Page 18

ANDERS

After breakfast, Luca goes with his uncle, leaving me all alone in his apartment.

There’s a security system, but he gives me the code for it, and after a thorough search of the place, I can’t find any hidden cameras.

Even though he got all growly and possessive about wanting to keep me here, there’s nothing actually keeping me here.

I could type in the security code to disarm the alarm and walk right out the front door, back to my place— where my father is —or straight onto the first bus out of the city.

Just knowing that I could leave soothes the defiant streak inside of me.

I send my dad the money through the app like we talked about, but I don’t bother with any kind of message.

He might not even notice that I’m not around as long as the money keeps coming.

I’ll have to go back at some point to get the money and the few sentimental items I packed into my “go bag” to take with me.

Pictures of my mom and a few little trinkets—the only things I have left of her other than her attitude and her nose.

A shower seems like a good way to pass some time, so I wander into the bathroom and start the water.

Since I’m not sure if Luca will want me rummaging through his dresser for fresh clothes, I strip the t-shirt over my head and start to fold it neatly so I can put it back on after my shower.

I stop mid-fold though and glare at the t-shirt, but not really at the t-shirt.

There was a time in my life when I was difficult and demanding, always with a snarky retort right on the tip of my tongue.

Full of piss and vinegar, that’s how my mom described me, always with a fond smile and a kiss on the forehead.

I really have spent years making myself small and quiet and easy to deal with, to protect myself, but mostly to protect Finn.

Would Luca really like that side of me without sex involved?

I glower again, balling up the shirt and tossing it onto the bathroom floor.

So what if he doesn’t? I’m sick and goddamn tired of being what everyone else wants and needs me to be.

Steam slowly starts to fill the bathroom and fog the mirror.

I shove the loose pair of cotton pants down and kick them off just as carelessly as I did with the shirt.

Maybe I’ll leave them there too. I sniff at the crumpled clothes then slide back the glass door and step under the hot stream of water.

I groan at how good it feels on my skin.

The scrapes on my knees from when that fucker went down last night sting mildly.

Bracing one hand on the shower wall, I bend my head forward and let the water rush over me, running down my back and dribbling onto my face.

Washing away years of bullshit and nightmares is a lot to ask of a simple shower, but it almost feels like it might be working.

Like the Anders I’ve been to protect my brother was nothing more than body paint that I’m finally able to watch swirl down the drain.

That stupid little ember of hope Luca ignited in my chest last night is still flickering, and I don’t have the heart to snuff it out just yet. It doesn’t make any sense, but for some reason, I trust him.

I laugh, and the sound echoes eerily off the tiled walls.

The only person in my life I can trust is the mafioso I robbed…

seriously, you can’t make this shit up. I straighten up and grab the bottle of bodywash off the shower shelf, filling my palm with it.

The same citrus scent I smelled on Luca’s skin last night tickles my nose, making my dick slowly start to swell between my thighs.

My mind fills with memories of the taste and feel of his skin, the moans I dragged out of him, and the way he shuddered and writhed as I fucked him into a helpless puddle beneath me.

I groan and wrap my soapy hand around my stiffening cock.

I guess I won’t be needing those little blue pills again anytime soon.

Maybe I won’t need them ever again. The realization that I might be done with sex work hits me so hard that my knees go weak.

I reach out to brace myself against the wall again and another laugh bursts from my throat.

I can hear the relief even in the hollow echo that comes back to me.

I don’t have the first fucking clue what I’m going to do with the rest of my life, but what I do know is that I won’t ever have to let anyone touch me again unless I want them to.

I don’t have to flirt and feign interest in boring, self-obsessed men at the bar anymore.

It all feels too good to be true, like maybe Luca can’t protect me the way he says he can.

Maybe my dad will find another way to get to me and make me miserable.

Maybe I should pick up the clothes off of the bathroom floor and try to behave myself a little while longer, just in case Luca decides I’m too much trouble to protect after all.

I let go of my softening cock and focus on washing up everywhere else while my thoughts spiral and bounce between rebellion and self-preservation.

