Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Raina’s body tenses as I pull her against me, nuzzling my nose against her cheek. “Shh, baby, it’s just me.”
She relaxes at the sound of my voice, but not a moment later spins in my arms, pinning me with a stare so cold it rivals the chill in the air.
“You love me?” she spits. Fire burns within her gaze, the embers sparkling through her sky-blue irises.
“I’ve been dying to hear you say that for years, and you have the audacity to tell me in front of all our friends, in a fucking club?
That’s the ‘I love you’ I get from you, Luciano Paladino?
” She jabs her manicured finger into the center of my chest, pushing me backward a few steps.
A laugh catches in my throat, but I swallow it down when I see she’s serious. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I hold her close.
My touch doesn’t ease her irritation though. She looks like she’d be happy to murder me with her bare hands and send me to an early grave.
“I…uh…” This wasn’t how I imagined it would go. There wasn’t a plan; in fact, there wasn’t even a full thought process from realizing I was in love with her and have been for quite some time to deciding to tell her and everyone else.
It just happened.
“You...uh…” she mocks, jabbing her finger into my chest again before gripping the fabric of my shirt between her fingers.
Her skin is warm beneath my lips as I lean down and press them against her neck, peppering her with soft kisses as she continues to chastise me.
“For a lawyer, you’re not very smart sometimes. And I mean that as an insult.”
“Insult taken.” I run my knuckles down the side of her delicate cheek, and she sighs.
Her eyes glitter as she looks up at me. I can see the moment the irritation leaves her.
Now it’s time for my apology. “Look, I know you deserve better than how I just told you that, but it doesn’t take away from how I fe?—”
“Shut up, Luce.” Crashing her lips into mine, she tosses her hands around my neck, ceasing the conversation. A soft moan rumbles through her and instantly stiffens my cock. What I wouldn’t give to be buried deep inside her right this moment.
Unable to resist her, I let my hands roam down her body, over the curve of her phenomenal ass, until I’m gripping the back of her thighs to hoist her into my arms.
Her mouth parts and I slip my tongue in as I walk us away from the muffled noise of the club and the line of people hoping to get in.
Once we’ve rounded the corner, I press her against the side of the concrete building and bury my hand in her blonde tendrils, wrapping them in my fist. Tugging her head back, I deepen the kiss, groaning into her mouth as she pulls me closer.
“Take me home,” she pleads. “I need you. Now. So either take me home or take me further into this alleyway. Your call.”
“I prefer the alleyway,” a sharp tone emerges from the shadows, and my head snaps toward the sound of the voice.
Before I can fully process what’s happening, I’m being tugged by the collar of my shirt away from Raina, forced to release my hold from her thighs as I stumble over my own feet, trying to catch both myself and her.
As I stagger, a fist collides with my ribs, causing me to double over, grunting in both surprise and pain. “What the fuck,” I grit at the same moment Raina’s scream pierces through the air. I have half a second to look up to see the man from earlier readying another punch.
The world spins on its axis as everything happens in the blink of an eye. Movement catches in my peripheral and I tilt my head and watch as a second man steps out from the shadows of the alleyway with a sinister smile on his face, his eyes roving Raina’s body.
My blood turns to ice.
Over my dead fucking body will I let either of these men touch her.
“Go,” I command through clenched teeth as the first guy takes another cheap punch to my gut. “Get back inside the club, Raina.”
“I won’t leave you,” she cries, her hands flying up to cover her mouth when another punch lands, the man’s fist raining into my torso. I grunt, my teeth grinding together as I push the pain from my mind.
“Luce!” she yells and steps closer, but the second man pivots in front of her, his laugh menacing as he blocks her and turns to me instead.
“Raina, GO!” I manage to yell right before the fist from the second guy connects with my jaw.
His attention is fully on me now, and it’s become two against one as one stands in front of me while the other holds onto my arms from behind.
But I don’t fight back. I don’t do anything that might cause one of them to shift their focus from me onto her. I’d take a thousand punches before diverting their attention onto her.
“Go,” I mouth. “Please.”
“Luce,” she whimpers, the streetlamp’s light casting an eerie glow over her body as she stands petrified in place.
I can see the turmoil in her eyes before realization finally overtakes her beautiful features.
