20. Luca

20

LUCA

W e arrive at the hospital and that feeling washes over me again. Dread.

"I hate being here," I mumble to myself. Jo silently holds my hand, a tenderness in her eyes as Collin walks in ahead of us. Unspoken grief settles over me as we stop at the reception desk, where a nurse pages Antonio for me.

It doesn't take long for him to join us, but I can sense the apprehension from Jo as she glares at him.

"You're the one who stood my friend up to extract a bullet , right?" she asks him. Her tone is accusatory, but the look on Antonio's face is one of shock.

"Uh, I'm sorry. What did I do?" he asks, the doctor's eyes darting between the three of us.

Jo huffs. "You scheduled a date with my friend Monique, and then gave her some lame excuse that you had to treat a bullet wound or something like that."

He closes his eyes, running his fingers through his hair with a soft chuckle. "That would be my colleague, Ronan. I warned him about dating patients, especially mine. If it makes you feel any better, he did have to make a house call."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jo says, smoothing a curl behind her ear. Collin looks at her shaking his head.

"Listen, Antonio," I interject, gesturing toward Collin. "We need a workup on his bruises, cuts, and defensive wounds. The report has to go to the police to show the damage wasn't done earlier tonight."

"I got it." Antonio nods and signals to a nurse to take Collin into an exam room. Jo goes with him while Antonio hangs around with something obviously on his mind.

"What's wrong?" I ask as soon as Jo and Collin are out of earshot.

"Bash is coming," he says in a low tone, his eyes looking around nervously.

"Is it just Bastian? Or are his brothers coming too?" I ask.

Antonio pinches the bridge of his nose. "They're all coming. Bash is my best friend, but when he's in charge, bodies drop. Ronan's already running around patching up guys Vito's putting holes in. There's some internal fight going on in his crew."

I nod. "That makes sense. Vito's shooting his own men. I saw him do it right in front of me. With Don Marzano in Sicily, it's only right he sends his cousins here to make sure the family holds onto their territory. Does Julian know?"

Antonio shrugs. "I have no idea. He's not enthusiastic about shouldering Armande's responsibilities, so he'll probably be happy to have someone more dedicated to the family come in and run things."

"Who would be enthusiastic about running a criminal empire when they have a multibillion-dollar corporation to maintain? Oh, and if possible, can you find out what room a Duke Everett is in? I'd like to have a private word with him."

Antonio groans. "I'll text you the room number. Don't make a mess, Luca."

"I can't make that promise. That's up to Duke." I tell him with a sly smile. Antonio shakes his head, adjusting the stethoscope around his neck, and walks off into the hospital.

I find my way to Josephine and Collin, where a nurse is falling all over him as he tells her the story of his injuries.

Josephine smiles as we stand outside of the room. "Everything okay? I didn't make a fool out of myself with your friend, right?"

"No. He's been accused of worse, but he just wanted to let me know some old friends are coming to town. It means Vito won't be a problem for much longer. I just hope they get here in time."

I stop talking when a nurse walks by. She makes her attraction to me obvious with a smile and lick of her lips. Even worse is when she circles back.

"Hi, aren't you Mr. Devlin? You make those horror flicks for the Screech app, right?" Her gaze shifts to Jo who takes a step closer to me. That doesn't deter the nurse with a dream as she says, "I'll do anything for a role in one of your films."

"I'm standing right here," Jo scrunches her face with disdain. "You're going to have to audition like every other actress, and believe me, this is a casting couch you won't be sitting on."

I smile, draping my arm around Jo's shoulder. "You heard her. Check the casting boards and go through the proper channels."

The nurse blushes a deep shade of red as she sheepishly walks away.

"That was rude. Are women that aggressive with you all the time?" Jo asks.

"Only when they know I make movies."

"Why wouldn't she think we're together?"

Another smile spreads across my face as I turn to her, nuzzling against her neck. "Jo, it could be that my gray hairs age me a bit, and she couldn't gauge who you were to me."

"Do I need to make you get on all fours and eat my pussy in the middle of this hallway to mark you as unavailable?"

That gets a hearty laugh out of me. "I wouldn't mind at all. As a matter of fact?—"

My eyes scan the corridors before I grab Jo's hand to pull her into a nearby utility closet. Thankfully, the door locks from the inside and as soon as it shuts, my body moves close to her, capturing her mouth in a kiss that sends impulses of passion coursing through my body.

"Now what were you saying about eating your pussy?" I grin.

"On your knees, Luca," she commands, slipping into her dominating character far more easily than before. I undo her jeans and slip them down, knowing we have to make this quick. Jo rakes her fingers through my hair before yanking it. The pain gets me hard almost immediately as she pulls my face toward her mound for me to taste her.

The subtle flavors of her sex dance on my tongue as I swipe it between her folds. My hands reach around to grab her by the ass, holding her in place while my lips deliver an orgasm. Her moans morph into a timid yell that I move my hand up to muffle.

She pulls me up for another kiss. While our mouths tango, her hands unzip my pants to reach inside and grab my erection. I pull away to spin her around, slap her ass and drive myself inside of her waiting heat.

I put my hand back over her mouth to keep her quiet, while my other wraps around the front to rub her clit. Every stroke is wetter than the last. She fits perfectly around me as I pump in and out of her pussy. The sensations are intense, and only grow stronger with the sounds of people walking by just outside the door.

My heart races. I lose myself in every penetrating movement that bring me and Jo closer together. I can barely keep my own mouth closed as my thrusts quicken to bring her to another climax.

Jo’s pants of pleasure grow louder, even with my hand covering her mouth. I whisper to remind her. "Keep it down or someone will hear us."

"I can't," she whines as another orgasm consumes her. Her thighs tremble as her knees buckle. My arm wraps around her core to hold her up as I finish with a few more strokes deep inside her. She's perfect for me.

The sound of someone jiggling the doorknob snags our attention. Whoever's on the other side realizes the door's locked. "Fuck, where's my key?"

We don't have much time to get out of there as I watch the crack under the door for the shadow of their feet to walk away. Once they do, we're fortunate no one catches us as we make our way to Collin's room just in time for a text to come to my phone.

Duke Everett, 419

Perfect.

The nurse is finishing up with Collin as I scan the hallway to see how far I am from Duke's room.

"What are you looking for?" Jo asks, mimicking my glance up and down the corridor.

"I wanted to see how far we were from room 419."

"What's in room 419?"

"Duke."

She folds her arms over her chest. "I don't think it's a good idea to see him. He has this way about him. Luca, you might kill him."

I look at her. "Would you like me to?"

"Are you serious?"

"I would if he ever put you or Jett in danger. Right now, he's intimidating you. After putting his hands on you, Jett, and Monique, I like to think him landing here is karma. I'd love to make sure he never leaves this place. Just say the word and he's gone forever, Jo."

"Starlight."