CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LUCIANO
Lunch was quiet, and my skin prickled with the nervousness radiating from Sylvi. He knew he fucked up, and a vicious satisfaction ripped through my chest. Squeezing Aya’s thigh, I leaned back in my chair to stare at a man I no longer recognized.
Not a man- just a pig.
Gnashing my teeth at the thought, I tightened my grip on my fork as Sylvi struggled to eat a single bite. The air was electric even though he wouldn’t meet my eye, and I suppressed a smirk as he squirmed in his seat. I’d never seen him so fidgety before, but he’d never pissed me off so much. Everything about Sylvi was neat, just like always; it was just his expression, his eyes, that gave him away.
“Cagna-!” Tyler’s harsh curse pulled my attention, and my gaze flickered to him as he shuffled in his seat. His sneakered foot shot out, and disgust twisted his face. Soft fingertips crept over the top of my hand as a pained squeal bounced across the table. I couldn’t see the whore he kept on her knees, and that was a relief.
“Get the fuck out of my sight.” Pushing himself up, Tyler wiped his jeans roughly while the sound of knees on hardwood pounded against my ears. His glare was hard and hot when he sent it Sylvi’s way, his eyes blazing and face contorting even more. “You just had to fuck everything up, Sylvi. And don’t even try to make up some shitty excuse. If you were pissed Aya took your man candy, you should’ve shot her- not tried to get her to run away. Seriously, how fucking stupid are you?”
Next to me Marco chuckled lowly, and my fingers itched to reach for the gun tucked against my back. Instead I grabbed Aya’s arm, rubbing her frail, smooth wrist as I watched the drama unfold. Glancing over, I ground my teeth together at her pink cheeks and slight smile. She wasn’t pay attention to anything beyond her chicken salad and me, trusting me to be vigilant about her.
Rubbing my thumb over the top of her hand, I tore my gaze from her to beat back the twitch in my lips.
“Don’t blame me for your inability to train your whores properly, Tyler.” Grumbling from his seat, Sylvi drew my line of sight as he pushed around his food with his fork. He didn’t try to defend himself from the accusations, and Tyler groaned harshly before stomping towards the door.
“You’re so fucking insecure about your personal life- it’s insane.” Stalking out of the room, Tyler hissed out curse after curse before his footfall softened into nothing. The dining room was quiet, tense, and I pushed my loaded fork past my teeth before turning to my brother.
Marco had the nastiest smirk painting his face, his hands clenching and releasing on either side of a plate he hadn’t touched. I could see the images he conjured up in his mind, thinking of all the ways Sylvi would get what he was owed.
But I’m going to make him sweat a little longer.
The tension rose with each passing minute, and I set my fork down with a clatter before standing. Tugging Aya out of her seat, I rubbed my jaw with my free hand on my way out of the dining room. I couldn’t think of anything but smashing Sylvi’s face with him so close, but there were other things I had to do today.
I needed to take Aya to her dead father’s law firm. That knowledge twisted my face in annoyance, and I snatched my keys from the rack. It’d been months, and I kept putting off bringing her back.
“Where are we going?” My car roared to life before Aya posed her question, and I jerked on the gear before tossing her my pack of cigarettes wordlessly. Rolling down my window as we rolled out of the driveway, I adjusted my grip on the wheel to lean back into my seat. The smell of cigarette smoke plumed, and she waited patiently for me to take it between my lips.
Taking a deep, hard drag, I took the smoke down into the bowels of my lungs. Carefully Aya took the four-inch-long cancerous stick, and I held my breath as I turned onto the main road. My body greedily absorbed the toxic chemicals, giving me the calmness I needed to open my mouth.
“I want answers. The safe was a dead end.” Smoke billowed from my nose and mouth with each word, and I let out the rest of my breath harshly. “Trevor had you for a reason.”
“Oh.” Aya’s soft noise was almost lost in the air that rushed past me, and I glanced over with narrowed eyes. Her features were pinched, body tight as she clutched her seatbelt with one hand. She held my cigarette like a normal person would, and I reached to snatch it from her.
They were already expensive as fuck, and I wasn’t going to pay for two bad habits.
“Do you mean we’re going to the law firm?” Grunting in acknowledgment, I sucked on the butt of my cigarette before she spoke up again. “Okay… b- but… what about Sylvi?”
Pursing my lips together, I exhaled slowly out of my nose and stepped harder on the gas pedal. Speeding towards downtown, the scenery disappeared as soon as we came up on it. My mind churned, knowing full well that Aya’s fear of Sylvi’s power was real. He’d fucked with her head, and she didn’t have any defenses against it. There were going to be times when I couldn’t bring her with me, but Sylvi could always find someone willing to terrorize to gain favor.
“Don’t worry about Sylvi anymore, mia Aya. He’ll be dealt with when we get back.” Taking another long drag, my gaze flickered between Aya and the road as she swiped back some of her long, wavy hair. “… He shouldn’t have been able to get that close.”
The nibbling of guilt was becoming increasingly, irritatingly familiar, and I squeezed the wheel tightly enough to make the leather groan. In my peripheral Aya went still, her mouth parting, and the muscles in my legs bunched up in discomfort. Easing off the gas, I held my breath as we slowed to the speed limit. Blood pounded against my ear drums, but after a few long, heavy seconds the beat was broken by a quiet click.
Slamming my foot on the brakes, I ground my molars together as the tires squealed and burned in protest. The car was moving too slow to do any damage, but Aya was still thrown off balance. Her body hit the dash with a soft thump, and my hands reached for her on their own as her squeal rattled my skull.
Before I could get a single word out Aya threw her arms around my shoulders to hold tight, and I tensed. All thought left my mind, focusing instead of her soft lips against the base of my neck- of her eyelashes tickling my jugular. Huddling in my lap, her body didn’t tremble like I expected; she deflated in a heavy, warm sigh that tightened my chest until I couldn’t breathe.
Slowly, arduously, I slid my palms over her until I could keep her firmly against me. Each movement I made was stiff, robotic, and Aya tightened her grip on me. Her short, thin fingernails dug into my suit. Against my skin her lips curved into a smile that caused my throat to tighten.
So this is what a hug feels like…? The singular thought was all that could withstand the wasteland of my mind, and I squeezed Aya’s form. I had never noticed before how much weight she’d gained since first coming to Sylvi’s mansion. Releasing my lungful in a gust, I cupped her head to bury my nose in her hair.
“I don’t care. I don’t care about anything- because I have you, Luciano.” At Aya’s wisp of a declaration my heart stopped before all the tension of the past days melted away. Taking a deep breath of her, I closed my eyes to savor her nearness- the feel of her. My gut stopped twisting, and what felt like a thousand pounds was lifted from my shoulders. Cotton clung to the roof of my mouth, and pressure built behind my eyes.
A new kind of pain- a good kind of pain- tore at my soul, and I welcomed it with every fiber of my being.