Page 61 of His Broken Queen

“What is it?”

“My dad would be furious if he knew that I was going to your house. He doesn’t want me anywhere near your husband or his men.”

“Well, my husband won’t be there.” Actually, how was I going to persuade him to let me go?

“What about your guard or other people associated with your husband? I don’t want to upset my dad. He’s having a difficult time with my mom’s death. That’s why we want to make this meal for him.”

“I understand.” I wouldn’t be able to get Sam to take me without clearing it with Romero. “I can come alone.”

I glanced around the room, looking for my bag, knowing how wrong this was.

“Thank you.” I heard the relief in her voice. “I’ll meet you at your house. Can you text the location?”

“Sure.” I slipped on my shoes, and then quietly left the bedroom. “I’ll be there within the hour.

“You’re a good person, Luciana. My mom will be so happy when we get that cookbook.”

“I hope it’s at the house.” I unlocked the door at the end of the hall that led to the fire escape.

“Me too.”

“See you soon.” I gently nudged it open, looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was behind me.

I ended the call, and tossed the phone in my bag. I pressed the door shut, trying not to make any noise. I took a deep breath, knowing what I was attempting was stupid and reckless, but I didn’t feel like getting into a fight with Romero. If he even let me go, he would insist that I take Sam with me. He probably would make Sam go and look for the cookbook, and not let me go at all.

I wanted to do this for Stella. Her daughter asked me for something. This might be my only opportunity to do something for her family. All I had to do was go home, look for the book, and give it to Carly. Romero would probably be cooped up in his meeting with Gio, he wouldn’t even know I was gone.

When I reached the bottom of the fire escape, I opened the gate, and stepped onto the busy New York sidewalk. As I looked around, I couldn’t remember the last time I had been anywhere alone. It was more freeing than I had realized.

I walked along the street and to the parking garage across from the building, where Romero and Gio kept the cars. My heart raced inside my chest because what I was about to do was risky. If I succeeded, I would be able to do this one last thing for Stella.

If my plan failed, Romero would be onto me in about three minutes. If that happened, there would be nowhere for me to escape from his wrath. That was a chance I was willing to take.

For Stella…

Chapter 18

Romero

I couldn’t focus on my meeting with Gio. I had made the decision to launder the money for Janero. He could handle the details. Maybe I needed to take a step back, and see this from Lu’s perspective. It was difficult to read her.

What did she want from me? She knew that I couldn’t give up this life. It shouldn’t be a choice.

“Rocco is on his way up,” Gio said. “He said it was important.”

“Fine.” I swiveled my chair around and gazed out the window.

Why did I say those things to Luciana? Why did I make her think I would be okay with her walking out of this relationship?That was the last thing I wanted. As if I could let her go. I was far too selfish for that, and I loved her way too much to lose her.

I stood from the chair and headed for the door. I had to handle my personal shit before I could make any more business decisions.

“Where are you going?” Gio asked.

“You can handle Rocco.” I reached for the door handle. “I have to go see Lu.”

“Romero, get your fucking head in the game,” he shouted. “Now is not the time to lose focus. If you and Lu can’t get your shit together, you’ll have to figure it out later.”

“I can’t figure it out later,” I said. “I have to tell her something now.”

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