By the time I turn off the water and step out of the shower, I’m not sure where I’ve landed.

I dry myself off and then scoop the clothes up, carrying them back into Luca’s bedroom and tossing them into the hamper.

Then, I go into the living room and dress in the clothes I wore yesterday.

I pick up my phone and flop down on the couch. There’s a text from Finn waiting for me.

FINN: I almost forgot to tell you, I have great news! At least, I think it’s great news. It feels pretty great anyway…

I chuckle. I’m sure he still feels like shit, but at least he’s back to his usual rambling self.

ANDERS: Why don’t you tell me the news and I’ll let you know if it’s good news or not?

FINN: I’m pretty sure it is! It’s just, there’s going to be some logistics to work out since I already signed a lease on an apartment in Riverside and everything.

ANDERS: Bro, just tell me what you’re talking about.

FINN: I got offered a job in Wildcliff! I know you were jazzed for me to move and stretch my wings or whatever, but this job pays just as well as the one in Riverside, and it would mean I can stay here with you.

My heart squeezes violently and the air vanishes from my lungs. If Finn stays in Wildcliff, he’ll never be safe from our dad. I’ll never be free of our dad.

“Fuck,” I whimper.

LUCA

“He’s feisty. I can see the appeal,” Sal says conversationally as we pull into the underground parking lot at one of the buildings Lorenzo owns downtown.

It houses a few legitimate businesses and serves as another great money laundering front, but it also offers the added benefit of top floor conference rooms for when the boss doesn’t feel like holding his meetings at the strip club.

I chuckle and climb out of the passenger side. “Anders is special,” I agree, a lump forming in my throat in the shape of the promise I made to my little viper. I’m going to protect him one way or another, that’s a guarantee.

My uncle claps me on the shoulder and squeezes it, leading me through the parking garage to the elevators.

Lorenzo Moretti might be my own flesh and blood, but that doesn’t stop my stomach from roiling with nerves.

Sure, I’ve sat across the table from him at Nonna’s Christmas dinners, but I’m not stupid enough to think he’s the same man when he’s wearing the fuzzy pajama pants and a quiet smile as he is when he’s sitting up on the top floor of a high-rise, ruling the city and ordering people to be killed if they dare to piss him off.

The elevator doors swing open, and Uncle Sal and I step on.

He straightens his black and gold tie and shoots me a reassuring smile.

I want to ask him what the odds are that Lorenzo will agree to let me deal with Anders’s father, but if he tells me my chances are shit, it might just psych me out before we even get there.

I’m going to handle things for Anders regardless of what Lorenzo says, but since I prefer my body without bullet holes, it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier if I can get his blessing.

“Don’t stress. Enzo is a reasonable guy,” Sal assures me.

I give a tight nod as the doors slide open again, depositing us on the top floor.

I’ve never actually been here before, but I’ve certainly heard stories from some of the other Moretti soldiers about their own pants-pissing terror about being called up here to have a sit-down with Lorenzo.

Salvatore gives me a little nudge towards the large set of double doors.

I drag in a deep breath and then raise my fist to knock.

Footsteps squeak against the marble floors, and seconds later, the door flies open.

The person directly on the other side isn’t who I was expecting.

For one thing, he clearly missed the memo about the official Moretti dress code.

Instead of an expensive suit, he’s wearing an old, worn leather jacket with a tightly fitting graphic tee underneath, and a pair of jeans that look like they’re just as broken-in as the jacket is.

His messy blond hair and petite stature remind me of Anders, and so does the gleam in his eyes as he sizes me up.

“That wasn’t the super-secret official knock. Five seconds to give me today’s password, or I’ll have to kill you.” He pulls his jacket back just enough for me to see the handle of a large blade holstered underneath.

I chuckle. “Hey, Sparrow.”

“Xav still hasn’t managed to get you on a leash yet?” Sal deadpans.

The threatening scowl on Sparrow’s face melts into a smirk. “Oh, was that leash he brought home supposed to be for me ? Instructions unclear.”