11. Matteo

11

MATTEO

L uxtyn takes no more than two seconds to process what I said before attempting a right hook to my face, but knowing my girl here likes to play dirty with knives and shit, I'm a lot more on guard with her than I was before.

I catch her small fist in the air and give it a light squeeze, encouraging her to put it down. She finally does, then pulls her hand away from me and backs away, never taking her eyes off mine. The frustration wafts off her in waves.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she bites out. "We're not getting married."

Raising a brow, I take a few predatory steps toward her, causing her to fall back into an armchair. I lean over her, placing a hand on each arm rest, caging her in. "Yes, we are. Because if you don't, you'll end up dead, and you really will never see your mother again."

Luxtyn raises a brow, and it's a shock when she doesn't attempt to knee me in the balls while the threat to her life lingers in the air. "So, you're going to kill me if I don't marry you? I didn't realize you were so desperate to have a woman by your side," she says. "Why do I even need you? Angelo can just help me find my mom."

"Your dad can't even trust the people closest to him. What makes you think he can find your mother on his own? You need resources, not to mention protection once they discover who you are. Two things I can easily provide."

I continue to hover over her in the chair, not because I think she'll run away, but because I relish being in her space. This girl might actually make having a wife. . . exciting.

There's a thought I never thought I'd have.

"The police ... the police can help me. I'll just go to them," she says. The girl is eager to find a way out of this situation, but unfortunately for her, there aren't any other ways.

"There are corrupt police all over this city, Luxtyn. You're more than welcome to try that, but you'll just put a bright-red fucking target on your back. You have ties to the Mafia now. They won't be able to do shit for you."

Her face pales, the pink from the fire in her cheeks disappearing as she takes in what I'm saying.

"Doctor," she says as if she just remembered. "You said there's a doctor here?"

"I did."

"Bring him in. If everything you guys are saying is true, then I need confirmation that Angelo is my dad. I. . . I need to know the truth," she says softly. "Until then, this isn't getting us anywhere."

I study her face. She doesn't want to believe any of this is true, but she's beginning to realize I'm her only hope at finding her mother. Standing tall, I turn to Enzo. "Bring in Doc."

I resume my seat on the sofa while she repositions herself in the armchair, looking flustered.

Doc comes in with his bag and promptly gets to retrieving the blood samples with no questions from Luxtyn, who continues to shoot me glares throughout the entire process. Unfortunately for her, that doesn't bother me.

Doc finishes packing up the samples and turns to me before leaving. "I should have the results back to you by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow isn't good enough," I say.

The wrinkles in Doc's forehead form as his bushy gray eyebrows rise. "The lab is already closed for the night, Mr. DiMaggio."

Eyeing him, I ask, "Do I pay you generously?"

He nods. "Yes, sir."

"Do I not provide you with state-of-the-art machinery to use to your liking?"

"You do, sir."

"Then you can do your job and get those lab results rushed, correct?"

The older gentleman's shoulders sag, realizing he doesn't have a choice in the matter. "Of course, sir. I just had some plans tonight with my wife, but I can cancel them and work on these samples. I'll get you the results later tonight."

"Good answer."

A scoff comes from Luxtyn, causing me to snap my gaze to hers. "Did you have something to add, Luxtyn?"

Sitting up in her seat, she narrows her gaze on me in a challenging way. "You don't have to be a dick. He said he has plans with his wife and that he'd get you the test results by tomorrow. The difference between tonight and tomorrow is minuscule, don't you think?"

"Well, I don't know, Luxtyn. The difference between tonight and tomorrow when it comes to your mother's kidnapping must be pretty minuscule too, then, huh?"

Her face blanches and the cockiness she had when she called me a dick dissipates. She throws herself back in her seat and crosses her arms, bringing her attention down to the floor as she sulks.

She makes it too easy.

Glancing back at Doc, I say with finality, "Tonight." He nods before exiting.

"I have to get going," Mancini says as he brings his attention back to us after having his head buried in his phone for the past few minutes. "Elena and Giuliana want to have dinner tonight. They've been inquiring about the contract."

