Page 16 of Vows of Blood

"How long ago did you know Luca?" she demands, making air quotes as she glares at me.

"Ten years. And I haven’t seen or heard from him since." I pause, struggling to get the words out. “We… dated, and we broke up.”

Except we never really broke up. Luca just never showed up one night, and that was it. He moved back to Italy without saying a word to me about it, and all attempts I made to reach out proved futile.

When I shrug, pretending it’s no big deal, when really, that signaled the beginning of the end for life as I knew it, Bruno frowns, eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.

Rebecca inhales sharply, scarcely believing what she’s hearing. “Holy shit.”

Good thing I didn’t tell her the whole story.

“No. Not holy shit. He was just a normal guy back then.” But even I don’t believe that.

There was nothing normal about Luca Calvano.

She shakes her head slowly, processing. "You dated a fucking Calvano, and you never thought to mention it? I listened to you drone on and on about Will the fucking broke-ass food delivery guy when you had this in your back pocket?” Slapping my arm, she glares at me, making jokes to hide the tremor of fear underneath.

I press my lips into a thin line. "It was over. It didn't matter. And…"

The last thing I want is for anyone to know I was once involved with one of the wealthy, but a ruthless Calvano bachelor? That I was warned to keep my mouth shut and told never to speak to him again?

I don’t think any of those revelations will calm Rebecca down.

"Didn't matter?" Her whisper turns sharp. "Sienna, people got shot tonight. His fiancé might be dead. That could have been you." She looks at the back of Bruno’s head. “Are we in danger? Is he really bringing us home?”

Bruno could jump in immediately to reassure her, but he doesn’t. Instead, he lets the silence fill the cabin for a few long seconds, shifting in his seat. “You’re not in danger. Not with me, anyway.”

Rebecca twists to stare at me.

He made that sound very ominous.

“We’re fine. We didn’t do anything, and we didn’t see anything,” I remind her.

Nodding, she settles back against the seat once more.

"What were you thinking?" she asks quietly, not angry, but scared. For me. “Running into the kitchen instead of away… and then I find you just standing there, shooting the breeze, wearing his fucking jacket like he’s the fucking quarterback and not a…”

She cuts her rambling rant off abruptly and mouths the last word, criminal.

My fingers find the luxurious fabric of Luca’s navy jacket and pull it tighter around me. “It’s not like that.”

She leans closer, searching my face for the truth, because she knows I’m not telling her everything. "What did he want then?”

Despite every instinct to look in Bruno’s direction, I don’t. “He just wanted to know if I recognized the shooter.”

Rebecca’s eyes bug out. “And do you?”

“Of course not. He was wearing a mask.”

She blinks at me, waiting to see if there’s more, but that’s all she’s getting for now.

"Okay. If you’re sure that’s all he wanted,” she says, doubtfully, her attention lingering on his jacket.

“Believe me, that’s all.” I scoff, dropping my chin to my chest to stare at my hands.

“No. Don’t do that, Sienna.” Rebecca shakes her head, deathly serious. “The way he was looking at you? Whatever you guys had is not ancient history to that man.”

Swallowing hard, I push away the memory of his rough fingers on my hips. The reality is that our lives are now worlds apart, and there’s no going back.