20. Chapter Twenty
20
Luca
We didn't make it to the bed.
I was still too keyed up over my conversation with Dante, and before that, the phone call from Julian. Asshole was about to go off half-cocked to Sal before Dante and I were ready. Not that Julian knew anything about what we had planned.
See, the thing about running a coup under the boss-man's nose is that you had to play it close to your chest. You couldn't go telling every Tom, Dick and Harry that you were going to take the throne, because next thing you know, Tom's running to the king with his mouth hanging open, telling him you're after his crown. Then you're the one with your head on the chopping block. Or a bullet in the brain at the bottom of Boston Harbor, as it were. And Julian with his moral high ground, irony of irony, given his chosen profession, would never be a part of something as backhanded as mutiny. Which was why Dante and I were leaving him out of it. Clean house, then bring Julian in. Let him do the job he's good at and let us do what we do best: protect our interests.
The FBI angle was another twist I unfortunately saw coming, but had hoped wouldn't happen. The fact that Sofia was now tangled up in all this made my blood boil...
...but as Sofia led me into the bedroom, my blood was heating for another reason, and what do you know? Those pesky worries and fears flew right out the window.
I was running on borrowed time, and I'd be damned if I was going to miss one second with her.
And right now I wanted nothing more than to feel Sofia's body pressed against mine, to bury my cock balls-deep inside of her as the water streamed over us and washed it all away. I'd fantasized about taking her in the shower ever since we moved in together. So much wasted opportunity.
Our hands were frantic as our clothes hit the floor, both of us breathing heavily by the time we stumbled into the shower. The hot water sent steam billowing around us, Sofia's naked skin glistening and her hair wet as it slicked down her back.
She moaned as I picked her up and pinned her against the wall, spreading her legs around me as she lowered onto my cock. I sank inside her heat, gripping her round hips in my hands and driving into her in one long thrust. She arched into me, throwing her head back, and the pulse of the hot water sent ripples of pleasure straight down to my balls.
I fucked her hard, with deep, brutal thrusts, our slick skin sliding together. She whimpered in my ear as I ground my pelvis against hers, the wet sound of flesh-on-flesh joining the hiss of the shower, our breathy moans filling the tiny stall. There was nothing between us now, no barriers, no lies, just her soft flesh, and my cock, our sweat, our tears.
She came hard, pulsing around me, and I felt her shudder, her thighs trembling around my waist. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open as I kept driving into her, working her through her climax, feeling my own nearing.
I was a man on the edge, and Sofia was all that stood in the way.
I didn't last much longer before I exploded inside of her. My vision blurred and I clung to her, letting myself get lost in her scent, her touch, her taste, all those soft, gentle things that made me want to keep going, keep living, just to be near her.
She was my anchor, and without her...
I wouldn't make it. Without her, there was nothing to keep me from falling apart. Without her, I didn't know if there'd be a reason to try.
Sofia was my reason to live, and without her, I was a dead man walking.
I held her, letting her ride out the aftershocks as she trembled in my arms. I was still hard and aching, and I didn't want to leave her warmth. I never wanted to leave her warmth.
"I'm not done with you yet," I said. I reached behind me to turn the shower off, and then I lifted her out, her body wrapped up in a towel, safe in my arms. I carried her to bed and laid her down, then took the towel and slowly dried her. She watched me as I worked, her eyes hazy and content, but as I got lower and knelt between her legs to dry her there, she began to squirm, and her breath hitched.
"Luca..."
"Yes, sweetheart?" I looked up at her, a wicked gleam in my eye as I gently spread her legs and ran the terrycloth over her cunt. She was so beautiful, her skin pink from the warm water, her lips red and puffy from kissing.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking care of you." I set the towel aside and kissed her thighs, savoring her little whimpers.
"Luca..."
I nipped the tender flesh of her thigh, making her jump. "Yes?"
"I want to...I need..." She was stammering, struggling to catch her breath, her eyes molten with heat. I wanted to take her right there, to claim her again, but I wasn't going to. Not yet.
I wasn't going to ruin her with the words I was holding back. But there is more than one way to tell someone you love them.
Slowly. Achingly. Breathless whimpers and gasps, soft moans. I worshiped her body with my tongue, my fingers, my heart and my soul. I gave to her everything I had, everything I'd ever wanted, filling her so completely, thrusting inside her with a slow, tortuous force as if I could burrow inside her body and take up residence next to her heart. In those moments we had, with her naked in my arms and me inside her, I told her how I felt in the only way left to me, in the language we had never spoken. And she told me the same, every gasping breath, every shiver.
