Luca: The Boston Syndicate, Book Two, page 15
I consider his statement and appreciate his honesty. But fuck, I’m still pissed as hell at him for lying to me, for springing this on me. I’m pissed I’m in this situation at all and that he’s right. I can’t run. Where the hell would I go? If my brother signed any sort of contract with the Russians, I’m as good as theirs. Not only will Carlo be searching for me, but I’ll most likely have the Petrovs on my tail as well. There’s no way in hell I’d make it more than a week on my own, not with all the people my brother and the Russians know.
But if I’m married, well, you can’t be married to two people at the same time. Any contract signed by my brother would be null and void. He’ll be pissed, but all I can say about that is too fucking bad. He thought I was going to roll over and do his bidding. If Luca wasn’t there with another plan, I most likely would have.
I open the car door. “No turning back now. They probably already know we’re gone. I may be pissed as hell you lied, and I hate how you came into my life. I sure as hell don’t trust the Monaghans, but I also don’t have another choice. It’s just another time where I don’t have much of a say.” The look on his face is remorseful that, once again, I’m put in a situation where everyone has control over my life. Everyone except me.
Luca jogs to catch up to me as I hastily make my way to the front door of city hall. As far as weddings go, I suppose it’s better than the one my brother or my father would have planned for me. Between the two of them, they would have been like peacocks showing off their fancy feathers, or in this case, they’d each be wearing wide sharklike grins, knowing my union to the husband of their choice would ensure a powerful alliance. I would’ve been expected to play the part of an excited and deliriously happy bride. It would have been a lie then just as it’s a lie now.
He opens the door, and a sign hangs overhead, directing us to where we need to get our marriage license. The sound of our footsteps echoes off the walls. I should feel as though each step I take is a step toward freedom, but I’m scared. Luca is a good liar. He’d have to be to have survived in this little undercover sting operation he was a part of. The thought crosses my mind for the hundredth time that this could be a ploy to get me under his control and use me against my family. It’s not the thought of destroying Carlo or my father that scares me; it’s what will happen to me when I’m no longer useful. But the thought of being given away to the Russians scares me more, and that’s what propels me forward.
Before we get in line for the designated counter for marriage licenses, Luca gently grips my elbow and pulls me aside.
“When all of this is said and done,” he says in a low voice, standing so close I have to tilt my chin up to look in his eyes. “I won’t expect you to stay married to me. I know you want out of this life and out of Boston. I won’t hold you prisoner, Giada.”
I nod subtly, too overcome with nerves to give him much more of a reaction. I’m afraid if I open my mouth now, everything will come pouring out. About how much of a crush I had on him when I was younger, that I used to dream of marrying him and of him running away with me like some sappy romance movie. Or that the last few months of being around him again, seeing him every day, made me wish things were different. My feelings for Luca never completely disappeared. What was once a teenage crush turned into something else in the last few months, at least for me. And for a time, I thought maybe for him too. Now, I’m going through my memory with this new information about who he really is, and it puts a different slant on just about every interaction we’ve ever had. The times he would stop himself from speaking. Was it because he wanted to come clean? To be honest with me because he didn’t want lies and buried truths between us? Or am I romanticizing a liar and a criminal because I’m desperate to have someone in my corner who actually cares about what happens to me?
I suppose his reasons don’t matter. He’s the lifeline I have to grab. We may not know what’s in store after we say our vows, but I sure as hell know what’s in store if I let Nikolai Petrov get his hands on me. I was right earlier in saying I’m choosing the lesser of two evils. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, there are no white knights or saviors in this life. But maybe Luca will take pity on me and stay true to his word, letting me go after all is said and done. Regardless of how terrified I am that I could be putting my trust in someone who has done nothing but lie to me for years, I’m not left with much of a choice.
The people in the line start moving toward the counter with happy and excited smiles on their faces. I suppose none of them are being chased by their deranged brother, who’s trying to trade her to another criminal organization for power and protection. This is probably one of the happiest days of their life, and under different circumstances or in a different life, it would have been mine, too.
“Come on, let’s get in line. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can go see your cousin.”
Luca’s face falls a bit when he realizes I’m not going to respond to his promise of letting me go. He probably assumes I don’t believe him, and he’s right. I don’t. Not fully anyways. But his reaction is a step in the right direction because I want to trust him, naive as it may be. I want to believe his story is true and even though he’s lied for years, he’s at least being honest about this one thing. It’s all I have at this point.
The line moves fairly quickly, and before long, he has the license in his hand. The clerk directs us to the justice of the peace, and it’s another short wait for her to perform the ceremony. I can’t help but look at the two couples before us; both of the women are wearing white dresses as they stand to wait for their turn.
“I’m sorry you don’t have a dress,” Luca says, looking down at the jeans and sweater I hastily put on before leaving the house. Of course, he’s dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, which is the staple uniform of the guards at my house. Well, I suppose it isn’t my house anymore.
I shrug. “Considering we’re running from my brother and the Russians, I don’t think it matters what I’m wearing in the grand scheme of things.”
