Page 47 of Wicked Knight 2

“Stop saying his name.” He stepped back.

“Why? You are Luca. My Luca. The only man I’ve ever loved.”

He pressed his palms to his temples. “Whatever you think you’re doing is not going to work.”

“I just want you to remember the truth.” I cupped his cheek. “Luca, I love you. I have always loved you.”

“No.” He zipped up his pants, then buckled his belt. “You’re trying to take advantage of the situation. I shouldn’t have trusted you.” He stormed toward the door.

“Wait.” I chased after him. In my panic that I could lose him forever, I beat him to the door. “You’re not leaving here until I’ve told you everything.”

“Move out of the way.” He slow-blinked.

“He’s lying to you. You’re one of us. Part of the Society.” I bit my tongue because this wasn’t the time to tell Luca that his entire family had been wiped out in the past two years. No doubt, the trauma of losing his loved ones and then becoming a wanted man was part of the reason he didn’t remember who he was. His memories were there—all jumbled up and distorted—but they were there. “You’re next in line to be Don Gallo. You know about the Society, right? Papa didn’t lie to you about that. It exists and it’s more powerful than you can ever imagine. You belong at the table same as Rex, Santino, Enzo, and Aunt Vittoria. It’s your birthright.”

“Let me guess.” He chuckled. “The only way to prove you’re telling the truth is if I take you back to your family. You must think I’m stupid. You’re staying here. End of story.”

“Now I really know you don’t remember me.” I raised my voice. The real Luca would know that “end of story” had never worked on me. It didn’t work when he rejected me when I was fifteen. Or when he said he had to leave me for good. “I’m not giving up on you.”

“I could never be one of you.” He placed a hand over the mosque tattoo on his chest. “I might not remember the details of my life before I got here, but I know what family feels like.”

“We’re your family.” I reached for his face. “Papa is using you.”

“Okay. So let’s see it.” He gestured to the room at large. “I’ve been here for over year, if not longer. Where is this loving family you speak of? Where were they when I needed them the most? That’s right. They weren’t here. Do you know who was? The Brotherhood. Papa offered me a haven and rank within the family.” He pointed at his chest again and the body art inked on it. This was Maxim’s love letter to Russia because that was who’d shown up when he needed help. “What did the Italians do? The same as always, they sent a big pile of shit.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t try harder. I looked for you.”

“Enough.” He peeled my hand off him. “A couple of hours ago, you were trying to leave. So yeah, I can see how hard you were trying to find me.”

He was right. Maxim was trapped here because I gave up on him. I told him to never come back. And even though I was mad at him for doing exactly that, I never did anything of real consequence to find him. I could’ve asked Rex to search for him under every rock. I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I simply waited for him to return. This was all my fault. And Maxim was right to hate me for it—hate me enough to want to forget I ever existed, that his old life ever existed.

“Don’t leave.” I pressed my forehead to his shoulder with tears brimming my eyes. “Please. I can’t stand the thought of losing you again.”

“I have to speak with Papa.” He gripped my upper arms and moved me aside. “This can’t wait.”

“What?” A shock of adrenaline rushed through me. “Don’t do that.”

I hadn’t considered the fact that Maxim trusted Papa with his life. Of course he wanted to run back to Papa and let him ease his mind with more palatable lies. If anything, this was proof that Maxim wanted to believe Papa’s story. He wanted this life where he was the favorite son, loved by all, and revered.

“You can’t tell Papa any of the stuff I just told you. It’s too dangerous. There’s a chance he doesn’t know exactly who you are. Or that you’re the next Don Gallo.” I searched for the right words to dissuade him from making a deadly mistake. “He knows about the Society, but if he brought me here, that means he has no clue you are part of it.” I wracked my brain for more plausible evil plans fitting of someone like Papa. He seemed to be the long con kind of guy. Whatever he wanted from Maxim, he’d already waited a whole year for it. “For now, maybe he’s holding off until the right opportunity presents itself so he can ask for a ransom. If that’s what he wants, the Society will pay whatever he wants.”

“That’s so far-fetched, it’s comical, and you know it.” Maxim scoffed. “He brought you here for revenge, remember?”

Revenge for a dead mother who didn’t exist.

Papa was committing to his bullshit story. He gave Maxim a way to enact his revenge on me. Who the hell did that? He was next level psychopath.

“I still have nightmares about your dungeon. So no, I haven’t forgotten why you brought me here.”

What would Papa do if he found out I knew Maxim’s real identity. Papa had put a lot of hours and planning into making Luca believe he was Maxim. Now I understood why phones were not allowed in the house. Belinda had said it was because Papa didn’t want the government spying on them. That was bullshit. He didn’t want Luca accidentally seeing his picture on the internet. When he was teaching at Columbia, he attended a bunch of scholar events. He was a public figure.

Fuck. Fuck.

I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Whatever Papa’s plans for Maxim were, his time and effort were well worth his time. I had no doubt he would kill me to keep this nonsense going. But what about his favorite son? Would he kill him too?

“I’ll stay.” I took in a deep breath. “I’ll stay for as long as you want me. I won’t try to escape again. But please, don’t tell Papa what I just told you. Who knows what he’ll do.”

Those were the magic words. As soon as I promised to stay, Maxim’s whole body relaxed. Even the fury and mistrust in his eyes dissolved. I’d like to believe that deep down, he knew who I was. He knew that the only way for him to find his way back home was to keep me close to him.

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