Page 21 of The Boss's Revenge

He let out a laugh. “I know you think I’m kind, but I’m no saint. Why do you think I told Vincenzo you’re pregnant after all when you’re not? So he wouldn’t let you leave the city… so you couldn’t leave me. I won’t allow you to, Kira.”

His possessive, dark words swirled in my chest, and instead of hurting me, they softened my heart, already far too open to this man. A trembling kind of hope I’d never allowed myself to feel before rose up inside me.

“What are you saying, Rocco? Spit it out – clearly,” I snapped, urgency making me sharp.

His hands came to cup my cheek, holding my face still. The firm touch was a reminder of how strong this man was. Who could force this powerful man to do anything he didn’t want to? No one, and that was the truth.

“I’m saying that I love you, Kira, and today, I claimed you for all to see. I think I might have loved you since we met, and you cut me, fucked up as that is. My heart decided on you, and I can’t let you run off anywhere. It’s too late,cara mia, you’re trapped, forever.”

“You love me,” I repeated, skeptically.

“Yes, and you love me too,” Rocco said. I stared at him, in awe of how he could be so brutally honest and open. There were no secrets in his eyes, no hidden agendas.

“Of course I love you. You’re exceedingly loveable, but I’m not, and I know that” I started, and Rocco’s booming laugh echoed around the car.

“Whoever told you that must need their head looked at. Besides, I only want you to be loveable to me. I’d hate to have to go on a rampage, but I would, if anyone ever tried to take you from me, I’d paint this city red finding you, and I wouldn’t stop, even if we were the only two people left alive by the end.”

A tear formed and for once, I let it fall. It dripped down my cheek. I hadn’t cried since I was a little girl. Instead of mocking me for it, as Omer used to do, or thinking it was weakness, and pouncing, like others might, Rocco leaned in and kissed the trail, his tongue soothing away the salt track.

“That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” I muttered, my forehead pressing against his.

“Telling you I’d commit limitless murder to find you is the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?”

I nodded, solemn and honest.

“You do keep things interesting,cara mia. I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with next… for as long as we both shall live.”

Epilogue

KIRA

Sunday lunch in the Luciano family was a chaotic affair. Apparently, years ago, when the Luciano brothers had been young, it had been sedate and dignified. These days, there was a rambling, loud energy that seeped into my bones, and comforted me in a way I’d never been comforted.

I bustled around the kitchen, as Rocco directed me here and there, grabbing fresh spices for him. Unlike tradition, the meal wasn’t solely cooked by the women of the family, mostly because the women of the family, for the large part, couldn’t cook that well.

Instead, a chef cooked, and Rocco added the latest dish he’d been playing with, and I hung out with him in the kitchen. It had only been a few weeks since our hasty courthouse wedding, and I was still getting used to this idea of family.

An arm slung across my body, heavy and tattooed.

“Now, little cactus, why aren’t you with the other women? You know they’re drinking upstairs, while Suna gives a tour of her new wardrobe or something,” Kon trailed off, waving a hand dismissively. “Hana’s there, and she’d like to see you.”

I felt Rocco staring at me. I nodded, feeling churlish to refuse.

“Go on, they don’t bite, and besides, Hana is there, and Kat.”

Kon’s sister Kat and I went way back, and of course, Hana was Konstantin’s wife. The only women upstairs that I didn’t know well were Suna, married to Vincenzo, and Chiara, married to the second brother, Antonio, and Elena, a ballerina and wife to Rocco’s Luciano step-brother.

“Ok, I’m going.” I grabbed a cut crystal tumbler on the table. “I’m taking this.” I waved the amber liquid around in it.

Kon tutted loudly. “You’re pregnant, in case you forgot,” he said, teasing in his voice. Of course, he was well aware that I wasn’t, but we hadn’t explained anything different to the family yet.

I trudged up the stairs of the grand house and headed toward the sound of laughing female voices. Lingering in the doorway, I took in the women married to some of the most dangerous men in the city, maybe even the world.

Suna saw me first. “Kira, come and join us.”

They were sitting on the floor of the wardrobe, on the thick, cream carpet. Instead of looking around the room, they were simply sitting, leaning against the shelves, and talking.

“I came for the tour,” I said, unsure what else to say. I had little experience being friends with other women. I had little experience being friends with anyone. My only friend for so long had been Konstantin.

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