“Fair point. Maybe I would have liked to see you in white though.”
“Maybe I would have liked to not have to marry you to save myself from a Russian psychopath and my brother, but here we are.”
Luca’s eyes drop to the floor and his jaw tics with frustration. He’s trying to make this better for me. I don’t think he regrets the decision he made to come to Boston years ago to avenge his parents’ murders, but I do believe he regrets my being pulled into this situation.
“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” I say, feeling a pang of remorse at my harsh words. “You’re risking your life to help me.”
“I understand, Giada, more than you could imagine. I know what it’s like to be lied to by someone you care about. I can’t expect you to trust me yet, but I hope I can prove to you I’m not here to hurt you or use you.”
“Maybe you can put that in your vows?” I joke quietly, lifting the corner of my mouth in a small grin.
Luca’s eyes brighten with my joke, a touch of relief in his gaze. “That might get a strange look from her.” He nods toward the woman standing behind the desk, watching as the couple in front of her share their first kiss as husband and wife.
There’s one couple in front of us, and when they get to the part where they’re exchanging rings, Luca looks at me with a sad smile. “I don’t have a ring for you.”
There’s something about the dismay on his face that thaws a tiny part of me. It’s such an inconsequential thing, considering I don’t think either of us woke up this morning thinking this is where we would be. The disappointment he has because he can’t give me some small sense of normalcy in the incredibly abnormal situation makes me feel…I don’t know, less angry, less alone.
I reach into my pocket and pull out a small gold band, holding it between us. “This was my grandmother’s. My uncle gave it to me on my last trip. Said my mother would have given it to me herself, but…” Everyone knows she died when I was a child.
“Giada, I don’t want you to use that for this wedding. After all is said and done, what if you meet the man of your dreams and want him to slide that ring on your finger? Your mother would want you to wear that ring as a sign of love and commitment to the man you choose to be with, not me.”
At one point I thought Luca was the man of my dreams, but I don’t tell him that. “My mother would want me to marry someone who promises to protect me. That’s what you’re doing. I don’t think she would have a problem with me using this ring, so you shouldn’t either.”
Luca nods and takes the ring before putting it in his pocket. “I do want to protect you, Giada. That’s what I’ve always tried to do.”
The last couple before us finish with their short ceremony and we get up to walk to the desk, handing the license to the woman’s cheery-faced assistant. She smiles and signs the paper as the witness then the justice of the peace begins her speech. Luca and I stare at each other, and I barely make out what the woman is saying through the noise of rushing blood in my head. The urge to cry takes me by surprise. The man in front of me was the star of this little fantasy when I was younger, and now it’s my reality. But this reality leaves so much to be desired it’s almost laughable. In exactly none of my fantasies about this moment did I consider the only reason he would be marrying me was because my brother was about to hand me over to a ruthless organization. I imagined a look of love and devotion in his eyes, not the apologetic one I see now.
Luca slips the gold band on my finger and repeats the words he’s supposed to. I do the same, minus the ring, and a moment later, we’re pronounced husband and wife.
“You may kiss the bride,” the justice of the peace says.
I stand in front of Luca, momentarily frozen, my heart galloping in my chest as he leans in, his soft lips brushing mine. A zap of electricity runs through me at the contact. His kiss is gentle. He doesn’t try to deepen it in any way, but holy shit, I wish he would. That thought takes me by surprise as I back away from him and stare into his blue eyes. Confusion and surprise flick through his gaze, the same as mine, I’m sure. What the hell was that? I’ve kissed other men, hell, I’ve done more than that, but never have I felt tiny fireworks explode throughout my chest at the simple touch of a man’s lips to mine.
Luca clears his throat and the trance is broken. He thanks the justice of the peace and her assistant before we turn and silently walk out of the building. I feel like I should say something. I don’t know what, but the silence between us is weighing heavily on me as I still taste him on my lips.
Luca guides me back to the car and opens the passenger door. When he gets in on the other side, his body turns toward mine and he studies me for a moment. “That part’s done. I need to call my cousin,” he says after a few beats of crushing silence.
And there’s the stab to the heart. I didn’t necessarily think he was going to wax poetic about marriage and commitment or be overly joyous that I was now officially his wife. But to say absolutely nothing about what I know he felt in there when we sealed our marriage vows stings in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
He pulls a phone from his pocket and brings it to his ear. “Hey. We need to talk about my leaving. And by talk, I mean I’m leaving with Giada. Today.” Luca is silent for a few moments as he listens to his cousin on the other end. He looks at me and offers a small smile then steps out of the car, but I can still hear the muffled conversation.
“Listen, Finn. We’ve been doing it your way, and I understand, but Carlo hasn’t been here in months, and Giada got word that she needed to pack her things and be ready for some Russian to pick her up later today. He was going to ship her off to marry a man who will do God knows what to her. I’m done fighting in the shadows, Finn. And I’m not going to stand back while he hurts an innocent. I’m getting out, and Giada is coming with me.” Luca watches me through the dusty window and listens to his cousin before briefly closing his eyes.
