Page 28 of Checkmate

“No, you don’t. It’s not your fault I’m so old fashioned that some things mean more to me. I knew you had to leave.”

I feel my own eyes bulge now. “Really? You think that didn’t mean anything to me?”

He shrugs. “I don’t think that it meant as much to you.”

I stand up, my body shaking with fury now. God, when did my emotions become such a messy rollercoaster? “How can you say that to me right now?”

Luca scoffs. “Seriously? You left in the middle of the freaking night! You snuck out of the bed, packed a bag, attacked one of your father’s men, and shot out his security system just to get away from me. I mean, that’s got to be some kind of record or deserves an award at least.”

I huff. “Well, I’m so sorry that your ego was bruised. I’m surprised you managed to survive it.”

“You know what, for two months I have been worried sick about you. I have wondered about you, but now that you’re here I don’t know what the hell I was so worried about. I don’t even know why I cared when you so clearly don’t.” Luca turns around and heads for the kitchen.

“Yeah, I came back here because I don’t care. You’ve got it all figured out, right?” He ignores me. For a moment, I think I’ve made a mistake coming back here, but then I know he’s hurt. I know he’s angry and he has every right to be. I took the coward’s way out. I caused that hurt and anger. I deserve the backlash. I expected it to an extent, but I’ll be damned if I admit that to him. He’s gained enough control over my emotions, so I refuse to admit where I was wrong at the moment. It might be stubborn, but oh well. I remind myself I’m here because I’m possibly in love with Luca and he could be, probably is, in danger. “You know what, I don’t know why I came here to give you a warning. It won’t do a damn bit of good. Have a great life, Luca Healey.”

Twenty-Nine

Luca

I pace my room while trying to get my anger to subside. I rip my suit off feeling the constriction of the fabric too much at the moment. I dig out my sweats and t-shirt before taking a few deep breaths and heading back out into the living room. Seeing Vivianna is something I had been dreaming about. Hell, just earlier I was thinking about going after her once this whole undercover mess was done and over. Now, she’s here and the anger is too much. I know I have a right to be angry, but why can’t I just be happy she’s here? Why can’t I just go out there and pull her into my arms and breathe her in? That’s all I’ve wanted for the past two months.

I open the door, an apology on the tip of my tongue, but the moment I see her, the anger flares once more. What was it about her that caused my emotions to jump from one extreme to the next? I was starting to act like some damn girl. I stomped over, barely glancing in her direction as I made my way to stand in front of her with the coffee table between us. When she looks up I easily notice the way her eyes slowly rake over me and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some reaction to that, but it’s her face that catches me off guard and makes me feel like an ass.

Her face is blotchy and tear stained. Trails of black mascara and eyeliner mar her beautiful round cheeks. Her eyes are red and puffy and instantly I start apologizing. Yes, she left and that’s on her, but my anger is on me. I shouldn’t have assumed that our one night together meant something to her. I’m the odd ball in this generation now a days. I shouldn’t and really can’t expect people to hold the same moral ideas that I do.

However, in the midst of my apology, I see my firecracker return. Her eyes light up with the fighting fire. Of course, it’s a turn on, but it’s also super annoying when I’m on the other end of that sword. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if I knew why, but I’m clueless right now. I didn’t know asking her to stop crying and apologizing was going to piss her off. What is with her?

Our fight escalates. It’s the last thing I want, but we can’t seem to stop pushing one another’s buttons. Eventually, I turn away from her and make my way to my kitchen. I need a damn drink if I’m going to have to continue to deal with this insanity. I’m mid-stride when I hear Vivianna’s voice. “You know what, I don’t know why I came here to give you a warning. It won’t do a damn bit of good. Have a great life, Luca Healey.”

That name makes me pause. My entire body freezes. Vivianna might be talking right now, but I hear nothing beyond the pounding of my heart and racing of my blood. I’ve managed so long without that last name being brought up. Long enough that I was starting to think Lombardi was my last name. Hearing her say Healey was both a blessing and a curse. My cover is blown. I don’t know how to repair this now.

Vivianna knows the truth about me? How does she know the truth about me? Maybe, they all do. Maybe, she’s here to kill me herself. Despite her saying that she despises her father and his lifestyle she’s still a Giordano at the end of the day. They stick together, and if they all know then that means my head is on the chopping block.

I force myself to swallow past the fear and truth in my throat. The cold sweat that coats my body has me pushing my long sleeves up to my elbows. I square my shoulders and raise my chin before turning around and facing Vivianna again. I fully expect to see her standing there with a gun in her hand, but to my surprise, she’s standing there, gun still lying on the coffee table, with her eyebrows raised in challenge. I give her the best smirk I can manage, but I’m certain it’s more of a grimace than anything. “What? Have you really spent these past two months with that many guys that you can’t even keep their names straight?” Okay, jackass move, Luca. But it’s better than admitting the truth right off the bat.

Once again, her eyes flare, her cheeks blush, and her stance becomes rigid. “You’re a bastard, Luca. For your information, I’ve spent the last two months missing your sorry ass, but now that I’m graced by your presence once more, I’m not sure why.”

I want to apologize again, but think better of it, so I walk to my fridge and pull out a beer—taking a long, slow drink to buy me some time. When I finally meet Vivianna’s eyes again, she’s glaring holes into me. If looks could kill this woman would be a mass murderer. “What are you doing here, Vivianna?” I cave. I ask the question I need the answer to, because I can’t continue this game of tug and war.

She sighs and shakes her head. Looking up to the ceiling she mumbles something in Italian before finally meeting my eyes again. “When I got back to New York City I got in touch with a private investigator. It wasn’t planned, but it happened. I needed to know what happened to Leo. I wanted answers because I want someone to pay for what they did. So, he’s been looking into the murder. I was beginning to think I was going to have to let it go when he called me out of a wedding today telling me he got a lead. I left the biggest event I have ever planned and hauled ass back to the city so I could find out the information. The first part was to tell me that Leo was working with you, Luca Healey, an undercover detective to take down my father. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that. Then again it made sense because you were different from the rest of my father’s minions. Then the fear set in because if whoever placed the hit on Leo knew he was working with you, then they know who you really are. I came to warn you. I couldn’t stand the idea of getting some random phone call about your murder next. I needed to make sure you were okay.”

My entire world just fell away from where I stood. Someone knew Leo was working with me. Someone has known the truth about me for a good while now. I’m still alive, but for how long? “Did your private investigator find out who placed the hit on Leo?”

She shakes her head. Tears well up in her eyes, but she won’t let them fall. I know her well enough to know that much. “No, not yet. He’s still looking. He did find out who pulled the trigger.”

“Do I even want to know?” I ask. Dread feels my entire body. It’s heavy and tired and worried.

I watch as Vivianna bites down on her bottom lip. I can tell this answer is hard for her, which gives me an idea of who pulled the damn trigger. “Matteo.”

The minute his name leaves her lips, I turn around and punch the closest thing to me, the refrigerator. Instantly, a sharp pain shoots up my hand and through my arm. I grunt and cradle my hand. Vivianna rushes over to me. She takes my hand in hers. Her skin is so soft that it causes the memories to flood back. “Shoot, you’re bleeding, Luca.”

“Somehow, I think this is the least of my worries,” I tell her. It’s my attempt at lightening the mood, but it fails.

She looks up, her gray eyes meet mine. “That’s not funny.”

“Can’t blame a dead man walking for trying,” I tell her with a shrug.

“Damn it, Luca. Stop joking around about this. We need to doctor your hand then come up with a plan. Do you have a first aid kit?” she asks.

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