My head hangs on my shoulders as she backs away from the scene until she disappears completely from my view, presumably back toward the club.
I can only assume she’s going back to get our friends, but at this point, I don’t care where she goes as long as it’s far away from here.
As long as she’s safe.
“Javier sends his best,” the assailant in front of me goads as the first grabs onto my jaw, forcing me to look up at them.
“Fuck you,” I spit, bucking against the man holding me. He’s not expecting it; it’s enough to somehow release my face from the first guy and give enough room for me to throw my fist into his nose.
“Fuck!” he yells, stepping back.
I’m not much of a fighter—growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, there was no problem money couldn’t solve, so my fists stayed clean. The basics come naturally, but the rest leaves me wishing my father had insisted on me adopting a martial art rather than learning golf as a child.
Blood gushes from the nose of the man I hit and he pinches the bridge. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” he seethes, and I make a huge mistake by keeping my attention locked on him. The other guy uses it to his advantage and slams me to the ground.
My vision turns spotted as his foot connects with my ribs over and over again.
“You think you have the upper hand in this?” he hisses, kicking me again. My stomach contracts at the contact, and I grip it tight, emulating more pain than I’m actually in.
“These rich fucks are all the same.” The other guy’s nose bleeds freely, drops of crimson dripping onto the concrete just inches from where I lay, exaggerating my pain with weak moans.
“I say we finish him off and save Javier the hassle later.”
“We can’t,” his counterpart argues. “He said to rough him up, not put him six feet under.”
“That was before he broke my nose.”
“Hazards of the job,” I growl, rolling on the damp, gravely concrete, I spring onto my feet, but these assholes are quicker than I am, more experienced with fighting. The wind leaves my lungs as he gains the upper hand again, slamming his foot into my stomach with the sole of his boot.
“Motherfucker,” I grumble.
There’s a split second of silence before the metallic cocking of a gun ricochets against the brick buildings we’re secluded in, and all three of our heads whip toward the opening of the alleyway.
I’ve never been so relieved to see Nixon and Enzo in my life.
“You both have one fucking second to back away from him before I light you up.” Nixon takes a step forward, then another, gravel crunching beneath his boots with every step, his gun pointed in our direction. “And don’t test me, motherfuckers. It’s been far too long since I took the trash out.”
Enzo walks with purpose into the alley, never more than a step behind Nixon. A dangerous air surrounds him, despite him not holding a weapon.
“I see you’ve gotten yourself into quite a mess, haven’t you, Paladino?” Enzo raises a brow, tossing me a look of mockery.
“Little bit,” I agree, pushing to my feet. My ribs are burning, and the taste of blood swirls in my mouth.
Enzo has the balls to chuckle, while Nixon’s voice radiates off the brick surrounding us. “You fucks have three seconds to get the hell out of here before I shoot.”
There’s a deep scowl on his face as he stares at the men Javier sent, but I can read their body language: they don’t believe him.
Even I know what a mistake that is.
“Our business isn’t with you, it’s with your buddy here.”
“Three,” Nixon growls.
“I wouldn’t underestimate him.” Enzo laughs. “He’s certifiable.”
“Two.”
“He isn’t going to do shit.” The man who approached us in the bar squares his shoulders and takes a step in Nixon’s direction.
A gunshot rings out and a piercing cry echoes along with it. Dropping to the ground, the man clutches the side of his thigh as blood seeps from his new bullet wound.
“Told you,” Enzo says with boredom as he shakes his head slowly, rolling his eyes.
“Get out of here before I make the next shot life-threatening. So much as look in our direction again and I won't hesitate to give you a matching one.” Nixon’s jaw clenches as his eyes sweep from the first man to the second, then finally over to me. “You good to walk, pretty boy?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Where’s Raina?” I can’t help but clutch my ribs as I ask.
“Inside with the girls. Sly stayed back to make sure she and Vinnie didn’t try to escape the building.”
The image of my brother-in-law holding back both my sister and Raina as they try to get past him flashes through my mind.
Rounding the corner, Sully pants as he comes into view, then bends, resting his hands on his knees. “I heard—I thought—what the hell is happening?” He looks at me, then over at Javier’s guys, then his eyes widen on Nixon's gun. “You’re packing?”
“Always,” Nixon replies simply, never taking his eyes off the man his weapon is pointed at.