And when I finally came inside her, I knew that I would give her everything, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
Even if it killed me.
After, when she lay limp and blissed out beneath me, I curled my body against hers and rested my head against her breast, listening to the beat of her heart as it slowed. I let myself sink into her, my eyes drifting closed, her body pressed against mine, and for one moment, I was whole.
For one moment, I was at peace.
But, of course, it was too good to last.
My phone rang. Dante. Fuck. I checked the time, Sofia stirring next to me in bed. It was after midnight. I was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but if he was calling, it must be important. I slid out of bed, careful not to wake Sofia, and took the call.
"Yeah."
"Luca." Dante's voice was tight and clipped. "Julian's in the hospital. Sal had him beaten."
Jesus fucking Christ. "What happened? How bad?"
"Bad enough. Broken arm and nose, cracked ribs. Concussion. Some internal bleeding that the docs are 'keeping an eye on', whatever the hell that means. You need to get down here, I've got to get back to the Compound. Julian ran his fool mouth off and got the shit kicked out of his for it, Sal is fucking livid, and Dominic's not too far behind. It's mass fucking hysteria there."
I heard the click of a lighter, a sharp intake of breath. "You want me to come there instead? To the compound, talk sense into him?"
"No. Stay with the idiot. I've got this under control." Dante's tone was hard and flat, his 'I'm about to kill someone' voice, but it brokered no argument from me. Dante could handle himself. I'd be of more use helping Julian.
"Call me if you need backup," I said and ended the call.
I turned and saw Sofia sitting up in bed, her arms crossed over her chest, her face pale. "What's wrong?"
I sighed and tucked the phone back in my pocket. A telltale pounding was building behind my eyes. Again. "It's your brother. He's in the hospital. Dante says Sal had him worked over."
"What? Why?" She gasped and leapt out of bed, searching for her clothes. "Is he okay?"
"He's a little roughed up, but he's going to be fine. Nothing life-threatening."
"Thank god." She hurried to the bathroom. "Let's go, I want to see him."
"Sofia... I think it's better if you stay here."
She froze, her hand on the doorknob. "What? Why?"
"It's just safer," I hedged. "That place is going to be crawling with cops, and you've already been questioned by the Feds once. You don't need to be anywhere near there."
"I'm going." She grabbed her jacket. "Julian may be an asshole sometimes, but he is my brother. I'm not going to sit at home while he's in the hospital. Now you can either go with me, or you can get the hell out of my way."
I was tempted, really tempted to just toss her over my shoulder and carry her to the bedroom, lock her in and let her cool off until I got back. But she had that look in her eyes, the one that said she'd fight tooth and nail to get what she wanted, and I didn't have time for it.
"All right," I said reluctantly. "But you stay with me at all times, and if I say we have to leave, you come with me. No questions asked. Got it?"
"Got it." She tugged her jacket on and hurried past me.
***
Julian was propped up in bed, his arm in a cast and his nose in a splint when Sofia and I walked in. Immediately, I went to the chair in the corner and all but collapsed into it; as much as I hated to admit it, the marathon sex with Sofia and the drama unfolding at the Compound, topped with this latest shit from Julian had worn me out. The room was spinning, and my head already felt like someone was taking an ice pick to my temporal lobe.
Julian's eyes widened when he saw us, and he shook his head slightly, looking at Sofia with a meaningful look. She didn't notice. She was too busy rushing to her brother's side to fuss over him like a mother hen.
"Are you okay? What happened? Why would Sal—"
Julian cut her off with a wave of his hand. "It's fine. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He glared at Luca. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Good to see you too," I said, standing by the door. "Dante called me. Said you needed a lift. He's at the compound, keeping everyone from burning the place down."
Julian grunted, wincing as he reached for the cup of water on the bedside tray. Sofia quickly handed it to him. I eyed him from across the room, taking note of his injuries. The broken nose and arm, sure, but he also had a split lip, black eyes, and I'd bet a lot of bruises under that thin hospital gown. He was banged up good, and I was surprised that Sal hadn't gone farther, given that it was Julian and not some low-level grunt who ran his mouth off. Honestly, the bastard was lucky he wasn't in a pine box right now. The fact that he hadn't made me wonder if there was something else going on, something that I wasn't seeing.
I didn't have much time to consider it, though, because the doctor came in just then, a tall man with greying hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and a take-no-shit attitude. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place him.
