Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Luca, what’s going to happen to me?”
“Nothing, baby.” He tucked a curl behind my ear and kissed my forehead. “I will gladly give my life for yours.”
“No, you can’t. I won’t allow it.”
Luca spun me around, so we were facing. He took my hand and covered his heart with my palm. “You feel this? My heart only beats this way for you. You are a part of me, Drea. Without you, none of this shit matters. My life doesn’t matter.”
“Luca, don’t say that.”
“You revived me the day we met.” He shoved his hand through my hair and pulled my lips to his. “I was drowning in a sea of darkness, so close to tipping off the edge. And then you saw me. All of my scars and pain, and I just knew at that moment that you understood. Something clicked into place when our eyes locked. You saved me, baby girl. I’m not a good man, and I never will be. But the part of you that lives inside me is good. And I save those parts of myself for you and only you.”
I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, reveling in the taste of him. “Luca, I…”
A knock on the door made me jump.
“Dad wants you downstairs before the Wellingtons arrive,” Marcello said.
“We’ll be down in a minute,” Luca told him.
After Marcello left, I stared up at Luca, memorizing every detail of his gorgeous face. His moments of vulnerability were so rare I wanted to soak it all in.
“Now that you know,” Luca said with seriousness to his tone, “I need you to be careful. Don’t complain about Marcello or Dom accompanying you around the house.”
“I’d rather it were you.”
“I can’t be with you every second of the day. My family relies on my expertise.”
“I still don’t understand what you do for Salvatore Global.”
“I’m the COO.”
“I get that. But what exactly do you do?”
“On the books, I’m in charge of the company’s daily operations. I handle interactions with VIP clients and coordinate business dealings with American and foreign governments. That’s why I travel so much. I’m in command when my father is unavailable.”
I cocked a curious eyebrow at him. “And off the books?”
“I map trade routes throughout the world to move illegal products.”
“Do you sell women?”
“No, I would never willingly sell women. But sometimes, a client insists we don’t know the contents of the container. Sometimes Salvatore Global and Mac Corp look the other way, depending on our relationship with them.”
“Sonny’s family helps you move things?”
He nodded. “We use Mac Corp shipping containers and commercial vessels because we can’t go through the normal channels with guns, drugs, and other illegal things.”
“So that’s what you do all day and night in your office? Map trade routes.”
“Among other things,” he confessed. “It’s complicated. I have to jump through a lot of legal loopholes to get around certain issues. It’s not black and white. I operate more in the gray area.”
“Thank you for being honest with me. I always ran because you never opened up to me. I never felt like I had a place in your heart.”
“You do.” He pressed his lips to mine. “Always.”
“What binds us will destroy us,” I whispered. “I’m not going anywhere, Luca.”
He smiled, a real one for once, and then he kissed me.
* * *
We entered a dining room that was smaller than the great hall, though not by much. The room had high ceilings with ornate molding and tall windows. A large portrait of Arlo Salvatore and his sons dressed in suits hung over the mantle.
The Salvatores sat behind a long table with Arlo at the head, reminding me of a king overlooking his courtiers. Luca’s adoptive brothers sat to his father’s right with Marcello on his left. They were engaged in what sounded like a heated discussion before they heard my heels on the tiled floor.
Luca flung out his hand, gesturing for Bastian and Damian to move. Without a word, they crossed the table and sat beside Marcello. After Luca pushed my chair into the table, he took his place at his father’s side. A server poured wine into our glasses. Luca raised it in front of his face, swirling the liquid as he took a whiff of the grapes.
His family owned vineyards across the United States and Italy. One of their many legitimate businesses that served as a funnel for illegal activities. A few years ago, after Arlo had bought a vineyard in California’s Wine Country, Luca whisked me away for the weekend. We had spent two days drinking and fucking under the stars. It was one of my fondest memories of Luca.
Silence fell over the hall.
Everyone looked around the table at each other, a silent exchange taking place among the Salvatores. My stomach churned as I waited for someone to speak—anything to remove the tension from the room.