5. Knox

Chapter 5

Knox

I practically stumbled home after we got back to the office. Was it possible to be drunk from spending time with my boss? Mayor Francesco. Luca. Luca .

As soon as I got home, I took a cold shower, desperate to cool my body down.

This was a bad idea. I wasn't ready for the field. And definitely not in Gilded Lake, where the sexiest and most intriguing alpha I'd ever met wanted to hang out with me. The responsible thing to do was to ask for a transfer. I wasn't confident I could fulfill my duties with Luca occupying every corner of my mind—while I was sleeping and awake.

Although, sleeping was a generous term to describe my nights in bed. Ever since coming to Montana, I had been sleeping fitfully, but it was getting worse. The places on my body where Luca had touched now felt as if they were on fire. The soft graze of his finger against my hand, his steady hand against my back, my shoulder against his chest all left fiery heat branded into me.

For a moment, I'd thought we might even kiss. But now, with some space between us, I knew it was just in my head. At least, I thought it was.

After all, Luca had more money than he could ever spend and was handsome enough to get any omega he wanted. Why he was single was a bit of a mystery to me, but I was definitely not the first young omega to cross his path. He probably had a different guy in his bed every night, so I was deluding myself if I thought he felt the same way I did.

At three in the morning, when I was sure I just wasn't gonna sleep, I got out of bed and opened my laptop. For the next several hours, I reviewed all the case files I had on Luca and his family. I was pretty sure those men from the casino were actually family members. If only I'd gotten a better glimpse of them.

But I had profiles on everyone connected to the Montana crime families and would figure out each person's rank and value soon enough.

When I was satisfied that I still knew all the details of this case in and out, I closed my laptop and went out for a long, early-morning run. I went up to the spot where Luca had taken me to watch the elk and dropped down in the grass, right where his body had been the day before. I opened my mouth and breathed in the scent of the grass, catching just a hint of him there.

Without realizing I was doing it, I began rocking my hips against the earth and imagining Luca there beneath me as I moaned and rubbed harder.

After a quick glance around to make sure I was still alone, I sat up on my knees and pulled my pants down, grasping my rock-hard cock. My mind drifted to what would happen if Luca brought me up here again. I would reach over and take his hand, then pull him toward me and kiss him. We would undress each other, our bodies hot and sweaty, rutting until we were both breathless. I would be wet with slick for him so he could easily slide inside me, filling me with his knot.

Lost in the moment, I said his name out loud into the morning air. Then I fell to my hands and knees and came over the grass. My whole body shuddered with pleasure as I pressed my face to the grass and breathed in his lingering scent. Reluctant to leave this perfect fantasy, I got up and said a silent prayer that my desire for Luca would be left there in the grass.

As soon as I saw him at work, I knew any wishing for indifference was futile. What had been an intense attraction between new co-workers was officially replaced by a magnetic pull. He looked up the instant I walked into his office and his whole body tensed. There was no way this was all in my head. I walked toward his desk, enjoying the feel of his eyes on my body.

If only he could've seen me in the grass, pleasuring myself to thoughts of him. It was all so fucking insane.

As I got closer to Luca's desk, I noticed Claude in the corner. He stood up and moved his hand to his waist where his gun was.

Luca motioned for him to sit back down.

Claude scowled at me, but sat.

I was curious to learn what Luca had planned for me. I didn't understand what yesterday had been about, but if today involved more alone time with him, I was definitely up for it.

Instead, Luca sent me out to spend the day with Claude, the last person I wanted to get to know better.

We climbed into Claude's black SUV, and I prepared myself for another day of meaningless errands like the ones I'd been running for Carla until yesterday. To my surprise, Claude took me straight into the belly of the beast.

We left Gilded Lake and drove in silence for an hour. I couldn't think of a single thing to talk about, so I just stared out the window and pictured Luca. Claude kept sunglasses on the whole time, so I couldn't see his eyes, but even if I had been able to, I doubt I would have been able to discern his thoughts.

I had never met a more stonewalled person before.

We reached another casino, one that was also owned by Luca's organization. This was where the brothers Bobby and Walt worked. They were the men I was certain had come to see Luca at the casino on the night we had dinner there.

As I followed Claude out of the car, I started to feel a bit nervous. Had he brought me there to do whatever they did to Joe? I'd combed the files that morning, looking for any mention of an agent named Joe, but couldn't find one. I made a mental note to call my boss and ask him.

We walked into the casino and went up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway that led to an office. The receptionist waved us inside where several men were chatting. They nodded when they saw Claude but immediately stopped when they saw me.