I stood up as he approached, and he glanced at me, his eyes canvassing the left side of my face, along my scars, to my dead eye. Recognition dawned on his face, and I fought the urge to look away, to hide myself from his gaze. I knew what was coming.
"Ah. I remember you." He tapped the side of his head. "Severe TBI, wasn't it? Coma, surgery, extensive rehab. I was a bit preoccupied at the time with, ah...your other friends, but I remember the case. Good to see you on your feet, son."
My jaw clenched. "Thanks, doc."
He turned to Sofia, who was still standing beside Julian's bedside, holding his good hand. "And you must be the sister. I'm Dr. Jerome Carter. I operated on your brother." He held out his hand. "Don't worry, dear, he's going to be just fine. He's got some bruising and swelling, sprung a leak internally that we had to patch up, but he'll be right as rain in no time. We're just keeping him here for observation, now. We should be able to discharge him tomorrow."
"Thank you, doctor." She smiled at him, and I could see the tension in her shoulders ease. "It's good to know he's in good hands."
"Of course." He smiled back at her, then turned his gaze to me. "Mr. Mariano, can I speak with you out in the hall?"
Sofia looked at me, concern etched on her face. I waved her off. "I'll be right back. Stay with Julian."
I followed the doctor out into the hallway, and we stepped into an alcove by the vending machines. "Is everything alright, doctor?"
"You tell me," he said, giving me a pointed look.
"I'm sorry?"
"Mr. Mariano, I've been riding this rodeo a long time, and I know a bullshitter when I see one. Tremors, dizziness, weakness on the unaffected side, and I've seen corpses with better skin tone than you. You need to be on a gurney, not sitting here in my hospital like nothing's wrong. What's going on?"
The penlight was out of his pocket before I could react, trying to skewer my right eyeball with blinking light, but I shied away from it anyway. Guy wasn't going to tell me anything I didn't already know. And I sure as hell wasn't going to make this all about me and create a scene when Sofia's brother was the one laid up in the hospital.
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a headache. I get them all the time."
He frowned. "You should be getting a CT scan every six months for the rest of your life, son. Traumatic brain injuries aren't something to sneeze at, and if you're having headaches and other neurological symptoms, you need to get them checked out. Now, if you'll allow me—"
He reached for me again, but I batted his hand away. "I said I'm fine, Doc. Drop it."
He huffed, clearly unamused. "I can't force you to accept medical treatment, but I strongly suggest you see your doctor about those headaches. If you don't, you may find yourself back in the hospital sooner than you think."
Talk about the understatement of the year.
"I'll take that under advisement." I glared at him. "Now, if you're done here, I need to get back to my friend."
"Of course." He sighed and tucked his penlight back in his pocket. "Just...consider what I've said, won't you?"
I didn't respond, just watched as he turned and walked away. Then, I looked through the glass at Sofia, arguing with Julian. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with anger, and she was gesturing wildly. Julian's expression was grim, his jaw set in a hard line as he listened to her.
I had no idea what they were talking about, and I didn't care. All I could think about was how beautiful she was, even when she was angry. Especially then.
I leaned against the wall, my eyes closed, my head pounding. Maybe Dr. Carter was right, in a way.
Maybe it was time to get my shit in order. Before it was too late.
***
Later, I got Sofia to drop me off at the Compound and I went to see Dante. I found him downstairs, in his armory, sitting on a bench with a disassembled AR-15 in front of him. Made sense. Cleaning guns was the equivalent of yoga to him.
"Hey," I said as I came in. "Everything okay here?"
"Yeah. For now, anyway." He set down his cleaning rag and picked up a bottle of CLP. "Sal and his crew have retired upstairs. Dominic is out on an errand. It's just me here, and a couple of the guys hanging in the lounge. How's Julian?"
"Not bad. Considering."
"What was he thinking, pushing the envelope with Sal? After what happened the last time he tried that shit?" He shook his head and picked up the barrel, squirting a few drops of oil inside. "Dumb son of a bitch. He's lucky they didn't kill him."
"Looks like they tried hard enough." I chuckled humorlessly. "He's in pretty rough shape. Sofia was freaking out when she saw him."
"She didn't know?" Dante looked up, surprised. "He didn't call her?"
"Nope. Things are…a little rough between them right now. Julian found out about us.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. I had to tell her, and she was pissed. Not that I blame her, but still."
Dante shook his head. "Fucking idiot."
I grunted. "You can say that again."
