She pulled her warm hands away, leaving him missing her. “He asked me to spy on you.” She tossed back another mouthful of whiskey. “I was surprised. First, Z, now him. I refused, but he put the pressure on me.”
“Did you cave?”
“Hell, no. Someone else I worked with, Jerod De Clerq from ATF, was there. He told Peter his issue should be with his ex, not you. Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds someone else to do his spying.”
Hirzog wasn’t letting go of something that had happened over two years ago, but Luciano didn’t give a damn about him. Despite the power Hirzog wielded, he was like an annoying gnat.
As he peered into her eyes, he hoped she was being honest. Trust was the cornerstone to any healthy relationship, professional or personal.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said.
For too long, she stared at her lap, then she murmured, “Thelastthing I want is to get on your bad side.”
“Why’s that?”
She lifted her face to his. The knot between her eyes was gone, replaced with a searing gaze. “I’m determined to find The Bomb Maker, and whenI do, I’m confident you’ll take him out. I’ve never straddled both sides of the law, but I get it. I would much rather haveyouin my court than Peter Hirzog. If I betray you, you’ll eliminate me. What’s he going to do? Not invite me to another dinner party?”
Her sweet smile touched his tortured soul.
Either she was telling the truth or she was playing him for a fool. And if that were the case… she was good. Very good.
“Hirzog is living in the past.” A somberness came over Luciano. “He would be happier if he made peace with what his ex-wife did and let it go.” He stared out the French doors. “Holding onto the past is preventing him from living his best life now.”
Though their relationship had shifted to a professional one, he wanted her to knowwhyHirzog hated him so much.
“He blames me for his failed first marriage.” Luciano sipped the whiskey. “His first wife arranged a lunch meeting through a mutual friend. She told me she was single. Back then, I didn’t fact-check.”
“Lessons are always learned the hard way.”
“Unfortunately,” he replied. “I found out two weeks after I’d started seeing her. She insisted her marriage was ending, but I broke it off. I don’t know if she tried reconciling with Hirzog or if she left him, but I never saw her again. I might be a killer, but I’m not a cheat, and I want nothing to do with wrecking marriages.”
“They say every criminal has his lane. I’m glad you found yours.” Her seductive laugh strummed his heart like a stringed instrument.
She placed her hand on his leg, and heat shot through him. “My comedic timing needs work. I appreciate that you have marital morals. Finding our person iseverything.”
For the first time since losing Linda and the babies, pain didn’t shred him. Instead, a sense of peace blanketed him.
She caressed his thigh. Her slow, sensual touch had his cock firming in the small space between his legs. Then, she jerked her hand away. “Sorry,” she murmured.
With her empty glass in hand, she sauntered to the sink and set it down. Luciano rose as she walked back over to him. He couldn’t miss the hunger in her eyes. All he wanted to do was devour her in a million different ways.
“I’m out,” she said brushing past him, the clickety-click of her stilettos tapping across the marble floor.
“Don’t. Go.”
She stilled, then turned.
Two easy strides and she was inches away, her luminous eyes burning with an energy that rivaled his own. He was crazy attracted to her, but it was more than a physical connection. There was something intoxicating about her that kept him grounded, yet flying high at the same time.
“We haven’t eaten,” he said.
“I’m not hungry.”
He curled one of her long, dark tendrils around his finger. “You sure about that?”
A shadow fell over her eyes. “We shouldn’t,” she rasped.
“No, we shouldn’t,” he agreed.
