Chapter 20
LUCA
I don’t sleep, just listen to the sounds of her heavy breathing, her slight snores. I extract myself from her as moonlight streams into the window. I check my watch—just after midnight.
I should have left right after I pleasured her in the bath. I have no idea what I’m doing, if I’m honest. I’ve been trying to stay away from her, but as soon as Diego said she was in the bath…
All I could do was picture her naked, and it was over from there.
I suppose some part of me felt guilty for how I’d left her so suddenly after we had sex, but how am I supposed to act? She’s my prisoner. My enemy.
I just can’t keep my fucking hands off her.
I shouldn’t have slept with her last night, shouldn’t have had her in my arms for hours like that. It’s not helping my confused emotions.
Diego looks up from his book when I walk into the hallway.
“You leaving?” he asks idly. He doesn’t ask me why I carried our naked prisoner to bed. Thank god Diego is a man of few words.
I nod. “Just want to go for a drive. Clear my head.”
“Aye aye, boss,” Diego says with a sloppy salute, and I walk out of the cottage, sliding into my car.
I can check up on some of the shipments we have coming in, go down to the warehouses. It’s a ninety-minute drive into the city, but it’s not like I feel sleepy, so I have nothing else to do.
I think about Sophia all the way there. I wonder what her middle name is, who her parents are. I want to know more, and I wish I could say it’s just because I’ve always believed you should know your enemies. I think about her breasts, just enough for a handful, her perfect ass.
Why does this woman have such a hold on me? I’ve never been in love, never felt any type of way about a woman except to warm my bed. So what’s different about Sophia? She’s beautiful, but so many women are.
Most of them, in my estimation.
Maybe it’s because she’s a cop? I have to admit that’s part of the reason I went after her in the first place—the thrill of something taboo, something that might get me caught.
I drive up to the first warehouse, one that’s dilapidated. We haven’t fixed it up yet, didn’t want the feds to get any ideas about where we’re storing things. Sudden construction on an inactive warehouse would definitely tip them off.
When I pull up, Arturo comes out to meet me, his face slightly panicked.
“Something wrong, Caputo?”
I shake my head, getting out of the car. “Nothing wrong. Just wanted to do a random check.”
“Nico was here earlier,” he admits, and I freeze.
“What the fuck was Nico doing here?’
He shrugs. “Same as you. Wanted to check in on the shipment. I wouldn’t let him.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Bless Arturo and his hatred for my brother.
“Good. Don’t let him stick his fingers into any of the shipments.”
“I know. They’re sticky.”
Especially when it comes to the cocaine shipments we’ve been getting from Columbia.
“Is it pure?”
“Not cut yet. We’ll have our guys do that next week.”
I nod. Arturo stands there, bouncing on his heels.
“Do you want to test it?”
I hesitate. It’s not something I do often, but as most wiseguys I’ve dabbled in hard drugs.
“Not tonight.”
I don’t need anything keeping me up, keeping my thoughts racing. I’m doing just fine on that front myself.
“Suit yourself.”
“And don’t you be testing it, either, Arturo. You’ve got Chellsey to worry about.”
Chellsey is his five-year-old-daughter, and Arturo hangs his head, looking slightly ashamed.
“You’re right, Caputo. No more testing.”
I nod sharply. “What other shipments do we have coming in?”
“Just a load of pistols from Brazil. A few ARs.”
“Nico doesn’t know about them?”
Arturo shakes his head. “Nico only knows what you tell him, boss.”
“Your lips to god’s ears,” I mutter. “Just keep up the watch.”
“Will do.”
I get back into the car, heading across town to the other warehouse where the pistols will have come in. According to my emails, they were supposed to be delivered yesterday. Alfonso is on the schedule to be there, and I don’t trust my brother’s friends as far as I can throw them.
When I arrive, Alfonso is nowhere to be found. In fact, no one is. Our shipment is unguarded and who knows how long it’s been that way?
I curse in Italian under my breath and call my brother. He doesn’t answer, which doesn’t surprise me in the least. He’s either passed out or still partying somewhere. Dollars to donuts Alfonso is with him.
I storm to the back and pry open the boxes. Everything appears to be where it should be, at least for now. Nico wouldn’t have known about this shipment unless Alfonso told him, and I’m sure he did. Usually Nico would raid the shipment, steal what he wanted, and pretend it was the Cortados.
But I always knew it was him. The shitty part is, if Nico wanted guns, my father would have given them to him with no question. But Nico just likes the thrill of stealing.
I make a few more calls, striking out, before I curse under my breath and call Diego. He’s the only man I trust to do this that will answer the fucking phone.
He picks up on the first ring.
“What’s up, boss?’
“I need you to meet me in town. I’ll text you the address.”
“Alright, but what about the—”
“Just make sure she’s locked up. She can’t go anywhere, and no one knows where she is.” The only ones who know are the two men I brought the first night, me, and Diego. And although I don’t entirely trust those two men, I don’t think they know how important Sophia is.
I tried to keep the whole thing under wrap as much as possible.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
True to his word, Diego comes pulling up within the hour, hopping out of his car.
“Where is everyone?” he asks incredulously.
I speak through gritted teeth. “That’s exactly what I’d like to know.”
