Chapter 6
Six
Luca
She wants a divorce?
There’s no smile. No laughter.
She’s serious.
Well, tough shit.
“The hell you do. Riccis don’t get divorced.” I scowl and stride the distance between us, leaving little space. There’s not much for her to breathe without the heat of her lips practically on mine.
“Well, maybe I’m not cut out to be a Ricci!” She jabs my chest, her nose twitching.
I grab her wrist, pressing it against my heart. “You’ll always be a Ricci. You’re married to me, that’s for life. If you want protection from my father, then you stay married to me.”
Harper stares up at me defiantly. “I’m not afraid of Dante.”
I laugh, darkness seeping out of me. “You should be. Hell, princess, I’m afraid of him.”
She stomps her foot and smacks my chest with her free hand. “Quit calling me that!”
A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. I tilt my head, enjoying that I can rile her up with one simple term of endearment, which she hates.
“I’ll quit calling you princess when you get it through that thick skull of yours that you’re not the one in charge.”
Her eyes tighten, and I’ve definitely said the wrong thing.
She throws her other hand up at my face, but I’m quicker and I grab her wrist before she can land it across my cheek.
“You’re so irritating!” She fights my grip on her wrists. I back her up against the door to settle her down.
“Really? Coming from the woman who tried to have me arrested.” I stare into her darkened gaze, and she flinches.
“I didn’t … Luca, is that what you honestly think?” Her voice trembles, but it’s not from fear. She sighs and loosens her fighting grasp as her hands come to rest against my chest.
Staring at her is like staring into the sun, and it takes everything I have not to look away. The intensity is hot and overwhelming.
“Luca?” she whispers, and her fingers gradually move up to my cheek. But this time, she’s much more tender and gentler. I loosen my grip on her wrist as she caresses my face. “The blood from earlier, the fog in your eyes when you came home. Something happened.”
My jaw clenches, and my spine tingles. “I’m not discussing any of it with you.” I refuse to bring the words to my lips and speak them aloud, that I killed a man.
Flashes of blood still haunt my vision.
I can’t help but replay the scene with Massimo over and over again. It’s like a bad movie I can’t turn off.
“You don’t trust me.” Her words are sullen and her shoulders sink as she pulls back. Harper nods. “That’s fair.”
“How can I trust someone who goes behind my back? You should have talked to me before doing something so careless that could hurt all of us.” Anger returns, heat scalding my cheeks.
“I came clean to you that I stole the dragon—”
Is she serious? I laugh darkly and pull away from her, untangling and stepping back. This time, I need space.
“You came clean for your own self-preservation, after you stole from Dante and had gone to the police.”
She rolls her lips together but doesn’t answer.
Harper must know that I’m right because she’d be arguing with me if that weren’t the case. I hadn’t realized how much my princess liked to argue until we were wed, now it’s the one thing we’re best at.
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, frustrated.
“You should have come to me!”
She’s quiet, her tongue darts out, swiping across her top lip. Her stare won’t meet my intense scrutiny. She’s studying the mattress, or perhaps the bed linens, anything to keep from looking at me.
When she avoids my heated gaze, I break the distance between us and guide her chin up, forcing her to stare into my eyes.
Her breath catches in her throat, and I exhale loudly, the heat between us malleable. “I’m sorry.” Her voice is soft, tentative, hardly the epitome of apologies.
“Don’t apologize when you don’t mean it.” I drop my hand from her chin and glance away.
“I am truly sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.
I saw the dragon; it reminded me of Zeke’s, and I made an assumption that it belonged to Rylan.
You once mentioned that your father doesn’t hurt children, but then he kidnapped that little boy, and I still can’t get all of it out of my head.
I saw the news report, I know his family was murdered by Dante.
It’s awful. Your father can’t murder someone and just get away with it! ”
Harper is rambling and spiraling.
“What did you think would happen when you went to the police? That they’d take the stuffed dragon, run DNA, then come and arrest Dante?”
Her voice breaks. “Maybe.” Uncertainty clearly reaches her brow. “I hadn’t thought it all through,” she whispers. “I assumed they’d be eager to listen and want my help.”
Harper has no idea what damage she’s done. “Do you know what Dante does to those who betray him?”
“Throws them in that prison basement?” Harper guesses, forcing a smile. “You’d set me free, wouldn’t you?”
I tip my head back. Does she think I have control over my father? “You’re lucky he didn’t order his men to kill you when you came back to the compound.”
