Page 111 of His Dark Vendetta

Each word of Luca’s confession landed hard, his regret and realizations sincere and profound. They transformed that spark of hope into a flame and forced my heart to beat for him once more.

But my brain hitched on one word. “Feeding?”

The bell above the door chimed.

Luca lifted his gaze and gritted his teeth. “Dannazione. Seriously?”

“Luca! Siobhán!” Gina DeVita’s voice echoed through the small space. “What are you two doing here?”

I lowered my head and pinched the bridge of my nose, needing a minute to collect myself before facing Gina.

“Oh,” she said and understanding replaced her bright tone. “Well. I’m here to pick up Vito. We need to get to the courthouse before it closes. Mikey’s arraignment is next week. I’ll be out of your hair in un attimo.

“Vito, sei pronto?” Gina tossed the words over her shoulder.

I lifted my head, not wanting to be rude. “Hello, Gina,” I said and managed a smile.

“Ciao, bella. How are you feeling?”

“Okay. Thankfully, the morning sickness sticks to the mornings.” I gave her a wry smile.

“You’ve been sick?” Luca interjected.

Gina glared at him, and I rolled my eyes.

Vito stepped up to our table. “Luca. Ms. Connelly. Gina.”

“I’ll talk toyoulater,” she said to Luca through a disapproving frown. She shifted her attention to me and gentled her expression. “How about I come over this weekend and show you how to prepare my mamma’s recipe for ginger tea? Generations of DeVitas swear by its power to cure morning sickness.”

“That sounds wonderful, Gina. Thank you.”

“Naturalmente, mia cara.” She turned to Vito. “Andiamo.”

Gina and Vito walked out of the deli, and the little bell above the door chimed again in their wake. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

“This was a terrible idea doing this here,” Luca said.

I sighed the breath out. “It’s fine, Luca. Really.”

“I thought you’d be more comfortable in public.” He waved a hand through the air, sat back in his chair, and stared out the window. “And it’s not like there are a lot of public places where it’s safe to talk about this stuff.”

“We can go somewhere else if it’s bothering you.” Maybe he couldn’t think of somewhere else to go?

His gaze remained locked out the window.

“I mean, I don’t know why we couldn’t talk about this at some other restaurant. Or a coffee shop. There are plenty in the square.”

He narrowed his eyes but kept them fixed out the window.

“Luca?”

I followed his gaze to where Gina and Vito stood chatting in the street. A car rumbled across the cobblestones, slow and plodding. It reached the deli, and its tinted windows rolled down.

Luca sprang to his feet, knocking the table onto its side. “Get down!”

I jumped out of my chair, and he lunged in front of me amid the crack of gunfire and shattering glass.

ChapterThirty-Four

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