Page 16 of Checkmate

Yep, this is the worst thing that I could have let happen. This isn’t me at all, yet I’m letting this all happen. I can’t find any part of me that can tell her no. Vivianna wraps her hands around my neck and brings her lips back to mine. It’s heated and intoxicating. My hands roam over the soft skin of her thighs and the little sound she makes at the back of her throat, sets my entire body on edge. Her nails dig into my skin and just when I think that maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all, the door opens.

Vivianna and I break apart. Standing in the doorway is Matteo and the glare he’s sending me leaves no room for question. He doesn’t like what he sees in front of him at all. “What the hell are you doing in here?” he asks.

Vivianna straightens her dress before turning to Matteo. “As if that’s any of your business.”

“This is your father’s office,” he replies.

Vivianna shrugs. “Thank you for giving me the layout of the house I grew up in, but I’m pretty sure I know my way around it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I guess we’ll be getting back to the party… oh wait, I mean, this joke of afuneral myfather has set up.”

I follow Vivianna out the office door as I straighten my suit. As we make our way down the hallway, I attempt to talk to Vivianna, but whatever was going on in the office has clearly left her system. She doesn’t even acknowledge me. I’ll never be able to understand her, not that I need to. She isn’t the reason for my job. If anything, she is just a distraction. I grind my teeth together in frustration. Once we reach the main part of the house where most of the guests are located, she darts away.

I quickly lose Vivianna in the crowd when Matteo pulls me back into the shadows of the hallway. Based on the scowl on his face he’s still upset. “What the hell were you doing?”

I shrug. “What do you mean?”

“Luca, you know what I mean. Why the hell were you in Gio’s office and why were you making out with Vivianna?” Matteo’s eyes bore into my skull, but I play nonchalant, and I can tell it eats at him. That gives me some satisfaction.

I grip Matteo’s wrist that is currently holding me in place and push it away from me. I straighten my suit coat back up before stepping toward Matteo, causing him to take a couple of steps back. “First of all, none of it is your damn business, but since you think you must know, Vivianna wanted to go into her father’s office. As you remember, I was tasked with protecting her, so where she goes, I go. As far as making out with her… well I’m not one to kiss and tell and I’m certainly not going to deny that woman anything she wants. You’d have to be a complete idiot to not tell how lucky you are when you have her. Vivianna won’t be hearing no from me.” I look out of the corner of my eye and notice some of the other guys throwing glances in our direction, probably worried that something is about to go down. It’s no secret that Matteo and I have some issues. I nod my head at them to let them know everything is okay. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to find Vivianna.”

“I don’t trust you, Luca,” Matteo tells my retreating back, his tone laced with anger.

I stop and barely acknowledge him over my shoulder. “That feeling is mutual.” I move through the crowd until I spot Vivianna. I make my way toward her, but I’m stopped by Gio before I reach her.

“I would like to thank you for putting up with my Vivianna’s stubbornness and antics. I know she is very difficult and frustrating, but I appreciate your patience with her.”

I nod my head. “It’s not a problem, Sir. I appreciate you trusting me with the task of protecting her,” I tell him.

Gio nods once. “Leo trusted you with his life and that gives me all the confidence in you, Luca.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Gio gives me the closest thing to a smile that I’ve ever seen from him before walking away toward another group of people. That gnawing feeling in my gut returns. Gio’s words about Leo’s trust cuts me deep because if he did trust me with his life, then I failed him. I can’t think about that now. Right now, I need to make sure that Vivianna is protected. I can’t fail her the way I did Leo.

Eighteen

Vivianna

What the hell was wrong with me? I mean, seriously. I had basically just attacked Luca. I mean, yes that was typical of my demeanor, especially when it came to guys, but not when they worked for my father and definitely not in his office at my brother’s “funeral”. It was my way of saying ‘fuck you’ to him because that’s how I feel. Stepping into that office reminded me where things went wrong in my life. The moments that haunted my past. The things I tried to lock away in the depths of my mind. Stepping into that office was like ripping the lock from that door. It was too much, and I needed a distraction in order to keep myself together. There was Luca, easy for the picking and I took advantage of him. I used him and now I feel bad about it, which is only throwing me off more. This is not how things work in my world.

