CHAPTER THIRTY
EDEN
Last year, I watched a holiday movie where the heroine had to learn how to send covert texts. Her phone would be in her pocket, and she’d have to slip her hand into the hidden space and text her partner—the handsome spy training her to be his accomplice.
At the time, I thought it was funny and cute. I never thought I’d have to do something similar a year later, but that’s exactly what happened the moment Luca’s phone was in my grasp in the car.
Brief glimpses of his contacts appeared before I tilted the phone, so our driver couldn’t see the screen’s telltale light, then my thumb slid across the glass to form one word. Fabian. I hit SEND and prayed one of his brothers would be able to decipher the message’s meaning.
What if I sent gibberish?
Everyone knows about phones’ tendencies to autocorrect. Plus, my hand was none too steady since a gun was pointed our way.
It’s too late to worry now.
Especially since both of our cells were confiscated the moment we stepped into the fake spa in the basement.
In another life, I might think this is an excellent use of the extensive, white space.
A relaxing oasis from life’s stresses. Unfortunately, this is reality.
One dominated by the mafia feud between two brothers.
I swear Fabian is trying to destroy every stress relief tactic I know. First, essential oils like eucalyptus. Then, those ASMR videos. And now spas.
Luca’s palm cups the back of my head as Fabian rants about their father and his preference for his eldest son. My jaw aches from being kept so wide for so long, but I don’t dare release Luca. I don’t want to push Fabian into the next phase of his plan.
“You’re doing so well, carissima .” His low tone forms a comforting bubble around me, settling some of my nerves. He’s talking about more than my blowjob skills, because it’s a miracle I’m not hyperventilating.
After being kidnapped.
Again.
The only silver lining this time is Luca’s presence. But we’re still screwed. Literally. Because Fabian, the sick bastard, wants us to film a porno before shipping me off to another twisted pervert who purchases women against their will.
Bile rises in the back of my throat.
I’m going to throw up.
No, you can’t.
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.
God, I should’ve stuck to my old mantra. My life might have been boring, but I’d been safe.
And alone.
Would you really want to trade away the moments you’ve had with Luca?
My mind doesn’t have time to formulate a reply before the door atop the staircase crashes open, causing me to lurch backward with a choking cough, leaving Luca’s wet cock to bob in the air.
“What’s the meaning of this? What the hell are you doing, Fabian?
” Enzo’s booming voice reverberates through the room.
He and three soldiers file down the steps and process the scene before them.
Considering Fabian’s feelings toward his father, I’m not sure if Enzo’s arrival is a good or bad thing, but at least it’s taken Fabian’s attention off us.
Luca tucks himself back into his slacks and helps me to my feet, sliding me protectively behind his hulking frame. I swipe at my swollen lips and swallow the lump of terror in my throat. Enzo and three men versus Fabian and his contingent of thugs aren’t good odds.
“Ah, Father, nice of you to join us.” Fabian pins a hateful glare on his dad as his men move to create a wall of weaponry between the two men.
Thankfully, Luca and I are forgotten for the time being, something my husband seems keenly aware of as he slowly backs us to the opposite side of the room, the massage bed creating a measly barrier.
“I received an interesting call from Petrov. He thought there might be trouble between you and Luca. It looks like he was right.”
Relief pours through me. Dmitri got my short message and sent Enzo to help. That must mean Blackthorn and the rest of the Blackchapel Bastards are on their way, too. We’ll be saved as long as we stay alive long enough. A slim possibility with all the guns held aloft in the room.
“Of course, you decided to ride to the rescue for dear Luca, the prodigal son,” Fabian snaps. “He’s not the next don. I am. Your legitimate heir.”
“Yet he’s twice the man you’ll ever be,” Enzo counters.
Shoot… Shit . He should not be baiting Fabian. The man is already on edge.
“Fuck you!” The blast of a gun ignites a powder keg of violence as Enzo flinches then crumples from a bullet to his chest. A spray of red mists the air where he stood, and a scream explodes from my lips.
Strong hands haul me to the floor as Luca blankets me with his body. His sturdy frame crushes me to the marble tile. “Stay down, Butterfly. I’ll die before I let something happen to you.”
That’s what I fear.
I don’t want to lose Luca. I don’t want him sacrificing himself for me. Because I love the overprotective man.
I love my husband.
Shouts of “FBI!” storm into focus, distracting me from the soul-deep realization.
FBI?
“FBI! Lower your weapons now!” A swat team sweeps into the room with raised rifles, followed by men and women in blue jackets with yellow block lettering.
A couple of Fabian’s men attempt to stand their ground but are quickly cut down.
Fabian is one of the rebels, though it doesn’t look like he got hit by a kill shot.
He’s rolling on the ground clutching his bleeding leg with a groan.
