I hung up before he could respond and turned to put my phone back in my bag.
I froze, though, when I saw Luc standing in the doorway. Hurt washed over his face. Hurt and something else I couldn’t describe.
I didn’t need to be told that the hurt on his face had to be down to him catching what I’d said to Sinclaire. I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, but I knew he must have heard that last part.
He must have heard me, must have heard every word I’d said to Sinclaire.
I knew the part that would have gotten him the most. It was when I’d said I trusted Sinclaire wholeheartedly.
My conversation wasn’t long, but it was enough.
Luc walked up to me. The phone started ringing in my hands. Sinclaire was trying to call back. I placed the phone on the bed, and we both watched it ring out.
Luc reached out and cupped my face. Looking deep into my eyes, he looked like he was searching for something. Then he dropped his hands to his sides.
“Pack a small bag.” He breathed ragged.
“What? What happened?” Something had happened. “Did you find something? Victor was here.”
“I know, goddess. Please, just pack a bag.”
“Where are we going?”
“I need normal. I need normal for a few hours. I need that with you. I can’t… Please, just pack a bag.”
What happened to him?
He looked me over, and his bottom lip trembled.
“My dad. I need to see if he’s okay.” I pointed to the door.
“He’ll be fine. Someone will stay here and watch the place.”
“You said we should stay here, you said that—”
“Fuck!!! Fuck, Amelia, please,” he cried. “Just pack a fucking bag and come with me.”
If I was worried before, I was scared now. Luc had never spoken to me like that before, and he’d never looked like this either. What came next shocked me even more.
A tear ran down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away.
“What’s going on in here?” Claudius asked from the door.
He looked in at us, gun at the ready.
“We’re leaving for the day,” Luc told him. He turned to face Claudius with a sneer on his face.
“Leaving to go where,Lucian?”
“Home. It’s where I’d have my girl with me if this shit weren’t happening. We wouldn’t be cooped up in here in Raphael’s house. Fucking Raphael. Fuck him. Fuck him, Claudius. Son of a bitch, fucking son of a bitch always thinks he knows what he’s doing, but he’s wrong. This time, he messed with the wrong people, and we have to suffer.”
“What happened?” Claudius asked in a controlled, even tone. I was surprised at the way he was able to keep his cool because clearly, Luc had cracked.
Whatever these guys had done had cracked him and made him lose it.
Luc opened his mouth to answer and closed it again. He started again and sighed. He then walked over to Claudius and stopped to rest his hands on the door frame.
Claudius placed his hands on Luc’s shoulders and stared him straight in the eyes.
