Best Laid Plans (10 page)

When she buzzed his flat to get him to meet her downstairs, he told her to come up instead. A little surprised, she followed his direction and made her way to his floor. As soon as he saw her, he pulled her into his arms and his mouth settled on hers. No
hello
or
how are you,
just
I want you
. How glorious it felt to be desired by a man like him.

“Aren’t we going to the cinema?” she mumbled.

“Probably not.” He distracted her from any thoughts of popcorn and a little under-clothes fumbling in a darkened room by easing her into the living room. Clothes flew everywhere as Frankie was carried along by Luca’s almost desperate need for her. He took her with a ferocity that would surely cause aches in the morning, but she didn’t care. Not when he had his hips grinding against her bottom, pinning her to the back of the sofa, and not when his mouth was fastened to her neck and his fingers locked on her clit until she cried and shook from exhaustion. Luca kissed her shoulder and released her for a few moments. Once he’d tidied himself up, he cuddled her against him on the sofa. The silence between them was slightly marred by the beat of his heart, thudding into Frankie’s ear.

She had to ask. “Are you okay? Because that was don’t-forget-me, I’m-going-to-war type banging.”

Luca winced, “I wish you wouldn’t call what we do
banging
.”

“I refuse to use the word lovemaking. It’s ridonkulous.” She lifted her head from his chest to see a smile briefly cross his face. “What’s wrong? Are you going to war? Did you join the army when I left?”

“No. War’s a good word for it, though.” He sighed and held her more tightly against him. “I have to go back to Naples.”

Frankie froze. “What now?”

“My father had a stroke. I have to go back and make sure he’s properly cared for, since no one in my family can manage money.”

She sucked in a shocked breath. “I’m so sorry.” Instantly, she thought that he could be gone indefinitely and hated herself for being a selfish bitch.

“I’m sorry too. But it’s not going to be for long, whatever happens. I just need to find someone to take care of him, then I’ll be back.”

Frankie sat up, untangling herself from him and gathering her clothes. God, she hated it when her mother was right! “Don’t do it half arsed or you’ll end up staying for longer. Take the time to find someone who’ll do the job properly.”

Luca removed the clothes from her grasp and gathered her back against him. “I will and I can do it quickly.”

“It’s fine,” she said, forcing a note of airiness into her voice. “Look, we barely know each other and family comes first. But you know… Thank you for telling me.”

Luca caught her chin with the edge of his hand. “Francesca, let me be clear. I cannot
stand
my family. I’m doing this because I have to and in the hope that I never, ever have to talk to any of them again. When I do, I can come back to London and we...” He sighed, his thumb tracing her jawline. “I can’t say we carry on because I want so much more.”

Her skin rippled.
Did he just say that?
“Already?”

“A long time ago,” he said softly. “I know what I want with you. I swear this won’t take me away from that any longer than necessary.”

Could she do anything but believe him? “Can you at least go back with some decent threads?”

He laughed. “Let it go, sweetheart.”

It didn’t matter that they did go to the cinema and there was some naughty under-clothes fumbling; Frankie became more and more certain that it was the beginning of the end of a beautiful friendship.

Tony tried to be the voice of reason. “You said you wanted out, you’re out. Why are you calling attention to yourself by going after this guy?”

“He put his hands on Francesca.”

“Not that it isn’t a noble gesture, but from the sounds of it, Francesca handled herself all right.” Tony growled, “For God’s sake, you don’t think I’ve wanted to kill all of Lydia’s exes?”

“You did kill one!” Luca retorted.

“That was because she was going to do it.”

“So?”

Tony ground his teeth. “So she didn’t have to! What’s complicated about that? Plus Lydia’s not one of Met’s shiny decorated officers.”

“Does that mean she doesn’t deserve protecting?” Luca enquired silkily.

“Your woman can handle herself,” Tony retorted. “I saw pictures. He was battered like how I enjoy my cod.”

“That’s not the point. Where was the retribution? The punishment? He’s still walking around, isn’t he?”

“Luca, you’ve kept your nose clean for so long. I’m sure she’s very nice, but you don’t like prisons. I don’t like visiting people in prisons. Do you see where I’m coming from?”

Luca took a deep breath. “I’m still doing it.”

Tony sighed. “Crying out loud. What do I have to say? Why is my wisdom not enough?”

“Did you see Francesca on the front of that paper? She looked defeated. He put that look on her face. That should be enough for you and your wisdom to shut up and say don’t get caught.”

“When it comes to women that’s all you ever do! Get caught!” Tony yelled.

“I’ll call if I need you,” he said distractedly, catching sight of Leon Bridges heading into the pub.

“Uh huh.”

Luca parked the nondescript vehicle on the street that paralleled the pub and followed Leon inside. Francesca’s ex barely met her in height, and certainly not in temperament or intelligence. He was surrounded by several friends, downing pint after pint. Luca ordered a beer and a lemonade; no chance a burly bloke like him would get away with ordering a soft drink sitting by himself. Luckily enough the pub was busy. He could keep an eye on Leon loudly bragging about some girl he’d been “banging” who was cheating on her partner with him.

“Careful, mate.” One of his friends said, sounding almost malicious, “You don’t want another crystal bowl upside your head.”

Leon was instantly on the defensive. “That bitch caught me from the back, you know that.”

Luca relaxed his grasp on his glass. He didn’t want to call attention to himself by shattering the glass in his hand.

