Penny needed a vehicle?
Last second?
No worries.
“Which unit is it again?” Penny asked.
“Three-oh-six. We’re almost there.”
The echoes of their footsteps carried down the long corridor of storage units. The wide—and tall at eight-feet—orange doors with silver numbers seemed to go on forever. He hadn’t explained much about the vehicle they were there to get out of storage. Only that he knew where they could get one without much trouble. He was one of the few people who could head into the front office of the facility, give his first and last name and passcode, and be granted full access to every storage unit on the property connected to his surname.
“Is it yours?” she asked.
“Not really.”
So to speak.
“Are you purposely being difficult?”
Luca grinned her way, saying again, “Not really.”
Penny didn’t even hesitate to swat at him, which Luca dodged easily. Just as fast, he came back into stride alongside her, slinging an arm over her shoulders to drag her close. Penny’s laughter muffled against the arm of his jacket when he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. When he did finally let her go, although not too far because he kept their hands connected even if it was only by their pinkies, she didn’t ask more.
Not about the car.
Or the storage place.
He was grateful; this shit wasn’t simple, they didn’t have the time to linger for a long explanation, and he really didn’t care to get into all of it. The storage unit they were visiting wasn’t his, but he—like every Puzza in the state—had access to it.
It was his father’s. The Aston Martin Vanquish was one of his father’s favorite—and least used—car in the man’s fleet. Zeke liked to keep his many cars spread out across the state. From the Jeep he kept at the weekend townhouse, his parents sometimes used in the city to the expensive storage unit where the Vanquish stayed safe and mostly undriven.
Zeke only brought it out on special occasions. Luca didn’t even have to call and ask his father whether or not the car was available. Not that he would—hell, the man wouldn’t even know the vehicle was gone before he put it back.
When he put it back, that was.
The storage facility wouldn’t bother to call Zeke, either. It wasn’t unusual for people with wealth to have other people handle their business for them. Unless something seemed off or they had a reason to call, then they didn’t.
It worked in Luca’s favor.
He really didn’t want to drag his father into this. The two still had other things to deal with, and he was sure Zeke’s opinion would differ from his own about how to handle the entire Penny situation. He just didn’t care to know that opinion. It made no difference to his own.
“Here we are,” he said, releasing Penny from his grasp just long enough to punch in a code on the electronic lock for the unit housing his father’s car.
“I just realized I didn’t even ask what kind of car it is.”
Luca gave her a wink, his smile growing wicked when he replied, “Oh, and that’s the best part.”
The large, metal door lifted to expose the Vanquish before Penny could even ask why. There was something to be said about the sexy, sleek lines of the shiny slate gray luxury car with its chrome accents and wheel rims that practically glittered under the automatic lights that turned on to greet them. It was like showing it off for the first time, every time.
The way Penny stared at the car as a low whistle cut past her lips said she liked it. A lot.
He could relate.
“Nice,” she said.
Luca nodded. “I thought so.”
“But that wasn’t the best part.”
He looked her way as he headed for the lockbox where he knew the spare set of keys was kept on the wall. “Why is that?”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
Ah, yeah.
He liked having secrets, and she was fine with letting him work something out for a stay outside of the city—or even the state—as long as they were safe. His idea would serve all of that just fine.
“You’ll find out soon,” Luca said. “You never know, you might even get to pretend like the rest of this shit doesn’t exist while you’re there.”
Penny only shook her head, but those eyes of hers told the truth. He didn’t even know if she realized it, but with him, she was ... happy. She smiled and it beamed. Who else made this woman laugh? He dared to believe he gave her some sense of joy. Even when they were running for their lives.
Couldn’t forget that.
“WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Luca asked.
Ahead of him, Penny spun a circle in front of the perfect view of the three-level lodge that his father had bought for Katya on their twentieth anniversary. Tucked away on ten acres of private, wooded land that the locals of the small Connecticut town had dubbed Tori Mountain, his parents had renovated the already existing cabin into a modern, spa-like experience to use for a weekend away.
Or longer.
There was even a pool.
Underground—in the basement, partially. A section of the basement was nothing more than a glass view of the mountain and the rough, winding dirt road leading out of it.
“It’s perfect,” Penny finally replied.
Her sigh echoed.
“Maybe we could pretend here, huh?”
Luca smiled. “Yeah, maybe.”
He stayed leaning against the car, sneaky enough to shoot a text through on his phone while Penny’s back was still turned. To Naz, his words simply read, Connecticut lodge. By the time she had turned around to face him again, Luca was already tucking away the phone before she knew what happened.
Penny would worry.
But other people were already doing that, and they had been worrying about her for a long damn time. Naz had asked to be kept updated. After all the shit Luca had already hidden from his friend—and still was in the case of the man’s father—he figured he could at least do this.
What would it hurt?
He also did want Penny to just enjoy the lodge.
“And was that a stone chimney I saw?” Penny asked as he approached.
Luca laughed deeply. “Sure is—I can even light it up for you.”
“Tell me there’s a rug in front of the fireplace.”
“Bearskin, babe. Canadian black bear.”
Penny sighed again.
That time, it sounded like sin.
With tightness in his throat, all humor gone, Luca passed her by and said, “Let me get started on that, then.”
She smirked. “You better.”
IF LUCA’S LIFE DEPENDED on his ability to describe temptation, it would be the sight of Penny lounging on her side, head propped into the palm of her hand, in the middle of a large bearskin rug. The black fur surrounded her creamy curves from all angles. He immediately regretted the decision to indulge her request for wine when he dared to mention the wine cellar earlier.
Had he not went in search of the years she asked for, then his hands would still be plastered to the alabaster canvas of her skin. He’d nearly mapped all of her to his memory with nothing more than his fingertips. He knew there were more parts of her skin that were scarred and rough to the touch than perfect and silky. It would take him nothing at all to find the spots where she would shake and break the fastest.