Chapter Four
Luca
I’ve been tossing and turning all night. My new hobby is not sleeping. The sun is peaking in the sky, and I know I may have only slept for thirty minutes. To be truthful, I’m exhausted and overwhelmed.
I look at Rowan, who is sound asleep, the blanket mostly off her body due to me not being able to stay still and pulling it from her. I try to fix them gently, but her eyes open slowly.
“Baby?” she asks groggily.
“Shh, go back to sleep.”
She inches over to me, laying her head on my chest, using my heartbeats to lull her back to sleep as I run my hand through her hair.
My cell phone ringing sounds so invasive in the early morning. Leaning over, I grab it off the nightstand; the number comes up as unknown.
Contorting my face, I answer it.
“Hello?” It comes out like a question.
The line is silent for a moment until I hear his tired voice. “Luca. It’s me.”
Jumping up and pulling sleeping Rowan up at the same time, I scream into the phone, “Fuck, Damian. Oh my God, where are you?”
Rowan’s eyes go wide at hearing Damian's name.
Hearing on the other end that he’s been shot and not knowing where he is, my body fills with panic—forcing myself to take a deep breath, trying to combat the fear that’s now coursing through it, making my body feel like it’s humming. The need to get to him is my only thought.
“Can you describe anything you see?” I ask him quickly.
When he tells me he can’t, the fear intensifies.
“Damian, listen. Open the map app and see where it says you are.” I try to make my voice sound calm and patient, not needing him to know how fucking freaked I am.
Damian’s side goes silent, but I can hear his fingers touching the screen, letting me know he’s still with me.
“Oh, my God. Damian,” Rowan cries out.
“Shh, Killer.” I try to pacify her.
My phone vibrates, and I notice I have just received a pin.
Opening it up, it shows me exactly where he is. My stomach drops. He wasn’t far at all.
“Damian. Listen, I will have Thomas come to get you. We’re a few hours away at the moment, but I’ll meet you at Matteo’s. Keep an ear out for Thomas. He’ll be there soon.” I try to get out as fast as possible.
Through the phone, his okay comes out weak and that terrifies me.
“Damian. You had me scared,” I tell him before I hang up.
Jumping out of bed, I call Thomas.
I don’t even give him time to greet me. “I know where Damian is. Get dressed. I’m sending you the pin. Rowan and I will be there in a few hours. And hurry, he’s shot.”
When I say those words, a small cry comes from Rowan.
Her eyes are wide when I look at her.
“He’ll be okay.” I try to make myself believe it as well as her.
“Yes, sir.” That is all I get from Thomas before I hang up and send him the pin.
Calling Matteo, he answers it immediately, sounding like he’s been awake for a while.
“Damian just called me.” I can’t believe I’m saying those words.
Matteo doesn’t even pause. “Where is he?”
“I’m sending Thomas to get him.”
“I’ll go too.” He hangs up.
“Get dressed and pack a bag,” I call to Rowan as she runs to her side of the closet and I run to mine. We’re both silent, thoughts running rapidly through our heads.
I can’t think of the worst; they’ll get to him in time. They have to.
Pulling my jeans up while stepping into my Docs, I yank on a flannel, hurriedly buttoning it.
I turn to find Rowan already dressed, with a bag half-packed haphazardly.
Dropping it, she walks to me, a small smile on her face as she re-buttons my flannel. Fixing it.
“Put some clothes in it.” She points to the bag on the floor before walking out of the closet.
In seconds, she’s back, holding my shoulder holster out for me to put it on, guns still in and ready to go.
As I put it on, I give her a gentle kiss.
“When we get back home, you’re sleeping and taking some time off. Your face is marred with the worry you have been in for these last two weeks, Luca. I need you to take care of yourself, so you’ll be here with me for a long time. Are you following?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I jokingly tell her.
“Don’t start that one, you’ll have me standing in wet panties with those two words.”
Her laugh trails behind her as she goes downstairs.
The ride feels like it’s taking forever to get there.
I have word that Damian was found and brought back to Two Brothers; he went under for surgery as soon as they got there.
His words—that he was shot—are the only things on my mind during this drive.
I don’t know exactly where, but all I can do is pray for him.
The ornate gate greets us at the funeral home. Pushing the button, Matteo answers and buzzes us in.
I barely put the car in park before Rowan jumps out, not waiting for me.
I follow her through the back doors, where Matteo is waiting for us.
“Brother.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it.
“Where is he?”
“Come. Also,” he stops and looks back at Rowan and me, “this story just keeps getting even fucking crazier.”
Rowan and I look at each other but follow him.
Entering a sterile room, Damian is in bed, still sleeping.
