Page 92 of His Kidnapped Queen
“What else does Diego say about me?”
Luca’s green eyes shoot to mine. “Why do you care?”
I want to roll my eyes, but his obvious jealousy also makes me want to squeal like a schoolgirl, so I’m torn.
“Diego seems like a good guy. He’s your friend, right?”
“Damn straight.” He pauses. “My best friend.”
“I didn’t know mobsters had best friends.”
“We don’t. As a general rule. But I got lucky with Diego. Mama took him in after his parents took off.”
“They just left him? How old was he?”
“Fifteen? Something like that.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“We don’t all have pretty childhoods like you cops.”
I know he’s joking, but it makes me bristle anyway.
“I didn’t have a pretty childhood. Found my mother dead in her bed when I was ten years old.”
Luca swallows visibly. “I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t know that, Sophia.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“And whose fault is that?” He looks at me curiously. “Wanted to take you to breakfast the next morning, you know. Thought I’d show you around the city.”
“You mean…you wanted to see me again? After that night?”
He nods. “Of course I did. But you were just…gone. I even went to the precinct hoping you’d show up, but you didn’t.”
I think back. I took a few days off after that night, feeling ashamed of myself for having a one-night stand with a potential mobster. I didn’t know exactly who Luca was then, but I knew he was probably a criminal, and I slept with him anyway.
“So you were raised by your dad?” When I nod he hums in the back of his throat. “Me too.”
“But you don’t get along with your father?”
“It’s not that we don’t get along. We see eye to eye on most issues. He’s just always favored Nico.”
“Your little brother.”
“One and the same.” He pauses again, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “What do the dossiers say about Nico?”
I hesitate and he frowns, sitting up into a sitting position instead of lying prone on the bed.
“Not much.” That much is true. Nico’s dossier is just his arrest record—which is impressive—and a few pages detailing his complicated relationship with Luca.
“I need to call him. Fill him in on what’s been going on.”
I bite down on my lip, wincing when I taste iron. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean? He’s my brother.”
“Luca…what if…what if Nico’s behind this? All of it?”
