Chapter 36: On Borrowed Time

LUCA

Luca glanced at the clock. It was almost 6:30. He had never waited on anyone in his life, yet here he was waiting for Hayley.

The waiter had brought him his favorite wine, which was now chilling in the metal ice bucket, but Luca’s eyes remained glued to the entrance.

He had no idea if she was going to show or if she was already on her way to the airport. It was a tense waiting game—one he’d never been prepared to play.

She suddenly appeared in the entryway, and his breath caught. She’d had a choice, and she’d chosen to come to him.

And the dark emerald-green dress looked amazing on her.

He let out a long exhale as she made her way over to their table. Their eyes met, and he noticed that Hayley was breathing heavily—her cheeks flushed.

“You came.”

HAYLEY

Hayley looked at Luca’s brooding face in the dimly lit restaurant, then smiled.

“Of course. The dress, the driver, the restaurant…” She glanced around at the stylish place before letting her eyes find him again. “You went to so much trouble—I could hardly refuse.”

The waiter pulled her chair out for her and, after she took a seat, poured her a glass of wine. She lifted it to take a sip.

“I thought you would have taken Siobhan’s offer.”

Hayley stiffened, her glass halfway to her mouth, then watched him calmly take a drink from his own glass before setting it back down.

“She told me everything.”

Her heart raced at his words. Everything? How much had she told him?

“She said you were going to leave, go back to Paris. Why didn’t you?”

Hayley had no idea what to say. She didn’t have just one reason why she didn’t get into that car—and she could hardly tell him about Detective Blake’s threats.

But she was also drawn to Luca like a moth to a flame, and something inside her just couldn’t walk away, not yet. Even though she’d most certainly get burned.

She shrugged lightly, shaking her head.

“I don’t know,” she said, realizing it was actually the truth. “Perhaps something in me wants to give you the month we promised. Maybe a part of me loves New York. Maybe—”

“No more running, Hayley.”

She nodded. But it was a lie. She ~would~ run; she’d have to.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived to take their orders, giving Hayley the opportunity to shift the direction of the conversation. And when he left, they drank some wine and chatted casually, keeping the topics light and general.

Hayley couldn’t believe she was sitting with a Mafia boss, a man who killed. Because as he laughed and flirted with her, he seemed none of those things.

“So how old were you when you became the boss?” she asked him as they started their main course.

“I was twenty-three. I’ve been in charge of the family here in New York for six years.”

“Was your dad in charge before you?”

He nodded, and then it hit her—his dad was probably dead.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and he furrowed his brow. “I know what it’s like to lose a parent.”

Luca suddenly chuckled. “Hayley, I also know what it’s like to lose a parent. But I’ve only lost one, my mother. My father is safe in Italy.

“For someone to take over, the boss just has to step down. My father did…sort of. He still runs things, but from the safety of Italy.”

“You said ‘safe’ once too often,” she pointed out.

Luca grinned. “Not much gets past you, does it?”

“My father is a Mafia boss,” he explained. “He has enemies, and I’m not gonna lie—he did terrible things. He’s safer in Italy than here. In New York, he’s a dead man. He can never come back.”

“Are you also a dead man?”

He shrugged so casually. “Every day I wake up, shower, shave, and put on my best clothes, knowing that today could be my last day.

“When Nic and I were young, his dad, my uncle Stefano, used to tell us a Mafia man is living on borrowed time. We aren’t meant to live forever, so don’t expect to grow old. I live by that.”

The words hurt her more than they should have, but she held her emotions inside.

“You don’t fear anything? You didn’t even flinch when you pulled the trigger in Russian roulette, or when I broke into the meeting room with Artem and he and Nic pointed guns at me.”

“Not true,” he countered in a low voice, and his eyes locked onto hers. “I feared you getting hurt.”

His words took Hayley by surprise.

“In Borroni’s game, I didn’t flinch because I wanted the shot to hit me, not you.”

Hayley went to speak, but he beat her to it.

“I’m brave enough to die, but not brave enough to live with being responsible for your death. In that situation, you were, and still are, an innocent. That bullet was meant for me.”

He leaned forward and said fiercely, “Borroni ~knows~ that.”

“Sorry to interrupt.” Nic’s voice startled Hayley as he walked past. He bent down and whispered something to Luca, whose face hardened.

LUCA

When Nic walked away from the table, Luca caught the attention of the waiter and paid him discreetly before turning back to Hayley.

“I’ve got to go—business. Ric will take you back to the house. Get some sleep.”

He stood up and offered his hand, and she took it. He continued to hold her hand as he led her out to the street, where three big SUVs waited by the sidewalk.

Ric was leaning against the front one, and Frankie, Nic, Tony, and Dom were standing around the other two. Luca told Ric to take Hayley home, then opened the back door.

When Hayley began to get into the heavy SUV, Luca gripped her hand tightly, making her look back at him. It was impulsive, but he wanted this.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. It was him claiming her.

He wanted to promise to keep her safe—he wanted to promise her everything—but he knew he couldn’t ever make that promise. He pulled back and let her go.

“I’ll see you later,” he said softly. “Goodnight, baby,”

HAYLEY

Her heart sang when he called her baby again, just like he did when he protected her from the reality of Artem’s death.

“Bye, Luca,” she whispered before she got into the car.

Ric pulled away once she was safely inside, and she gently touched her tingling lips.

Luca’s kiss had been possessive, and she’d loved it.

She checked her phone and sighed. She had a ton of missed calls and messages from Siobhan. No surprise there. She skipped to the last text message.

Siobhan

Fine! You guys want to play house, fine! But don’t come crying to me when it all falls apart!

Siobhan was right—this would end in tears; it was inevitable.

Luca was ruthless and cruel, maybe even evil. He embraced his dark side, and Hayley wasn’t sure whether to be terrified of him or cling to him.

But before it all came crashing down—and it would—she needed to decide which side she was on: Luca the criminal’s? Or the right side, with that arsehole Detective Blake.