Chapter 11
CHAPTERELEVEN
THE KID WAS nervous. Dom could tell by the way Luca looked over to Gino and Joe as if to make sure they weren’t coming back to snatch him up again.
Fuckin’ hotheads.
One day Dom would sit there and bleed out while they argued over whether or not to have steak for dinner.
Save the protection for when I really need it,he thought. Like this kid could really hurt me.
Luca blew out a shaky breath, but his hands were steady. He threaded the needle on the first go, which was more than Dom could say for those who’d done his shitty stitch-up jobs in the past.
Luca looked up suddenly, catching Dom watching him, and again Dom was struck by the innocence he saw there. Puppy-dog eyes, his mom would’ve called them. Maybe it wasn’t Luca’s fault who he was, but Dom still hated him on principle. How could he not?
Something in Dom’s expression must’ve scared Luca, because he said, “I know what I’m doing.”
“I know you do.”
“Oh.” Luca’s shoulders relaxed a little as he lifted the needle. “You may not want to watch this part.”
Dom let out an inelegant snort. If Luca knew half of the things Dom had done in his life, he wouldn’t be worried. Hell, he wouldn’t be sitting in that chair.
Huh. Why had Luca interjected in the first place? Maybe he’d thought it would gain him favor? But with as terrified as Luca seemed of Dom, it made more sense that he would choose to stay the hell away, locked up in the bedroom rather than interacting with any of them.
Luca took hold of Dom’s arm, his left hand holding the wound closed, while his right hand steadied the needle. It went through the skin so smoothly that Dom barely felt it. For some reason, he was more focused on the hand holding his arm.
With sure, steady fingers, the kid clearly knew what he was doing as he pierced the jagged skin on the opposite side of the wound. As Luca weaved his way up the length of the gash, Dom’s gaze traveled up Luca’s arm to where his white t-shirt hugged his bicep. His clothes had been deceptive, hiding a frame that Dom had thought would easily be overpowered. But seeing him up close like this, Dom realized the kid probably would’ve given him a good fight.
Maybe he’d still get the chance, when Vincenzo finally gave the green light to dispose of the one ray of hope the Fiores were clinging to.
“This going to take much longer?”
Luca paused as he glanced up from the stitch he’d just administered. Those puppy-dog eyes were a little less innocent now, and his frustration shone through. “I just started.”
“And you’re supposed to be some whiz-kid med student. So, we nearly done?”
Luca’s jaw twitched as he looked to the bloody wound and then back to Dom. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you got shot. I’m trying to help you. So, we’ll be done when I say I’m done. Which would be much sooner if you’d quit interrupting me.”
Dom raised a brow, the back talk the last thing he’d expected. Well now, isn’t that an interesting turn of events? That backbone was definitely not something Luca had inherited from the Fiores, but something that seemed hard-wired with the confidence he had in his own skill. Unfortunately, it was also a characteristic that made Dom detest Luca a little less, and that wouldn’t do.
“You talk to me like that again and the only interrupting that’s going to happen here is my gun finishing your sentence.”
Luca said nothing, but the next time the needle passed through Dom’s skin, it was done with a lot more force, causing a sharp pain to ricochet through his nerve endings.
Dom jerked his arm in response. “Motherfucker.”
Luca raised his head, his brow arched. “Sorry, did that hurt?”
Dom merely glared at the shithead, and a smirk tugged at the corners of Luca’s lips.
“So,” Luca said, keeping his eyes on the needle. “Is this an everyday thing for you?”
“What?”
“You know, getting shot, taking hostages.”
Damn. Dom had to hand it to the kid, he wasn’t cowering. Instead, he was pushing Dom’s buttons. And while that would normally be reason enough for Dom to lose his cool, he found himself responding.
“Not every day,” he said.
“But often enough you keep a professional medical bag. Where did you even get that?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I don’t get a lot of answers, and I deserve them.”
Dom clucked his tongue as he thought that over. “It was easy enough to take you. Do you honestly think a medical bag would be more difficult?”
“Why did you take me?”
“Next.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Whatever the hell I want.”
Luca’s eyes widened, and for a second, Dom swore he saw a flicker of heat pass through them. Like instead of terrifying him, the threat had turned Luca on.
It was even more evident when Luca dropped his eyes to Dom’s chest before lowering them to his abs, and then he quickly jerked his head away.
Holy shit. The kid’s attracted to me. Luca had every reason in the world to hate Dom, and here he was, all that sexual energy coming off him in waves. How was that even possible? And why did it have Dom’s dick kicking up with interest?
Fuck, that was the last thing he needed. But now his curiosity was piqued.
“That a problem?” Dom said.
“Yes.”
“For you or someone back at home?”
“Like you care.”
“I don’t, but you seem to want small talk.”
Luca shook his head as he made another stitch. “I’d rather have answers. Or should I just ask Chef next time?”
That almost made Dom laugh, but he bit it back. “So you liked him?”
“I wouldn’t say that. But he didn’t tie me to a chair when he made breakfast.”
Dom sat up in alarm. “He cooked for you?”
“Yeah. Why? Was I supposed to starve?”
Just the thought of Chef in the kitchen was horrifying, but actually eating something he made? “Don’t ever let him cook for you again.”
“I didn’t ask him to. He offered.”
“What did he…make?”
Luca shrugged. “Eggs. Bacon. And some really good chorizos he made from scratch.”
That smartass, charming fucker. The kid obviously thought Chef was Dom’s personal chef. Good God.
Luca said, “Fine. I’ll make my own eggs, or is that not allowed?”
“Eat. Don’t eat. I don’t care.”
“So you’ve said.” Luca finished the final stitch and began to tie it off. “Who is it keeping me here, then? Alive?”
Dom waited until Luca had cut off the end of the stitch. “To you, I’m the only one that matters. Remember that.”
Luca held his gaze for a long moment before he said, “I’ll remember.”
“Good. We done here?”
“Almost.”
As Luca cleaned up the wound and applied some kind of ointment, Dom inspected the stitch job. Not bad. Not bad at all. “What else can you do?” he asked. “Medically speaking.”
“I was about to start general surgery.”
“About to?”
Luca shrugged, picked up a piece of gauze, and smoothed it out over Dom’s arm. “Yeah. But then you decided to kidnap me and ruin my entire career.”
Dom felt no remorse as Luca taped a protective bandage in place. “No need to worry. If you’re alive along enough, you just might get to practice your skills here. If not, won’t matter anyway, right?”
An angry flash of fire flickered in Luca’s eyes, but Dom wouldn’t feel sorry for this kid. Luca was the fucking enemy, and the sooner Dom reminded himself of that, the better.
“Joe will take you back to your room. Don’t even think about doing anything stupid.”
“Such as?”
Dom looked to the door, then back to Luca. “You’re smart. You’ll figure it out.” Then, without a backward glance, Dom grabbed his shirt and headed off to find Gino.