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“DON’T TOUCH HER!” I hear Luca snarling to someone while I’m trapped in blackness.

“Is she breathing?”

There’s a pounding in my head as I come to, but when my eyes fly open, I blink against the light. Then I’m pulled into a firm hug against a muscular chest and I instantly recognize Luca’s familiar citrus cologne which centers me. I get my bearings, seeing the Andy Warhol posters on the wall, and realize that we’re seated on the floor of Club 7’s back entrance and I’m sprawled halfway on my husband’s lap.

“Luca,” I whisper.

He pulls back and almost angrily cups my cheek, forcing my gaze up. His green irises are storming with worry. “Are you okay?”

I try to sit up, but I get dizzy, so Luca keeps his strong hold on me, adding, “Don’t move yet. What happened, Fallon?”

I touch my throbbing temple where a bruise is forming, feeling some dried blood, and I notice the dirt under my fingernails as I reply, “A couple of men were chasing us, so we escaped through the underground area. Then we ended up at the station where I lost my balance and fell.” Only now do I note Tez standing next to us, and when we lock eyes for a second, I feel Luca’s body coil tight and I wonder why. “I don’t know what happened...”

Tez elaborates. “A car almost hit you, so someone pushed you out of the way and you hit your head when you fell. I brought you back here.”

“Oh, I wasn’t unconscious. I knew I was being moved,” I tell them as my mind begins to settle, and when I recall the entire evening, I jump out of Luca’s arms. Yet I sway, still a bit unstable.

Luca leaps up and steadies me before Tez has a chance to touch me. I catch Luca sending him a warning glance; however, I’m preoccupied with other thoughts.

“Where are our kids?” I anxiously ask Luca.

“They’re fine. They’re with Cam in the office, which is being guarded.”

“Oh, thank god. I want to see them.” I edge closer to Luca, and he nods, bracing my cheeks and pressing a soft kiss on my lips.

Being together again, we’re able to relax until we slowly break apart and Luca tucks me into the shelter of his side, hugging me as he says with a fraught undertone, “Let’s go to the twins. But I also want the Syndicate doctor to examine you to ensure you don’t have a concussion or anything else.”

Without waiting for a response, he kisses the top of my head, and right before we proceed down the hall, I remember to look back and say, “Tez, thank you.”

He dips his chin and smiles amiably as Luca ushers me through the doorway. We rush across the almost empty dance floor to find that Henry and Mary and most of the guests have left, and everything looks normal. Clearly, there was no trouble inside the club.

Within seconds, we enter Adriano’s office where he and Cam are standing around the portable baby bed.

“Fallon?!” they both exclaim in obvious relief.

“I’m fine,” I assure them before they get a chance to start firing off questions and hurriedly go to my twins, peering down into the bed to see them sleeping. Furtively, I let out a sigh just as Luca stops behind me.

Leaning down, I take out Milana, and while I cuddle her small body close to my chest, Luca pecks the crown of her head. A tear escapes the corner of my eye as my brain copes with the ordeal of the past hour.

Gently, Luca swipes the moisture away with the pad of his thumb and studies me with a look of absolute admiration coupled with utter fear. Both contradictive emotions are displayed on his features, which are usually tightly controlled.

“I want to go home,” I whisper.

But Adriano interrupts, “Luca, we should talk about what to do with our captives.”

“Not tonight, Adriano,” he answers, dipping down to pick up Noah before strapping him into the twin baby car seat that’s situated on Adriano’s desk. “I’m taking my wife and kids home. Send Dr. Calderone over to examine Fallon. Just keep the captives in the underground and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Adriano assesses us with empathy and eventually, he nods right when Cam asks, “But are you okay, Fallon?”

“Yeah. I escaped through the underground and got out at the station, but I hit my head, so I’m fine except for a bruise.”

Luca takes Milana from me and straps her in next to her brother. Just seeing my babies’ cherub faces has a reassuring effect on me.

“Thank god. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Cam says, looping her arms around my shoulders and murmuring, “Nothing happened with the twins; Adriano and I will always protect them. I’m so glad you’re okay too.”

Pulling back, I smile at her in gratitude. She’s the only one who can truly relate to how I feel because she’s the boss’s wife and her daughter always needs protection as well. Lightly, she squeezes my shoulder and Luca takes the car seat and beckons me to him. Entangling our hands, he leads the way out with large strides, undoubtedly eager to return the twins and me to the safety of our apartment.