"Are you going to tell them the contract is no longer valid between Giuliana and I?"

Mancini nods, but I disagree with that decision. "And you're confident there won't be any repercussions from you telling them?"

"Elena and Giuliana are innocent people, Matteo. They're just two women who wound up stuck in the Mafia world due to their fathers. That's not something that should be held against them."

"Elena is Giuseppe's sister. You're naive to think there won't be any consequences to going behind her back and taking Giuliana off the contract. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Elena's the one who's behind Luxtyn's mother's disappearance."

Mancini steps toward me, baring his teeth. "Don't bring them into this, Matteo," he snarls. "They know nothing about Char. Don't blame them for having a shitty family."

Stupid fool. If the Silvestris are behind the kidnapping, then he's blind if he thinks there's zero chance Elena knows about it.

"Who are Elena and Giuliana?" Luxtyn's small voice comes from the side.

Mancini's expression softens immediately .

"Elena is my wife, and Giuliana is my daughter. Your half sister."

Luxtyn's expression remains neutral, which is impressive given everything she's learned today. Add in a half sister she knew nothing about and I'd say it's a miracle she hasn't passed out from system overload like Enzo said she might. She's stronger than any of us give her credit for.

"Maybe you can come to dinner and meet them soon," Mancini suggests.

"Over my dead body," I interject. "She's not going near any Silvestri, and you're dumber than I thought if you think I'll throw her to that feral daughter of yours." The possessiveness in my tone shocks me as much as everyone else in the room. Well, except for Enzo. Enzo remains seated next to me, annoyingly quiet and with that stupid ass grin he's held on his face ever since we picked her up at the airport.

"DiMaggio. . ." Mancini says my last name in a threatening tone and steps toward me, causing me to leap to my feet.

Enzo quickly does the same, intercepting our potentially explosive blow as he places a hand on my chest and pushes me back. "Let's all calm down, okay? We can talk about meetups after the DNA test comes back."

"We're not talking about any fucking meetups. She's not meeting Mancini's family. End of story."

" She can speak for herself," Luxtyn says, causing me to dart my eyes in her direction. My anger starts taking over and my breaths become shallow as my heart rate increases. "And if I decide to meet Elena and Giuliana, then that's exactly what it'll be. My decision. You are not the boss of me."

"You're going to be my wife. Therefore, you will listen to me," I grind out.

Luxtyn huffs a laugh as she stands from her chair. "You're in for a rude awakening if you think I'll let you walk all over me like that, Teo ." My nickname on her lips sounds so good that I surprisingly relax the slightest bit, even with Luxtyn disregarding her safety. "You might be able to use my mom against me right now, but make no mistake, I am my own woman. If you can't seem to wrap your mind around that, then this marriage isn't going to work."

Walking over to Luxtyn, I say, "Oh, this marriage will work. You just wait and see." Her eyes shift from left to right as she gazes into my eyes.

"Luxtyn, I hate to do this to you, but I have to leave," Mancini says, causing me to turn back to him. "As soon as the DNA results are in, please let me know, Matteo." He glances around me, back to Luxtyn. "I already know the answer in my heart, but I know you need the physical proof."

Scoffing, I roll my eyes at how endearing he's being and cross my arms over my chest. "Rocco will see you out," I say loud enough for Rocco to hurry into the office and lead him out.

Once they've left the room, I turn my attention back to Luxtyn who's fidgeting with the cuff of her sweatshirt and biting the inside of her cheek like there's something she's keeping herself from saying. "What?" I snap.

She swallows hard before speaking. "I need to ask you a question. As much as I don't like you, you seem to be the only one that's honest and doesn't beat around the bush with me."

I cock my head and raise a brow, intrigued to hear what her question is. She straightens her back, almost as if she's preparing herself for my answer while still fidgeting with the cuff of her sweatshirt.

"What are the chances my mom is still alive?"

