Page 62 of Read This Before the Villain falls in Love with You

Her face softens as I speak. "I ran Enzo like a soldier from the day he turned fifteen. I made him take guns apart blindfolded. I made him memorize escape streets before he could even drive, because I was terrified I would bury him too. And Sofia cried herself to sleep for months while I just sat on the floor outside her door, staring at the wood because I didn't know what to say to make it stop."

She smoothes her hand flat across the sheets. "Sitting outside that door helped her. Sofia told me about that, you know. She said whenever the house felt terrifying, she looked under the crack of the door and saw your shadow. She knew you were right there. That meant more than any big speech."

I shut my eyes against the warm glow of the lamp. "You're giving me too much credit."

"I don't hand out free compliments, Luca." She slides her thumb across my knuckles again, steady and warm. "I look at facts. Sofia told me how you sat at the kitchen table every night helping her with algebra until midnight, even when you had blood on your cuffs. And Matteo told me you took every beating from the council so they wouldn't look his way after his folks died. Nonna said you didn't sleep in an actual bed for two years because you kept guard in the foyer with a shotgun across your knees so she could rest. You kept everyone alive. Most grown men would have folded in two days."

"I fell apart plenty," I say back. "I just locked the office door so nobody would see."

"Well, the door is open right now," she points out, refusing to let go of my eyes.

I open my eyes and see her watching me with those wide, clear eyes. "This wasn't how I planned on handling you."

She raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What was the plan?"

"Cold. In charge. I run three companies and a crime family, Nora. I'm supposed to give orders, look tough, and feel nothing."

"You're allowed to be a real human being around me." She places her other palm flat against my chest, right over my heartbeat. "I saw you scare off four guys with guns without batting an eye. I saw you plan attacks while sipping morning coffee. Seeing you bleed and complain about bad pasta makes you a lot easier to like."

I give her a dry look. "Easier to like? That's the best I get?"

"Don't get cocky. Yesterday you were just scary."

"If the bosses down in Palermo hear I have feelings, I'm ruined," I joke, feeling the corner of my lips pull up.

"I keep secrets for ministers, Luca. Your secrets are safe with me, and I won't even charge you."

The tightness in my chest finally starts to let go. "Free help from London's best."

"I'm basically a saint." She reaches up and brushes her thumb over the yellow bruise on my cheekbone, gentle and slow. "For what it's worth, that eleven-year-old kid in the hospital did good. Enzo is fine, Sofia is okay, and Matteo is still crazy. And Adrian took that bullet for you because he loves you like a brother, just like his parents gave their lives to save yours. You kept them all breathing. Even if you're a terrible patient."

I lean my cheek just a little into her warm hand. "I'm a great patient."

Her fingers rest lightly against my temple. She shakes her head. "You told your doctor you'd toss him out the window this morning. Just take the compliment and hush."

A quiet, rusty laugh leaves my throat. My ribs still ache with every breath, but the heavy brick that's been sitting on my chest for ten years feels a little lighter tonight. Nora doesn't ask for any more stories. She just stays right where she is, her warm fingers resting against my jaw, letting the room stay quiet between us.

Chapter 24

NORA

Adrian tips amber whiskey into a heavy tumbler, the neck of the decanter clinking against glass before he sets it down with a sharp click. I hitch one hip over the carved armrest of Luca's leather wingback chair, right next to his shoulder, resting my palm on the polished wood while an armed guard shifts his boots outside the open archway.

"Say that again," Luca says. His jaw locks tight, his fingers digging into the edge of the mahogany desk until his knuckles turn white. He doesn't raise his voice, but Adrian's boots scrape back an inch against the wood floor under the unblinking glare.

Adrian slides the tablet across the polished wood. The screen glares under the lamp light, showing me on the restaurant patio last week with a wine glass halfway to my mouth. "Bellini's men have her. Not the passport scan from London. This is fresh. The wire says she's their leverage to bring you down."

Matteo curses under his breath and drops hard onto the leather couch until the cushions puff up around him. "Prime leverage. Wow. That sounds cold. Did he get a marketing guy to write that?"

I drum my fingers on the armrest. "I've been called a lot worse. Usually by rich guys when I tell them they can't lie their way out of jail. Plus, my hourly rate usually makes them want to kill me anyway."

From the corner, Enzo rubs his temples in plain annoyance. "Can you go five minutes without bringing up your job?"

I wave my fingers at him with a nasty little smile. "Not until the check clears, sweetie."

Luca does not smile. His hand clamps down on my knee, heavy and warm, anchoring me to the spot. He looks at Adrian, his jaw tight. "How long have they had it?"

Adrian tucks his hands behind his back with the stiff, formal posture of a soldier delivering bad news. "Two weeks at most. They're moving men around Naples right now. Safe houses, heavily armored cars, the whole setup."