Luca didn’t struggle.
That was the first thing Honey noticed.
Most n did. They cursed, begged, lashed out, tried to run despite knowing better. Panic made people loud and sloppy. Luca Delgado simply let his shoulders sag, like a man who had finally reached the end of a road he had been limping down for far too long.
The giant’s grip tightened just enough to guide him, steering him away from the door and through a side corridor that slled of old beer and bleach. The pub noise dulled behind them, swallowed whole by thick walls and distance. Luca’s crutches scraped against the floor, the sound grating on his nerves.
He was led outside, not to the street, but to the back alley where a black SUV idled quietly, engine purring like a patient predator.
The rear door opened.
"Do be careful with him," a woman’s voice said from inside. Smooth. Amused. "He’s breakable."
Luca’s heart sank.
The giant eased him into the car with surprising gentleness, folding the crutches neatly before sliding them in after him. The door closed with a soft, final click.
For a mont, Luca stared at the darkened interior, his breathing shallow.
Then the light shifted.
Honey sat across from him, legs crossed elegantly, gloved fingers resting on a slim cane that matched the cut of her coat. Her hair was immaculate, her makeup subtle but precise, her eyes sharp with intelligence and sothing far more dangerous beneath.
She smiled.
"Luca Delgado," she said warmly, like they were old friends. "You look... better than expected."
He swallowed. "If you’re here for Brandon, I..."
"Oh, Brandon is such a tedious man," Honey interrupted lightly. "All noise, no imagination. No, my interest in you is far more personal."
The car began to move.
Luca tensed. "Where are you taking ?"
Honey tilted her head, studying him the way one might examine a chess piece before deciding where to place it. "Sowhere quiet. Sowhere you won’t embarrass yourself by bleeding on my upholstery."
His jaw clenched. "You going to finish what he started?"
A laugh escaped her. soft, genuine.
"Goodness, no," she said. "If I wanted you dead, Luca, you’d already be a cautionary tale whispered in bars like that one." She gestured vaguely behind them. "No one would even rember your na."
That did nothing to calm him.
She leaned forward slightly. "You see, I don’t collect corpses. I collect information. And you, my dear, are absolutely riddled with it."
The car turned. Luca winced as the motion pulled at his leg.
"I don’t know anything," he said hoarsely.
Honey’s smile sharpened. "That’s not what the photographs say."
She reached into a leather folder beside her and slid a glossy image across the seat toward him.
Luca’s breath hitched.
It was him. Or rather, Brandon. Brandon getting into a car, hood pulled low, face obscured. Another photo followed, Brandon in full sunlight, unmistakable. The resemblance was undeniable when placed side by side.
"You’re good with your eyes," Honey continued. "You notice patterns. You noticed him before anyone else did. You noticed Danny Holtz too, didn’t you?"
Luca’s pulse thundered.
Danny.
His friend. Found bleeding out near the club. Now officially a robbery gone wrong. Unofficially? Everyone in the underbelly knew better.
"I didn’t kill him," Luca said quickly.
Honey waved a hand. "I know. You’re not a killer. You’re simply a witness." She leaned back. "A very inconvenient one."
The car slowed, turning into an underground garage. Concrete swallowed the sound of the city above.
Luca’s hands trembled. "If Brandon thinks I talked..."
"Oh, Brandon doesn’t think," Honey said coolly. "He reacts. Which is why he failed to finish you off." Her gaze dropped briefly to Luca’s scar, then back to his eyes. "Sloppy. Emotional."
The car ca to a stop.
The door opened, and the giant reappeared, helping Luca out with the sa careful grip as before. They entered a private elevator, ascending in silence.
Luca felt like prey being carried deeper into a nest.
The doors opened into a luxurious suite, minimalist, cold, immaculate. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city like a throne room surveying its kingdom.
Honey took a seat, crossing her legs once more.
"Sit," she said.
Luca obeyed, lowering himself gingerly into the chair opposite her.
"Tell ," Honey continued conversationally, "why Danny Holtz was following Brandon."
Luca hesitated.
Honey’s smile faded, not into anger, but into sothing far more chilling.
"I am being generous," she said softly. "I pulled you out of a bar instead of a trunk. I brought you here instead of a basent. Do not confuse that with rcy."
He exhaled shakily. "Danny was digging. Brandon paid him at first. To posture things, take photos. Then Danny started asking the wrong questions."
"About?" Honey prompted.
"About Lyse," Luca said, the na tasting like danger. "About Levi. About money that didn’t make sense. About deaths that were written off too fast."
Honey’s eyes glead.
"And you?"
"I knew Brandon t Danny the night before he died," Luca said. " Danny was scared, real scared. He said that he was in big trouble."
Silence stretched.
Honey tapped her cane once against the floor.
Then she smiled again.
"There it is," she murmured. "The thread I needed."
Luca swallowed. "What happens to now?"
Honey rose gracefully and stepped closer, stopping just short of him.
"That," she said gently, "depends on how useful you continue to be."
She tilted his chin up with the tip of her cane, forcing him to et her gaze.
"You survived Brandon," she whispered. "That makes you interesting. Don’t waste that miracle."
She straightened, turning away.
"Take him to the guest room," she instructed. "He stays. He eats. He rests."
The giant nodded.
As Luca was guided away, Honey added without looking back,
"And Luca?"
"Yes?"
"If you lie to ," she said pleasantly, "I won’t let Brandon finish you. I’ll be far more creative."
The door closed behind him.
Honey returned to the window, city lights reflecting in her eyes.
"Brandon," she murmured. "What secrets do you have left for ?"
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