Chapter 22 - Luca
LUCA
I cursed silently to myself as I attempted to shield the light of my phone screen from the men in bed with me.
It had been a long night, but Wes and Diego had managed to finally fall asleep a few hours ago.
They deserved their rest, and I wasn’t going to fuck with that, even though I couldn’t sleep.
I somehow ended up as the little spoon, not a position I was used to, but it was kind of nice.
I tried my best not to jostle Wes as I slid out from under his arms. His eyes opened briefly, but he closed them almost immediately and turned to face Diego.
He didn’t touch him—even asleep, Wes managed to respect Diego’s boundaries.
I stayed still, sitting on the edge of the bed until they settled, and after a few minutes I was able to slip out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me,
Despite his best efforts, Skye hadn’t made it back to the apartment till nearly dawn their time. So even though Wes had dragged us out of the office and into the media room to relax and watch a movie, none of us had even attempted actual sleep till he’d been safely back at the apartment.
Brooks had mostly been knocked out on painkillers the whole time, but I had spoken to him for a few minutes.
He’d smiled loopily at us through the camera, half his face a swollen mess, and we’d all told him we loved him.
Seeing him mostly whole and definitely high had helped ease our anxiety enough that eventually we’d all managed a few hours of restless sleep.
I took the long way to my office, first checking in on Matty and Everett.
Since the guys had left for Cannes, Everett had been sleeping in Matty’s room.
It was possible it had started before that, but that was when we’d noticed.
The boys hadn’t said anything, but Wes had caught Everett sneaking out first thing in the morning the other day, and we’d realized it wasn’t the first time.
Today was no exception, and when I quietly pushed in the door, I saw them in Matty’s bed—fully dressed and half out of the blankets.
Matty was in full big-spoon mode, his arms wrapped protectively around the smaller man and his front pressed firmly against his back.
Everett’s hands were holding Matty’s forearm, like he was keeping him exactly where he was.
I closed the door and stepped away, allowing them their privacy.
Once inside my office, I booted up the coffee maker and then my computer.
There was so much we had to do. I didn’t even know where to begin when it came to everything Skye had found.
Reasonably, I understood I needed to give up that information to the feds, but we still didn’t know who we could trust.
I was fairly certain Lawson, my contact that had intervened after the major raid, was decent. We had shown his picture to Everett. I’d been confident that he was clean, and Everett had all but verified it when he’d confirmed he had never met the man or seen his name in any type of context.
But still . . . I wasn’t ready to take that chance. If he were dirty or it got into the wrong hands, then I’d be handing over everything that would end us.
I had to wait till the guys got back anyway. I wanted them as far the fuck away as possible before I brought the law down on that place. It would be an international disaster, since Tanner was in France, and I didn’t want my men to get caught in the crosshairs.
I wanted them home now, but we were waiting for word that Brooks was okay to travel.
The doctor was supposed to visit him again today, and we would find out if it was safe for him to fly.
The doctor had reached out to me after he’d left their apartment and had informed me he was pretty sure Brooks would need surgery on his shoulder.
I wanted him to be home when that happened, and I hoped they could safely get back here sooner rather than later.
Fuck, Brooks.
Watching the bat swing toward his face and being completely helpless to stop it had been one of the hardest moments of my life. It could’ve been way worse, and I was thankful that for whatever reason, Tanner had reached for a bat and not another weapon.
I tapped my fingers along my desk, forcing myself to concentrate.
Brooks was safe. They all were. One of the fuckers was dead, and we might be sitting on enough information now to take down everyone.
Once we figured out what was what, we might have enough to take out all of Crimson Rose, or at the very least those after Everett.
Who knew, maybe there’d be that final piece of the puzzle to\hat finally let Matty live his life safely as well.
I booted up my email in hopes that starting with the easy stuff would help me settle enough to concentrate.
I deleted junk mail and sorted the rest into what needed to be reviewed and answered immediately and what could wait.
My mouse froze on an email from the law offices of Howard, McGill, and Cheetum.
It was the law firm representing Lewis Covington.
We had been in contact on and off since Convington had been arrested and we’d been granted custody of Matty.
I clicked on it, both curious and dreading what they wanted now.
I read through it several times, the tension in my head building with each read through until the pain spread to behind my eyes and it almost hurt to look at the screen.
Lewis was out of jail and currently on house arrest and he was formally requesting a sit-down with Matty. Why? I had no fucking idea because they didn’t elaborate, only stated that he was requesting time to see him.
My first inclination was to say fuck no and delete the email and pretend it hadn’t happened.
He had absolutely no right to demand a meeting with Matty.
It didn’t matter that we couldn’t prove his involvement with everything.
He’d still cast Matty to the side for his image.
Well, that had been fucking shattered now, so he’d decided he wanted to speak to him? Fuck him and fuck that.
“What has you staring at the screen like you want to murder it?”
I jumped at the voice, so lost in my own thoughts I hadn’t even noticed Matty until he was standing in the entryway of my office. He was still in his pajamas, looking sleep rumpled.
I pressed the heel of my hand into my temple, like that would somehow manage to ease the throbbing pain.
“Shit, sorry. Did I wake you up?” It was barely five am. He should still be sleeping for hours.
Matty took a few hesitant steps into my office, like he was afraid he wouldn’t be welcome.
My heart twisted. I never wanted him to feel that way.
My father had never allowed me into his office, and if he ever caught me, I was punished.
I’d fucking hated it. It had always felt like I was being cast aside, not as important as his work, which I hadn’t been, I’d finally accepted.
