“Is there a problem?” came a husky voice from behind and the sound of her chair being placed upright.
JC gasped, her head snapped toward the familiar voice. Reed’s smiling face brought an instant feeling of security. His gape settled on her face, consciously taking in her flustered demeanor.
The two men now stood side by side. Reed’s rugged, powerful, masculinity obvious in contrast and distinction to Luca’s sleek sophisticated disposition.
“There’s no problem. My girlfriend and I are having dinner,” Luca replied in a subdued tone, gesturing for JC to sit.
Reed’s smile fled. His lip twitched. Moving closer to JC, he rested his palm on the small of her back. His face held rigid as his eyes sized up Luca. “Is that so?”
Luca stared vehemently as Reed lowered his mouth and placed a reassuring kiss of possession to her temple.
JC felt a strange surge of power and confidence, knowing without a doubt, Reed would protect her. She was safe.
Luca’s arrogance and irritancy showed in his shifting stance. He squirmed, keeping his mouth shut, but anger rose in heated layers, turning his placid face to flames.
Turning his attention to JC, Reed stroked her spine, his slow gaze fixated on her stressed appearance. His fingers slipped to her wrist, testing the adrenaline fueled tremors coursing through her limbs in painful beats.
His brows narrowed, creating a deep crevasse between his eyes.
The caressing halted.
“JC?” A low thunder bellowed from his chest. Reed patiently waited for the answer to the question he need not even ask.
She nodded in silent relief, feeling as if she had just picked a guilty suspect out of a police lineup.
Before she knew what happened, in one swift move Reed slammed Luca’s face down on the table, knocking over her glass of water. Dishes clattered with jumping silverware as Luca struggled to get free. Reed gripped the back of Luca’s head, smashing it to the table while twisting one of his arms behind his back clean up to his shoulder blade.
“Oh, shit,” JC muttered. She reached in between them, but quickly withdrew.
Reed leaned over Luca’s back. She barely recognized his voice beneath the list of colorful promises. “If you so much as look at her again I’m gonna tear you limb from limb. You understand? There will be nothing left after I get through with you.”
The volatile air between the two men sparked with challenge. They weren’t yelling, however, they were loud enough to draw the attention of other patrons enjoying their dinner, who were now beginning to rise in their seats, attempting to peek around the tall rustic columns and gauzelike fabric draped from the wooden beams as a privacy screen.
Spilled water flowed across the tablecloth and pooled on the floor. The waiter arrived with a towel, but stopped dead in his tracks, taking a large step back. His eyes widened to the size of golf balls. “Should I call the police?”
“No!” JC assured in a pleading tone. “Reed,”—she shoved at his back—“Reed, stop.”
Reed loosened his hold on the back of Luca’s head.
JC thought it was over, but Luca turned aggressively toward Reed, spewing Italian.
Reed slammed his face to the table again, shoving his arm so far behind his back, JC expected Luca’s arm to pop out of his shoulder socket at any moment. The waiter and JC both gasped, neither sure of what to do. A few men raised to their feet, trying the get a glimpse of the commotion. Blood stained the white tablecloth beneath Luca’s face.
Cell phones would break out at any moment and if that happened, the entire incident would go live on the Internet shortly after.
She grabbed at Reed, pulling and tugging on his bicep. “Reed! Stop! We need to leave. Please stop.”
Grabbing hold of Luca’s collar, Reed yanked him to a standing position. “We are not going anywhere. He is leaving right now!” He bent forward, nose to nose with Luca. “You ever come near my woman again and I’ll fuckin’ kill you. Nothing would make me happier.” Reed shoved him into the walkway in plain view of all the other customers.
Luca wiped the oozing blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. “Si cazzo mi ha tagliato. Non hai sentito l’ultima di me!” Realizing his face was cut, Luca seethed words of complaint.
Satisfaction tickled JC’s tummy. She wished his lip dripped blood instead of his cheek. Every time Luca looked at his reflection in a mirror, he’d have his own reminder tattooed on his face.
He snapped the fresh towel from the waiter’s hand, holding it against a small slice high on his cheek caused from the knife lying on the table. He straightened his suit jacket and stalked toward the entrance.
Reed gathered JC in his arms. “You okay, darlin’?”