***

AN HOUR LATER, WE’RE inside our four-thousand square foot Blackhall penthouse apartment that features two large bedrooms and is decorated in warm off-white and brown colors with tall ceilings and a huge outdoor terrace.

After Luca places our babies in the cribs in our bedroom, I take a quick shower and wrap myself in my white satin robe. Back in the living room, I sit on our beige U-shaped couch as Marc Calderone, who’s a doctor at Northwestern hospital that works for the Syndicate, finishes examining me. One final time, he touches my temple and I wince while downing the painkiller he’s given me as Luca takes the remote from the coffee table and pushes a button so that the ivory curtains covering the expansive windows draw closed.

In his soft doctor’s voice, he says, “It didn’t bleed much. How long were you unconscious?”

“I don’t think I was unconscious. I was just out of it for a moment from the blow or something, and then Tez lifted me up and I got woozy. But I feel fine now except for the headache and some scratches,” I explain while Luca stands behind the doctor impatiently.

“I think we should do a CT scan because it’s strange that while you think you were merely out of it, the man who helped you thinks you were unconscious. Either way, it seems that you were quite dizzy for longer than a moment, so I just want to make sure you don’t have a head injury.”

“We’ll drop by Northwestern first thing in the morning,” Luca puts in when Marc gets up and shakes his hand.

“Come to my office at eight, and I’ll take Fallon to radiology.”

“Okay, Marc.”

He dips his chin and crosses the room toward the elevator to let himself out while Luca stays with me as I rise, and at last, we’re alone.

Without saying a word, I start to cry to release my warring emotions, and he hooks his arms around my middle, embracing me in such a way that makes me feel protected. Luca nuzzles my hair while we stand motionless, needing to take some time out to fight our demons of distress, and meanwhile, the medicine soothes my aching head.

Eventually, he releases me and demands to know, “Why did you go to the underground, Fallon?”

“I was going to the office, but Tez saw me by the back entrance just when the intruders were there. Since he knew I was your wife, he got on the elevator with me to take me up, but it went down instead because someone had pushed the button and called it. Then when the men spotted us down there, we ran and Tez got me out. He did protect me.”

Luca grunts, seemingly pleased yet also aggravated, but that most likely stems from the fear he experienced. “When were you down there exactly? I was also looking for you.”

“I knew it was you!” I state. “We were hiding behind the door, thinking you were one of the intruders at first.”

“Fuck!” He plows his hands through his hair, tousling the strands, yet it remains a perfect untamed mess. “So I could’ve prevented this!”

I palm my forehead. “Let’s not go down that path. You did what you could.” Trying to steer the conversation in a different direction, I ask, “So what actually happened? The underground was raided but not the club itself? Were you with the twins the entire time?”

“No, Cam was with them and we found the man who was giving the intruders their orders. But it had to do with the sex club, which we’re shutting down.” Waving his hand, he discounts these concerns for now. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

Good. I’m also not in the mood to discuss Syndicate business. I’m just happy my family is together and safe, but my hands keep trembling because once you have children, you understand what it is to love something more than yourself.

Softly, I confess to my husband, “Luca, I’ve never been so scared. I was terrified and hated that I had to leave Noah and Milana.”

In an instant, Luca frames my face, the pads of his thumbs stroking my cheekbones. “Don’t. Nothing has changed and I’ll always protect you and the twins.”

“I know that’s your intention, but it’s impossible. We were at a family wedding and anything could’ve happened to them.”

“Yet it didn’t. You were hurt, though, and I also can’t abide by that!”

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me; I’m not that girl you met four years ago anymore.”

“I know that, but if anything were to happen to you, it would kill me,” he admits around a furious snarl, reminding me of how I adore him with every fiber of my being.

Because his torment hurts me, I go up on my tiptoes and sneak my arms around his neck to utter against his lips, “So we have to talk more, Luca. I feel like you make me forget the anarchy of this underworld since you keep so much of it out of our home. But I think I need to be more aware of what’s going on for the sake of my kids. I can handle it; I know how the Syndicate works.”

“You’re right,” he agrees, astonishing me as he holds me tightly. Yet it proves how much this night has shaken him as well.

He slides the tip of his nose down mine in the way I cherish before he roughly takes my mouth in a searing kiss, our teeth clashing in our impatient longing for each other.

“Ho bisogno di te.” I need you. His tone drips with desire as he unties my robe and slides it off my shoulders, leaving me in just my red lace panties.

