garden beside Luca’s.
My stomach falls as Cole pulls into the drive behind another bulky SUV, our headlights swinging past a grimacing woman and three men standing on the front lawn, none of them happy to see us.
Sarah and Sebastian are the only ones whose expressions hold the slightest tinge of relief.
Hunter is plain mad.
And when my gaze reaches Luca I have to raise my chin and suck in a breath to steal myself against the fury bearing back at me.
“If you don’t want to stay here I can make other arrangements,” Cole murmurs. “Returning to Portland with Luca was your choice, but you can change your mind at any time and stay with your brother.”
“And if I don’t like either option?”
“They’re all you’ve got for now.”
I should get away. From here. From Luca. But anger at my protector is a better option than the vulnerability I’d face with my brother.
“Can I think about it?”
He kills the ignition. “Take all the time you need.”
I steal myself for what’s to come and open my door, only to be stopped by a punishing grip capturing my arm.
“There’s one more thing.” Cole’s eyes harden as I glance at him over my shoulder. “I’ve made sure you’re financially taken care of while under Luca’s roof. I’m certain you know you can have anything you need if you ask. So if you steal from me again, we’re going to have problems. Do you hear me?”
I fight the instinct to lash out, fervently holding myself in check because I don’t want to risk Tobias being stripped from me forever. “I told you it won’t happen again.”
I won’t steal a car.
I won’t even steal time from Luca.
He inclines his head and releases my wrist. “Then good luck. By the expression on Luca’s face you’re going to need it.”
I shudder and open my door to slide out, keeping my gaze averted from the wall of tumultuous male emotion in front of me. I don’t look toward the men on the lawn as I walk around the hood. I don’t even chance a sideward glance as I pass.
I head straight for the front of the house, my head high, my shoulders straight.
“You’re seriously going to walk by me without so much as a fucking explanation?” Luca demands.
I ignore him, refusing to stop and chat when the heat in my eyes is overwhelming. I won’t let him see me cry. Not again. Not over this.
I keep walking, thankful the house is unlocked as I slip inside. But he’s hot on my heels, snatching the door as I let it go, slamming the heavy wood closed behind us. “Don’t walk away from me.”
“Why?” I quicken my stride down the hall. “You did it to me first.”
“Jesus Christ.” He follows me into my darkened bedroom. “I almost had a fucking stroke worrying about you. The least you can do is explain.”
“Leave me alone.”
“I know you’re angry.” His tone softens, slaughtering me with pity. “But, fuck me drunk, Pen, what the hell were you thinking?”
I was thinking he had feelings for me. That I was more than a job.
I turn to him, facing his hostility head-on. With him in front of me, a stranger’s kisses lingering on his lips, my humiliation digs deeper, clawing at my mind. “I’m sorry I ruined your night. But I’m safe now; you can get back to what you were doing. Or who you were doing.”
His eyes flare, shock and wrath beaming back at me. “You think I give a shit about who I was with? You think that’s why I’m mad?”
“Yeah, I do.” I return his glare. Fury to fury. Madness to mindlessness.
I cared for him so much. Without knowing, without understanding, he’d become my world. And now I don’t know how to breathe in the vacuum.
“I think you’re pissed because I stole a car. Wrecked that car. But more importantly, because I disturbed you on your date.” I’m making a fool of myself. I can feel it. The heat in my cheeks is a glaring indication. I’m just thankful the faint glow from the living room is the only illumination through the shadowed surroundings.
He scoffs. “I don’t even know where to start with that load of ignorant bullshit.”
“Start by telling the truth. Start by acknowledging how worthless you made me feel.”
“Excuse me?” His brows pinch in a lethal frown. “I made you feel worthless?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I feel that way when you left to have sex with a stranger when you already have a professional fucking whore