Luca
The knockout came out of nowhere. Rocco’s opponent folded on the screen, the referee diving in as the Atlantic City crowd erupted.
The gym exploded with cheers, whistles, and bodies jumping around him, celebrating.
Someone turned the volume up even higher, and the announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“Sophia,” he called, already moving down the hallway to the ladies’ locker room.
Aurora noticed immediately that something was wrong as she followed him down the hallway. “She didn’t come back?”
“No,” he said, not slowing. “She should’ve been back a while ago, but I lost track of time. This place is secure, though. She should be safe.” He wasn’t sure if he was saying that to appease Aurora or to make himself feel better about the whole situation.
The hallway was empty. The women’s bathroom door hung slightly open, the fluorescent light buzzing softly inside.
He pushed his way into the room and shouted for her again.
“Sophia,” he called again. He was met with silence, and his stomach dropped.
The tight knot in his chest snapped into full-blown panic.
He checked the men’s locker room, the vending area, and the small storage hall near the lockers.
It was all empty. Every second seemed to stretch on for much too long.
Aurora followed him, her face pale now. “Luca, this isn’t right.”
“No,” he agreed. “It’s not. She should be here. She wouldn’t just leave.”
He turned and headed for the small office off the main floor. The door was unlocked—someone had left it that way for the fight. Luca shoved inside and went straight for the security monitors. His hands shook as he watched the footage back with Aurora.
“There,” Aurora said softly, pointing to the screen.
Sophia appeared on-screen, stepping into the hallway, glancing back toward the gym like she was debating whether to return.
He knew that she was having a rough day.
She told him that she felt as though something was off, but he promised her that she was safe.
Maybe he should have listened to her gut, but he didn’t, and now, she was gone.
When a man entered the next frame, Luca’s blood ran cold. “Peter,” he whispered. “He fucking got to her.”
Aurora sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my God.” They watched in horrified silence as Peter brushed past her, seeming to say something to her as he steadied her arm.
Sophia stumbled as her hand slid along the wall.
He could tell that she was dizzy with the way that her body swayed down the hallway as she tried to get away from Peter.
She was so close to making her escape. All she had to do was turn the corner, and he would have seen her, but she didn’t make it that far.
“No,” Luca whispered, dread and fury crashing together as he watched Peter easily catch her. He easily positioned her body so the camera couldn’t see what he did next—but Luca knew. He knew the moment her head tipped back that Peter had drugged her.
“He drugged her,” Aurora said, as though reading his mind.
Her voice was shaking, and Luca had to admit that he felt the same way as she did.
Luca couldn’t breathe. His hands curled into fists as he watched Peter smile for the cameras as he passed by them, guiding Sophia down the STAFF ONLY corridor like a concerned boyfriend.
The back door opened, and they disappeared into the alley. Aurora pressed a hand to her mouth. “Luca—”
“I’m going to find him,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Aurora grabbed his arm. “We need to call the police.”
“Do it,” he said, already backing toward the door. “Call them. Call everyone.” He rewound the footage once more, burning Peter’s face into his memory. He’d chase down their every step to find Sophia, but he couldn’t stand around and wait for the cops to show up.
Sophia had trusted him. He’d promised her he wouldn’t disappear again, and now she was gone. Luca turned and ran for the exit, rage and fear fusing into something lethal inside of him. Peter had taken the one thing Luca would burn the world down to protect. And now, Luca was done waiting.
It had been almost a week since Peter took Sophia, and every passing day had Luca feeling that he might never see her again. But he couldn’t give up on finding her—he never would. She was his life, and letting that psycho win wasn’t an option.
Sleep had become a suggestion rather than a necessity.
Luca grabbed it in short bursts—an hour here, twenty minutes there—usually in a chair, fully dressed, with his phone in his hand.
Every text or phone call sent his heart racing.
Every unknown number felt like a promise and a threat all wrapped into one.
The police had done what they could. He filed a missing person’s report.
Luca answered the cop’s questions a thousand times in hopes that they would be able to find where Sophia was, but Peter wasn’t sloppy.
He hadn’t used a credit card, hadn’t been caught on traffic cams after the alley, and hadn’t called to make any demands.
It was like he’d vanished into smoke. He had gotten what he wanted—Sophia, Luca’s Sophia, and he probably wasn’t planning on resurfacing any time soon.
Which meant Luca had to think like him if he wanted his woman back.
He paced his living room, trying to come up with his next move.
He had covered his walls with maps, printed screenshots of Peter taking Sophia out of the gym and into the back alley, and timelines scribbled in marker.
He had a list of former foster care homes that Peter was in and the schools he attended.
He searched places Peter had some connection to, because monsters always returned to familiar ground.
But every rock that he overturned left him with nothing but anger and nothing much to show for his troubles.
Aurora checked in every day, sometimes twice a day.
She brought food that Luca barely touched and sat with him when the nights got too long.
She never told him to calm down or be patient.
She just listened. The guys were at his house every morning to go over the game plan for the day.
They all meant well, but they were no closer to finding Sophia.
“She’s strong,” Aurora said quietly one night. “You know that. She’s probably giving that asshole hell.” Luca wasn’t sure if he found that thought funny or if it terrified him. If she were giving Peter trouble, he might end up doing something desperate and hurt her.
“I know,” Luca replied, staring at a photo of Sophia smiling back at him. She was wearing his T-shirt and had sexy bed hair. “But strength only lasts so long when someone’s trying to break you.”
That was what haunted him most. Peter didn’t just want Sophia—not the way that Luca did. Peter wanted to own her and to punish her for leaving. He wanted to hurt her for choosing Luca and for having a life that didn’t include him, and Luca would not let that stand.
On the seventh day, the call finally came.
It wasn’t from the police. The number was one that he didn’t recognize, and he felt that damn hope again that always let him down.
Luca answered on the first ring. “Hello,” he answered.
There was no answer, but Luca had a sick feeling that he knew who was on the other end of the call. “Peter.”
Silence crackled on the line, then a low laugh. “You always were smart, Luca.”
“If you’ve hurt her—” Luca began.
“She’s alive,” Peter interrupted. “For now.”
Luca closed his eyes, relief and rage slamming into him at once. “Where is she?”
“Well, my telling you depends on whether you’re ready to listen,” Peter said smoothly.
“I’m listening,” Luca growled. The last thing that he wanted to do was listen to the crazy asshole on the other end of the call, but Peter wasn’t giving him much of a choice. He seemed to want control over the situation, and if that meant that Luca had to give up some of his, he would.
“You always liked playing hero,” Peter continued. “Let’s see how far you’re willing to go this time.”
The line went dead, and Luca was left staring at the phone, his grip tight enough to crack the screen. He needed to focus on the fact that Sophia was alive because that was all that mattered.
He called Tony to fill him in about Peter’s call and asked him to call the cops.
Luca needed to get out of the house and keep looking for Sophia, even if he had zero clue as to where to start.
He grabbed his keys, his jacket, and the gun he’d sworn he’d never need.
The fear was still there—sharp and relentless in his gut, but it was buried beneath something stronger now, resolve.
Peter had made one fatal mistake. He had given Luca hope that he’d be able to find Sophia and bring her back home with him. Peter had no idea how dangerous hope could be, but he was about to find out because Luca was coming for her, and he wouldn’t stop until he found her.