Claude waved his hand at them. "He's cool."

The men relaxed and sat back, but kept their eyes on me.

Claude gestured to me. "This is Knox." He pointed at the men. "Bobby, Walt, Bobby Jr."

I nodded at them and then took a step back. I wasn't part of this meeting and still wasn't sure why Luca had sent me there. Unless he actually bought my cover. Feeling like my head was spinning, I leaned against the wall behind me to steady myself.

The men got straight to business.

They pulled out briefcases full of money and started talking about very illegal logistics related to several of their businesses. My brain was trying to memorize all the names and figures they were discussing, but it was a lot to keep track of.

Fuck, this was gold.

Bobby, the shorter and stockier of the group, lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. "So what about this fuzz Luca was talking about? We ain't gotta worry about that, right?"

Claude didn't look up from the money he was stacking into a briefcase. "It's handled."

Bobby shrugged. "Okay, boss."

Why did he call Claude boss ? I took a closer look at Claude. What was I missing?

Claude snapped the briefcases shut and stood up. "Looks good." He extended his hand to each man and then they extended their hands toward me, which I awkwardly shook as well.

Claude shook his head and snickered. What did I do? I couldn't remember ever being so far out of my element as I was today, and I didn't like it one bit.

We made three more stops to pick up cases of money. At that point, I had everything I needed to bust them, but unfortunately, it was all small-time stuff. My boss made it clear I was to stay on until I learned of bigger activities. The serious stuff. We just didn't know exactly how big the big stuff was.

It was after six when we got back to the office, and the building was dark. Everyone had already left. Claude pulled up next to my car and rested his elbow on the steering wheel. "Luca's expecting you for dinner at his estate at seven. Don't be late."

"Oh, okay." I nodded and got out of the car.

As much as I wanted to see Luca, I felt overwhelmed by the information I'd taken in. I needed some time to think, so Luca would have to wait a little while longer. Besides, it was a good test to see what Luca was like when he was angry.

I went home and called my boss to brief him on what I'd learned. He confirmed what I already suspected—I needed to keep looking. But there was one question I couldn't ignore. "Also, what happened to Joe?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "How did you find out about Joe?"

"It doesn't matter. Who is he and what happened to him?"

"Joe was an agent we sent out a long time ago. The last agent we embedded in Gilded Lake. Honestly, we don't know what happened to him. He disappeared without a trace." I could practically see him sighing at his desk the way he did whenever I asked a question he didn't want to answer. "We searched for a long time and found nothing. Then, on the anniversary of the date we sent Joe out there, we received his finger in the mail."

"Christ! That's…gruesome." I paced my small kitchen. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before I got here?"

"We didn't wanna scare you." He chuckled. "You ready to bow out? Fake a medical emergency that needs treatment in Switzerland."

I held my breath, willing the anger inside me to subside. "No, I'm fine. I'm not a kid. I'm a goddamn Navy SEAL. I wish everybody would treat me like one." I slammed the phone down, then got into my car to head to Luca's. I didn't even change into fresh clothes.

A fucking finger? Luca really was hiding a darker side.

I pulled up to the address Claude had texted me and stopped at a large gate. After a few moments, it swung open, and I drove up the long, winding drive. I'd seen aerial photographs of his house, but in person, it was breathtaking.

Luca greeted me at the door with a grin.

Despite my frustration about everything, my body immediately softened at his smile. "Sorry I'm late. I needed to stop by my place."

He shook his head good-naturedly and led me inside. "No worries."

I tried to hide how impressed I was by the gorgeous property as I followed Luca out onto a terrace that overlooked a stream. The patio table was set for dinner, and Luca pulled a chair out for me. "Thank you."

He sat across from me and a butler appeared, dressed in black and white, to pour us each a glass of wine.

After the man stepped away, Luca raised his glass toward me. "Cheers."

"Cheers." I raised my glass and looked him in the eye as my heart skipped a beat. I took a sip of the delicious wine and licked my lips. "Do you bring all your new hires out here?"

Luca shook his head. "No, Knox, but I think you already know that."

The waiter appeared again and put our salads in front of us.

"I do?"

Luca stabbed a cherry tomato with his fork then brought it to his lips and licked it, keeping his eyes pinned on me. His tongue circled the red fruit, and my dick started to stiffen as he slid it into his mouth. Why was that sexy?

I was getting lightheaded again, and my hand slid to my dick underneath the table. "Please, Luca…"