Lucian (20 page)

That seemed to hit a nerve for some of the men in the room. A few openly glared, clearly fighting back the urge to shout their denials and obscenities. Given the fact they were facing three sober, fearless men with guns ready to turn on them, they wisely chose to stay quiet.

“Do you know what he did to her?” Lucian asked Ron, ignoring everyone else. “How he beat her?”

“I’d heard,” Ron replied drily. “Jordyn knew the rules and she broke them. I couldn’t help her after that.”

Fury flooded Lucian’s veins. “What fucking rules? She wasn’t his to do with what he wanted to begin with!”

“Your life isn’t like ours,” Ron said indifferently.

“Obviously not,” Gio spat. “Our women would never be treated like cattle to be used and abused as we see fit.”

“Unlike you, we take care and protect what is ours,” Dante added.

Lucian ground his teeth, trying to calm the rush of adrenaline. “And she’s mine.”

The stare down between Lucian and Ron lasted seconds. As it was, they’d already been in the place for too long. It needed to be done with, and fast.

“Your son, he loved her, cared for her … and you did nothing to help her,” Lucian growled. “If I can’t have Will today, I’ll take second best as a prize, Ron. I think we’ve both earned it.”

“I don’t want Jordyn,” Ron tried to say.

Lucian shrugged. “But Will does. I won’t let him have her and you’re a damn good example to make.”

That effectively ended the conversation for Lucian.

And Ron’s life.

Chapter Seventeen

Jordyn’s nerves grew to epic proportions as she waited for Lucian’s arrival at Cazza. The original plan was for him to pick her up at the condo and bring her to dinner, but that had changed sometime over the day. Antony informed her of the new plan to meet all of the boys at the restaurant so they could eat together.

When she asked why the change, Antony just smiled grimly and said nothing.

Now, his back was turned to her as he watched a news broadcast on the large flat screen television located on the far wall in the private VIP dining area of the restaurant. It was turned on low, but Jordyn wasn’t stupid. She was more than capable of looking at the words flashing at the bottom of the screen.

Legs and Leather. Known to be a popular scene for the infamous MC gang The Sons of Hell. Five dead. Dozens of witnesses who couldn’t give an accurate description of the assailants. Early reports suggested a robbery. Officials weren’t ruling out the incident being related to the motorcycle gang.

On top of the shooting, the investigators had removed several weapons and illegal substances from the strip club that were not believed to have been involved with the incident, but the guests of the business itself. ATF had also been called in. Legs and Leather was closed until further notice. Several MC members, their pictures and names flashing across the screen, had been arrested for weapons and drugs. The victims’ names were not being released at that time.

Jordyn felt sick.

It wasn’t the scene playing out on the news that really bothered her, but the fact that she hadn’t heard a thing about Lucian all day.

“Does it make me an awful person that I don’t care about those five body bags because I’m too concerned about seeing Lucian?” Jordyn asked.

Antony shrugged, his back still turned. “I’m morally bankrupt and have been for a long time, so I don’t think I’m the best person to ask that, Jordyn.”

His honesty was startling. “I’ve never really asked Lucian his thoughts, but how do you deal with feeling that way, or rather, being … this way,” she finished with a wave between Antony and the television.

“I pray.”

Jordyn’s brow rose. “Pray?”

Antony nodded. “And I ask for forgiveness. Though it may not seem like enough to apologize for the choices I make daily, and all the wrongs I’ve done before, it’s enough for me. Confession and penance are my greatest friends. Well, that and my angel of a wife. Her understanding, love, and acceptance of me in this life is a constant, unwavering cornerstone I need to survive. She is the one soul on earth I couldn’t stand to see hurt because of me, so I make sure she doesn’t ever have to.”

Jordyn didn’t get the chance to ask anything else. The arrival of three, loud Marcello brothers ended the conversation. Both Antony and Jordyn stood from the table to greet them.

Antony smiled, any worry in his features gone instantly. “Good day?”

“Perfect,” Dante responded. “Tell me you ordered already. I’m starving.”

“I did. The usual.”

“Awesome,” Gio muttered, pulling out a chair.

Jordyn couldn’t help but notice how they were all dressed in their usual suits, clean and unbothered. The television continued to play the news broadcast, but none seemed to care.

