Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
It wasn’t until their consigliere left that Sal’s mood changed. “I’ve tried everything to figure out who he is, Lucca. I don’t know how he’s keeping himself hidden from me …” He spoke as if he was talking to a friend and not his boss. “But he is.”
Lucca didn’t miss the disappointment in his voice, knowing The Great Salvatore’s pride was on the line, but he didn’t doubt Sal’s ability for a second. There was something he was missing, and it was probably staring them all right in the face …
As he scanned the scene for a few more minutes in silence, it reminded him of hell.
“Maybe the reason you can’t find him”—the wheels began turning in Lucca’s mind—“is the exact reason you’re never going to find him from behind your computer screen.”
Sal stared at him as if Lucca had inhaled too much smoke. “Huh?”
Finally, he had his first clue. “He’s old-school.”
“Well, then he’s definitely not from this era if I can’t find him,” Sal stated, his mood beginning to improve at the thought he wasn’t so bad after all. “So, what do we do?”
“We go back to the old ways,” Lucca replied, knowing that was the exact thing he was trying to get away from. But, in some respects, the way they had handled business back then was timeless. “But first, I need to talk to someone I haven’t yet about this who’s from that era.”
And tonight, he was going to pay him a visit.
Sal’s brows furrowed. “Who?”
“The devil.”
Chloe entered the penthouse suite with the light tinge of smoke from the diner clinging to the air. The reason it didn’t bother her much was because she could still smell the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen.
She hung up her backpack in the closet; she would retrieve it when Lucca did his rounds in the casino after dinner. He was usually gone for a couple of hours, giving her the opportunity to do her homework while he worked.
Walking up next to Lucca, she pressed a kiss to his waiting mouth. “Sorry about the diner.”
“Don’t worry about it, darlin’.” Lucca picked up his wine glass from the counter and took a rather long sip.
Knowing he didn’t want to talk about it, she changed the subject with a smile. “What are we having for dinner?”
“Chicken parmesan.” Stirring the sauce in the pan, he continued, “How were classes?”
“Fine.” She went to steal a small sip from his glass. “Same as usual.”
Lifting the glass back to his lips before she could grab it, he downed the rest of the contents and began filling it up again from the open bottle that sat on the counter. “Henry said he thought he heard you and Adalyn arguing on the way to lunch?”
Chloe’s eyes suddenly darted down to the dark color of the wine. “It wasn’t a big deal. I don’t even know why Henry would mention that to you in the first place.”
Lucca’s blue-green gaze began studying her. “He said you seemed upset.”
“Well, I was more upset when he made two students choke their meal down so they could give us their table.” Chloe looked him in the eyes now, hoping it was somewhat defiantly. “Did he mention that to you, too?”
“Yes, he did, as a matter of fact.”
Noticing he wasn’t the least bit sympathetic, she started stepping away from the counter. “I’m going to get changed.”
Lucca, however, grabbed her wrist before she could leave. “Go ahead. Dinner will be done in ten minutes. But, Chloe?” He brought her closer so he could lower his mouth to her ear. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you changed the subject from Adalyn.”
When his grasp left her, she was able to finally go upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes before coming back down to see Lucca had already set the food on the table and was waiting for her.
The silence as they ate made the food hard to swallow, so she gave in, deciding to break it. “Adalyn and I were arguing over if the professor stares at me during class.”
Lucca neatly cut a piece of the chicken with his knife. “Is he?”
“No.” At least, she didn’t think so …
He took another bite. “Adalyn comes across to me as very observant where men are concerned.”
Damn. Honestly, he had her there.
“He pays no more attention to me than any other student in the class.”
“That, I don’t believe.” At her anxious glance, Lucca gave her a comforting smile as he began swirling the wine in his glass around and around. “Why are you looking so worried, darlin’? I can’t say I blame the man.”
Chloe’s anxiousness grew worse as he continued. She hadn’t quite seen Lucca like this before …
“Has Adalyn got you watching too many Godfather movies? If I promise not to whack him, will you finish your dinner? Henry mentioned you didn’t eat much at lunch.”