Take Your Time (Boston Love #4)(88)
“Gonna pay for that,” Cueball sneers, eyes still smarting with tears of pain from the blow between his legs. “Sorely.”
“Worth it to see you crying like a baby.”
“Bitch!” He rears back to punch me and my eyes close, awaiting the impact.
Except… it never comes.
A wall of heat appears at my side. I crack open my eyes to see a giant fist enveloping Cueball’s hand in an iron grip, halting his punch midair. Turning my head, my eyes widen when I see it’s Luca. Relief sweeps through me in a wave.
He’s here.
He came for me.
Luca makes short work of placing the smaller man in an unbreakable headlock. His eyes never shift from Cueball, but when he speaks, I know it’s me he’s addressing.
“Are you okay?” His tone is strained, almost savage in its bleakness. Just hearing it makes my mouth go dry.
“I’m okay.”
He nods — a slight, tense acknowledgment. “Take the phone out of my back pocket. Call Nate. Tell him you’re safe, and that I’ve got the second one in custody.”
I nod and pull out his phone with shaky fingers. Scrolling to Nate’s name, I dial and hold it to my ear. It barely rings before Nate’s voice cracks over the line.
“Did you find her?”
“It’s me,” I breathe, gripping the guard rail to support my weight. “Luca found us.”
“Where?”
“Quarantine Room.”
He clicks off without another word.
Luca’s hold tightens on the man in his hands, increasing the pressure against his windpipe until Cueball is wheezing for breath.
“We’ve got your partner. He’ll pay for what he did to Theo, that’s a promise.” His words are a dark vow. “But you touched Delilah.”
Eyes flashing with fear, face reddening from lack of oxygen, Cueball claws at Luca’s arms in a desperate bid for air. Luca never flinches. His hold never loosens as he methodically chokes the life from him.
He’s going to kill him.
“Don’t,” I whisper, horror consuming me. “He’s not worth it.”
Luca ignores me.
“Please.” My voice breaks. “Please, love.”
At the endearment, Luca’s eyes cut briefly to mine. There’s a harrowing look in them.
“Don’t throw our life away over this asshole,” I whisper, never blinking. “Then he wins.”
Some small sliver of logic permeates Luca’s bloodlust, because his hold loosens, just a shade, until Cueball can draw a desperate breath into his lungs.
“Fuck you,” he rasps at Luca, struggling against his hold but unable to tear free. “Think this is over? My boss will just keep sending us. Won’t stop till he gets his money, or his revenge. Your pretty little Delilah will never be safe again.”
A dangerous growl moves through Luca’s chest and then, before I can blink, he’s lifted Cueball up and body-slammed him against the catwalk at my feet with such little effort, you’d think he were made of paper. Luca pins him with one knee in the center of his back and holds his head tight to the metal grate.
“Don’t talk about Delilah ever again. Don’t say her name. Don’t look at her. Or I will throw you in the shark tank and let nature sort things out.”
Thankfully, before he can fulfill that threat, the door swings open and several badass-looking Knox Investigations boys run out onto the catwalk. Luca drags Cueball to his feet and passes him off to Owen and Alden, who promptly zip-tie his wrists together and start dragging him away.
Cueball struggles, screaming at the top of his lungs. “You’re private security! You’ve got no jurisdiction to hold me!”
“But I do,” a dark-haired man in a suit says, stepping into the fray. I recognize him instantly as one of Nate’s work associates — and an occasional attender of Phoebe’s dinner parties. His intense blue eyes sweep around the group, not missing a single detail. He reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a badge. “Agent Conor Gallagher, FBI. Organized Crime Unit.” His gaze fills with what can only be described as excitement as he watches Owen and Alden drag Cueball through the door. Following them out, his voice echoes back to us from the stairwell. “I have some questions I’d like to ask you about your boss.”
I shake my head, drawing Nate’s gaze.
“You good?” he asks.
“You invited the FBI to your wedding? Does Phoebe know about this?”
“She’s the one who invited him.” He shrugs. “She’s determined to set him up with someone. He’s been single for about a decade and now that she’s found true love, she thinks it’s her duty to make the rest of the world equally happy.”
“That’s Phoebe West, for ya.”
His eyes get warm. “Phoebe Knox.”
“Right.” My eyes sting. “Of course.”
He looks at Luca, who’s hovering by my side in silence. “You okay?”
“No,” Luca says bluntly, blowing out a puff of air. “I’ll get there, though.”
Nate nods, as if he understands. “I’ll handle things with Conor. You sort things out here.”
With a final glance at me, Nate turns and walks away. In the silence that follows, I glance up at Luca and find his eyes already locked on my face. There’s a look in them that scares me.