Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 385

Chapter 385: You Should Rest

"Luca, you should rest," Marco said. "Actually, we should both rest."

Luca stopped walking. He stood there rigidly, shoulders tight, hands at his sides, his whole body still humming. "I wanted to kill him, Marco. I should have killed him."

"I’m sorry," Marco said at last. "I had to notify Don."

Luca glanced at him but didn’t argue.

"I knew we could get her out," Marco continued. "But Don’s not ready for a full-blown war right now."

"I know," Luca said. He knew exactly why Marco had made the call. Knew why Massimo would want to keep the city from lighting on fire all at once.

But knowing did nothing to quiet what was inside him.

"What am I going to do, Marco?" Luca asked. "If my enemies keep targeting people I love, what am I going to do?" He broke off there, drawing in a shaky breath he clearly hated needing. "I don’t..."

"It’s our life," Marco said. "It’s the path we were handed....The path we chose."

"Go," Luca said finally, needing some time alone. "Get some rest. Instruct the men to get Vee here in the morning," Luca continued. "Her things can be moved later. Just get her here."

If the city was shifting under them, then Veronica would be brought into the center of his protection whether she liked the method or not.

"Of course," Marco said.

Luca walked into his room and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, the weight of the day had finally chosen that moment to settle fully into his bones. He buried his head in his hands, elbows braced on his knees, breathing slowly through thoughts that would not stop moving.

What if he hadn’t taken the necessary precautions to keep Nonnina safe? He had never thought she would be a target.

Not once. Not in all his life. Not until a few months back, when Nonnina herself had mentioned her concerns.

He had listened. He had taken precautions. But now, sitting alone in the dim quiet of his room, he could not stop thinking about how close close had been. His hands tightened against his face.

And beneath his worry came more questions. How much information had Bianca given Cassidy?

How much? And where the fuck was Cassidy? That, more than anything, kept needling at the back of his mind.

Luca lifted his head slowly, eyes dark and tired and very far from done with any of this.

*****

Veronica nearly ran into Nonnina’s arms the next morning. Despite the plaster on the side of her head and the entirely reasonable expectation that she might spend the morning resting, Nonnina was already up and about.

When Zuccherino—as she fondly called Veronica—hit her with a hug that was far closer to a tackle than an embrace, Nonnina laughed and held her tight.

"I was so afraid, Nonni," Veronica cried into her shoulder. "So afraid."

Nonnina stroked her hair. "I’m okay, dear. I’m fine."

Veronica only held on harder.

"I keep telling everyone," Nonnina continued, amused now despite herself, "and they won’t believe me. Luca is crazy... says he won’t have breakfast if I insist on making it anyway."

Vee smiled. "How is he?"

Nonnina gave a dramatic little sniff, thoroughly annoyed by the overreaction of everyone around her. "He’s moping...I am fine. Fine. I do not need a doctor."

"You sound exactly like him."

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