“She’s lucky she hit me with that glass, coz I’d have fucked that bitch up. Stupid cunt, going on like she was special.”

Luca stopped recording and sent the audio to Tony with a note.
This is why
.

Ten minutes later Luca got a text message. Two words from Tony.
Do it.

“Of course,” Luca muttered to himself. A glass collector came by and took the lemonade glass, now empty. “Another?”

Luca used his neutral accent, the one where no one could have been able to tell where the hell he was from. “No thank you.”

Leon was still bragging about how easy it was to get the Met on one of their own and how much he enjoyed making Francesca pay for everything. Luca wondered if flaying was too good for Leon. It was an arduous job, and he’d promised to spend his last night in London with his sweetheart. Flaying Leon Bridges alive was far too time consuming, even though it did fit. Luca was surprised that an appropriate method of disposal hadn’t yet occurred to him. What would be suitable retribution?

His friends seemed less interested in his bragging as the evening wore on. Sensing he’d lost his audience, Leon finished his pint and straightened his shoulders. “All right, you fucktards. I’m off to get some.”

They catcalled mockingly, and he left. Luca followed five seconds later. Leon headed along the street where Luca had parked. Fortunate, he thought. Just as Leon reached the nondescript car, Luca jabbed him one in the neck with the paralysing drug. Leon slipped into Luca’s arms without a single murmur of protest, and he heaved the other man into the passenger seat of the car. He drove the unconscious idiot to a council block. Nearby there was a well-known squat where heroin users frequented. No one would remember either Leon or Luca. Even if they did, there was no chance that their brain would retain the information for very long. Luca dumped Leon on a filthy mattress and gave him a shot of adrenalin to wake up.

Leon took a panicked look at his surroundings and couldn’t stop the yelp that emerged from his throat when he caught sight of Luca, blocking the doorway of the windowless room.

“What the fuck?”

No need to hide the accent with this one.  He wasn’t going to be around for much longer. “Do you recall calling a woman by the name of Francesca Abbey a cunt?”

Leon struggled to get to his feet. “What do you care?”

Luca laughed softly. “That shouldn’t concern you. How you spend the next and last five minutes of your life should.”

Leon looked him up and down in a sneer that was pure bravado. “You should have better taste.”

“Because you discarded her? How much of a man did you feel like after having your ass kicked by a girl?”

“Fuck you! She came at me from behind!”

“No, your injuries are consistent with a frontal lobe attack.” Luca nodded to where his hair covered his scars. Strange. In another life, he and Leon could be allies, both attacked by the women in their lives. Short difference was Leon deserved his. Luca hadn’t.

“It’s over with now, so what does it matter? I finished with her; have my scraps if you want her so bad.” He laughed. “For a fat bitch she’s not a bad fuck.”

Luca had heard enough. Ever since that car collision with one of his targets, Luca’s tolerance for stupidity was minimal. And if he remembered that people were stupid and deserved a little leeway for their lack of intelligence, it was something soon forgotten. Leon Bridges was one of those people without doubt. He removed a cigar cutter from his pocket and caught Leon’s hand.

“What are you doing?” Leon demanded, starting to struggle as Luca slid the cutter until he met Leon’s knuckle on his index finger.

“I had these specially made. They cut right through bone.”

Leon struggled more violently, kicking out at Luca, but he simply turned his huge back on him, trapping his arm against Luca’s torso. “I asked you a question.”

“Don’t!”

“What did you call Francesca Abbey?”

“She finished with me, it doesn’t matter anymore!”

Luca contracted the guillotine, and the sound of Leon’s right index finger falling to the ground was lost in the wail of horror that emerged from the younger man. Leon dissolved into a heap on the floor, clutching his hand.

“I didn’t mean it!” he heaved, before throwing up onto the mattress.

“You were brave enough in front of a woman who cares about you, but you’re not brave now, are you?”

“Please!” Leon sounded weak, his voice now at a higher pitch. “She told me it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It matters to me,” Luca replied softly, approaching him to complete his work. An hour later, he called Tony. “I’m going to need a bit of help.”

“IV. Drugs. Done,” Tony said.

Luca looked down at the remains of Leon’s corpse. “I’d bring hydrochloric acid. And lots of it.”

Eight weeks later

Kate knocked on the cubicle door. “You okay, Franks?”

As much as she’d like to reply, Frankie was far too busy retching. That fantastic bacon and tomato baguette she’d enjoyed was no longer enjoyable. That was bread, bacon and tomatoes off the list then. She’d like to blame Luca for her sudden aversion to food he hadn’t cooked.

“I’m okay,” Frankie croaked, flushing the loo and exiting. Kate eyed her in the mirror as she washed her hands before splashing her face with water.

“Second time this week. Have you been to the doctor?”

“I think I’ve gone off meat.”

“And bread, cake and chocolate. I know you’ve taken this separation with your dude pretty hard, Franks, but you’ve got freaking Skype. Man up!”

“Oh shut up!” Frankie snapped. “I am not well. It’s nothing to do with Lucky and his abandoning Italian arse. I will speak to my doctor when I have a minute.”

Kate made a moue with her mouth at the outburst. “Right you are.” It was partly Kate’s fault that she’d started calling Luca
Lucky.
Kate said that Frankie was the lucky bugger to be getting underneath the hefty Italian for several consecutive nights even if he did go back home. Frankie contended that she was awesome in the sack and therefore Luca was the one who was fortuitous.