I stop and grab a glass of champagne, freaking champagne at a funeral. This was all just a big show for my father, and it makes me sick. I literally felt my stomach flip flopping around inside my body. I wanted out of this damn circus, but for now I had to stay and play my part. I also had to try and assess everyone in this room, because the chance is that either the person who put the hit on Leo or the killer themselves, or both, are in this room right now.

My eyes scan every face that I can see, but it won’t help me narrow down the people behind his murder. I’ve been out of the game too long now to know who has The Giordanos’ back and who doesn’t. As I’m walking along the outskirts of the group of people, I’m not really paying attention, until I hear the high-pitched, nasally voice of Lana. Lana Colombo is the youngest daughter of the Colombo mafia. She’s tall and lanky, built like a supermodel with a dark pixie haircut. Her dark, angled eyes and thin lips are made to look fierce with the makeup techniques she’s had used on her face today, but I still remember who she is. She’s catty and not one to be trusted. “Oh my goodness, Vivianna Giordano, is that you?”

I roll my eyes at her fake surprise and kindness. She saw me at the funeral and I’m sure it’s been the talk between the families about my return. She knew I was here, and Lana is not a kind person. I toss my hair over my shoulder. “Lana, I’m surprised you’re here.” I’m not though. This is exactly the type of thing that Lana lives for. It’s a place for her to strut around in slutty clothes and draw some attention to herself from the families. She’s desperate and everyone knows it, her included.

“Oh, you know me, I couldn’t come and say goodbye to Leo. It’s just such a tragedy,” Lana coos, as if she’s talking to a baby, holding her slender hand over her heart.

I scoff. As if. She hated Leo because she kept trying to sink her nasty, gold digging claws into him and he just wouldn’t fall for it. He was too smart for her shit. “Yes, it was, but I doubt he’d care if you were here.”

Lana and her two equally annoying friends both gasp in shock at my comment. Lana’s eyes get bigger than I’ve ever seen them before. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, come on, Lana, don’t act so shocked. Leo couldn’t stand your whiny ass and you hated him because he didn’t bow at your feet like you believed he should. So, how about we cut the shit and get real? You’re only here to flaunt around and get some attention, maybe even a few phone numbers. I’m sure your daddy wants you married off soon, you’re getting a little old by Colombo standards, aren’t you?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest and raising my eyebrows in question. Lana sputters around, clearly shocked by my assessment. “We both know that Leo wouldn’t care if you were here or not. He would have hated the spectacle as it is. It’s not a funeral, it’s a goddamn party so that everyone can see the invincible Lorenzo Giordano and his unwavering power. Nothing fazes him, not even the murder of his own son.”

Lana just stares at me, her mouth agape and eyes wide. I’m sure no one has ever been this blunt with her, but I don’t care. I don’t care about anything in this damn town or in the mafia world. The only thing I cared about is dead. I’m waiting for Lana to regain her footing, so she can come back with something, but before she does, I hear a person directly behind me clearing their throat. I have a sinking suspicion of who it is and when I turn around, my suspicion is confirmed. Luca stands in front of me looking as good as he did when we entered my father’s office. He doesn’t seem one bit fazed by the situation we were just in and I don’t know why that irritates me. Maybe, because normally I’m the cool and collected one, but kissing Luca got under my skin. He hit some kind of nerve within my body, and I can’t shake him, I feel like. The smirk on Luca’s face makes me want to do one of two things: either slap it right off his face or kiss the hell out of him and I don’t know which one is going to win right now.

“Ladies,” Luca says, as he nods his head to the girls behind me. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to take Vivianna now.”

“Good riddance,” Lana whispers, but not low enough.

I turn around in a flash, ready to lay into her, but a pair of arms come around my waist. A set of arms that have become familiar today. “Oh no you don’t, Firecracker.”

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