The one she wanted to talk to the most was the quietest. There was tension in the frown Lucian sported, an anger in his gaze. Lucian offered his hand to Jordyn and tilted his head to the side as if to ask her to come with him. She did, following him to the other side of the room where they were afforded some privacy.

“I’m sorry,” Lucian said quietly.

“What for?”

“It’s not over, sweetheart. I was hoping it would be, and I could tell you that, but it’s not. And I’m sorry.”

Will wasn’t gone.

“He’s going to try again. Something, I don’t know. We’ll be ready. I don’t want you worried over him.”

“Okay. I was more worried about you, Lucian.”

Lucian smiled tightly. “You shouldn’t be. How was your day?”

“Busy. Antony kept me moving.”

“He’s good for that. Anything new to tell me?”

Jordyn snorted. “Antony now has an assistant.”

Lucian cringed. “Yeah. Good luck. I’m not saying you can’t do it, but he’s got a bad habit of chewing them up and spitting them out.”

“He needs someone to tell him to shut the fuck up every once in a while.”

“And you’re good for that. It’ll be an interesting match.”

This conversation felt all too normal and calm for Jordyn. Maybe she thought there would be some emotion or possibly guilt from her lover. There was nothing. Just like the other three men sitting behind them at the table, joking and laughing.

What kind of a woman did it make her that she was perfectly fine with their behavior?

“This is pretty,” Lucian noted, his fingers coming up to graze the diamond necklace Jordyn now wore. She was seriously trying not to think of the price tag on the piece. Never mind the other gifts Antony had sent back to the condo. “My father?”

“Did you know it’s highly offensive to his sensibilities when someone denies his gifts? That’s what he said.
Highly offensive
, Lucian. You can’t even argue with him because he just looks at you like your opinion doesn’t bear any importance to his final decision.”

Lucian nodded. “Welcome to my life. The necklace suits you well, I’m impressed. Antony has good taste.”

“I’m not going to go shopping with him again if this is what he does.”

“I hate to tell you, sweetheart, but he won’t be the only one. You better get used to it.”

Jordyn didn’t think she ever would.

• • •

“This waking up alone thing is starting to give me a serious complex.”

Lucian’s shoulders tensed at Jordyn’s voice, but he didn’t turn away from whatever he was doing. This time, she hadn’t found him on the deck, or pretending to be busy in his office like the last couple of nights. Tonight, he was in his gun room with all of the lights on and the door wide open.

It wasn’t so much the lack of his presence in bed that woke her, but the noise.

“You know I love you,” Lucian said. “Don’t go worrying on that end.”

“I’m not. What are you doing? It’s two in the damned morning, Lucian.”

“Fixing my guns.”

He was standing in nothing but boxer-briefs, working over the table sitting in the middle of the room. Stress had tightened his muscles, his back flexing as he grabbed what looked like a drill with a long bit attached and some kind of metal piece with grooves at the end. The whirling screech that woke her up started again, making Jordyn cringe.

“They’re broken, or you’re breaking them? Because I don’t think this is how you fix a gun!”

“Fixing them,” he repeated when the noise stopped. “It’s a waste to get rid of them if they’re used.”

“With a drill?”

Jordyn was so confused it wasn’t even funny. This was getting ridiculous.

Lucian waved her over and Jordyn moved to his side. On the table sat two Eagles and a dismantled assault rifle. A bottle of cleaning solution, a jar of oil, and giant Q-tips were all set out on paper towels. Jordyn watched as Lucian repeated the process of the drill down the barrel of the gun, then the cleaning solution on a Q-tip into the barrel, and finally followed by the oil. Over and over he repeated the process in silence.

“Every bullet leaving the chamber has a certain set of striation marks left from the barrel. Every gun leaves different marks, kind of like a fingerprint. Ballistic testing can trace a bullet back to a gun by using those alone. I hate tossing out my guns. This,” Lucian said, holding up the drill bit, “… is a quick way to change the grooves inside of a barrel without messing up the weapon. It creates entirely new patterns, meaning the next bullet to come out won’t have the same striations. The cleaning solution gets rid of any metal fragments left inside so there’s no worry of the gun jamming, and the oil is just good for the piece after a harsh treatment like this.”

Oddly, Jordyn found herself interested in his explanations. Actually, she’d long decided since being around him that she didn’t mind guns. In fact, the dangerous nature of the weapons mixed well with Lucian’s attitude most days, and it was kind of hot.