“Why are you so out of breath?” Enzo scrutinizes Sully with a wrinkle of his nose, looking him up and down.
“I.” Huff. “Avoid.” Huff. “Cardio days.” Sully dramatically breathes out.
“Right,” Enzo drawls, then turns to me again. “Are we getting you out of here or what, Paladino? Clock’s ticking.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he taps the screen a few times, then presses it to his ear before barking at whoever is on the other end of it. “Bring the car around.”
“Raina,” I grit, looking up at Enzo as I grab my side. I don’t think I broke a rib, but there’s no doubt I’ll be bruised.
He rolls his eyes, then repeats the tapping on his phone before pulling his phone to his ear again. “Bring them down. We’re leaving.”
Five minutes later, we’re split into two blacked-out SUVs, one belonging to Enzo, the other belonging to Sly.
“You need to go to the hospital,” Raina argues once we’re settled in the back seat. She’s wrapped around me like a koala clinging to a tree, her face pressed against my chest.
“My brother-in-law is a doctor.” I wince as I adjust my body slightly. “He’ll check me over when we get to my place.”
“It’s not the same.”
“I’m not going to the hospital, Raina.” My tone comes much harsher than I mean it to, and I tighten my hold around her in apology, dropping my voice.
“The only thing I want to do right now is get to my apartment and climb into my bed with you by my side. From there, Sly can do whatever evaluations he wants, and you can be my nurse. Whatever makes you both happy. But I’m not going to the hospital just to wait amongst the rest of Manhattan in the emergency room, only to be given ibuprofen and sent home hours later to rest.”
“What do you want to do about those guys?” Nixon asks gruffly, rubbing his hand against his chin. The passing streetlights only brighten part of his face, making his question feel ominous.
“Nothing. They won’t be back.”
“You sure?” His brow lifts in question.
I nod. “He said Javier had two messages for me. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know he’s now delivered both.”
Nixon gives a curt nod and turns his attention out the window. Next to him, Enzo sits wordlessly.
“When we arrive, please see to it that my sister, Cecilia, and Sully make it home,” I say to no one in particular, but with confidence that one, if not both of the two men in the car with me, will make it happen.
We have about ten minutes before we’re at my apartment and already my eyes feel heavy.
What a fucking shitshow this birthday turned into. The last thing I ever expected at thirty-five was to get my ass handed to me. How utterly embarrassing.
Lifting my hand from Raina's hip, I pinch the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes tight.
“I’m so sorry, Luce,” she whispers softly, her lips ghosting my neck. Gently, she brings her fingertips to my cheek, brushing what I know is the edge of a gash.
“It’s not your fault.”
“But it is?—”
“No, baby, it’s not. It’s mine. If I’d bothered learning how to fight, I wouldn’t have gotten into that predicament.”
“Don’t discredit who you are just because you were attacked. The Luciano I know doesn’t need to use his fists to win anything. He does so with knowledge and words.”
“Knowledge and words won’t protect you,” I grumble, turning to look out the window and away from her heavy gaze.
“I don't need protection. And honestly, if Javier had played fair, you wouldn’t have either. Notice how it wasn’t him there getting his hands dirty. He had to hire people to do it.”
I don’t answer her. Not because I don’t want to, but because I have nothing to say to that.
My body and my ego are bruised, all because I chose from a young age to study academics and politics over learning to fight and become streetwise.
My father brought enough violence into our lives, and I wanted nothing to do with him or the unethical world he created around our family.
It’s why I chose to pursue law. To differentiate myself as much as possible from the reputation he created for the Paladino name.
When Enzo’s driver pulls alongside the curb in front of my building, Raina slides off my lap and pushes open the door, hopping from the vehicle to assist me. I do my best to exhale through a wince as I shift my body and try to school my features to not reflect any pain.
Glancing over at Enzo and Nixon, I can see them watching, but neither says anything as I slowly push to the edge of the seat by the open car door.
Swallowing any remnants of my pride, I do my best to step gingerly onto the sidewalk and am instantly flanked with Raina on my left and Sly on my right.
Every fiber of my being screams that I can walk in on my own, but the look in Raina’s eyes adamantly reflects her plea, so as much as it bruises my ego even more, I allow them both to help me into the building and up to my apartment.