Underneath the Star

Chapter 15

Lukas had told her the same exact story he told Eddy — from his involvement with a low-level gang as a teenager to potential threats that could hurt Melanie if he and Christopher weren't careful. She could hear every word he was saying to her, but her brain was still processing the fact that Lukas and Christopher were brothers.

"I will pay for all the damages," Eddy said once Lukas had finished telling the story. "If I had known that I was putting Melanie in danger, I wouldn't have ever tried to get involved."

Lukas scratched the back of his neck. "Chris had Mateo find you because you were a threat."

"I'd never hurt her. Is he also responsible for this?" Eddy pointed to his face, and Lukas nodded to respond. "Now that I know how serious this shit is, I hope I never see him again."

"Why did you come to Mel? Why not just go to a hospital or go back home?"

"I came here for the same reason why you're here," Eddy said, looking over at Melanie. She wasn't even paying attention to their conversation. "I love her, too. You must think I'm just some terrible jerk who broke her heart, but you gotta understand that when you're with someone for so long, you fool yourself into believing that there's someone better out there for you."

"You are," she said, sliding onto one of the kitchen stools. Lukas stood behind her and began rubbing her shoulders. "You are just some terrible jerk. Maybe you aren't a terrible person, but you're terrible for me."

"Are you okay?" Lukas asked her. He sighed when she shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Chris sooner."

"You let me walk out the bar with him. You drove me to his suite." Her body fell forward, and all she could do was lay her head on the marble top as she continued to process the new information in her head. "How strong were your feelings at the time?"

"Very," he admitted. "I was already in love, but I couldn't stop him from running after you that night. He would have invited you back to his suite no matter what I said."

"It was only supposed to be one night."

"It must have been difficult getting over me," Eddy said, smirking.

Melanie glared at him. "I was just starting to hate you less after seeing that you may have a heart after all, but that's gone like our seven years together."

"Ouch," he murmured.

Lukas couldn't help but laugh. Then he continued. "Chris has always been misguided when it comes to women, but he doesn't discard them that quickly."

"I was horrible to him tonight."

"He'll get over it," Lukas assured her. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed her in deeply. She smelled like the herbal shampoo she had used in the shower. Having her so close almost made him forget that they had company. "I would have tried harder to suppress my feelings if he wasn't so invested in the lifestyle. My need to protect you just made them stronger."

"Cute," Eddy commented.

She ignored him and lifted her head off the island, craning her neck to kiss Lukas. "Did you get all your tattoos back when you were part of that gang then?"

"Most of them," he told her. "I would remove them because of the memories they hold, but I don't hate them, and it's a reminder that I survived."

She smiled and turned to him, running a hand up his arm. "It might also help to know that they look sexy on you."

He chuckled and caught her hand, bringing it up to his lips. "Head to bed, okay?"

She nodded. "Will you stay?"