"You fucking shot him in the foot," I said about half an hour later. "He's not gonna be able to walk for months."

"They weren't taking us seriously," Luca replied.

"How do you even know how to use a gun?" I asked.

"I've been doing this a long time, Ells," he told me.

"Couldn't you have shot Guillermo?" I asked. "He was clearly the leader."

"You don't fuck around with Guillermo unless you want death."

"Says the one that held him in a headlock with a gun to his head," I muttered.

"That's justifiable. He had you."

"So now what?" I asked looking out into the empty desert.

"We go to Miami. Drop of the shipment and then I'll take you to the airport," he said.

"Are you not coming with me?" I asked.

"I have to go back to Mexico," he told me.

"Why? It's dangerous," I said.

"We pissed Guillermo off and he's not just gonna let it go," he explained. " I can't go back to him after this unless I can get approval from the boss."

"Luca-" I began disheartened that he wasn't going to come with me to Paris.

"I'm sorry Els but duty calls. I've got to do this for the pack and then I promise I'll meet you in Paris."

"Why can't I come with you?" I asked.

"Because if you thought Guillermo was bad, you do not want to meet the boss," he said. "And I can't risk your life again."

"Luca-" I began again.

"It is not up for discussion. You're getting on a plane to Paris. And I'm going to deal with this shit," he said in a deeper tone to usual.

I leant back on my seat before pausing for a moment.

"It's my life Luca. I will decide whether I want to risk it or not," I said. "This sounds incredibly dangerous. But I could do with an adventure."

"No, you need to go somewhere peaceful and grieve Connor."

"I'm starting to think that quiet and reflection is not what I need," I replied. "Time away from Leo? Yes. Time to be depressed and watch over and over the images in my mind? No."

Luca sighed, "I forgot for a moment that you can't be told what to do."

I gave him a sweet smile and he sighed defeatedly.

I looked down at my hands which I could just about see from a combination of the glow from stars and the moon and lights of the dashboard.

"You know he left me a letter. Connor. Just in case he died. I found it in his room when I went to get his things and in it, he told me not to be sad for too long and to live my life.copy right hot novel pub