51
LEVI
“ S ee you soon, Dolcezza !” Luca shouts down the phone.
I roll my eyes as he starts the car. It roars to life, the rumble of the engine vibrating my body, my ass well and truly fucking relaxed.
I didn’t expect today to run so smoothly, but it did. The Torres family, the guys Sera put in charge of the docks, had already started the clean up when we got there. There wasn’t a lot to take stock of since the feds took most of it into evidence. But we’ve been assured by Raf that none of it will come back to Sera.
None of this means we’re in the clear, though. We haven’t forgotten what our goal was in all of this, we just need to keep our wits about us.
We peel through the gates to the docks, heading away from the coast and towards Sera’s home. With the amount of time we all spend there, it’s swiftly becoming my home, too. Though I know home for me is anywhere our girl is. Our girl . Belissima.
“Hey!” I snap my head towards Luca. “Why don’t I get a nickname?”
He raises a brow at me, like my question is of any surprise to him. I’m in half a mind to take back what I said. We’re fucking men! We don’t need nicknames, do we?
“You want a nickname?” Luca grins, no longer fazed by my question. I guess that settles the doubt in my mind, but I’m slowly unraveling with embarrassment.
“Maybe,” I shrug, averting my gaze back to the window.
“Hey,” Luca says softly, his hand sliding onto my thigh. “If you want a nickname, you can have one.”
“What would you call me?”
There’s a pregnant pause, one that fills me with uncertainty. Luca’s jaw feathers slightly as he returns his focus to the road. Either he’s got to think real hard about this, or he’s just placating me. It’s not even that fucking important.
Luca sighs as he smoothly winds us around a bend. “There are too many to choose from.”
I tilt my head in thought. Surely, he can pick one that resonates with me? After all, I’ve literally named him after the size of his cock. The least he can do is reciprocate the gesture. But then another thought crosses my mind.“How about I narrow the list down for you then?”
“Sure,” he laughs, checking the rear-view mirror habitually.
I meet his gaze, a smirk lifting his lips that makes me grin like a madman. He’s always had an effortless smile. One that teases me into submission because I’ve realized how weak I am for it. Maybe it’s because it’s a rare sight, that it makes that much more special.
“Handsome?”
Luca shakes his head, eyes firmly on the road. I can already tell that he isn’t going to make this easy for me. Still, my determination perseveres.
“Hot stuff?”
He rolls his eyes at me, but I can see the humor start to take form in them as he snakes the car around another bend. The trees whip past us faster, the Maserati purring as we hit a hill.
“Sexy?”
He clears his throat, adjusting himself on the seat. If that isn’t a tell that I’ve hit a nerve in some way then I guess I don’t know him as well as I thought.
“Oh, I know! Big boy! No, wait. That’s yours.”
“Did it ever occur to you that one name might not be enough?” he interjects playfully.
His words take me by surprise, but then again, anything Luca does always shocks me. I’m in awe at how controlled his damn emotions are all of the time. Okay, most of the time, since his outburst with Sera wasn’t exactly controlled. But that was when we were all on edge. Giovanni had just been shot and emotions were running high. He could have said anything and it would have been an insult.
I pause for a second, contemplating his words. A frown creases my forehead as I try to figure out what he’s not saying. “I don’t know if I should be grateful or offended.”
All of a sudden, Luca swerves the car, pulling us to the side of the vacant road. We slam to a halt, and Luca shuts the engine off. He pins me with a glare, but there’s a deviant look in his eyes, filled with lust and desire that I know is for me and me alone.
“How about silent?” Before I know what’s happening, Luca slams his lips onto mine. He winds his hand around my neck like a snake, pulling me toward him. The air in the car is electrically charged, pricking my skin with tiny bolts. He pours everything into our kiss, winding his tongue with mine. I feel every part of Luca as he kisses me deeply. So much so that I don’t have room for argument when it comes to his feelings for me.
I know how fast things have moved between us. But somewhere, amidst the chaos and confusion, we’ve found where we belong. We’ve found ourselves.
Luca pulls away, breathless and full of wonder. “Is this really about a nickname or about something else?”
“Both,” I smile weakly, stroking Luca’s face. The scruff along his jawline is back. It’s been back for a while, but he’s been keeping tidy, and I kind of like it. I run my fingers through the blond tufts, my eyes following the action. “I want Sera to be happy, but?—“
“So let her be.”
I shake my thoughts. Luca is right, Sera is happy. My thoughts might be on other things, like the fact I find it strange that after three months of silence, Giovanni finally chooses now to speak. Or the worry that we are still no closer to finding out who was helping us that night at the warehouse. There are still so many anomalies that we need to address, and we’re no closer to the answers.
