Page 87 of The Villain's Beast

No more cavorting in the shadows. Back to pretending it was them against us.

“Can you manage that?” he asked Luca.

“As long as the end is in sight,” Luca whispered.

“It’s close,” I promised.

“You can kill him whenever you want,” Vince said, standing from his seat at the table and giving his clothes a quick pat down. “It makes no difference to me.”

Gideon huffed out half of a laugh, tucking a loose bit of hair behind his ear.

“After that.” Luca cleared his throat and fidgeted with his glasses. “Will…will you just…be the one in charge then?”

“That’s how it works,” Gideon said.

“Even if it’s after a murder?”

“Especiallyif it’s after a murder.” Vince smiled like he’d murdered a few people on his own.

He wasn’t wrong. Our families kept our dealings far more quiet than Angelini’s did, but that didn’t mean we didn’t run in the same circles and do the same kinds of things. The Norths and the Sinclairs just did it better than most.

But not for long.

“And what about Sinclair?” I asked. “Not Fletcher. His father.”

“I’ll talk to him about it,” Gideon said, joining Vince on his feet. “Let me walk you out.”

Gideon gestured toward the front of the house, and Vince headed that way. The two of them left Luca and me alone at the massive dining table, sitting on opposite sides and facing each other head on.

“Will you forgive me?” I asked.

“Already did,” he rasped, mouth twisting into a sad smile.

“Come here.” I pushed my chair back, and Luca was around the table and in my lap before I’d even settled back into the seat. He was so lanky and tall, his hair so soft, his mouth so fucking perfect.

“This is killing me,” he said, taking my cheeks into his hands and searching my face for an answer I wasn’t sure I had.

“It’s almost over,” I promised, pulling him closer. “I love you. I love you. I lo?—”

He cut me off with a moan and a kiss.

I arched away from the back of the chair, pushing my body closer to his and flattening both of my palms against his spine. Luca was so warm and so pliant, and three days without him had been too long. Any time without him was too long, but I had the sinking feeling things were going to start moving quicker than we’d ever imagined and when it was all said and done, we’d either be dead or we’d be together.

We’d be together either way, but one was more preferable than the other.

I kissed Luca with lazy and teasing strokes of my tongue, knowing we didn’t have time to take things any further than a kiss. Bellamy and Fletcher would be back soon, and Gideon was only in the other room. Not that we had to hide ourselves from them, but this thing was bigger than us. Not just whatever kind of bizarre relationship the five of us had found ourselves in, but the situation with the families.

“How do you think it’s going to go when Fletcher and Gideon have their little talk?” I asked, smiling as I traced my lips from Luca’s swollen mouth to his ear.

“Bloody.”

I chuckled, nipping at his earlobe.

“I love you,” I told him again.

The front door closed.

“I love you,” he whispered.