Son of a bitch.
She blinks as if she knows what she's doing to me.
I look to the other girl. "Hey, I think she's coming out of it."
She shakes her head, blushing red again. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry."
That voice. Pretty with a hint of rasp. Damn. Is there anything about her that isn't perfect-besides her age? I'm such a chick right now. I can't stop grinning. "No worries."
"I'm Lucy."
"Nice to meet you Lucy," I say, taking her hand into mine, shaking it, giving it a gentle squeeze, and I'm hard as a rock. Ruben clears his throat and I ignore him. Instead, I reach out and tuck a strand of her silky hair behind her ear. I don't want anything covering up that perfect face.
"Nice to meet you too," she answers, shoving her pen and paper at the other girl.
John nudges me and I nod.
"Let's walk and talk. I think my flight might be ready."
"No private plane today?" my girl asks.
"Nah. Not for just me and the big guys," I tell her, motioning to Ruben, John, and Kal. "When the band travels, then we take the jet."
She nods and gets quiet again.
"So you're a fan," I prompt.
"Mhmm."
I make sure to walk close to her so our arms and hands touch as we walk. I'm like a junkie searching for crumbs. I'll take whatever I can get. I don't know what's going on right now, but I know it's a big fucking deal-at least to me. No one's ever affected me like Lucy has.
Our hands touch and she gasps. I throw her a wink and she blushes. She's a tiny little thing, her head reaching me mid-chest. Damn. She's perfect.
Lucy looks at her friend, who's grinning, then fans herself like she's on fire. I know the feeling.
"Where are you headed?" I ask, curious to know more about her.
"L.A."
My brows raise. "I'm headed back there myself."
"Oh, were you at Comic Con?"
My brows go up even more. She really is a true fan if she figured that out.
"Good guess. I was. There was a great turnout. It's part of what I love about the Midwest. People have passion and they're not afraid to go the extra mile to show their dedication."
She hums a, "Hmmm."
I reach out and softly squeeze Lucy's shoulder. "Excuse me while I check in."
Christ. I need to get it together. I walk up to the counter and Kal gives me a questioning look. I just shake my head.
The airline chick gets all flirty and it's annoying as hell. I just want to check in and move on. When I am in a restaurant, store, or airport as a passenger or customer, I expect to be treated with professionalism and this bitch doesn't have an ounce of it in her. I make note of her name and I'll be contacting the airline when I get back to L.A.
"Do you think he's on our flight?" I hear Lucy whisper to her friend.
"It looks like it. Holy shit! Jesse Kingston!" the other chick says in hushed tones.
"I think I just fangirled all over the place." I smirk at Lucy's comment while her friend laughs.
"I can't believe this is happening. This has got to be a dream. Ow! What the fuck, Sera?" Lucy cries out. I resist the urge to turn around.
"Not a dream. Just proving it to you," the friend says.
"You're so violent," Lucy mutters with a whimper.
Finally the airline bitch has my shit straight. It only took Kal coming up here to intimidate her. This is the part of being famous I hate.
I turn and head back toward Lucy, and as I do, a huge smile forms and it lights up the room. She's so incredibly beautiful. "Looks like the flight will be ready in a few minutes," I say as I stand in front of her.
Lucy bites her lip and I grin. "Can I get a picture with you?"
"Of course."
Lucy hands Sera her phone and I steer Lucy to an empty area. I pull her into my side, wrapping my arm around her, breathing her in. God damn. She's so soft, she smells like strawberries and cream, and her breathing picks up as I pull her even closer, wrapping my arm around her waist.
Lucy's grinning. I can see the arousal and pleasure at my touch. I curse the age difference again.
"All done?" I ask her friend.
"Yep."
Damn.
I turn to face Lucy, just a sliver of space between us, as I stare into those brown eyes. I could get lost in those eyes. Maybe someday.
They call for boarding. I don't move and neither does she. I can't yet. I'd like nothing more than to reach out and hug her close for a long fucking time. Ruben clears his throat, signaling it's time to go.
