Page 15 of The Secrets We Keep

Luca stood before the wide floor-to-ceiling windows in the second corner office and stared down over Sicily. Cars, bikes, and Vespas whizzed around like ants through the well-lit streets. In the distance, beyond the colorful stretch of buildings, the moon glinted off the Tyrrhenian.

From this vantage point, everything seemed so small, inconsequential, ripe for the taking. Maybe this was why his brother had claimed the top floor of the towering building for himself. So he could feel like the king he was desperately fighting to be.

Turning away from the window, he surveyed the already furnished office. He wondered if he should be irritated or impressed that his brother had been so confident Luca would maintain an office here he’d already moved in all the furniture he would need.

A large, antique desk similar to the one in their father’s study faced the windows, exactly how Luca would have placed it. The chair behind it was new but covered in a dark brown leather aged to look as old as the desk.

Tall, wide bookcases lined the wall behind the desk, and two chairs faced the front. The office wasn’t as big as Matteo’s, but there was still room enough between the desk and the door for a small loveseat and two more chairs across from it, creating a more intimate meeting area.

It was impossible to imagine needing this much space to do casino or even strip club business, but Luca knew Matteo’s plans spanned far beyond reviving the failing Romano strip clubs they’d assumed control of or ratcheting up the profits of their already well-performing casinos. Casinos Luca had spent a lot of time pulling out of the gutter.

But still Luca had no concrete idea what Matteo’s plans were beyond occupying Sicily’s throne. Matteo had come back with a singular focus. Force every other Sicilian Don to bend the knee to him and allow them all to operate at his mercy—and only his mercy—on the island.

They’d completed the first phase of Matteo’s plan by taking out the new and struggling Romano Don, Elio, and installing his younger, more pliable cousin, Davide. It had been a good move, not just for Matteo’s plan, but for Carina’s thirst for revenge. She deserved every drop of blood she and Alexei squeezed from that family for the way they treated her.

The second phase was controlling Varda’s army to the south. Aroldo Varda had been a threat to Bianchi interests for years, constantly pushing the boundaries of their territories to see what he could get away with. In the end, all he’d gotten for his trouble was shot and all his loyal men with him. Dom now held control of the Agrigento territory in his iron grip.

Now they had their sights set on ruining Nero Gallo. Luca suspected Matteo probably would have played nice if Gallo had somehow miraculously agreed to their deal, shifting his plans to get what he wanted. Recalculating without sharing the new information with anyone until he was good and ready. He wouldn’t put anything past his brother at this point.

He turned at a knock on the door, but no one entered. Must be Maeve. His brother rarely, if ever, bothered to knock for anything. Luca moved behind the desk to keep a barrier between them.

“Come in.”

Maeve poked her head around the door and smiled. “I didn’t realize anyone else was here this late, but I saw your light on. Thinking about joining us in the office full time?”

He looked around the space. “I am. I figured it’s probably best to get settled in, find a rhythm before we get to work absorbing Gallo Industries.”

“Smart,” she said, pushing the door open fully and stepping into the frame. She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes wandering the office and lingering on the sofa before snagging his gaze. “If there’s anything I can do to make your transition smoother, please let me know.”

A week ago, he’d have flung back some flirty remark about working long, hard nights and then pictured her riding him on that very couch she kept eyeing. Now all he could picture was Sienna. Nothing in the last three years had dulled his senses where she was concerned.

He could still hear the sounds of her throaty moans and breathy sighs, the way her voice trembled when she begged him to fuck her. He’d shoved the need down for her a long time ago, but that kiss he should not have claimed from her mouth the other day had brought it all rushing back to the surface again.

Now he could barely think of anything else. He had to stop himself from jumping in the car and driving across the island just to see her at least five times a day. He still had so many questions.

Fitting her back into the box he’d kept her in for so long wasn’t working. He’d tried. And with each passing second, it was getting harder and harder to forget she existed.

If she was here for revenge, as he suspected, Christ knew she’d earned every bit of it and more. But fuck it all if he didn’t want to help for the simple satisfaction of making whoever had taken her from him pay. Violently.

And he’d long suspected he might know who’d done it. Which would be a problem for all of them. Sienna might not want his help taking down her family’s killer. She hadn’t come to him to ask for it. But he had the sneaking suspicion they had the same target.

If he was right, this whole thing would become a lot more complicated. But there was at least one thing he could get working in Matteo’s office that he couldn’t get back at the casino. Better tech and security. Better information.

“Actually, can I get my own login for the database search program you use?”

Her eyebrows lifted, and her cheeks flushed, clearly surprised when he didn’t flirt back with her. He’d have to deal with that later. Right now, he needed to confirm his suspicions about Sienna.

“Sure. I can get you set up with the program in just a few minutes.”

He moved away from the desk toward the window, giving her plenty of room to skirt around it, and looked out over the city while her fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard. It was a shame Maeve’s grandfather, Dublin’s reigning mob king, wanted to marry her off after her year abroad helping Matteo gain control of Sicily. She was, no doubt, a much better asset behind a computer.

She stopped typing and took a step back. “Was there something specific you were looking for?”

He glanced at her from his spot by the window. She was loyal to his brother, not him, and if he didn’t trust Carina enough to tell her about Sienna, he sure as hell didn’t trust the woman who reported only to Matteo.

He shook his head. “Just some general research. I want to make sure we didn’t miss any angles we could have worked. Especially when we make that hit next week. Thank you,” he added as she moved to the doorway.

“Sure thing. If you need anything else, let me know.”

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