14. Luca

14

LUCA

T he light bruising around Josephine's upper arm shows a very distinct thumbprint. Anger surges through me, but even more, regret. I should have never left them alone.

"Thanks again, Luca." Josephine says it, but there's something different in her voice. There isn't any gratitude as every syllable is exploding with contempt.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong, here?" I ask her. Anxiety ricochets around my body as I wonder what I could have possibly done differently.

"No, you're perfect and I'm the fuck up. I need to get Jett. We're going to be late." Jo walks toward the house when she stops, eyeing me from over her shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong, Luca. I did. I should have never brought you around Duke. He'd be in Arizona by now if he didn't know who you were."

"What do you mean 'if he didn't know who you were'?" I'm uncertain if she means my ties to Don Marzano, or my position as CEO and owner of Luca Brisco Studios.

"He's only popping up now and being a nuisance because he thinks I'm going to be famous. He's a parasite, looking to use his position as Jett's father to suck whatever else he can out of me."

"I thought he filed those documents to sever the relationship?"

She raises her shoulders up and down. Defeat ripples across the soft features of her beautiful face. "They have forty-five days to finalize it and I think he's going to find a way to un-file them. I wish he had never seen us together."

Her breath hitches as she swallows the tears she's holding back. "Jett's right."

I rush to her, holding her as she lets the dam of emotions break. "He's a kid and has no idea how truly dangerous Duke is. You don't let a guy like that do anything. It's clear he's used to taking what he wants. But now that I'm around, I can help. Let me help, Jo."

She cries softly into my chest. I scoop her delicate frame into my arms to carry her inside, hoping too many people aren't watching this catastrophe unfold.

Inside the house, I don't see Jett as I lower Josephine onto the sofa. Sitting with her until she composes herself and stares back at me with red rimming those gorgeous brown eyes. I swipe my thumb across her cheek.

"I want to file a restraining order," Jo says after a moment. "You and Jett are both right. I can't stop Duke from being the chaotic asshole he is, but I can at least have something in place to try and keep him away from us."

"I might be able to help with that," I tell her, reaching for my phone. Her eyes fill with hope as I pull up a few files from my email. "The spot where you parked yesterday happens to be near the parking garage entrance to Nuvola. My friend owns that company and his security team sent me this footage."

"Is that Duke? Why isn't anyone stopping him?" She pushes the phone away to stop looking at the father of her kid ram steel rods through her tires.

"If you see someone the size of that guy hauling rebar and taking it out on a car, the last thing anyone wants to do is stand in his way. The audio isn't great, but it's something."

"What can we do with this? Can the police arrest him?"

"Maybe, if it's even worth it to them. He'll probably get a fine, a night in jail or two. I came back because Julian sent this to me and I wanted to ask your neighbors for the doorbell camera footage. If I can get Duke vandalizing my car, the police can tack that on to the charges. Assault on you and Jett? Monique?"

"Technically, Monique assaulted him because he was being an ass. I don't think it would go any further than the police advising us to stay away from each other. I should go check on Jett."

As soon as the words leave her lips, we hear several large thuds coming from upstairs.

"What now?" She huffs, taking the stairs two at a time. Instinct pushes me to my feet to follow her up the stairs.

We have to duck as a toy flies through Jett’s bedroom doorway, crashes and splinters into pieces against the wall behind us.

"I HATE HIM," Jett shouts as he flings another toy.

Jo presses her eyes closed, inhaling deeply to stifle the tears streaming down her reddening face. I'm going to kill Duke if Jo doesn't do it first.

"Jett, kiddo, I need you to talk to me," Jo says as calmly as she can, staying out of his temper's line of fire.

"NO. He always gets what he wants. He always gets his way. He gets to be a shit and gets away with it. It's not fair. He's not supposed to hit you. You're not supposed to hit anyone smaller than you." Tears stream down his red face, and it sucks how much alike he and Jo look when they're upset. I never want to see either of them like this.

Jo rushes in to wrap her arms around Jett, kneeling to have him curl into her body. It's not my place, but I can't stop myself from stepping into the bedroom to sit on Jett's bed.

Jett continues to rant into Jo's body. "I hate him and I can't stop him."

Jo's eyes well with tears as they dart from me to the ceiling as she tries to stop them from falling.

I hate Duke too, but the kind of destruction I have in mind can't be undone.

"Jo, Jett, how would you guys feel about coming to the studio today to see a movie be filmed?" I ask them.

Jett's entire face shifts into a smile fit for a kid.

"You mean I won't have to go to school today?" he asks, his eyes darting between me and Jo. "Mom, can I?"

"It's been a rough couple of days, so I guess a day off won’t hurt," she says with half a grin.

"It's okay to be angry, Jett. Be mindful about how and where you let your anger out. If you want to cry it out, that's cool. If you want to shout, shout at the person who deserves it. It's like you said, you aren't supposed to hit anyone smaller than you. You can take that a step further to not yell at people who are easily scared of you or scared for you. A young man must clean up his own messes. Okay?"

"Yes,” he nods, his face serious as he does so.