“We need an ambulance sent to…” An agent rattles out the house address as his colleague breaks from the group arresting the men still alive and approaches us.
“Special Agent Morris. Are you two okay? Do we need another ambo?”
Luca cautiously gets to his feet, and I gratefully accept his hand to stand on trembling legs. “No, I don’t think so. Eden?”
“I’m fine. What happened?”
The FBI agent glances between us, the swath of dead bodies, and handcuffed criminals.
“We’ve been investigating the D’Amora organization for years, but a random tip about a local trafficking ring put us on Fabian’s trail.
Our informant said something was going down today, so we were already preparing to storm the castle, so to speak.
When you two showed up, then Enzo, we knew it was time to act. ”
“Thank god you did.” I exhale a relieved sigh. And thank god they took their random tip—probably sent by Rafe—seriously.
“We’ll need your statements before you’ll be free to go, but you can wait outside while we clean this up.” Special Agent Morris gestures to the chaotic scene around us. The scent of blood and eucalyptus oil hangs in the air, and I breathe through my nose, the noxious fumes giving me a headache.
“Thanks, we could use the fresh air.” Luca tips his chin in a goodbye for now then hustles me out the exterior basement door the FBI breached. Yellow caution tape already forms a barrier around the mansion, and red and blue strobe lights paint the surrounding trees in color.
I can only imagine the gossip this will churn up with the neighbors. Even though they’re spread out, there’s no hiding the flashing lights and loud sirens heading this way.
“Guess it’s a good thing you plan on dismantling the Boston Family if the feds have been on their tail,” I murmur, randomly latching onto that bit of news.
Luca tugs my coat sides tighter together as a shiver wracks my body, but I don’t think it’s the weather seeping through the wool cloth. I think shock may finally be settling in as my adrenaline wears off.
“The feds are always investigating potential mob ties. Who knows how close they were to anything concrete before Fabian decided to go rogue.”
“Are the feds on to Blackthorn, you think?” The new worry compounds my already shot nerves.
“Not as far as I know, but we’ve got an inside man.” Luca grins at the admission.
“Of course you do.” Luca and his brothers are master planners. They don’t go off half-cocked like Fabian did. According to Allie, Mathias is particularly anal about ensuring their safety and secrecy.
Once we’re on the outskirts of the bustling mix of local cops and FBI agents, Luca faces me and cups my cheeks. “Are you sure you’re okay? I could have lost you in there. And what he made us do. What you had to do—”
I place my finger over his lips to stop his guilt-ridden speech.
“Like I told that special agent, I’m fine.
Shaken up and indefinitely put off from ASMR massage videos, but fine.
You protected me as best you could in there.
” Wrapping my arms around his waist, I hug him close, comforted by his warmth.
The steady rhythm of his heart. Signs of his life—safe and unharmed. “What about you?”
He strokes the hair at the back of my head and presses a kiss to the tangled crown. My poor updo didn’t survive the night. “I’m still processing everything, but I’m okay. Fabian won’t bother us anymore with his upcoming prison sentence.”
“True… But what about your dad? I saw them doing CPR on him. Do you think he’s dead? That’s a lot to deal with—your half-brother killing your father.”
“We’ve only recently reconnected.” He shrugs, though there’s a tinge of something else in his voice.
Forced nonchalance. Like he’s trying to convince himself that he doesn’t care what happens to Enzo.
“It’s not like I didn’t plan my own act of revenge against him with my brothers.
This just removes one more brick in The Syndicate foundation. ”
“Luca…” I drop my head back to meet his shuttered gaze.
Powering through the sudden fatigue weighing on my limbs, I reiterate the points of our last conversation about his dad.
“It’s okay to change your mind. To love your dad.
Or to not hate him as much as you used to.
The two of you have spoken a lot recently, and he gave you those cufflinks from your mom… ”
“I know. We’ll see how—”
“Luca! Eden!” Mathias’s powerful voice carries on the wind, and we turn to find the entire Blackchapel Bastards contingent, plus Allie, converging on us.
How they got past the yellow police tape, I have no clue, but I’m thankful to see them.
“What the hell happened? Dmitri texted us that he got a weird message from you, then Rafe tracked your phone here. Are you both alright?”
Stupid Fabian.
It didn’t even occur to me that Rafe could track our phones. By the time he had his thugs confiscate them, it was probably too late to turn them off or destroy them before the signals bounced off the nearest cell towers.
I let Luca explain the events of the evening, preferring to sink quietly into his comforting embrace. All I want is to sleep for the next twenty-four hours, but first we need to talk to the FBI and relay our story a second time tonight.
It’s bound to be hours before I’m cocooned in the safety of Blackchapel Manor and our cozy bed. Hours before I’m free to tell Luca the truth I realized earlier.
That I’ve fallen for my husband.