Luca scowled down at her.“What’s so funny?”
She stroked his hair, his temples, running a finger over his eyebrow and her touch felt so damn good, he leaned into her hand, wanting more.
“I laughed because we’re already getting married.”
Luca still wanted skin to skin contact.He pulled her leg over his thigh, wanting to feel as much of her against him as possible.
“Before, you agreed to marry me to gain protection against Tanaka’s…pranks,” Luca began, his voice light.Ava snorted at the word “pranks,” and Luca couldn’t help but smile at her quick dismissal of Tanaka’s antics.But he kept going, his tone softening, his words carrying more weight.“But I want you to marry me because I love you.”
He had meant to say,because you love me,but what came out was even more vulnerable—and true.He loved her.Astonishingly, he realized, he loved this woman who had been a challenge, a force of nature, and now...she was his.
“Yes,” she replied, her voice quiet but firm.“I love you too,” she whispered, her eyes softening as she met his gaze.
Then, with a swift movement, her eyes hardened, and she pushed against his shoulders, a fiery intensity returning to her.“But if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I will hurt you so badly you’ll wish you’d died!”
Luca’s heart skipped a beat, the force of her words only making him love her all the more.He laughed, throwing his head back in genuine delight, the sound of it filling the room.
She was small—more than a foot shorter than him, and weighing so much less than he did—but here she was, threatening him with that fiery spirit.His woman.His fierce, strong, beautiful woman.
He pulled her in, wrapping her in his arms, unable to resist the pull of her warmth.He kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering there longer than he meant to, because, hell, he couldn’t stop kissing her.Every time he held her close, every time he felt her heart beating near his, it just felt right.Perfect.
Chapter 24
“Tellmewhathappenedtonight,” Ava asked softly, placing her hands over Luca’s where they rested on her stomach.It was early—maybe around five o’clock in the morning now—but neither of them had slept.Every time Ava closed her eyes, she saw that madman, Tanaka, pointing a gun at Luca while Luca watched through the bars of that cage.She could feel her heart speed up just thinking about it.And she knew Luca hadn’t slept either.His restless breathing gave him away, as did the way he kept stroking her stomach, his touch warm and grounding.She needed that.She needed him.
Luca sighed, rolling onto his side and pulling her closer."Riko Tanaka is a member of the Gekuryuu gang out of Japan."
"Gekuryuu?"she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"It means 'Raging Current,' or something like that.They like intimidating names, hoping to terrify their victims."
"How is a ‘raging current’ scary?"she asked, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
"They say their gang flows like a dangerous, unstoppable river, sweeping away everything in its path."Luca shook his head slightly."Not my description.I’m just telling you what we’ve learned about him over the past few months."
"Why does he want to kill you?"Ava asked in a tiny voice.
Luca’s arms tightened around her when she stiffened, and he kissed her forehead, his touch soft."He didn’t really care about me, exactly," he replied."His boss is trying to push more designer drugs through the Seattle and San Francisco ports.Max Diatras controls the Pacific Northwest, and he’s not about to let the more dangerous drugs slip through.He keeps a tight grip on the drug trade, ensuring the really dangerous stuff stays out."
"If he has that kind of power, why not just keepallthe drugs out?"she asked, a bit incredulous.
Luca shook his head."It doesn’t work like that.People will always seek out illegal drugs.I do the same in Vegas and Reno.There are designer drugs coming from all over—Asia, Europe, and a lot of them are manufactured here in the U.S.They’re not only more addictive, which means more desperation if people can’t get their fix, but also more deadly.Max and I, along with our friends in Boston, Detroit, Chicago and New York, keep a tight control on the drug market so people don’t go crazy.We keep the really dangerous stuff out, as much as possible, to reduce violence and keep the business running smoothly."
Ava blinked, processing this."That makes a weird kind of sense."
"Tanaka tried to dethrone Max a while ago," Luca continued."But Max is solid, has everything locked down.So, Tanaka’s next plan was to lure Max out of Seattle.If he could get him here to Vegas, he thought he’d have a better shot at killing him."
"Diabolical," Ava said, shaking her head."I’m sure there’s a lot about the drug trade that I don’t want to know about."She shifted so she could see his face."But why would your friend come here?"
Luca let out a frustrated sigh."Tanaka tried organizing union strikes across Vegas.When that didn’t work, he started vandalizing my construction sites.He’s been trying to get under my skin for a while now."
Ava frowned thoughtfully."I still don’t understand why those kinds of activities would draw someone like Max to Vegas."
Luca paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he considered the situation."Tanaka needed something big to get Max’s attention.He wanted to draw him out because I helped Max with a…uh…problem several years ago.But Max isn’t stupid.He knows Tanaka's been trying to weaken my control here.But I’m perfectly capable of handling problems occurring in my territory.I don’t need Max coming in to solve my problems for me."
Ava’s hand found his, squeezing it tightly.She didn’t fully understand everything about the world Luca was part of, but she understood one thing: he was determined to protect the people he cared about.And right now, that was her.
“Max, Dimitri, and a few other men around the country, and I have a sort of unspoken agreement,” Luca continued.“If one of us runs into trouble, the others step up.If I need Max, he’ll be here within hours.Same for me helping them out.We are all good friends and not the competitive mafia bosses that the media and movies like to portray us to be.We all control our territories, but it’s a delicate balance.If one falls, the others will feel it.We have to maintain control of our territories for everyone’s sake.”