“So, you decided to do this in the early morning hours, why?”

Lucian shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep and it needed to be done.”

Jordyn bumped his hip with hers playfully. “I’m right there in bed, you know. You can wake me up to talk, or whatever. I wouldn’t mind.”

Sure, following Antony around Marcello Industries over the last couple of days was tiring in a multitude of ways, mostly because Jordyn had a lot to learn, but she would always make time for Lucian.

“What’s wrong?” Jordyn asked softly.

“Nothing, sweetheart.”

Jordyn didn’t believe that for a minute. Lucian was a quiet man as it was, but he’d been especially silent since the Legs and Leather incident. He’d also stuck closer to her since it happened, like he was scared to let her out of his sight. The only time he was comfortable to leave her was if one of his brothers were around, or if she was working with Antony.

There was a price on her head. Lucian didn’t hide it. It was frightening, sure, but Jordyn was determined to get through it. There was no point in letting fear run her life anymore. It was hers, after all.

“Is this about your dreams?” Jordyn asked as Lucian finished cleaning the dismantled barrel of the assault rifle.

The piece was placed to the table with the utmost care. “Excuse me?”

“Your dreams. Are they keeping you awake lately?”

Lucian’s jaw clenched as he turned to look at her with blazing hazel eyes. It was the first real show of anger she’d seen in him towards her since their argument. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you’ve been out of the bed more than you’ve been in it. You wander the halls. How is that healthy for someone? You need sleep and you’re not getting nearly enough.”

“So my sleep patterns make you think I have dreams?”

“No,” Jordyn said, keeping calm. “Antony mentioned—”

“Fuck my father for saying a goddamned thing!” Lucian snapped, shutting her up instantly. “That’s none of his business, and it sure as hell isn’t yours, either, Jordyn!”

That hurt, but Jordyn refused to show it. “Isn’t it?”

“No!”

“Then what am I doing here with you, Lucian?”

Lucian stood even straighter, fingers clasping tight around the metal edge of the table until his knuckles turned white from pressure. “You were the one who got out of bed.”

“Your noise woke me up,” Jordyn reminded him.

“Well, I’m finished, now. Go back to bed and drop it.”

“No thanks. Let’s talk.”

“I’d rather chew on rocks, actually.”

Mature
, Jordyn thought drily.

“Are you serious? You won’t even bother to explain to me why you’re so angry you don’t even want to look at me?”

Lucian turned to stare her straight in the eyes again. “Happy?”

“No, you’re angry with me.”

“I wonder why! You went behind my back and discussed private things about my past with my father. If there was something you wanted to know about when it comes to me, I am the only person you need to ask.”

“I did not,” Jordyn replied at the same calm level. “Antony asked if you still walked the halls, I said yes, and he mentioned you sometimes dream of things. Funny, he assumed you would have explained this to me already. What am I missing here, Lucian?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, teeth grinding. “Leave it the hell alone.”

“See, and that right there is why I have to wonder what I’m doing here.”

“Because I love you!”

“But you don’t trust me.”

“That’s not true. Please go to bed, Jordyn.”

“Are you ashamed, or embarrassed? Does it hurt to talk about it? What is it?”

Lucian’s hands slammed down to the table, rocking everything on top and making Jordyn flinch. “Stop it. It’s not up for discussion. I won’t say it again.”

“Lovers do more than just fuck, Lucian. Relationships aren’t only about the physical. They talk. They build a foundation based on separate pasts and the desire for a mutual future. Trust is required for this to work. Don’t you understand that?”

Lucian’s tongue snaked out to wet his lips as he whispered, “Please go back to bed.”

Jordyn wasn’t defeated, but she could tell by the refusal of even his attention that Lucian wouldn’t talk to her about the topic she’d brought up. At least not tonight.

With a heavy heart, she turned to leave the room, but Lucian’s quiet voice with all anger gone stopped her. “I’ll take the spare bedroom, sweetheart.”

Jordyn sighed. “I think that’d be wise.” 

Time passed by slowly, and Jordyn didn’t sleep for a moment of it. Lucian didn’t, either, considering she listened to him tinker down the hall for quite a while before she heard nothing. It wasn’t long before his frame was looming in the bedroom doorway, blocking the light from the hallway.