“Too late,” he says and opens his eyes again, looking at me with steely determination. “Well, she can’t exactly marry the Pakhan’s son if she’s already married. I married her, Finn.”
He gives Finn our location then it sounds like he tries to apologize. I can’t lie to myself and say that doesn’t scare me, especially considering Luca told me that Carlo went after Finn’s wife. What if Finn decides that Luca’s decision puts his family in too much danger? He’s the head of the Irish mob. If he wants to send me back to my brother, he has the power to do it, and if he’s anything like my brother, Luca doesn’t stand a chance, which means neither do I.
Luca gets back in the car and blows out a breath. “We’re going to Finn’s penthouse in Boston. He’s meeting us there.”
“Is he upset?” Is he going to send me back?
“He was…surprised.” Luca gives me a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine. We’ll go to the penthouse, and Finn will help us figure it out from there. Carlo can’t get to you now.”
I appreciate that he has faith in his cousin.
I just wish I had the same.
Chapter thirteen
Luca
Giada is gnawing on her bottom lip as we drive to Boston. The lip I kissed not even an hour ago. The kiss that had me questioning everything I thought I knew about myself. I was here to make sure Francesco Cataldi paid for what he did to my parents, to the Monaghans, and to the man who raised me. I wasn’t meant to come to Boston and fall for his daughter. But there is no denying the heat that raced through me when her lips met mine after we said our vows.
“Hey,” I say, taking my hand from the wheel and using my thumb to pull her abused lip from her teeth. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Finn understands there was no way I was going to allow Carlo to trade you to the Russians.”
“Carlo tried to hurt his wife. You don’t think that’s going to be playing through his mind when he looks at me?”
I let out a breath. “I think Finn is going to see a girl who needs help. My family doesn’t view women the same as yours. He doesn’t use them to make deals and gain power.”
“That’s not what I heard. He married an Amatto to do just that.”
“Fair,” I concede. “But Finn loves his wife, regardless of why they got married. He respects her and has her working in his casino. From what I hear, she runs the place and he doesn’t allow anyone to utter one cross word about her. That’s not a man who doesn’t care about his woman.”
“One woman. Fine. But me? That’s a whole other story.”
“I said I would protect you. In fact, I remember making that vow to you less than an hour ago. Do you think I’m going to go back on my word now? We haven’t even been married a full day. Give me a little credit.”
“That was so my brother couldn’t marry me off. It wasn’t real.”
“Seemed pretty real to me.” That kiss was sure as hell real.
Giada stares at her hands lying in her lap, her fingers twisting and pulling.
“What are you really worried about?” I ask. Her nerves are understandable and it’s been a hell of a morning, but there’s something else going on in her mind. I want more than anything for her to have the same courage she’s always had with me and tell me what she’s thinking.
“What if he sends me back?” she whispers, continuing to stare at her lap. “What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me because I’m a Cataldi and he wants me gone and away from his family? I’m dangerous, Luca.”
“First of all, you’re not dangerous. That’s your brother. Our marriage has all but incapacitated him as far as what moves he can make now. If you’re married to me, the Russians won’t help him. Even they don’t have the power to override the state of New Hampshire, and as of eleven thirty this morning, they attested to the fact that you are now my wife. Second, you’re no longer a Cataldi. You’re a Bennetti, and by extension, a Monaghan. Even my cousin can’t deny that. So, as far as I’m concerned, you’re family, just as much as me.”
Giada’s stare bores into me as I continue to drive down the highway to the penthouse.
“What?” I ask, glancing at her.
“I’m your wife.”
“That’s what I just said.”
A laugh bubbles from her, and I’ll admit, I’m a little scared the day has caught up to her and she’s cracking under the pressure. Not that I could blame her.
“I don’t know why I find it funny. I’m still pissed you pulled the wool over my eyes for years, but it just hit me that we’re married now.”
“Giada, you know why I couldn’t say anything. Even when you’d confided in me, I had to be careful—”
“I understand. What you did was incredibly dangerous, and I’m glad as hell you weren’t caught. Otherwise, I’d be on my way to New York right now, and you’d be…” She pauses, the weight of what she was going to say suddenly heavy in the SUV.
“I’d be dead.”
“As your wife, I think it’s well within my rights to tell you never to do something like that again.”
I smile at the no-nonsense tone in her voice. “I’ll give you that.”
The feeling in the car lightens as we make our way into the city, but as soon as we pull into the underground parking of Finn’s penthouse and Giada gets a look at the three armed guards waiting for us to park, her jaw tenses along with every muscle in her body.
“Remember what I said. You’re my wife, and that means you’re family.”
“Being related to someone by blood or marriage has never meant the same in my family as it has in yours.”
“Exactly. It doesn’t mean the same thing. So when I tell you you’re safe, please believe I’m saying that as the man who married you to make sure you stay that way. I wouldn’t bring you here if I didn’t know for certain I can keep that promise.” I reach over and cover her hand with mine. “Giada?” I prompt when she doesn’t move a muscle.
