Page 41 of Beautiful Dangerous

Olivia

It’s taken a while, for me to realize how lonely I actually am, and yet, I’m never really alone. But being surrounded by armed guards and men like Lucca…

Men like Lucca…

Wrapping my robe around me I walk out onto the terrace and stare out at the ocean. The sun’s setting, the sky a beautiful mix of orange and red with a pale yellow hue and I smile to myself as I remember the times me and Javier would stand here, watching the sun go down, drinking tequila and talking about a future we never got to share. A few years, that’s all I had with him, and yet, sometimes, it feels like a lifetime. And now he’s gone, he isn’t coming back, but I’m finally learning to let go. I want to move on now, it’s time. And deep down, I know I’ve already started to do that.

The sound of a car pulling up outside makes me look down, but it’s just Lucca. And I watch as he gets out, slams the door shut and exchanges a few words with the guards patrolling the back of the estate. I keep watching as he heads inside, and I feel my stomach clench, a feeling I’ve been trying to keep down for a long time. Because it felt wrong. There are lines we shouldn’t cross in this world, no matter how much I want to, and I think he feels the same way. It’s why we carry on like there’s nothing happening, when I think we both know exactly what’s going on, it’s just, the timing is lousy. And the guilt still won’t go away.

Heading back into the living room I go over to the sideboard in the corner and pour myself another shot of whiskey, downing it in one. It’s been a strange day. A sad day. A day of realizations. A day where I had to order a man’s death because it was too much of a risk to keep him alive. It was him, or us. His freedom, or ours.

“You okay?”

I spin around to see Lucca standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, he looks tired. And I smile at him, because I’m glad he’s home. I don’t want to be alone anymore, not tonight.

But is it safe to be alone withhim…?

“I’m getting there.”

He moves further into the room and pours himself a drink. “It’s done.”

I lean back against the wall and watch him down his whiskey. “Good.”

He turns to face me. “It was necessary, Liv.”

“I know. I toldyouthat. He knew the rules, and he broke them. We had no choice.”

He walks over to the open French doors and looks outside, his back to me as he stares into the distance. “Jimmy had problems.” He turns back around, his eyes locking on mine. “People needed to know what they were, to understand what happened to him.”

“Does Hawkins know? Have they found him?”

Lucca nods. “I guess those problems of his, they were just too much for him to cope with, in the end.”

Make it look like an accident.

Suicide.

Whatever fits the narrative, we cover it all, to rid ourselves of any threat. Because that’s what Jimmy had made himself. A threat. And they need to be extinguished.

A twinge of guilt flashes through me, but I push it away. This, what we sometimes have to do, it’s a necessary evil. A consequence of the shit that can happen if you don’t play by the rules, and Jimmy broke those rules. Game over.

“We need to replace him, Lucca. Quickly.”

“It’s all in hand. Eddie’s contacts are working on it. We’ll have someone by the end of tomorrow, I promise.”

“Good. We’ll need to organize a meet, once they’re in place.”

“Of course. I’ll arrange that.”

“Thank you.”

His eyes lock on mine, and as he moves toward me the smell of his cologne fills my head, and my heart’s beating faster the closer he gets, I can’t stop it from doing that. I can’t slow it down.

“It’s been a tough day, Liv. Maybe you should get some rest.”

“I don’t need to rest. I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

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