Page 159 of What's Left of Us

“That depends.” He steps back and leans against the opposite wall. “What exactly do you need help with?”

The voices from outside start fading, and I’m not sure how long we’ll have before they come looking for Luca. “I need to talk to Stefan Mangino.”

His expression drops. “Come again?”

“I need to talk to—”

“Oh, I heard you,” he says, the playfulness on his face long gone. “But now I’m wondering if you recently fell and hit your head. Are you insane? That can be the only reason you’d want to do that.”

“Can you or can you not help me?”

He blinks slowly. “How much do you know about Mangino? Because it’s far more than I thought you did, which makes me wonder if your father is really starting to crack.”

Hasn’t that been the problem all along? “I know enough to understand that he’s the answer to my problem.”

“The answer…” Luca laughs. “That man is not the answer to anything. You wanted out of this world. And now you’re asking me to bring you straight to the leader of it? No.”

He starts to go toward the door, but I put my hand on his to stop him from opening it. “Please. He hurt Leani. Badly. I may not be close to her, but whatever pressure he’s under, he’s taking out on her. And he’s on something. Drinking more. There was powder on his desk last time I was there. He’s losing it. She’s going to wind up dead if this keeps going on.”

I can tell he wants to argue, but he doesn’t.

“I’ll do anything,” I whisper. “Just help me end this. There’s got to be something that Stefan Mangino wants from my father to finish this.”

Luca shakes his head, his eyes darkening as he turns from the door and blocks me in. “One thing you should be very careful of is your choice of words, little Del Rossi.”

I swallow.

He reaches forward, placing his hand against the wall to box me in. “You would do anything?”

“Within reason.”

The grin on his face isn’t playful or friendly. There’s something sinister behind it that matches the shadows masking his face. “There is no such thing as reason in the world you want to step into.”

“Not into,” I correct, pressing myself against the wall. “I want him to get me out of it.”

It’s obvious he doesn’t think it’s possible. “I wish I had your delusion.”

“It’s called optimism, Luca.”

“Not all of us are afforded that in life.” Using his free hand, he wraps a strand of my hair around his finger.

“W-what are you doing?”

He tugs gently on it. “You said you’d do anything, right?”

My heart starts thumping in my chest, but I don’t trust myself enough to answer. If my voice breaks, if the shakiest sound comes out of my mouth, Luca will know he’s gotten under my skin.

And that seems…dangerous.

“Kiss me.”

The two words have me looking up at him. “I thought you said you didn’t want to marry me. You made it seem like you weren’t interested.”

His finger releases my hair and pinches my chin before his palm slides to cup my cheek. The only thing he says before closing the distance between us is, “I lied.”

Suddenly, his mouth is on mine.

My body locks up, not returning the kiss or letting my hands wander the way they automatically do when Lincoln is the man in front of me.

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