Page 12 of The Secrets We Keep

Matteo shoved Dom’s hand away and took a menacing step forward.

“Boys,” Carina said, stepping between them and laying a hand on either chest. “Give it a fucking rest. Dom, tell Emilia I said hello, and I’d love to have lunch sometime soon. Matteo, maybe you’re the one who needs to get laid.”

Luca snorted as he slid his chair away from the table. “That’s what I’ve been saying.”

Pushing out of the conference room, he made his way to the elevator, going the long way around to avoid Matteo’s assistant Maeve and the flirtatious smiles she kept sending him. A week ago, he’d have jumped at the chance to finally get her naked. Now the only woman he could think about was Sienna.

Pressing the button to take him down, he sagged against the wall. He really hadn’t been sleeping well. That was the truth. But the last thing he needed right now was for Matteo, or any of them, to know about Sienna. He had no idea what any of them would do if they found out about her, and he wouldn’t jeopardize her safety.

The doors slid silently open, and he stepped into the car, pressing the button for the lobby.

“Luca, wait up!” He shot his arm out to keep the doors from closing but didn’t make eye contact with Carina when she got on behind him.

“Are you still working out of the casino?”

“Habit,” Luca replied, leaning back against the wall of the elevator as it descended. “Matteo keeps trying to get me into the other corner office.”

“It would be easier, I guess. Then again, you’d have to spend all day with him.” She made a face. “Could be torture.”

Luca chuckled, then sobered. “Say what you really want to say, Carina.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” he lied. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Voices echoed through the lobby’s atrium when they got off, Carina’s heels clicking across the floor as she kept pace with his long strides. Out of all his siblings, he was closest with his sister. Not that it meant much, since their father enjoyed keeping his children at odds.

But they’d spent a lot of time together after their mother died. Carina was only eighteen and newly back from boarding school. Then Matteo left not long after, and Dom was off in his own grief and anger. Still, they were hardly in each other’s confidence, and Carina didn’t know about Sienna.

“Luca.” She laid a hand on his arm to keep him from climbing into his SUV. “Please. Tell me what’s going on.”

His eyes wandered from her face to a spot over her shoulder where the sunlight refracted off a street sign, sending a bright white beam of light arching over the sidewalk.

Out of all of them, Carina might be the only one who understood. Lorenzo had intentionally kept her and his enforcer, Alexei, apart for years. But this thing with Sienna seemed wholly different. And it wasn’t the fact that she was a Gallo that stood in his way on this, not really. Matteo wouldn’t be thrilled, but Luca could deal with that if he had to.

What really bothered him was knowing she hadn’t trusted him. His father might not have agreed right away, but Luca would have gotten him to come around eventually. And until he did, he could have hidden her, kept her safe, tended her wounds and loved her.

But she’d taken that from him. And it didn’t matter that she was back. She wasn’t here for him. She’d made that clear when she asked what he was doing in Catania. He’d do well to remember that.

She was more than likely here for revenge. Why else come back to the island after all this time? She deserved it. There was no question about that. And he wanted her to have it. Hell, he wanted to be the one to give it to her. Burn the world down and hand her the ashes on a silver fucking platter. Better yet, stand at her back and give her the match. Whoever had done this to her would pay a thousand times over.

But what then? Would she leave him all over again? Go back to whatever life she’d built for herself far away from here while she recovered and plotted and planned? He wasn’t prepared to lose her a second time. Which is why he needed to stay away from her. Far away.

Leave her to her business so he could do his. She was three hours away, and a few days ago, she was dead. It couldn’t be that hard.

“I’ve just had a lot going on, sorellina. You worry too much,” he teased, but he could tell she wasn’t convinced.

“When you’re ready to tell me the truth, I’ll be here.” She turned to leave, then stopped herself, pivoting to face him again. “You should come out to Marsala for dinner sometime. We can catch up properly.”

“Have you finally stopped firing cooks?”

Carina rolled her eyes. “I’ll have you know Alexei is responsible for firing the last one.”

“Yeah, because she kept bringing her son around, and her son let his eyeballs wander too much. You’re lucky Alexei didn’t carve them out of his skull.”

She propped her hands on her hips, but her lips twitched into a small smile. Carina and Alexei were perfect for each other. They both enjoyed drawing blood entirely too much.

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