And I didn’t want any of my family to feel like that, Matty included.
I clicked out of the email and smiled at him, hoping it was warm. He returned it tentatively and shuffled a little closer before answering my question.
“No, you didn’t wake me. Everett moves a lot in his sleep.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal that he was sleep deprived. “I woke up, decided to get some water, then saw your light on. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
I pushed away from the desk. “You didn’t. Or, well, I don’t mind at all. You’re always welcome in here, Matty. I mean it. If we’re doing something classified, we will let you know; otherwise, consider this office having an open-door policy.”
Some of the tension in Matty’s shoulders eased. I gestured to the couch, not wanting to be too formal and make him sit across from me at the desk. He sank down easily.
His eyes flicked to the computer, but he couldn’t see the screen from where he was sitting, even if I hadn’t closed the email. “Are you okay? You seemed really upset before. Is it Brooks?”
“No. He’s okay, last I heard. Just resting, but he’ll be fine. I promise I’ll let you know when I hear more.”
Matty licked his lips. “Then what’s wrong? I mean, if you can tell me?”
I weighed my options. I wanted to keep this from Matty, but it wasn’t fair to him. He was an adult. He deserved to know.
“Not really. I got an email that upset me, and I was processing when you saw me.”
Matty frowned, looking down at his sleep pants. “About Everett?”
“No.” I cleared my throat. “About you, actually.”
His head jolted up like it was on a string. “Bradley?” He tried to keep his voice steady, but I noticed the slight strain.
“No. It was Lewis’s lawyers. He’s out of jail and currently on house arrest.”
Matty didn’t speak right away. His chest heaved with a deep breath as his hands picked at the fabric of his PJs.
“Oh . . . okay. I mean, that’s fine, right?
He didn’t want anything to do with me. And I’m eighteen.
He can’t take me back. He can’t make me go back.
” His voice got stronger, more panicked as he went on.
I didn’t think. I slid out of my chair and to my knees in front of him. I gripped his shoulders, bringing his attention to me.
“It’s okay. You’re okay, Matty. He can’t take you back. You’re right. He has no right to you whatsoever. You’re not going anywhere unless you want to.”
Matty shuddered under my touch. His eyes fluttered before he steadied again. “I don’t want to.” It was barely above a whisper.
“Good. I don’t want you to go anywhere either. You’re part of this family.”
His lip quivered, his eyes wet.
Fuck, I wished I could end the conversation here, but it had to be Matty’s choice. “There is one thing.” Matty tensed under me. “Remember no matter what, you’re not going anywhere. This is your home. No matter what you decide, no matter what happens, okay?”
“O-okay.”
“Lewis’s lawyers said that he is requesting to see you, in person.”
His eyes bugged, but there was more anger there than fear. “What? Why?”
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. I shifted on my knees, already aching.
How the fuck did subs do this for longer than a few seconds?
Matty seemed okay now, not on the verge of panic, so I—slowly—climbed to my feet and sat next to him.
There, that was better. “They didn’t say,” I continued. “I can ask them if you want.”
He shook his head. “Do I have to talk to him?”
“Absolutely fucking not.”
He covered his mouth as a laugh escaped him. “Sorry, but no, Matty, you don’t need to talk to him. You don’t owe him anything or have to see him ever again.”
He was quiet for a while, and I let him process in peace, just being there for him. I wished Wes were here, or Brooks, or anyone who wasn’t me. But they weren’t and I had to deal with that.
Matty turned his head slightly so he could watch me from the corner of his eye. “If I did agree to go see him, what would happen?”
“Well, I’d go with you, of course. Any of us you’d want to be with you would come.
You wouldn’t be alone for a second. I’d probably request that both our lawyers are there too, for liability’s sake.
But you’d be in control. You could leave when you want, answer what you want. It would be all up to you.”
Matty hummed but didn’t say anything else for a while. Once again, I forced myself not to fill the silence, understanding he needed the time.
“Do you think he knows anything? About Andreev or Bradley? Or anything that happened to me?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. And even if he does, he might not give you any answers.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I was going to lie to him. I had ways of getting them, but under these circumstances, I wouldn’t get a chance.
“I-I think I want to talk to him. If that’s okay?
I just, I think if I don’t at least try to ask, I’ll always wonder about the truth.
If he really knew what was going to happen to me.
He wasn’t a great dad or anything, but I-I can’t believe he would’ve sold me, not like that.
I need to know, you know? Or at least try. ”
Even though I wanted to shield him from all of this, wrap him in a blanket and hide him in this estate for the rest of time, I couldn’t do that.
And I understood where he was coming from.
I was pretty sure I’d feel the same way in his situation.
My dad was a cold asshole who only cared about money, but I could never imagine him selling me into sex trafficking, and if he had, I would need to know why.
“I get it. I’ll email the lawyers and set up a meeting. Do you want to wait till the guys are back?”
Matty chewed his lip and then shook his head. “No. I want to get it over with. The more I think about it, the more chance I’m going to back out.” He looked at me again. “As long as you come? And Wes too, if he wants.”
I had never shown too much affection to Matty, never sure where the boundaries lay, but something came over me then. I brought him closer to my side with my arm wrapped around him and kissed the side of his head.
“He’ll want. We’ll be there. We’d never leave you alone with that fucker, not for a second.”
Matty let out a watery laugh. “Thanks, Luca. Thank you for taking me in and showing me what a real family could be.”
Shit, the kid was gonna make me cry.