I hear a sigh of relief from Rowan when her eyes finally landed on him.
She lingers by the door, letting me approach him, giving me the time I need.
New and old bruises mark his beaten-up face. It looks like he’s lost some weight, but he’s breathing. That’s all that fucking matters.
Taking his hand, I wrap mine around his as I say a quiet prayer to God and Lauren.
“I love you, Damian.” I need air, so I exit the room, but squeeze Rowan’s shoulder to let her know I’m okay.
“Fuck.” I let out the breath I’ve been holding in for hours as I walk outside.
“He’ll be fine,” Thomas voice booms from behind me. Turning around, he engulfs me in a bear hug, slapping my back.
“Where the fuck was he?”
Shaking his head, Thomas laughs. “Let’s get a cup of coffee, because you’re going to need it.”
I follow his big ass back inside and to the kitchen, where Matteo is already sitting.
Thomas pours us both a cup as I sit.
“What’s going on?” I ask Matteo, then Thomas.
“This fucking life is crazy,” Matteo says before taking a sip of his coffee.
I look at him, needing him to elaborate more.
“The pin drop he sent to you; he was on Brigg’s property,” Matteo tells me.
I’m confused. “We searched all of them.”
With a shake of his head, he says, “There was one we didn’t know about. It wasn’t in his name or anyone else's associated with him. That’s how it slipped through.”
“What about Catherine? Why didn’t she tell us?”
“Niko asked her, and she barely remembers it. She was just a small child when they moved from there,” Matteo shrugs, “and believe me, Niko put her through the wringer to make sure she wasn’t lying.” Matteo grimaces, and I don’t even want to know what Niko did to make sure she wasn’t lying.
“Another thing, Damian wasn’t alone.”
My face must morph.
“There were two other women with him.” Matteo pauses and takes a breath.
I can see his shirt rise and fall. “I found my girl. I found my Clover. They had her down there for two years, Luca. Two. Can you even fucking imagine? I can’t.
” His eyes become watery, but he closes them and shakes his head, as if he can’t let us see his emotions.
“Clover? Catherine's sister?” I say in disbelief.
A sad smile takes over Matteo’s face. “What kind of father could do that to their own child?”
I’m so fucking confused. “Wait, then who was the other girl? You said there were two?”
“Soleil Martin, she said she was down there for two months. We know little about her, but Clover says Soleil is the only reason they’re out now. And I have to trust my girl.”
My skin feels itchy. “Fuck. Where’s Briggs?”
“Dead,” Thomas booms from beside me. “Damian took him out. Also, according to Clover, Ryland is the one who put Soleil down there.”
“It’s always these motherfuckers.” I stand and pace back and forth. “Who put Clover down there?” I look at Matteo, and anger overtakes his face. “He and her father allowed Timothy to have his way.”
Timothy. My eyes widen as Matteo nods his head. “Holy shit.” The way this all comes full circle is crazy. Timothy from the woods, who tried to take Rowan. All I can do is shake my head.
"Well, thanks to Damian, he has now cut off the head of the snake."
They both nod their heads at me.
“I’m going to go check on my girl. I’ll talk to you both later.” I exited the kitchen, heading to Damian’s room. Softly knocking, I enter, and when I do, I spot Damian awake. Not being able to stop myself, I rush to him, pulling him into my arms.
“Ease up, big guy,” he grunts at me.
“Shit, sorry. We’ve been worried sick.” I point to Rowan and myself as I pull away from Damian, letting him breathe.
I can’t help but pace, my hands finding my hair.
“We should have thought about what-ifs. I should have made sure one of the guys rode with you. This would have never happened.” I point to his bullet-holed body. “Fuck, Damian, I’m sorry.”
“You both need to stop. I’m here.” Damian smiles weakly at us. And he’s right, but fuck, he was so close to not being here anymore.
I can’t help but want to help him when he moves around, but his face tells me to fuck off, but his words are different. “Ease up.”
“This whole thing is bigger than what we thought,” I mutter to him.
Damian scrunches up his face.
“The other girl with you, Clover. That’s Matteo’s girl. He’s been looking for her for two years. He thought she was hiding from him.” I pause for a minute to let him digest it. “And she’s Catherine's sister.”
We keep talking, but he cuts Rowan off. “Where’s Soleil?” His voice laced with panic.
“Is she here at Matteo’s?” I ask because Matteo didn’t elaborate on her much.
“Yes. Or she was. I saw her when they brought me in,” he says.
Rowan pats his leg, thinking I also know nothing about Soleil, but Matteo and Thomas just told me about her. As she tells Damian, she’ll find out what’s going on.
With it just being him and me in the room, I take the moment to pick his brain.