One of the letters was a G. The other looked like an I. I couldn’t tell what the last letter was because it was smudged with some dirt.
It was an odd thing for a grown man to be carrying, especially a man like Luca. Even if he was a fan of soccer, he was clearly a very rich man, so it made no sense for him to be carrying around a trinket that wasn’t worth more than a few quarters.
I glanced at him and saw that his eyes were on me.
Well, not me, but the keychain.
And he looked… fuck, I didn’t know what he looked like.
The only word I could come up with was… haunted.
No.
No way.
A guy like him didn’t understand that concept. He was the type who took what he wanted, did what he wanted and said “fuck” to the consequences. Hell, for someone like him, there weren’t any consequences.
Luca’s eyes slid up to mine and I actually wondered if I’d said any of my thoughts out loud, because the way he was looking at me was unnerving. This time, I couldn’t read him.
He looked away first. I couldn’t help but glance at him every now and then as he balanced his elbow against the window so he could rub his lower lip with the ends of his fingers.
“Me-me,” Violet called loudly as she grabbed for the keychain. I returned it to her and then studied the passing scenery from my own window. The tension was leaching from my system hard and fast and I hated how shaky I felt.
I also hated how the tiniest part of me was envious of that kid Luca and I had encountered in the warehouse. The amount of shit he could get with the cash Luca had given him would buy him nonstop bliss for days.
Assuming he was brave enough to hide the money from his pimp.
If he did shove it up his nose or shoot it into his arms, he wouldn’t have to feel for a while… well, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d feel, but it would be only good things. And only when all the cash was gone would he get on his knees for the next guy who wanted to use him. Then the hunt for bliss would start all over again.
“We’re here,” Luca said softly, but I still jumped because I’d forgotten his presence. I’d forgotten everything for a while.
“Where?” I murmured as I looked around. Holy hell, we weren’t even in the city anymore. I’d just assumed Luca would take me back to my place. How long had I been daydreaming?
I glanced down and saw that Violet had actually fallen asleep against my chest, the keychain clutched between her grimy fingers. The very strong stench of a dirty diaper assaulted my nose.
“A friend’s,” was all Luca said.
We were in a quiet neighborhood of upper-middle-class houses. I actually knew the neighborhood because Aleks had lived a few streets over with his older brother, Dante, and Dante’s husband, Magnus.
“Why are we here?” I asked. Violet woke up and looked around for a brief moment before she started crying. “Shhh, honey, it’s okay,” I cooed as I began bouncing her up and down. I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, “Why didn’t you take me home?”
Luca glanced at me. “Which home, Remy? Your apartment or that piece of shit motel room that isn’t fit for you, let alone her?” he asked calmly as he nodded at Violet.
I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off, even if he was right. But I snapped it shut when he got out of the car. My door was opened from the outside by one of the bodyguards. Violet cried harder.
“It’s okay, sweet girl,” I said as I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. I snuggled her closer as I got out of the car. Luckily, by the time we reached the walkway that led up to the large house, she’d nodded off again. Luca was several steps ahead of me and when the front door opened, he extended his hand to the large man who came walking out of the house. There was a large German shepherd along with a smaller mixed-breed dog with him. I automatically stopped in my tracks at the sight of the larger animal. Every instinct in my body told me to run, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good.
“Bullet,” I heard the man call to the dog, which was staring at me, but hadn’t made a move toward me. The shepherd quickly returned to the man’s side and dropped down to the ground. The mixed-breed dog began jumping all over the shepherd, but the larger dog stayed where it was.
I managed to pull in a breath. Luca appeared at my side, though admittedly, I hadn’t seen him move in my direction.