“I’m sure this was just some ridiculous prank, a sick joke,” Franc says, the edge in his tone drawing my attention back to him and Lucius. “Some kid trying to get a rise out of you after all the bullshit.” He scribbles something down in his stupid little notepad as I face them fully. “Doesn’t help that she made you take those photos. Egging people on. That was basically an open invitation for every psycho to come out and fuck with you.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Franc,” Luck spits as he takes a step toward his brother. “I asked you to do your goddamn job and nothing more. Last time I checked, taking statements andsecuring the scene covered most of that since you never get your hands dirty so just fuckingdothatso we can get our girl the hell out of here.”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job, Lucius. If you hadn’t gotten back with that deceitfulwhore, none of this would have happened.”
I flick my cigarette and slide between them as fast as I can, barely separating them enough to keep Lucky’s hands off of Franc’s throat.
“He’ll charge you with assault.” He ignores me in favor of growling something in Italian over my shoulder, trying like hell to move me out of the way. “You have to calm down, babe. We have to be there for Leo.”
Lucky’s eyes snap to mine, a storm raging in his irises but his expression softens and he takes a deep breath. “Right.”
“Right.” I give him a small smile then cup his cheeks, smoothing my thumbs under his eyes and whisper, “Don’t let him get to you, ok?”
“Ok.” Lucky takes another deep breath, dips his chin and gives me a quick kiss before an almost diabolical grin spreads across his handsome face.
One that lasts all of two seconds before I’m pushing Lucius backwards because of his dickhead brother.
“Fucking sick,” Franc grumbles, shaking his head. “Bitch really ruined all four of you.”
“Close minded bigot,” Lucky hisses.
“Freak show faggot.”
“That’s enough,” I growl as I spin, grabbing Franc by his lapels because I’ve fucking had it. “This is not the time or place for your self righteous and unresolved bullshit. A goddamn crime was committed, you were called to investigate, end of the fucking story.”
Franc narrows his eyes, staring at me like I’m the bane of his existence and just when I thinkmaybewe can actually get back to handling the eyeball situation, he smirks.
“She’s a fucking curse. A goddamn disease. Leonor Allan is a cancer that has spread through the four of you dumb shits, infecting you from the inside out, and shewillbe the death of you. That whore will kill you in the end, just wait and see.”
Without warning, I’m shoved damn near across the parking lot, skidding on some loose gravel, my balance thrown so hard I almost go down but I don’t miss the aftermath.
Lucky has Franc by the throat, squeezing his windpipe as he slams him into the side of a police cruiser, a look on his face I haveneverseen before. He towers over him, unbridled rage painting every inch of his body and before I get my act together enough to get between them again, Pete comes flying across the asphalt.
“Listen here you pompous little fuck,” Lucius says as Peter tries—and fails—to pull them apart. “If I find out any of the statements or evidence, any fucking thing collected here tonight suddenly turned upmissingormisplaced, that some half wit beat cop decided this wasn’t worth looking into because it was all just a fuckingprank, I will make you regret the day I was born a hell of a lot more than you already do.”
“Fuck off,” Franc chokes out. “This is assault on an officer and?—”
“Andwhat?” Lucky squeezes his throat a little tighter, leaning down so they’re eye level.
Which is when I finally get my act together and hop up to go help Pete.
“That’s what I thought.” Luck shoves him into the side of the car one more time, letting go and lifting his hands as he allows us to start walking him backward. “Do your fucking job, Francesco.”
“Lucky,” I grunt, pushing at his chest and praying he just shuts up. “Luck.”
He smirks, never taking his eyes off his brother. “And stay the fuck away from Leonor.”
“Lucius,” Peter growls. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Stay away from all of them, Franc! You or one of your cronies need anything from one ofmypeople, you get it through me!”
I give him a hard push as we get closer to Leonor. “Shut up, man.”
“Lucky?”
All three of us spin toward the sound of Leo’s voice, my stomach pitching over how small and shaken it is.
“Everything is fine, baby cakes.”
