Can you damage someone beyond repair?
Luca plays his role as the loyal underboss. Violent, lethal, flawless. The lapdog, the starboy.
On the surface, he maintains his facade of smirks and casual charm, but beneath the mask, thereʼs a profound dark...
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LUCA PULLS AWAY FOR AIR, and my lips are swollen and buzzing from the onslaught of his mouth. My phone buzzes in my back pocket, but before I can think to grab it, he dips back down, pressing small kisses along my jaw, tracing his way down my neck.
He pulls back just enough, his lips quirking with a lazy smirk. “You gonna answer that?”
Flushing, I lean out of his touch and fumble for my phone. I frown at the screen—it’s a call from an unknown number. I answer and press it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Wren.” The voice is small and shaky. My stomach drops.
“Archie?” I pull the phone away from my ear for a second to check the time. It’s not ten o’ clock yet. “What’s wrong?”
“I... uh...I fell. It hurts pretty bad. Can you...can you come get me?”
Panic surges through me as I sit up straighter. My words tumble out, fast and frantic “Where are you?”
“Near the ferris wheel.”
I’m already pushing myself off Luca’s lap, clambering out of the booth.
“Whoa, where are you going?” Luca grabs my wrist as I’m about to run, his brows drawn together.
“My brother,” I manage, the words catching in my throat. Tears are burning at the back of my eyes. “He fell— I don’t know. I need to go. I need to find him.”
“Hey, hey,” he says, his voice low and steady, his grip on my wrist just tight enough to steady me. “Calm down. Breathe, okay? We’ll find him together.”
His grip tightens slightly on my wrist, grounding me, forcing me to stay still for just a second longer.
I nod quickly, though my chest is still tight. Luca pulls me closer, his eyes scanning the crowded carnival. “Where is he?”
“Ferris wheel,” I murmur.
We weave through the crowds, dodging carnival-goers and neon-lit booths, Luca’s hand warm and steady around mine. We reach the ferris wheel, and I spot Archie right away. He’s sitting on the ground near one of the ticket stands, clutching his knee. The sight makes my heart break a little.
I run to him, crouching at his side. “Arch!” I gasp, brushing his curly hair back, my other hand resting on his shoulder. “What happened?”
My brother gives me an agitated look. “We were first in line. Not them.”
My brother’s friends stand awkwardly nearby, but their eyes are darting nervously to another group of boys a few feet away.
Luca follows my gaze, and his face darkens when he locks eyes with the boy at the center of the group—tall, wiry, with messy black hair and strangely similar features to Luca himself.
“Mickey.” Luca’s voice is sharp. “What the hell did you do to him?”
The boy just scoffs, leaning back casually. “He was in the way,” he says, giving a dismissive shrug. “Kid can’t take a joke, I guess.”
