Page 18 of The Boss's Revenge

He gave me a nod, accepting that. “But you let me come here, and let me listen in. Does that mean you trust me, Kira?”

His words were soft and caught me off-guard. I shrugged, attempting to look unbothered by his sudden tenderness. “I trust that you want me out of your life,” I quipped, attempting to make light of the sudden tension between us. “I know I’ve messed things up for you.”

“You haven’t messed anything up. If you’d explained it all to me from the start, I’d have helped you and you know it.” His hard, factual words were impossible to argue with.

I nodded. “I know, why else do you think I chose you? You’re kinder than you let anyone know, Rocco, kinder than any other men in this world that I’ve ever met.”

“Kind?” Rocco repeated quietly. He looked out at the view and scrubbed a hand over his handsome features, his dark stubble rasping against his palm. “Kind. I suppose there are worst things to be.” His voice was strained and quiet. I had the feeling I’d hurt him somehow, but I wasn’t sure why. “But you’re leaving anyway,” he continued, quiet now.

I swallowed hard. There was a note of longing in his tone that turned my heart inside out. I was too close to this man. I’d given him my heart, my hopes, and my body with both hands, andhe’d kept them. How could I leave, knowing I was leaving him behind? I’d made it even harder on myself, and yet, at the same time, I knew that even if I had the chance, I wouldn’t change it. That’s how fucked in the head I was over this man.

“We should go,” I said, as the Ferris wheel brought us back to the beginning. I felt like I’d come full circle in more ways than the ride. Here I was, about to run again, and leave behind Kon and Hana, the only people who cared about me. Rocco cared too, now. I had a third person to add to my tiny, but precious collection of people who’d care if I died.

He nodded, grabbing his bag of water, one single, sad goldfish swimming helplessly inside.

“Why the fish, and not the toy?” I wondered, as we left the bright lights and music of the pier, and headed toward Rocco’s expensive sports car. I took the goldfish from him. He’d carried it around for hours. That was who Rocco was. A mafia son who’d undoubtedly killed, and harmed others, and then proceeded to carry a bag of water with a fish around, instead of tossing it away. “You do know it’s going to die?”

Rocco stopped at the car and opened my door for me. “Aren’t we all? Someday? This fish is my responsibility, and I’ll see it through, till the end, whenever that might be. That fish hasn’t done anything wrong to end up in the bag,” he reminded me, and I was struck by his words. It was true, the fish hadn’t done anything wrong to end up in the bag. It was just unlucky, like me. But that didn’t change its fate.

“I need to get home and get ready,” I told him, trying to shift the sadness that pierced my heart like broken glass. Rocco hadn’t overheard one particular detail of the plan, it seemed. “Caelan is picking me up tonight.”

Rocco froze. “Tonight?”

I nodded, the words to confirm it stuck in my throat.

He stared at me for a long moment, as my hair blew in the breeze, floating around my head. His face was only inches from mine, and he had me trapped in the space between the door and the open seat. His dark eyes moved across my face with an urgency that made my heart race. “Tonight.” His deep voice stroked over the world, challenging it, mourning it. He should have been celebrating it, and yet, that feeling was far from this one. Just when I thought he’d say something else, or maybe even lean in and kiss me, the look in his eyes changed. His dark gaze hardened, and I felt myself bounce off the invisible shield he fixed around himself.

He nodded and stepped back. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 11

Rocco

Ipaced my study, ignoring the books lining the walls, the work that needed done, and the empty feeling in my belly. I hadn’t eaten all day except for junk Kira wanted to try in Coney island, and the edge of nausea kept me sharp.

The afternoon rolled around my head and wouldn’t let me go. The knowledge that Kira was really leaving me behind and her life in New York, had sunk deep talons into my chest. On my desk, the bowl Kira had set up for me sat in the middle, and the bag with the goldfish was submerged inside.

I wasn’t pacing because I was conflicted or confused. Sure, knowing she planned to leave me, after everything we’d been through together, was a punch to the gut, but I could get over that. What I couldn't get over, was losing her. Over the course of a week, she had gone from a fascinating, beautiful enigma, to a pain in my ass who I’d wanted to strangle, as she embarrassed me in front of my family, to – everything. I tried to imagine my life without her now. This apartment would feel empty, with its tasteful antiques and curated art. My routine would feel empty too, visiting nightclubs and counting my money.

Was that all there was to look forward to in life?

No. I won’t let it be.

The voice that spoke inside me wasn’t one I’d heard often. It was unfamiliar, and yet, I knew without a doubt that it was speaking the absolute truth. I might have never fought for a woman before, but I was a Luciano, and I was used to getting what I wanted, and if I couldn’t, I was used to taking it. Calm followed my decision, soothing the ragged edges of panic that Kira’s accelerated timeline had ripped in me.

“Rocco, I’m heading out for one or two things,” Kira knocked gently on the door, just as my resolve hardened. With a new sense of peace and confidence settling in my bones, I dipped my hand into my desk drawer and pulled out a small bag I kept in my office for just this purpose.

“I’ll come with you,” I heard myself say. “It’s raining.”

Kira watched me with bemusement as I ushered her into the car.

“We really didn’t need to drive,” she mused.

I slid into the back with her, as Alberto got into the driver’s seat.

“Why get soaked if we don’t have to?” I nodded to my second in command, and he narrowed his eyes at me in the rearview mirror, catching some message in my look. We’d worked together long enough that we could practically tell what each other was thinking with that single look. Alberto knew something was going to go down, and he’d be ready to react.

He pulled out of the parking garage and into the rainy night.

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