Then he winds one arm around my middle to pull me flush against him, crashing his lips onto mine as his hand moves down my spine, disappearing under my panties. Two fingers rub over my wetness, and when Luca draws back, his roguish smile shoots a sensational tingle to my center.

“You’re so wet. Take off my clothes and touch me,” he orders.

As he kicks off his boots, I strip his dress shirt, fumbling with his buckle and the button of his slacks where his erection is already bulging before nudging them down. I skim my nails down his hard pecs and chiseled abs as I take in his tall, toned physique.

Letting out an unrestrained growl, Luca laces his fingers in my hair and I cup his balls as his other hand goes into my panties to palm my ass. Then his finger slides down to find my core and plunges in, circling leisurely before curling in two fingers.

“Lie back and let me taste you.”

Suddenly, lightning fast, he sinks his tongue into my mouth and we topple onto the couch. Hooking his hands behind my knees, he pushes me back completely and I shriek in surprise as the tear of my panties sounds loud in the stillness of the night. Then Luca adjusts my body so that I’m leaning back with one foot on the cushion and the other on the floor, spreading me wide for him as he shows me a playful smirk and dives in.

“Oh, shit!” I manage to croak out when he starts feasting on me like a man starved, so I entwine my fingers in his hair while pushing him between my legs.

Luca’s palms stroke down the insides of my thighs, leaving a fiery trail. Groaning, he spreads me open to taste every delicate part of me, the pressure of his mouth growing more insistent as he flattens his tongue to my flesh.

My body twitches with every flick. “Luca...”

Eagerly, he continues as I rotate against him. While his hands roam over my hips and to my ass, his tongue licks my core, sinfully wild, and I reach for the stars when his fingers dig into my behind. One thumb rubs fiercely while his tongue pushes in, which unexpectedly makes me come as I writhe against his face.

“Luca!” My orgasm explodes and I tug his hair when his tongue hits my most sensitive part, my eyes rolling back until, gradually, I relax as he leisurely licks me up and down.

“Hmmm,” he murmurs as I slowly open my eyes and look down to watch him, my limbs quivering from his talented mouth and just seeing him between my legs. Then he moves up and kisses me as his hands caress my body, his rock hard arousal almost breaking through his black boxer briefs.

Unfortunately, a cry coming from the bedroom has us stopping and I chuckle when Luca rests his forehead on mine, sighing loudly in defeat. For a second, I wait, but the baby howls again, louder this time, so Luca moves off me and pecks my cleavage before helping me up.

Rounding the couch, I go into the hallway that has two enormous rooms on each side and turn left into our master bedroom. With the taupe curtains hanging open, the moonlight shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows as get my nightgown that’s laid out on our king-size oak framed bed and throw it on.

When I move to the cribs at the foot of the bed, Noah is red-faced while he fusses, so I reach down and pick him up with one arm, making his sobs lessen as I rock him, murmuring, “My baby, can you not sleep?”

He calms down when he recognizes my voice and yawns while staring at me, sucking on his tiny lower lip in the cutest way. “Shhh, go to sleep. Mommy will watch over you, always.”

I carefully get Milana out of her crib too, and simply because I need to hold my children, I walk to the bed and lay them down in the middle of it next to each other. Milana is such a deep sleeper that she doesn’t stir, and when I settle beside them, Noah sticks his thumb in his mouth, his green eyes fluttering closed while I caress his hair.

Just as I wonder what Luca’s doing, he steps inside the room with his phone in hand, wearing his black boxers and showing his smooth, honed torso. Closing the distance between us, he flings his device onto the nightstand and climbs into bed, spooning me while we gaze at the two little humans we made together. Two tiny people I love to the moon and back. Tenderly, Luca presses a kiss onto the delicate skin right behind my earlobe as the warmth of his chest heats my back, but then his phone chimes in, interrupting our family time, which bothers me tonight.

He doesn’t move to read the message immediately, which is unlike him, so I roll to my back to find him regarding me expectantly before he reaches for his mobile and swipes the screen. Then he puts it down and says, “I might have to go to work.”

I tell him what I feel, “Don’t go, Luca. Don’t leave us.”

His stare narrows. He’s shocked, I think. Or maybe he just now realizes how tonight’s events have affected me. In truth, I haven’t ever gotten used to this violent, fast lifestyle. Regardless, I’ve never asked Luca to choose between me and his Syndicate, but with the turmoil of the night on top of having kids in this underworld, I’m relying on him more than usual.

I want him to stay with us, and I’m terrified he’s going to deny me.