Page 64 of Enemies in Ruin

It’s kind of hot.

It also explains quite a bit, such as why Evie chose Luca and not Enzo. My brother doesn’t have this kind of power.

The detective leans into the room a bit and pitches his voice low. “Far as I know, no one knows about this yet—just us and you. So, not your family”—he looks at me again—“not her family or anyone else’s. I have two guys in here, and up to a certain point, I can make sure they keep their mouths shut.”

“You do that. I’ll make sure my house is clean. We should get to the bottom of it fairly fast.” Luca shakes his hand, and the officer nods and walks away.

“Are we still thinking it’s the gangs?”

Luca shakes his head, lips pressed into a flat line. “I genuinely don’t know, Carina, but I am going to find out. This feels more sophisticated than Geno, to be honest.”

“I don’t see how they could even get into a place like this with the kind of security you have.”

“Yeah, well, a bullet to the brain is pretty persuasive, and I’ve been stretched thin lately. Usually, there’s the doorman to vet visitors, and I have a guard outside my door, whether I’m in or away, but I didn’t have that extra layer tonight. So, the only thing they needed to get rid of was the doorman.”

I walk out of the bathroom and study the mess before me. “Were you able to tell whether they took anything other than the computer?”

Luca comes to stand beside me. His hand settles, warm and reassuring, around my nape. “That’s the only thing I see, which is worrisome.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. They’re getting desperate, Carina.” From the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of a fleeting, wicked smile. “That’s okay, though. Desperate men make mistakes, and when they do…I’ll be ready.”

Chapter 25

Luca

Carinastandsatthewindow, looking out over the city that surrounds my home. The paranoid possibility of someone watching her from a nearby building sends a spear of panic through me. They could have binoculars trained on her right now.

Or the scope of a high-powered rifle.

I flip the light off to lessen the probability of anyone seeing her and to steady my nerves, and I go to stand beside her, edging her body slightly behind mine. It’s been a long time since I even bothered to look out this window, but seeing the city with its twinkles of light and flow of activity is a reminder of life. Even when we wish it to stop—to pause for a second and just fucking pay attention, it continues on its merry way.

“I used to come here as a boy with Tom.” I sense Carina’s gaze on me without looking, so I expand on what I just said. “Tom was my father’s head of security.”

Carina nods. “I remember Tom. He always watched you with fondness.” She smiles softly. The hard edges are slowly disappearing from her gaze, leaving the softness I remember from before. It gives me hope that if we can just get past this fucking kill order, we can get back to who we were before Francis’s death.

“He was good to me. This was his building, actually—where he lived. He brought me here when things got heavy at home.” They got heavy a lot. Living with my father demanded the man in me always be present. Tom let the boy in me come out.

“We would come here, and stand where we are right now, and we’d pick a building. We would build stories about their lives.” I smile. Tom had a wicked sense of humor, and the stories he weaved always took the sharpness out of my life.

“He had a fondness for superheroes,” I continue. “So, every time he got to tell a story, it was always the headquarters for some secret superhero franchise. Of course, I’d pretend to be bored, but I wished it was real.” I shove my hands into my pockets. “A stupid childhood fantasy.” I look at Carina and can’t help but touch her cheek. “There are no superheroes. Only monsters.”

Carina reaches up and captures my hand. “Monsters are only men, Luca. And I happen to think you’d look great in spandex. Maybe when this is all over, you could live out this Henry Cavill Superman fantasy I’ve always had.”

I didn’t think I’d laugh so soon, but my lips tug up, and a burst of laughter falls from my lips. Carina’s eyes widen before she joins me in laughter.

“I just might,” I say, brushing my lips against hers. “Maybe you could dress up, too,” I offer with a smile. “Wonder Woman, of course. I always thought they should’ve gotten together.”

“Roleplay, huh? I didn’t think that was your thing,” she teases.

“What isn’t my thing? I’m a little depraved.” I brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “When this is over, let’s spend all the time in the world together, please.” My words sour the mood. “But we need to leave, now.”

Without argument or question, Carina agrees, nodding her head briskly.

“I think it’s best if we keep moving.” The one place that hasn’t been hit yet is my safe house, so I plan to return there, meet with my agent, and grill him until he tells me who ordered the hit on Carina. It’s the only tangible link I have.

We ride the elevator down, and I use the time to message the fed, sending him the location of the safe house. Hopefully, I’ve given him just enough time to get there but not enough time to arrange for anything more nefarious.

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