Chapter 17
Seventeen
Harper
“How dare you!” I seethe.
Luca plants my feet firmly on the ground in our bedroom, the door kicked shut behind him.
He forces a smile, there’s no anger in his stance, and I suspect that he has little remorse as well.
“Is this about the game?” Luca asks.
“It’s about you keeping secrets from me, after you explicitly promised that you wouldn’t do that!” I stand toe-to-toe with him.
Luca is so much taller that he towers above me. But I’m not the least bit intimidated by him. I jab my finger into his chest.
“You lied to me!”
He grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers, trying to disarm me; although my only weapon is my finger. It’s not like I’m actually going to cause him any harm.
“I kept things from you, yes, but you can’t expect me to tell you everything that Dante has me working on.”
My mouth drops. “This isn’t about Dante. It’s about you and me,” I growl, and he moves to sit at the edge of the mattress, letting me be the one towering over him.
He reaches for my hips, keeping me close, his touch warm and inviting, but I shove his hands away.
“You can’t use sex to get out of this argument.”
Luca quirks a grin. “Can’t I?” He raises an eyebrow and tugs off his shirt, throwing it at me.
“You’re an asshole sometimes.” I shove him onto his back, straddling his waist. “I ought to fucking tease you until you explode.”
“Who’s the one being a brat now?” He smiles up at me, like he just won this round.
The hell he didn’t.
I move my hips against his, teasing him, watching his eyes shut mercilessly as he craves the pleasure building up between us.
“We’re not having sex tonight,” I snap.
“Tell that to your hips.” His voice is raspy and his eyes have darkened as he runs his fingers over the hem of my shirt, his fingers slipping under the material, grazing bare flesh.
His touch is electrifying, but I force down the building desire within me.
“Tell me everything you know about that guy with the tattoo. The one who is after my son!” I slam Luca’s hands down against the bed, keeping him from turning this moment sexual, as I have him pinned down under my weight.
“He’s Massimo’s son. I called Dante earlier, and it looks like he’s taken over the family business of the DeLuca’s and he’s calling the shots. He wants Zeke because we killed his father.”
“We?” I stare down at Luca, my grip loosening only slightly.
“I did it. I killed him. It was all me.” He stares up at me, into my soul, and I can’t tell if he’s taking the blame for Dante, or he quite literally pulled the trigger and murdered a man.
I roll off his body, needing space, air to breathe, and I climb off the bed.
“Where are you going, Harper?” There’s worry in his voice and for good reason.
He just told me he murdered a man!
“This is revenge, some sort of vengeance,” I say, trying to gather all the facts even though Luca keeps hiding truths from me. “He wants Zeke as some sort of sick payback.”
Breathing heavily, Luca sits up and nods. “I believe so, but you don’t have to worry. We have surveillance around the house, there’s always one of us with you. Tomorrow, I’m taking you to the shooting range and signing you up for self-defense classes in the evening.”
I certainly hadn’t noticed having a personal bodyguard every time I left the house. But now that I think back, I can’t remember the last time that I was alone. “What?”
He pauses for a moment, trying to ascertain my question.
“There are cameras outside the property. We’ve got Dante’s men watching over the house, and I’ve been talking with him about—”
“No.” I cut him off before he can tell me what he’s been discussing with Dante.
That man despises me.
“No, what?” Luca shakes his head, meeting my stare.
“I don’t want Dante’s help. He’s the reason for this mess. He’s the reason my son’s life is in danger!”
Luca runs a hand through his hair. He’s trying to remain calm, I can see the inner turmoil cross his face. “He just wants to help.”
“I don’t want his help,” I grit between clenched teeth. “I blame him.”
“Fine. Blame him all you want, but he’s the reason we’re all living under this roof, here to protect you.”
I’m taken aback by his remark. That doesn’t sound right. It certainly doesn’t sound like Dante.
“Excuse me?”
Luca glances away.
Silence.
“Don’t you dare hold back now!” I storm across the room, my hand gripping his arm, pleading with him for the truth. “Tell me everything, Luca!”
“The scholarships, at least the hockey ones, were all orchestrated by my father. It was his way to ensure my allegiance and that I’d join the family business after college.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.” I drop my hold on his arm.
“Tell me about it,” he grumbles. “My future, laid out for me without my consent.” He stands, rage tearing through him, his jaw clenches, his fists tightening at his sides as he struggles to keep his composure.
Each word that leaves his mouth is edged with frustration and helplessness, a storm threatening to break at any moment.
“Well, tell him no. Don’t follow in his footsteps. Leave him, quit. Walk away. He doesn’t own you and he can’t lay a finger on Zeke. We won’t let him.”
Luca lets out a bitter laugh, the sound jagged and hallow. “I can’t walk away.” His words send a shiver down my spine. The darkness flows so easily out of him that it startles me.
I’m not afraid of him. His father, on the other hand, Dante frightens me. “What the hell, Luca? Why not?” I ask, wanting to know what’s stopping him. “You can apply for financial aid. If it’s your father’s money hanging over you—”
“It’s not his money,” he growls and glances down at the floor, the heaviness hanging over him like a storm cloud.
Luca avoids my stare.
He won’t look at me, the guilt weighing heavily on him.
My heart hammers like a pounding, steady rain. I’d failed to see it earlier, or perhaps I wanted to ignore it.
“You murdered a man,” I whisper, remembering what he’d told me minutes earlier.
His tongue darts out, and he chances a glance up at me. “Are you scared yet?”