Harper exhales softly. “I don’t know how he found out. I was careful not to be followed.”
“Dante has men everywhere in the city, including ones who are on his payroll at the police department. You can’t trust anyone, Harper. Do you understand me? You can’t go around stealing from Dante or running what you think is evidence to the police station—”
“What I think is evidence…” she repeats slowly and steps away from me. She paces the length of the bedroom. “Luca, how was I to know that it didn’t belong to Rylan? Why is my son being threatened?” Her eyes widen and she bumps into the bed, sitting at the edge.
“You don’t need to worry anymore, they’re dead.”
She stares up at me. “If there are threats being made on my son, I ought to know about them!”
I sit beside her on the mattress, trying to keep my cool. “You can’t know about every threat. You’d always be worried, Harper. My job is to protect you.”
“No, Luca, your job is to go to school. You work part-time for your father.”
“Fine, protecting you is an added bonus,” I say, trying to make light of the situation.
She doesn’t smile. Her eyes are sullen, filled with pain. We’ve both caused so much heartbreak between us today.
Harper reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers together. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get mad,” she says.
I sigh. It’s not great when she’s starting a sentence off like that. I’m hesitant to ask, but I go ahead with it anyhow. “What is it?”
“When I was leaving the police station, a woman came up to me and gave me a business card. Her father runs a private investigative firm. She suggested that they might be able to help.”
“Help with what, Harper?” I try to keep my temper even, but I’m reeling inside.
She can’t leave it alone, can she?
When will she realize that stopping Dante isn’t an option? That keeping him in power protects all of us.
“Do you want to work for Dante? Has something changed?” Her gaze bores into mine and I’m forced to look away.
“I’m—” I contemplate how best to answer.
“The truth, Luca. Just give it to me straight.”
I lie back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, my legs dangling off the side of the mattress.
“I love you. I love Zeke. I want to keep my family safe. Would hockey be my preferred choice out of college? Absolutely, but I’m beginning to realize that I will end up working for Dante and I suppose I’ve made peace with that decision. ”
“How?” Harper shifts around on the bed, staring down at me. Her fingers stroke my jaw, and momentarily I close my eyes, leaning into her touch.
It’s hard to stay angry at her when she’s trying to look out for me. Even if it’s in some weird, fucked-up manner. “How have I made peace with it?” I ask, chancing a glance in her direction. I force a smile. “Is there another choice?”
She sighs. “I was hoping so, until Dante caught me.”
She’s referring to her afternoon visit to the police station.
“That isn’t going to fix anything. Putting him behind bars, it jeopardizes all of us, puts us all in danger and could get me tossed in beside him.”
Harper scoots back on the bed, drawing her legs up beside her. Her fingers move from my jaw down my neck. Her touch is warm and soothing, bringing my emotions to a calmer state, the reckless energy seeping out to a stillness.
“How would you end up in jail? What did he make you do?” Harper asks.
I open my mouth, then quickly close it.
I want to trust her, but not with what she did today.
“It’s better that you don’t know.”
“Luca, I can’t help you if you’re not honest with me.” Her eyes plead with me to tell her, but my heart holds back the truth.
I want to lean in and kiss her, but it takes too much energy to sit right now. Lying is more my speed, and I let my eyes drift closed.
She gently nudges my arm. “Stay awake with me.”
My eyelids flutter open. “I am.” I reach for her hips, pulling her down flush beside me, her face just mere inches from mine as she’s curled onto her side.
I lean closer, wanting to forget all of today: the fighting, the death, the bloodshed, those girls. Her proximity is surprisingly calming, even after our argument.
She rests her forehead against mine, the heat of her breath warm against my cheek. “I truly am sorry,” Harper whispers, and her voice breaks.
If she cries, I’ll fall apart.
I wrap both arms around her waist, pulling her against me. My lips crush hers, but it’s not enough.
It’s never enough with Harper.
I always crave more.
Rolling over, my weight above her, my body pushes her down into the mattress, and she wraps her legs around me. The shirt rides up, and I realize how little she’s wearing and how I have too many clothes on between us.
I climb off her, and she whimpers, “Luca?” Worry creases her brow, and I lean down, kissing it away before I lift the hem of my shirt and yank it over my head, tossing it across the room to the floor.
“Oh.” The smile adorns her face when she realizes I’m not leaving.