13. Luxtyn

13

LUXTYN

" L uxtyn. Hey, Luxtyn." The voice comes through like it's far off in the distance, so I ignore it.

"Luxtyn. Hey. Wake up."

Wait. Where am I?

Cracking my eyes open, my early morning blurry vision attempts to remedy itself as it focuses on a body standing over me. "What the hell?" I bolt straight up and wipe the sleep from my eyes, forcing them to focus on the body again.

"Morning, sleeping beauty."

Oh hell.

My memory of yesterday comes flooding back. So it wasn't just an awful nightmare. I'm really stuck in this Mafia world. "Hi, Enzo," I groan as he hands me a cup of coffee. He's wearing a navy-blue suit and a white shirt. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he's a well-respected businessman heading off to work.

I take a sip and relish in its sweet taste. "How did you know how I like my coffee?"

"I didn't know for sure, but I'm good at reading people. It's a skill we're taught from a young age. I take it I nailed it, then?"

I take another sip, determining it's the best coffee I've ever had. "It's okay," I say, which causes him to chuckle. I'm sure the satiated look on my face as I take each sip tells him he did better than nail it.

"Wait, what time is it?" I ask, frantically looking around for a clock.

"It's 7:00 a.m. I would've let you sleep in, but we need to get our day started."

I rub my head as I still attempt to wake up. "I thought Matteo was going to let me know when the DNA results came back. I told him to wake me if I was sleeping."

"He did try to wake you, but you're an extremely heavy sleeper. Has anyone ever told you that? You could probably be kidnapped, and you would have no idea because you'd sleep through the entire thing."

I narrow my gaze on him.

His lips curve into a smirk. "Too soon for a kidnapping joke?"

"Way too soon," I grumble, taking another sip.

While I feel numb to having a father figure in my life and hate that my hand is being forced in marriage, I desperately need to find my mom. It's something I'm prepared to do anything for, and I don't have much time.

This whole Mafia business is still unbelievable, and while I'm not completely sold on it, the only thing that matters is finding my mom. So if I have to go along with this stupid marriage until I find her, then so be it. I'll get a divorce after. We just have to get to her before anything bad happens.

The panic at the thought of not finding my mom soon must consume my face because Enzo pulls me out of my daze by placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and says, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, shaking him off.

As if he can read my mind, he softens his voice and says, "Everything will work out. Teo might come off as?—"

"A dick?" I offer.

He chuckles under his breath. "Not many people can call him that without repercussions."

"My repercussion is being extorted by your brother to marry him so he can have access to whatever port you guys want. Why is he so desperate to get access to that, anyway?"

He opens his mouth to answer the question but quickly shuts it.

What was he about to say?

"Come on," he says, ignoring my question. "We need to get you up and going. Fortunately for you, Matteo assigned me as your personal guard." Enzo pulls on the lapels of his suit jacket, like he's impressed with himself for being assigned to watch me all day.

"I'm sure you have better things to do," I grumble, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and placing my empty coffee mug on the nightstand. The bed frame is set so high I can barely reach the floor with the tips of my toes.

"Better things to do than keep my brother's most prized possession in safe hands?"

That causes a cackle from me. "I highly doubt I'm your brother's most prized possession," I quip while I hop off the bed and walk around Enzo to where my duffle bag was dropped off at some point.

Digging through it, I notice my phone wasn't dropped off with it. I let out a sigh before turning on my heel to look at Enzo. "Am I ever going to get my phone back?"

"In due time. The boss has to make sure he can trust you before returning it. We wouldn't want you doing something silly like calling the police. Although, they wouldn't be able to help you, anyway. New York City's law enforcement is full of crooked cops, and if the wrong one hears you asking around about your mom, that could end very badly for both of you."

My stomach drops and the feeling makes me feel immediately nauseous. "And what if I miss a call from my mom?"

"We're monitoring your phone. So far, no one has called or texted you."

I let out a huff as I fold my arms across my chest, immediately feeling violated at the lack of privacy.

"I'll let you get ready," he says, giving the outfit that I'm still wearing from yesterday a once-over. He turns to exit the room, but I stop him before he's able to because I have one last question. One that will affect my future from here on out.

"Did the test results come in?" My heart pounds at an alarmingly fast rate while I wait to hear his response. Do I want to be related to Angelo? If I am, then that means I'm permanently tied to the Mafia. I don't even understand what that means. But if I'm not, what does that mean for me finding my mom? Will they still help me?

Enzo glances over his shoulder, and instead of giving me his usual cocky smile, his mouth sets in a straight line. "Yeah. You're a Mancini now, Luxtyn," he says before walking out the door and closing it behind him.

I sulk down into the chair, squishing my duffle bag in the process. The room spins as I take in the realization that Angelo Mancini is my dad and I will have to marry Matteo to find my mom. The information I've been given in the past twenty-four hours hits me. This isn't anything I expected when I got on that flight to New York City. How the hell did this happen?