Page 46 of The Hidden Heir

He kisses the top of my head, and there is a kindness, a sweetness in his gesture that makes time stand still. I don’t want to leave this spot—ever. I want us to stay here in this booth, surrounded by the smell of old vinyl and stale beer and dried-up peanuts, until the sun forgets to shine.

It’s just the two of us in our rawest form.

His soul and mine, reaching for each other. No consequences, no risks, merely two people staying close because we want to, because we need to. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.

“You’re important to me, Valentina. Perhaps the most important thing in my life,” Luca says, his voice trembling slightly.

“No, that would be my son, your heir. And I’m perfectly okay with that,” I reply. “Because if you’re keeping my baby safe, you’re doing right by me, too.”

He cups my cheek and pulls me into a deep kiss, the kind of kiss that tells me I’m the most important creature in all of his existence, and nothing will ever change that. The kind of kiss that doesn’t need words to convey how deeply I’ve burrowed into his heart—not that I ever planned to do it.

“You have a way about you, Valentina, a ruthless force I know Michael will inherit. The day that boy rises at the head of the Petrucci table will be the day everything changes in the Camorra.”

“Luca, no, I don’t want him involved in your business,” I plead, my heart suddenly aching. But he soothes my pain with another fleeting kiss.

“It’s alright, I promise. He’ll be different. Better. Stronger. That’s why your stepfather is so eager to get his hands on him. He understands, on a deeper level, what kind of strength runs through the boy’s veins.”

“I know that’s supposed to be a good thing, but under these circumstances⁠—”

Suddenly, he whispers, “Don’t move,” and his embrace tightens, his body stiffening against mine.

My pulse starts racing, and I become restless, worried. I’m reminded that we’re not safe yet, that the world beyond the pub’s frosted glass window is still a dangerous place. “They caught up with us,” Luca adds.

Before I realize what’s happening, we’re running along a dark, narrow corridor, heading for the back door of the pub. We stumble out into a side alley and wait a few moments—just catch sight of the same couple we saw before in the park. They walk past us and down the street.

They’re still looking for us.

“What the hell do they want?” I hiss.

“They may or may not be Mancuso’s people, but their job is to get into our heads,” Luca replies.

I give him a befuddled look. “Why?”

“It’s a scare tactic designed to keep you in a panicked state and to throw me off my game. Whoever is doing this knows how important you’ve become to me, which is interesting, to say the least.”

“Interesting?” I scoff and shake my head. “Try frightening and a little infuriating.”

“It tells me the person behind this has some intimate knowledge of my business and personal affairs.”

“You think it’s someone from your inner circle?”

“Or close enough,” Luca replies, then turns to face me. “Valentina, this won’t last forever, that much I can promise you right here, right now.”

It’s strange to hear under the flickering light of an old street lamp, wedged between two brick lanes at the far end of a musty, smelly alley on the lip of Chicago’s Southside. It’s even more strange to hear when there are at least two people actively looking for us in some kind of psy-op attempt to scare me.

Luca’s phone pings. “Eddie is on his way.”

“Good, because I really want to go home now,” I grumble, crossing my arms, but Luca chuckles softly and holds me close. “This was supposed to be our date night, remember?”

“It was, despite its ups and downs,” he replies.

“Well, I’m glad you’re still enjoying it.”

“Of course, but you just said you can’t wait to get home,” Luca says, clasping my chin between his thumb and index finger. He beckons me to look up at him, only to kiss me again.

This time, he’s hungry. Possessive and merciless in his conquest. His tongue makes promises of mindless debauchery and absolute devastation, and my core responds almost instantly with liquid fire, heat making me clench with the excitement of anticipation. Tonight, he’s going to ravage me.

And I’m going to welcome every glorious climax.