“Nico—”
“He isn’t supposed to know about this shipment, but I figure if he did know, he’d be here.”
“At least to steal the guns.”
I nod tightly. “So I need you here to watch it while I find Alfonso.”
“I’ve got you, Caputo.”
I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Diego. For everything.”
I mean mostly his discretion about the Sophia thing. Diego takes it in stride, just shrugging.
“Just doing my job.”
I leave and drive around the city, looking for Nico’s obnoxious car at the valet stations. When I finally find it, it’s parked haphazardly across two red zones with parking tickets sticking from the windshield wipers.
I curse and bang my fist against the hood as I walk by. Nico is going to get thrown in jail for parking tickets before anyone has a chance to take us down.
I stalk into the back entrance of the strip club called Peaches, knowing he’ll be in the VIP area.
I throw a stack of hundreds at the stripper who walks up to me with a tray of drinks.
“VIP.”
She nods, tucking the money into her g-string and leading me through the crowd to the back.
“Couple of assholes bought a few hours and they think they own the place,” she mutters, and I catch sight of Alfonso chugging a bottle of champagne.
I slowly hand her another stack of hundreds. “Leave me back here for thirty minutes, no matter what you hear.”
She blinks her dark eyes at me and nods, taking the money and making herself scarce.
“Riviera!” I bark, calling Alfonso’s last name.
He freezes, dropping the champagne on the floor. It shatters and bubbles spread everywhere.
Nico stands with considerable effort, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. He’s clearly been using, and god knows what they’ve been drinking and for how long.
“Donny buzzkill over here,” he slurs, and I tighten my jaw.
“Don’t fucking talk to me, Nico. This isn’t about you.”
Alfonso swallows visibly, holding up his hands and taking a couple of steps back.
“Caputo, I—”
“You’re supposed to be watching a shipment.”
Realization slowly dawns over his features. “Oh fuck.”
“Oh, fuck is right,” I seethe, gathering his shirt in my hand to slam him up against the wall. “I tell you to do something and you do it.”
“Aw, come on, Luca. It’s not his fault. I asked him out to party. We’re celebrating—”
I can’t stop myself. I turn around and punch my brother in the throat.
He sputters and claws at his neck, the wind knocked out of him. As he gasps and doubles over, I slam Alfonso against the wall again.
“I’ll get over there right now.”
“No you fucking won’t. You’re done. Get out of my sight.”
“Wait, boss, you don’t mean d-done,” he stutters, panicked.
“Did I stutter? Get the fuck out of my face.” I let him go and he goes boneless and nearly falls on the floor. He’s not stupid enough to keep questioning me, thank god, and he just leaves.
I don’t know what I would have done if he’d stayed. I might have killed him.
And it’s not really him I want to kill. It’s Nico. My baby brother.
He stares at me with glazed eyes and I rub a hand across my face.
“What are you doing, Nico?” I ask, more exasperated than angry at this point.
“I’m just having a little fun. Dad.”
I shake my head. “If I was your dad, maybe you would have turned out to be…somebody.”
“I’m somebody. I’m Nico Rossi.”
“Yeah, and that’s all you’ve got going for you. Aren’t you embarrassed? Traipsing around like this, diving into coke and pussy like it’s all meant for your entertainment?”
He smirks. “Isn’t it?”
I snort. “You’re resting on your laurels, Nico. And you always have. There’s going to be a time where someone who isn’t afraid of your last name pops you. And I won’t be there.”
“Sure you will,” he says easily, as if he doesn’t believe me. “You’re my big brother. You’ll always protect me.”
I grit my teeth but at the end of the day, he’s right. I will be there. I will protect him.
“If you or any of your boys flake on me again, I’ll take it out on your ass,” I tell him, pointing in his face. “And you’re right, I will protect you. But nobody’s going to protect you from me.”
Nico goes a little pale. I breathe out a long breath through my nostrils, walking out of the VIP area and into the alley. I have to get back to Sophia, make sure she’s not alone too long.
I kick at his car again as I go past it. It’s about as useless as anything I’ve done tonight. I feel defeated by Nico’s behavior. I always thought he would grow up, but…
It’s starting to seem like that’s a pipe dream.
I speed toward the cottage, taking the freeway, but it’s only a few miles before I notice a black Jeep behind me, switching lanes when I do…
I’m not being tailed. There’s no way.
I narrow my eyes, putting my car in a higher gear and speeding up, going around a semi in a quick move. The Jeep follows, nearly toppling over as it changes lanes.
Fuck me. I am being followed.
It doesn’t seem like the feds, because usually they stay a few car lengths behind. Plus, they wouldn’t be driving a jeep. It’d be some unmarked sedan.
If it were the cops they would have already pulled me over for a broken taillight or some other bullshit reason. The charges never stick, but they don’t mind me bribing them all the same.
I take the next exit, speeding through the streets in fourth gear, not bothering to slow down for red lights or left turns. I squeal into an alley, making a u-turn so that I see the Jeep drive past me. In the passenger seat is a man wearing a mask over the lower part of his face.
I can’t make out who it is.
My heart pounds in my chest.
Sophia.
I have to get to her. And fast.