“I didn’t trust him when I first met him,” Luca interrupts my thoughts, like he knows what I was thinking.
I look up at him, eyes wide and brow furrowed. If Luca didn’t trust him, he must have had a good reason. Luca has always been the most observant one. The guy assesses every situation with one eye on his target and the other on the exits. If he didn’t trust the bodyguard, why did he agree to leave Sera with him today? What changed?
“But,” he sighs, rubbing his brow. “Gio is just as loyal to her as we are. He’s done nothing but protect her. He took a damn bullet for her.”
“Yeah, I know.” I suddenly feel guilty for the thoughts racing around in my head.
“Look, whatever connection they have, isn’t going to compare to yours.” Luca grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together. It’s the most sincere and comforting gesture I’ve ever received from him, and it only makes me like him more. “Or ours.”
I grin back at him. I love the fact that even through my chaotic brain, he manages to comfort me.
He gives my hand a squeeze before returning his attention to the road, peeling us over the asphalt. We make quick time heading back to Sera’s, the sunlight behind us, yet high in the sky. I look out at the blue haze, then back at Luca. His side profile is beautiful, effortlessly good to look at. I could sit and stare at him forever and not get bored. I realize how sad that sounds, but it’s true.
“What?” I frown, noticing the way he narrows his gaze ahead. I follow his eyes, and suddenly my blood runs cold. “Is that?”
“Yeah.” Luca screeches to a halt, the dirt flicking back as he throws the car onto the side of the road.
My body lurches forward, but before I can stop him, Luca is already out of the car, marching towards a car wreck up ahead .
“Luca!” I yell after him, pushing out of the vehicle. I spring forward, each step more determined than the last until I’m shoulder to shoulder with Luca. My pulse booms loudly in my ears as I look at the wreckage; the bullet casings, the glass, the blood.
Luca draws his weapon, aiming it Sera’s SUV as he carefully steps forward. “Sera?” his voice wobbles.
“What the fuck happened?” I look around us, but all I feel is the emptiness and destruction. The space that is forcing its way through my chest is cracking it open. I push through the anger and pain, the doubt and fear as I check the car over. I have to keep a level head, before I break.
But there’s nothing here to find. Nobody left to save. I pull my phone out, pulling up Sera’s number and hitting dial. But it just rings… and rings…
I glance down at the ground, seeing a phone screen light up.
Levi calling.
“She’s gone,” I hear Luca whisper. “She’s fucking gone!” He smashes his foot against the door, the metal groaning under his weight. “ Figlio—! ” His rage fully takes over as he goes from calm to calamity in a matter of seconds. He kicks the door over and over, the hinges creaking and bending until I hear the metal door crash to the ground.
“Luca! Stop!” I rush to him, yanking him backwards. “Stop!”
“Don’t!” he snaps, shoving me. “She’s fucking gone!” If I thought my own heart was breaking over what we’ve just discovered, Luca sounds like his own is shattering.
He drops to the ground, running his hands through his disheveled hair. “What do we do?”
Fuck. I’ve never heard the guy sound so broken before. It hammers away at the weak wall I’m frantically trying to put up to gain some sense of control over this situation, but it’s no good. I push back the anger, leaning down and grabbing Luca’s face. “We need to get back and tell Raf.”
“What do you mean you can’t fucking find them?!” Luca roars, throwing his coffee mug across the room. It smashes into thousands of pieces, tiny bits of porcelain splintering under his rage. It doesn’t matter what we say to him, he’s like a bomb about to explode. He’s one second away from self-destruction, only seeing the blame he can place on himself and others.
Tensions are obviously high since we found the wreckage. Even higher since Raf downloaded the dash cam footage from the vehicle. My blood ran cold when I saw Luciano approaching, but after that, we couldn’t see a thing. Not until Sera’s body came back into view, being carried by one of the Verdis. They tossed her into their trunk like she was nothing more than a fucking rag doll, and I don’t even need to think about what’s going to happen to her.
We’re all feeling lost in some way without Sera. There’s no evidence to lead us to Sera. No sign of Giovanni, meaning the Verdis probably have him too.
“Your fucking job is to make sure nobody follows us, and you can’t even do that!” Luca screams.
“Hey!” I press my hand to Luca’s chest. “This wasn’t Raf’s fault. Calm down!”
Luca jabs a finger into my shoulder, pressing forward with his body. I try to step back, but every retreat is met with his advance until my back hits the wall.
“Don’t. Tell. Me. To. Calm down!” He emphasizes each word with a stab of his finger.