Jo smooths her hands over his curls, kissing him on the forehead. "I'm sorry I haven't done more to protect you from Duke the Puke. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom. I'm sorry I yelled at you and made this mess," he says, hugging her briefly before he gets to work cleaning his room.

When we step outside, there's tension between us and it's not the sexual kind I prefer.

"Listen, Luca." Jo huffs out a breath. "I am truly appreciative, but don't offer things to him before running it by me."

"I'm sorry, Jo. I overstepped. I want you both to be safe until I put some things in place for you both to feel comfortable in your home."

"I understand, but no matter what happens, I have to be the parent, the good guy and the bad guy most days. If I wanted him to go to school, I'd look like a dick if I told you no."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Josephine."

She stands there as if she's waiting for me to say more. "There's a part of me wondering if you want to lecture me about young boys needing male role models, and everything you've done and said are to Jett's benefit."

"Is that what Duke would do?"

She sighs. "Duke, Collin, my Dad. They all want to tell me how to raise my son?—"

"That's not why I'm here, Jo. I like you. I like Jett. This is a fucked-up situation I feel partially responsible for. If I had beat Duke to a bloody pulp on the court steps, this might have played out differently."

"I think he'd behave this way even if I were dating a regular guy."

"Duke is intimidating to regular guys. Tell me what you want me to do with him, Jo. If you want him gone, out of your lives forever, I can make that happen and there's no court in the world that can undo what I'm capable of."

"I want Duke to do what he said he was going to do, leave San Francisco to go to Arizona or wherever he planned to go when he was ready to throw us away."

"Is Duke a man of his word?" I ask her, already knowing the answer. Respectable men don't treat their families this way. I want her permission. I need her permission to be the man I am to protect them.

"He changes his mind whenever it suits him. Shit. There's no way I'm going to be able to take these movie roles with Duke acting out like this. He'll terrorize Monique and Collin whenever they have Jett, or worse, he'll show up to the set and ruin whatever we're shooting for the day. Fuck. Luca, I'm sorry. Stupid Duke ruins everything."

"Don't apologize, Jo. You're not quitting on me either."

"Yeah, Mom, don't let Duke the Puke mess up anything else for us. Where's Uncle Collin? Tell him we need his lucky socks back." He sighs and Jo laughs, tousling his hair.

We finally step out the house to head to Luca Brisco Studios for the day. Although we're in separate cars, I keep an eye on Jo as we weave through morning traffic toward the studio lots. Once we park, I take them both on the grand tour, which doesn't last nearly as long as I'd like before we're confronted with one of the many reasons I won't let Jo quit this film project.

Agent Shaw is terrorizing my employees once again, demanding answers and documents to validate her findings.

"There you are, Devlin," she shouts as Jo and Jett walk around a set built to film a news broadcast.

I try my best to ignore Agent Shaw, but that's impossible as she storms toward me. My tone of indifference is forced. "Here I am, Agent Shaw. I'm here getting my lead actress familiar with the set she'll be working on."

"Is this a scene with a kid from the horror film about the killer mermaid or the horror film with the horde of zombies?" she asks, her gaze drifting toward Jett.

"Darkness at Dusk has a scene where the siren from the Starlight film will interrupt a news broadcast in an attempt to control the horde of zombies."

"Oh, so the two movies are linked now?" she asks, folding her arms across her chest.

"The two movies are occurring in the same universe."

"I'd like to see something, Devlin. You can't keep stringing me along. How about a rehearsal or fitting? I'd love to see the siren's costume." She's fishing for any reason to prove the film doesn't exist. Despite her best efforts to trip me up, my mind is focused on getting rid of Duke without traumatizing Jett or making Jo hate me.

"I'm about to run a scene rehearsal with Luca." Jo's voice echoes around the open set.

"Really?" Jett's eyes are wide with anticipation.

"Are you sure, Jo?" I ask her, hating to agree with Shaw's inference. The movie is not child friendly.

"Actually, there's a scene where the siren is trying to persuade her next victim to come with her as they leave a bar and the guy's girlfriend comes up to fight her. Would you like to play the girlfriend, Agent Shaw? How well can you take a slap?" Jo taunts the agent, but quickly rephrases her question. "I'm sorry, I meant fake a slap."

I interject before Josephine gets herself into federal trouble. "Agent Shaw, it's barely been a few weeks since the re-shoots began. How about you wrap up this investigation and come back in a few months for the premiere?"

"If you can show me that feature length film, I will end this investigation." The agent narrows her gaze around the studio before turning on her heel to go back to the conference room where she's combing through the studio's financial records. The same records my sister, Gina, assures me will paint the studio in the most professional, non-mob related light.

"That's good news, right?" Jo asks as we watch the agent retreat with several of my employees moving out of her way.

"Yes and no. She's calling my bluff, but that's okay. This is going to be one of those artistic pieces. We can strip away all the extras and keep the focus solely on the relationship between Cadence the Siren and that victim she lusts after."

"Who's going to play opposite me?"

"I will." I tell her. "It will save time, money, and my sanity because I don't even want to think about you telling another man to crawl for you."