, the end of his gun now pressing against her forehead. “This is your one and only chance to kill me.”
I stared between the two of them, my skin buzzing from uncertainty. I swear if he pulled that trigger. . .
“If you don’t, you’re going to wish you had.”
Aurora stepped back as if she’d been slapped in the face. I could see the perplexed look in her features as she saw a side of Irina she hadn’t seen before.
This was Irina Morozov, daughter of the Pakhan.
Nico was the one who interjected and held a firm grip on the gun, pushing it away from her head. “She’s my sister. Please, Roman.”
The air became dense as the minutes ticked by before Roman spoke again. “Get her off my property.”
Irina didn’t waste a second before she stalked out of the dining room and disappeared .
If she thought this was how we’d part ways, she was fucking delusional.
I took a few steps in the direction she left in before Roman’s voice boomed in the air. “If you follow her, we’re no longer brothers.”
His words hung in the air between us, our impending downfall.
There was a calm that had settled within me, and I knew there was no turning back from this.
It was pouring when I stepped outside, the rain seeping through my clothes in seconds.
I spotted Irina shutting the trunk of her car before making her way to the driver’s side.
As she reached for the handle of the door, I slapped my palm against it to stop her from opening it.
“What about us?” I asked, my voice nearly drowned out by the rain pattering against the pavement.
She stilled; her blonde hair plastered against her back.
“I don’t care about any of it. Whose daughter you are or what you’ve done. None of it matters to me,” I pushed, willing her to meet my gaze. “I’d raise hell for you if it meant you were mine.”
My chest hurt from how hard it was pounding. If she left, I had a feeling she’d take my heart with her.
“You’ve completely and utterly ruined me, Irina.”
Her sharp intake of breath was emphasized by the first strike of thunder.
I stepped around, my own breathing growing erratic as I cupped her delicate face in between my hands and rested my forehead against hers. “ I am yours. ”
The storm continued to pick up speed, cooling the heat radiating off me.
Her face was distraught, piercing blue eyes darting between mine in helplessness. She curled her fingers around my wrists and squeezed. “But I am not yours, Luca.”
My heart skidded to a stop as I nodded my head. “You are.”
“Do you hear yourself?” She laughed cruelly, pulling back but still holding onto me. “You sound crazy.”
“You’ve made me crazy!” I blazed at her, tilting her head up to cement that into her brain. “You drive me insane with your denial and your fucking lies.”
“Then what would you like me to say?” She squinted against the unforgiving rain. “We fucked once, and it meant nothing. We are nothing.”
“You’re deflecting. It was more than that and you know it.”
She’d been vulnerable with me and trusted me with her pain. And even though she was lying again, the bite of her words sank deep into my skin.
“Am I? Or are you too dense to not know when someone doesn’t want you.” Her mouth pursed as if contemplating her next words.
She completely stepped away from my embrace, her eyes frosting over in malice as she regarded me, and it felt as if a part of me disintegrated.
“Your own father didn’t want you, littering your body with scars to prove it.”
Thunder reverberated in the distance as a tender pang struck me. I stumbled back, my face slacking as her words pierced me.
I’d never taken any of her viciousness to heart, but this? This was cruel . I’d opened up to her about my past and she used it against me, plunging a knife so deep into my chest, I felt it mold into every crevice.
There weren’t any words left in me to give her, none that would change her mind and make her understand that it didn’t have to be this way.
With one last glance in her direction, I walked away. I was done chasing after her when all she did was string me along.
If she ached for me as intensely as I did for her, she would come to me.
This time I wouldn’t be the one to pursue her.