"Lucy. It was really great to meet you."
I reach out and grab her hands in mine, needing to touch her one more time.
"Thank you. And thanks for the autograph and photos."
I don't even try to stop myself when I pull her hands up to my mouth and kiss them. When her breath catches again, I know she's feeling the same thing I am.
She's so familiar, so comfortable. Do I know her? I look at her through narrowed eyes.
"Have we-" I pause and shake my head. Nah. We've never met. There's no way in hell I'd forget this girl.
I smile and slowly run my knuckles down the side of her face. When they reach her jaw and hit air, I turn and walk away before I do something stupid.
Just before I step into the tunnel, I look back, her friend's pulling her in for a hug. Shit. What the hell just happened? Her friend sends me a wink and I force a small grin.
Me and the guys make our way to first class and I plop into the seat.
"What was that, man?" Ruben asks.
I shake my head. "I don't know."
Ruben doesn't say anything, and when Kal takes his seat I don't hesitate to turn around.
"Who are they?"
"I caught a glimpse of their tickets when they were boarding. Luciana Russo and Serafina Manzini."
I nod.
"Traveling with Lucy's mom and brother I believe. He made a comment about Lucy needing to change her panties after seeing you," Kal tells me with a laugh.
I grin.
"She's not the only one," John mutters.
"Fuck off, man."
"Hey, she's hot. I don't blame you."
I don't know why, but him talking about Lucy like that pisses me off. "Don't fucking talk like that about her. She's not like the rest."
"And you know that how?" Ruben asks with a lift of his brow.
"I don't know how I know, I just know I do." I look out the window. "She's different." So fucking different. And too young. This life would eat her up-what the fuck am I thinking here? I'm not ready to settle down. Not right now. But when I am, it's going to be with someone exactly like Luciana Russo. Maybe she and I will get a chance to meet again some day. If there's a way to make that happen in a few years, I'm going to move heaven and earth to do it.
My vision blurs as I stare out the window, not seeing anything, just thinking about the gorgeous girl back in coach. I half wish she'd sneak up here, and the other half is grateful she's not going to. She won't. Not a girl like that. Not Lucy.
She's different and she's someone I won't ever forget.
Chapter Three
Cage
Past
"I'm telling you Gio, it's those fucking Manzinis."
I knock on the door and hesitate before walking in. Ernesto waves me over, Giovanni looks pissed. He's not sitting as he normally does. He's standing behind the desk, hands balled into fists.
"What did they take this time?"
Ernesto doesn't hesitate to answer his boss, and father. He rattles off a long list of weapons that were stolen from last night's shipment.
Giovanni swears. "We need to stop these fuckers."
Ernesto nods in agreement. Giovanni looks over.
"Do you know who was in charge last night?"
"It was Massimo, he was working with Cesare."
Gio throws his hands in the air. "Cesare, always Cesare. I hate that prick." Ernesto grunts in agreement. I stand here, wondering why I'm included in this conversation. Normally Ernesto gives me my assignment and I'm gone. But I know better than to say anything so I just stay quiet.
Ernesto steps forward. "Do you want me to take a couple guys and handle this?"
Giovanni hesitates. "You know what it will mean if we do. If we kill him, it'll be more than stealing. It'll be about more than territory. It'll be about blood."
"It already is," Ernesto says. "And now they're making it about money."
Giovanni nods.
"You know as well as I do Gio, they're overstepping their bounds, and if we don't stop them they'll just keep stepping further."
Giovanni sits down in the chair. Elbow resting on the arm, his hand coming up to his mouth where he absently runs a finger across his lip. Contemplating, thinking, weighing all angles of what he's about to do. I've seen him do this before and it ended very badly for the Manzinis.
Giovanni leans forward. "You take the best men with you and get this done tonight. They won't be expecting it, not this soon."
Ernesto nods. "I want to take the kid with me."
Giovanni stares me down with those dark, dark eyes. It feels like he can almost see through me. "Are you ready for this Nickels?"