I grab it and push it away, pressing my forehead to his in challenge. “I’m on your fucking side, Fontana.”
“Then fucking act like it!” He fist slams through the wall beside my head, drywall cracking as dust and broken paint litters the floor.
“Guys!” Raf shouts over us.
“What!” Luca and I both bark in unison.
“This isn’t going to solve anything. I’m trying to locate her, but you guys need to help.” Raf starts tapping away frantically on his keyboard. It’s silent, except for that damn clicking noise, leaving us all to stew in our own furious thoughts because yeah, we should have seen this coming.
Even though we’ve got The Vultures running surveillance constantly and Sera’s soldiers increasing defenses around the house, we still fell short when it came to her safety. And that was my job. It should have been my job to protect her, to make sure nothing happened to her. Sure, Giovanni is her bodyguard, but he’s just one man. Serafina should have had an entire army behind her, and I let her down.
“What do you need?” I ask solemnly.
“We need the twins back, and we need Zeke to run his men further afield. Someone has to know something.” He resumes tapping away on his keyboard. “Someone has to have heard something, rumors, anything!”
I pull out my phone, shooting a text to the twins. In a matter of seconds, I get a response telling me they’ll be over in an hour. I sink down onto the couch, my fear warring with my determination to stay strong. But it’s too powerful. The guilt wracks through my body like poison, a promise that if anything happens to Sera, I’m as good as dead. I don’t just mean in the physical sense, but mentally, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to live in this world without Bianchi.
Combing a hand through my hair, I observe Raf at work. I’ll never forgive myself for this. I’ll never forgive myself if I really lose her. “Please find her, Raf.”
He gives me a curt nod before absorbing himself completely in his work. Every click of his mouse, every tap of his keyboard fills the silence with even more dread. I’ve never liked the silence much, hating it even more now as we wait on answers that might never come.
Hours go by where we all sit in silence or pace the living room. The coffee cup still lays broken on the floor, a reflection of how we’re all starting to feel. The clock on the wall ticks by, alerting me to how long we’ve spent in this room, all quiet and anxious.
Raf hasn’t come up for air from his laptop. He’s doing a damn good job of focusing on his task, so much so that he doesn’t even bat an eyelid when Luca goes from silent and stoic to pacing frantically. We all know that Luca’s no good to us like this. He’s supposed to be the calm and collected one, but he won’t stop until we have some kind of answers. He’s placing all of his blame on Raf, and it isn’t fair.
At some point, the twins join us from wherever they’ve been. I think it was to scope out their next target on behalf of Sera, but I couldn’t focus past Luca’s frustration to really listen to them. We’re waiting on tenterhooks for Raf to give us something, anything.
But it never comes.
“Let’s get some rest,” I say, standing up slowly.
All eyes lift to me as I take the lead on the situation. It’s midnight, somebody has to, and it’s fallen to me to keep this crew in line.
“We can start our search again tomorrow. Get The Vultures involved, ask questions.”
The twins nod, but Luca is glaring at me like I just pissed in his cereal.
“Luca—“
“Don’t bother!” he snaps, pushing up from the couch. I know he’s taking this the hardest. I don’t know how I’ve found the strength to keep a clear head, because inside all I want to do is scream. We lost our fucking leader, and we have no trace of her.
Luca marches out of the room. I know I should leave him alone, but he’s just as much my responsibility as Sera is and I can’t afford to lose someone else.
Heaving a sigh, I follow him out into the courtyard. It’s pitch-black, save for the lamps lining the circular driveway. I get a sudden wave of deja-vu as I march after Luca, his long strides hard to keep up with. “Luca!”
“Leave me alone, Marchese.”
Ouch. If it weren’t for the torrent of emotions that we’re all battling, I’d have taken that shit a lot harder.
“Hold up!” I say, grabbing his arm and spinning him around.
He doesn’t fight me like I thought he might. Instead, he locks eyes with me, and that’s when I see it; the real heartbreak. It’s unlike anything before. It sends a chill down my spine because I know how hard he took his father’s death, and if he’s anything like me, he won’t survive something happening to Sera.
I wish I could tell him that it’s going to be okay. I wish I could tell him that we’ll find Sera. But doing so would all be empty promises formed on lies. The truth is, none of us know anything. We’re all in the fucking dark.
“I can’t do this,” he whispers, voice filled with desolation.
I take his hand in mine, stepping in to close the distance that separates us. “I know,” I say softly. “But we can’t break now. You can’t break now, because I need you.”
“ Sera needs us.”
“We both need you,” I correct. “Don’t leave like this, please.” I clutch his face between my palms, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks. “Stay with me.”