Her voice is soft, and I see the vulnerability in her eyes. It nearly makes me falter. She's scared, and while I'm not here to be the girl's hero, it unravels something in me. Some protective instinct like I experienced when Mancini made the dumb suggestion of having her meet Elena and Giuliana. It's not something I've ever experienced with a woman. It makes me feel vulnerable, and I don't like it. I don't like it one fucking bit.

"The probability of your mother being alive is high."

A glimmer of hope lights up her eyes. "How do you know?"

"If she were dead, Silvestri would've already sent her body to your dad."

Luxtyn swallows hard, I'm sure imagining what it would be like to see the dead body of her mother. It's a terrible feeling. One I know all too much about.

"What makes you say that?" she asks.

I turn away from her, brushing a hand through my hair. The flashback of seeing my parents' dead bodies running through my mind. "Because Silvestri likes to do things a certain way. If he had your mother and killed her, he would've had her body dropped off at Mancini's doorstep as proof that he holds all of the power."

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. "That's sick."

"That's the life we come from, Luxtyn," I bark out. "Bodies send a message, and Giuseppe Silvestri loves sending very direct messages. If he felt Mancini was going behind his back with a woman who could sabotage their alliance, you bet your ass he's going to shove it down his throat that he took her away from him."

She winces at the rigidness of my voice, but she needs to understand this is the world she lives in now.

"Do you think they've hurt her?" Her quavering voice tells me she doesn't want to know the answer to that question.

I let out a deep breath, thinking about how I want to respond to that. "Do you really want me to answer that question?"

Her hands tremble as she drops her gaze to the floor, which makes me regret my honesty with her, but if I were in her shoes, I'd want to know the facts, as well.

"I'll take that as your answer," she says quietly, her words squeezing my heart.

There's something about this girl. Something that brings out an empathic side of me. Or maybe it's just pity. Whatever the fuck it is, I need it to stop. I need to put some space between us to figure out what the hell is going on in my head and how the hell I get it to stop. It's only been a few fucking hours and my mind is already being messed with when it comes to her.

"C'mon. I'll show you to your room, and if you're hungry, I can order you some dinner."

She snaps her head up. "Excuse me?"

"Which part of that didn't you understand?" I ask, my face expressionless.

She narrows her eyes and snaps her hands to her hips. "First of all, you're an asshole, and secondly, I'm not staying here."

A smirk plays out on my face that I try to hide but fail so miserably at. "My end of the deal I made with your father was to protect you. If Mancini does tell Elena and Giuliana about you tonight, you're going to need someone looking out for you sooner than I thought. So, you'll be staying here for the duration."

She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to speak but hesitates slightly before doing so. "Is there even any point to arguing with you about this?" She sounds tired, surely from how her life has done a one-eighty in the past few hours.

My response is quick and easy. "No." I turn back to my brother before she gets her second wind and puts up another fight with me. "Enzo, I'm not going to make it to the club tonight. Think you can handle it?"

"Hah, oh yes. Whatever will I do without you, Almighty Teo?"

I ignore him and breeze past Luxtyn before ordering her to follow me down the hall to one of the five master suites I have in this penthouse. Instinctively, I bring her to the one across the hall from mine. The reason which I don't care to dive into right now.

I open the door, and an automatic light illuminates the open room with its own private bathroom. Luxtyn slowly moves into the space, making it seem even more grand than I previously thought, as her small body stands so out of place in it.

I give her a minute to take in her surroundings before asking, "Are you hungry?"

Turning around to face me, she shakes her head. "No, thanks. I'm pretty exhausted, so I think I'm going to take a nap. Will you wake me when you get the results, please?"

While I don't like that she's skipping dinner, I can always order her something when she wakes up later. I give her a small nod before closing the door to give her time to come to terms with her new life. Because even though I'm not the nicest guy on the planet, I can only imagine what she's going through right now.

The girl's entire life got turned upside down between finding out her father is in the Mafia to having her hand be forced into a marriage with another asshole in the Mafia. And something tells me it's not going to get much easier from here.