Page 79 of Wicked Knight 2

“Omigod.” I covered my mouth and shot a glance over my shoulder, hoping no one had heard Luca’s confession. “You could’ve said all that to me and not just cast me aside like I was nothing.”

“I had to. I wanted Dimitri to believe that you meant nothing to me, that I chose him over you.” He placed a hand over his heart. “After you left, all I could think about was finding you to bring you back. But you made me see that what we had wasn’t real. That it couldn’t be until I found myself again. I went to the Brownstone and saw Alfred.”

“I know.”

“It’s over with the Brotherhood. Please believe me. I never doubted my feelings for you. I only stayed to make sure his people were safe. And to end him.” He pursed his lips. “Ivan is gone too.”

“I can’t keep doing this with you.” I pushed my chair back. “I can’t.”

I rushed out of the restaurant with tears brimming my eyes. I didn’t want him to see me crying, to see how much his words affected me. Outside, I hailed a taxi and left without looking back. What did he think was going to happen tonight? Did he really believe he could barge in, scare my date to death, and make it all better? He was so wrong.

The next day, I went to the hospital before my shift started to apologize to Liam. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Except when I tried to talk to him, he made up an excuse and took off before I could get a word in. Of course Luca got to him. Damn him.

“Dr. Salvatore. I heard you were back.” Ida rushed past the nurses’ station and hugged me. “How was Paris?”

Right. The cover story. After Ivan, Tore, and Maxim-slash-Luca kidnapped me, Aunt Vittoria told everyone I’d gone to Paris on holiday. The hospital was all too happy to accept her sizable donation and put my job on hold for me. Ida had no idea what I’d gone through. No one did outside my circle—Rex, Enzo, Santino, and Aunt Vittoria.

“It was good.” I smiled.

“Oh, before I forget. You got flowers.” She beamed then disappeared into the office behind the nurses’ desk. When she returned, she had a ginormous floral arrangement on wheels. I’d never seen orchids and pink roses put together into such an intricate and beautiful design. “I think someone has a crush on you.” She handed me the card. “Liam, maybe? That poor man has been pining over you for years.”

“He’s over it now,” I said.

The elegant writing on the envelope sent my heart into overdrive. I was beyond pathetic if my name written in Luca’s handwriting was already beginning to melt my defenses. Luca never played fair. I ripped open the envelope and stared at his message, while fat tears smudged the words.

Forgive Me

I was angry at Luca for excluding me from his heroic plan. But in truth, what was there to forgive? That Luca wanted to do the right thing? That he cared about the people who became his family when he had none? Or that he wanted to once and for all remove all obstacles so we could be together, forever like we always talked about?

My heart ached for Luca because in all the time I’d spent waiting for him, he was out there, more alone than ever, and fighting for his life. I’d been so stupid. I had to find him. Where the hell was he?

I grabbed my phone from the front pocket of my scrubs. As soon as I did, a text from a private number came in.

Private number: your final assignment is due tonight.

Me: who the hell is this?

Private Number: Don’t be late, Ms. Salvatore.

I typed into my phone as I scanned the empty hospital hallways. I glared at the screen with my blood pulsing hard through my veins. And there it was again, the pull that Luca had always had over me—this aura of danger and intrigue that followed everywhere he went. It lured me in like a moth to the flames.

Private number: Once upon a time, there was a rich girl. She was indelibly beautiful. But like all gorgeous creatures, she was incredibly spoiled and rotten to the core. One night, she decided to leave her ivory tower and go for a walk in the dead of night…

She trudged through the dark forest looking for her knight. The woods were a dangerous place, plagued with thieves and wicked men. But she knew she didn’t need to be afraid, that her knight would always protect her.

Luca was back. He remembered us.

Tears brimmed my eyes as I read his text again. I recalled the assignment from six years ago when Luca finally allowed himself to have feelings for me, to recognize that I had always been his dirty little secret because he had wanted me even when our love was forbidden.

So much had happened since then. I wasn’t a naive princess looking for her protector. Though I was still, as always, waiting for him.

“Fuck.” I placed a hand on my forehead.

I rushed down the corridor, half-expecting Luca to be there waiting for me. But instead, I found Alfred behind the wheel of a black Escalade. With a quick glance heavenward, I let out a small laugh, then ambled toward him.

As soon as he saw me, he climbed out to open the door. “Ms. Salvatore. Good to see you.”

“I bet your life was boring when he wasn’t around.”

---