"You want a drink?" He set the barrel down and reached for the upper receiver. "I got some whiskey in the back."
"Nah, I'm good." I sat on the bench across from him. "But there's something I need to talk to you about."
Dante's eyebrows went up. "Oh? And what's that?"
"I've been thinking a lot about the future of the family, and where we're headed. Especially after the shitshow that was tonight." I sighed. "I'm not going to lie, man. I'm worried. We can't keep going like this, or someone's going to end up dead, and it won't be Dominic or Sal. It'll be you, or me, or someone else who doesn't deserve it."
He frowned, but he didn't look surprised. "Yeah, well. What else is new?"
"It's time to make a change," I said. "We need to do something drastic, or we're all going down."
Dante set down the AR-15, his gaze turning thoughtful. "And what exactly do you suggest?"
I took a breath, steeling myself. "We take out Sal and Dominic. Us. And we need to do it soon. Before either of them gets the chance to turn on us."
Dante nodded. "Yeah. That's what I figured. And, honestly, it's about damn time we got rid of those assholes."
"Exactly. But we can't just off them, or the bosses in Providence will be on our asses, and we'll have a full-blown turf war on our hands. We have to do it quietly, make it look like an accident or a rival hit." I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the pounding in my skull. "And we need to make sure there's no blowback on the rest of the family."
"That's easier said than done." Dante scowled. "We're talking about two of the highest-ranking members of the family. It's not like we can just shoot them and be done with it. They're both well protected, and everyone knows we hate them. If we kill them, there's no way we don't end up with a target on our backs."
"Then we'll have to make it look like someone else did it," I said. "We need to find a patsy, and we need to do it fast."
Dante laughed darkly. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could stage a pretty little murder-suicide starring Dom and Sal. Dominic would star nicely as scapegoat."
A small yet persistent itch started up in the back of my head that had nothing to do with my headache. One that hit me with a nauseating sucker punch of adrenaline and dread.
"Luca? You all right?"
No, man. I'm pretty fucking far from all right. But I might just have solved our problem. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a headache. Listen, you go on ahead and finish cleaning that thing. I'm going to go take a walk, clear my head."
"Sure." Dante stood and clapped me on the shoulder. "You sure you don't want that drink?"
Why the hell not. After all, how many more times would I have the opportunity for something as simple as a drink with my best friend?
It was an odd thought, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. "Yeah, alright. Give me a double."
Dante nodded and went to the back to get the bottle. I sat there, my head spinning, trying to make sense of what I was thinking.
Was I really going to do this?
If I did, there'd be no going back. It would be a death sentence, and I couldn't even be sure that it would work. There was no guarantee that this wouldn't end in disaster. But if it worked... If we could pull it off...
It would be the end of Sal and Dominic.
And the beginning of something new. Something better.
I heard Dante come back in, the sound of the door closing behind him. He sat down beside me, and I took the offered glass of whiskey from his hand.
"Thanks." I took a sip, savoring the burn. "You know, I never did thank you for saving my ass. Back when I was shot."
Dante had been a block away when the shooting started, covering for me with the rest of the guys while I let Dominic and Angel into the little ruse I’d prepared with Alfie Doyle. We’d never spoken of it, but I was pretty sure Dante knew the details of what had gone down that night. He’d been the one to cover for me, to get Lorenzo’s sons out of there before they could ask too many questions, and he’d been the one who had called the ambulance that ended up saving my life.
Dante shrugged. "You would've done the same for me."
"Yeah. I would've. You're my brother, man. Always have been." I took another sip. "Which is why I need to ask you a favor."
"Anything." He looked at me, his eyes dark and serious. "You know that."
"When I'm gone, can you look after Sofia? Make sure she's safe?" I didn't want to say it, didn't want to admit that I was going to die, but I had to. "Julian does a shit job of protecting her, and I don't want her to get hurt because of me."
Dante's face hardened. "You're not going anywhere. Not if I can help it."
"It's a little late for that." I laughed humorlessly. "But thanks anyway."
He didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at the floor. Then, finally, he spoke.
"If something happens to you, I'll make sure Sofia's okay. You have my word."
"Thank you." I drained my glass and set it down on the bench. "I mean it, Dante. Thank you for everything."
He nodded. "Anytime."
I stood up and walked out, my steps heavy, my heart heavier. I didn't want things to end this way but if they did, I wanted to make sure that Sofia was safe. And that meant doing whatever it took to make sure Sal and Dominic were gone for good.
Even if I had to die to do it.