Page 63 of Ruthless King
“I can’t help it.” She rises to her tiptoes and brushes her lips against mine once again. “I’m staking my claim on virgin territory.”
A deep roar of laughter bubbles out this time, and I nearly buckle over. “I hate to break it to you, princess, but you’re not my first kiss.” My teenage years were wild ones.
Her lips pucker into an irresistible pout.
“It’s just been a very long time,” I finally admit.
She remains quiet for an endless moment before she summons the courage for her next words. “Who hurt you, Luca?” Her hand cradles my cheek again, and for a second, I’m that insecure thirteen-year-old boy. “Why do you feel the necessity to create these rules to protect your heart?”
I heave in a breath and lower the wall I’ve fought so fiercely to build. “Because I know real pain, real struggle, Stella, and once I survived it, I vowed I would never let anyone hurt me like that again. And the only way to accomplish that is to never let anyone in here.” I press my hand to my chest, over my heart and the numbers tattooed to my skin.
CHAPTER29
PAINTING THE STREETS RED
Luca
Tony eyes me as we walk up Canal Street toward the Red Dragon. “You sure about this,capo?”
I pat my old friend on the back and toss him a teasing grin. “What’s the matter, Tony, are you going soft?”
“Of course not.” He drags his palm over the back of his neck. “I just don’t think you should poke the bear in his den. Especially after all the shit that’s gone down in the past few weeks.”
“If Jianjun has something to say to me, he can say it to my face. Right now, he’s not the one I’m interested in.”
“You really think Bo will just hand over this supposed sex video?”
My hands curl into fists at my side as a surge of anger floods my system. It’s bad enough I even have to think about that asshole’s hands on my girl, but now there’s a video? Just the thought makes me want to rip Bo’s spine out from his throat and paint the Red Dragon in his blood. “I have to find out if it’s true,” I growl. “Jones already had all the inappropriate comments deleted, and he’s having the story monitored for more. But if thereisa video ….” I can’t even complete the sentence. Bile creeps up my throat at the idea of his hands on her, on my princess.
The red and gold awning of the Red Dragon looms closer, those stupid Chinese lanterns swaying on a breeze, and I pick up my pace, anxious for this to be over. The pair of ruby dragons sneer down at us, and I hurry up the stairs, each step intensifying my rage.
I whip the door open, and Tony quickens his step to meet my angry strides. A hostess stands at the podium, and her crimson lips slide into a smile. The hustle and bustle of lunch hour hums along behind her. Damn it. The few times I dragged my ass over here were during non-business hours. This thing with Stella is driving me so mad I hadn’t even realized what time it was. “Welcome to Red Dragon—”
I raise my hand, cutting her off. “I’m here for Bo Zhang. Tell him Signor Valentino needs to have a word with him.”
Her eyes widen, that flash of fear in her gaze only stoking the burning rage in my core.Be afraid, be very afraid. She spins on her heel and scrambles between the tables of the packed dining room.
From across the room, my gaze lands on the far corner table. Jianjun and the two other leaders who make up the Triad. Tony nudges his elbow into my ribs. “You see that,capo?”
“Mmm.”
“You think they’re going to let us walk in here and beat the shit out of Jianjun’s son?”
“I don’t really give a fuck.” I lick my lips and slide my hand behind my back. My fingers settle on the cool metal of my handgun. I’ll put a bullet in each of thosefigli di puttanaif I don’t get what I want.
The hostess stops at Jianjun’s table and dips her head. As she whispers something, all three pairs of dark eyes slant in our direction. I respond with a shit-eating grin. “I want Bo,” I mouth across the room.
Jianjun’s eyes narrow before he whispers something to the girl. She scampers down the hall into the back room, and seconds later, reappears with thatbastardoBo at her side.
Tony stiffens beside me, and without looking at my right-hand man, I already know he’s reaching for his gun.
The old man crooks a finger at his son and mutters something in his ear. Whatever he says pisses him off. Bo glares at me from across the room, burning hatred lancing through that shifty gaze. A faint shadow still darkens the skin beneath his eye, and a scar bisects his upper lip from our run-in at the subway station. He stalks closer, and I revel in the anger twisting his features.
I school my expression to neutrality, waiting for that lethal, icy calm to wash over me. It’s that control that has allowed me to get where I am today and continually climb higher.
Bo reaches us and jerks his chin at the door. “Let’s take this outside.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Tony answers and unbuttons his jacket, revealing his revolver.
