CHAPTER 2
877 Words
## Dangerous Curiosity
Kai hated distractions.
In his world, distractions got people killed.
Yet somehow, three days after Luca Romano walked into Black Viper like he owned the place, Kai still couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Which irritated him immensely.
“You’re distracted.”
Kai glanced up from the poker table inside the Moretti mansion.
His uncle, Vittorio Moretti, sat across from him with a cigar between his fingers and suspicion in his sharp eyes.
“I’m listening,” Kai replied coldly.
“No, you’re pretending to.”
The room fell silent.
Around them, several high-ranking members of the Moretti organization quietly avoided eye contact. Nobody enjoyed Vittorio’s moods. Especially when they involved Kai.
“The Romano family has been moving shipments through the harbor again,” Vittorio continued. “I want names. Routes. Dates.”
Kai nodded once.
“It’ll be handled.”
“It better be.”
Vittorio leaned back slowly.
“You’ve been careless lately.”
Kai’s expression didn’t change, though the comment landed harder than expected.
Careless.
Because he let Luca leave alive.
Because part of him wanted to see him again.
And that was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
—
By midnight, rain once again swallowed the city whole.
Kai stood alone on the rooftop of a downtown parking structure, cigarette smoke curling around him as he overlooked the glowing skyline.
This was the only place he could breathe.
No guards.
No expectations.
No blood.
Just silence.
“You know smoking kills people.”
Kai nearly reached for the gun hidden beneath his coat before recognizing the voice.
Luca leaned casually against the rooftop doorway, hands in his pockets.
Annoyingly beautiful.
Again.
“You really enjoy testing your luck,” Kai muttered.
Luca walked closer, raindrops catching in his dark curls.
“And you really enjoy pretending you don’t like seeing me.”
“I don’t.”
“Liar.”
Kai exhaled sharply through his nose.
“What do you want?”
Luca shrugged slightly. “Maybe I was bored.”
“Go bother someone else.”
“But nobody else looks at me like they want to kiss me and kill me at the same time.”
Kai’s eyes narrowed instantly.
Luca grinned.
That stupid grin.
Kai should’ve thrown him off the rooftop.
Instead, he found himself stepping closer.
“You think this is funny?” Kai asked quietly.
“No.” Luca’s smile faded slightly. “I think you’re lonely.”
Again with that word.
Lonely.
Like Luca could somehow see straight through the armor Kai spent years building.
Kai hated it.
Almost as much as he loved hearing it from him.
Rain soaked through Kai’s black coat as silence stretched between them.
The city lights below flickered like distant stars.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Kai finally said.
“Probably not.”
“My family would kill you.”
Luca tilted his head slightly.
“Would you?”
Kai opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Because he didn’t know.
And that realization terrified him.
Luca stepped closer until barely inches separated them now.
Close enough for Kai to smell rain and cigarette smoke on his skin.
Close enough to feel warmth beneath the cold night air.
“You know what your problem is?” Luca asked softly.
Kai’s voice came out lower than intended.
“Enlighten me.”
“You keep waiting for people to betray you.”
“That’s because they always do.”
Luca’s gaze softened for the first time.
“That sounds exhausting.”
Something in Kai’s chest tightened painfully.
Nobody asked how he felt.
Nobody cared enough to notice.
But Luca did.
And Kai was starting to realize that was the most dangerous thing of all.
A sudden ringtone shattered the moment.
Kai stepped back immediately, expression turning cold again as he answered the call.
“What.”
One of his men spoke urgently from the other end.
“Boss—we found Romano men near the docks. There’s gonna be trouble.”
Kai’s jaw tightened.
Of course.
Reality always returned eventually.
“I’m coming.”
He hung up and turned toward the rooftop exit.
But Luca grabbed his wrist gently before he could leave.
The touch sent heat straight through Kai’s chest.
“Be careful,” Luca said quietly.
Such a simple sentence.
Yet nobody had said those words to Kai in years.
For a second, he simply stared at Luca’s hand around his wrist.
Then at Luca himself.
And before he could stop himself—
Kai leaned forward slightly.
Their breaths mixed in the cold rain.
Luca’s eyes widened just a little.
So did Kai’s.
The tension between them became unbearable.
One more inch.
That was all it would take.
But suddenly—
Gunshots echoed somewhere below the rooftop.
Both men snapped apart instantly.
Reality crashed back in.
Kai cursed under his breath before pulling away completely.
“This,” he said coldly, “is exactly why this can never happen.”
Luca watched him carefully.
“Because of the mafia?”
“No.” Kai’s eyes darkened. “Because people close to me don’t survive.”
For the first time since meeting him—
Luca looked genuinely affected by those words.
Kai turned before he could say anything else.
And disappeared into the storm.
- Writer
