22. Luca

22

LUCA

J osphine's confusion over me taking Duke fishing is to be expected. It's the nicest way to tell her I have no intention of letting Duke take another breath on this planet if he hurts her or Jett again. Of course, murder isn't always the answer, but for someone like him, it's becoming the only answer.

We leave the hospital with a plan to meet at my house. Collin's going to stay at his not-girlfriend's house for the time being. At least that's one person I won't have to worry about.

I wait for Jo to drive away with her brother before I call Sonny. It doesn't take long for him to answer or for him to come and pick me up from the Emergency Room. I half-expect to see my sister riding shotgun, but luckily, Sonny left Gina at home.

"Where are we going?" he asks as soon as I hop into the passenger seat.

"Trips," I tell him.

"Just us? You want me to have anybody meet us there? The last time was a shit show."

I agree. "Yeah, have about ten guys meet us there. I want to have one last word with Don Vito Dacosta."

"I don't like the way you said that, Luca. What happened?"

"I think Vito had guys waiting in Josephine's house tonight. They beat up her kid's father and when the cops showed up, they arrested her little brother."

"Shit," he runs his hand over his hair. "I'm sorry, man. What are you going to do?"

"What we do best. Handle it. You can drop me off, Sonny. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have had you come. Gina would kill me if you got hurt."

He chuckles. "Gina would kill me if you got hurt. You think she doesn't know we're about to get into some shit? It's a school night and you got me out the house. She said to remind you to bring Josephine and her son to the house this weekend, too. It should be fun. I'm opening the pool?—"

"Sonny, man, I love you and the family stuff, but I can't think about that right now. I want to kill somebody and thinking about my adorable nieces and nephew cools me off."

"Good. Cooler heads prevail. We shouldn't kill Vito right now anyway. Not until we get that Fed chick out of the studio. She's looking for any reason to lock us up."

"I can't promise not to kill him, but we need him to back off."

We arrive at the strip club where the lot is practically empty. That's to be expected for a weeknight. The other cars of soldiers pull up shortly after we arrive. With everyone in a group, I give my orders.

"I'm going in. Three come inside. I want one at my back, one at the door, and one near the curtain leading backstage. You don't have to go back there, but keep an eye on it in case things get ugly. Three stay with the cars in case we need a quick getaway. Sonny, you and the rest watch the perimeter to make sure we don't get any surprise visitors. This conversation should be brief, but be on alert. Everyone armed?"

The sounds of everyone arming their weapons, ensuring bullets are in the chamber is a delightful sound. While killing isn't the plan, I'm not opposed to it if it means leaving a situation alive.

Inside, the club is just as sparse as it was the last time we were here. Come to think of it, I can't remember a time where there's ever more than a handful of people in this place.

"VITO!" I call out, my voice thundering over the softly playing music. The two women dancing on stage share a glance of worry between each other before they disappear behind a burgundy curtain. The bar doesn't have anyone waiting to be served, but the bartender looks as young as Collin as she chews gum with her eyes glued to the phone in her hand. She barely gives us a second look before Dacosta shows his face.

"What is the problem now, Devlin? Did I not shoot the last guy you had an issue with?"

"Did you have people waiting inside my actress's house earlier today?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Luca, you're going to have to be more specific."

"Did those same people ambush a guy, beat him up and put him the hospital?"

Vito sneers. "If anyone was put in the hospital, it might be because they have a big mouth that writes checks their ass can't cash, ya know? I can't help it if someone gets disrespectful with me and my fists get disrespectful with their face. Besides, I don't show up to anyone's house where I'm not invited."

"Asshole. Why won't you leave my people alone? Miss Hansen is off limits, Vito," I tell him.

"Looks like you got something like a crush on your starlet." Vito kisses his teeth. "That's bad for business, baby. I thought you would know better by now not to get involved with the talent. I mean, you helped me learn that lesson a long time ago, remember?"

"Don't fuck with me, Vito. This is your last warning. Leave my people alone. You don't want a war with the Marzano family."

Vito laughs. It starts off low before rising into something maniacal. "The Marzano family? What family? Don Marzano's left the country! His nephew, the fucking billionaire, wants nothing to do with the family. I mean, I wouldn't either if I had a tasty little red head. Oh wait, I had a red head once. Remember Luca?"

"Leave my mother out of this," I warn him. Memories flood my mind, igniting my anger to uncontrollable levels where my emotions are liable to start a war. Flashes of her lifeless body, the woman I was too late to save.

"But how can I when she's the reason this all began? Did you know that Dana wasn't a natural brunette? She had blazing red hair that caught the sun just right. When she was high, her eyes sparkled in a way that lured you in. She lured me in, and you took her from me."

"She was my mother," I argue back, my voice trying to remain at a normal level. "She was never yours. We need to leave her in the past. I have the full backing of the Marzano Family. They're not as broken as you may think."

"I don't give a fuck about Don Marzano. I don't care how many guys you bring here. I'm going to keep taking women from you because you took mine from me. Dana belonged to me." Vito's voice is dangerously creepy. His obsession with my mother is becoming far more evident than I ever imagined. He takes a step closer, drilling his intentions deep inside of me. "She belonged to me and so will every bitch you care about. Now that I know how much you care about this fresh one, I'm going to take my sweet time with her. She'll be more broken than the Marzano Don by the time I'm done with sweet, sweet, Josephine."

Rage fires through my body, causing me to leap forward. The room spins as my mind blacks out all thought. My fists connect with Don Vito Dacosta. The closeness of his beady eyes as they snap closed infuriate me while giving me a target.

One blow after another. I swing and connect. Knuckles to face, fists to jaw, one powerful punch to his nose until blood spurts with a sickening crack . By the time I feel a pair of arms wrapping around me, I'm ready to pull the gun I forgot is tucked in my waist.

"Luca! LUCA!" Sonny's voice snaps me out of my violent trance and his eyes are filled with worry and dread. "Check him."

I can't tell who he's talking to, but one of the soldiers rushes toward Vito's side. "He's breathing. What should we do?"

"Get him home! TAKE HIM HOME," Sonny shouts. "Fuck."

"You told me not to kill him," I mumble to Sonny.

Sonny rubs my shoulder before gently pushing me toward the door. "Do you want me to thank you or something? We were days away from getting the Feds off our back. This isn't a conversation, Luca. This looks like a fucking massacre. Go home. I'll clean this up and see if I can stop the war coming after this."

"You won't," I tell him. "Don't bother. He wasn't going to stop. He was never going to stop."

The world moves around me in a haze as someone ushers me inside a car that drives me to my cliffside home in silence. When I get out, taking the elevator down to the bottom floor where my bedroom waits, Jo is waiting for me, too. My entire world is crumbling and I'm scared it's going to take her, too.

"Oh my god, Luca. You're bleeding!" She panics, rushing toward me with a frantic worry bursting from those gorgeous brown eyes.

"It's not my blood."

"Oh no. You went back to the hospital for Duke." She assumes, but no. I'm not going to waste any more time on him.

"I'm tired, Jo. Let me get out of this and I'll tell you—" My words drift away mid-sentence as I step out of my bloody clothes and head into my bathroom. I need to shower off this day and then I need to figure out how to avoid the blowback for what I just did. Vito threatened Jo, the woman I care about, who I'd move heaven and earth to protect. I couldn't protect my mother. I can protect Jo. She's here right now. I can save her.