24. Luca

24

LUCA

S ecurity is standing outside the doors of Luca Brisco Studios alongside the staff who left the building. I approach the door with Josephine not too far behind me when my phone rings. I hope it's Sonny or Gina, but it's Julian.

"Hey, I'm in kind of a crisis right now," I tell him as soon as I answer.

"I'll keep it brief. I just wanted to give you a heads up that Edward spoke to his contact with the family courts. Miss Hansen can come down to grab her restraining order paperwork against Duke Everett and his file's been officially buried. It won't resurface until after the forty-five-day window is up."

"Thanks, Julian. I owe you and Edward."

"No, you've done enough for the Marzano family. Call me later if we still need to go fishing."

"I will," I tell him and hang up. I turn to Jo, who has fear evident on her face. "Change of plans, you need to get out of here."

"Luca, I know you want to protect me, but I'm not just going to stand out here and let you walk into a hostage situation. Where are the police?" she asks, her eyes scanning the parking lot.

One of the security guards approaches after hearing her question. "Agent Shaw told us not to call them as this was a federal matter."

I groan and wave him off, back to his position beside his colleague, and tell Jo, "You have to get downtown to the family court building. They have your restraining order ready. Julian and Edward, his head of security, pulled some strings for you."

"That's great. I can grab that and take it to Jett's school so they know not to release Jett to Duke. Okay, are you sure you're going to be alright?"

I lean down, kissing her gently with the hope I can ease her anxiety about us separating. "It's going to be fine. Go make sure that Jett's alright."

I snap my fingers to one of the security guards who comes back toward us. "Jo, this is Steve. Steve, this is Josephine Hansen. Protect her with your life."

"This is over the top, Luca."

"No, this is not even the bare minimum. I attacked Vito Dacosta last night. I don't want you by yourself. Don't fight me on this. Besides, it will be easier if Steve sits in the car while you run into the courthouse and to Jett's school. You won't have to worry about parking."

She easily relents once I put logic behind having the bodyguard. It's not easy to leave her in someone else's hands, but I have to make sure my sister and her husband, my best friend, are alright.

After Jo takes off, I head inside the studio which is practically empty. I can see into the production area through the interior window behind the reception desk. Gina and Sonny are sitting beside each other at the news anchor desk. Their hands are zip- tied in front of them as Agent Shaw slams stacks of papers on the desk.

I walk through the door beside the desk and down the corridor until I reach the wide double doors leading onto the set. My voice projects across the open studio space as I call out to them. "Hey, Shaw. It's Luca. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"You can help me by getting me the real books to this place. I know this is all a sham! Admit it!" She stammers through her clenching teeth. "You all work for the mob. I know you do. Admit it!"

"No one's going to admit that, Agent Shaw," I tell her, taking slow steps toward her. "Can we sit down and talk about what's really going on here? Sonny? Gina? Are you two okay?"

"Just fucking peachy," Gina huffs with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm fine," Sonny answers. He reaches over to touch Gina's hand softly. A gesture of assurance that everything's going to be okay.

Agent Shaw snaps. "Don't talk around me. I'm right here. They're fine. Now get me what I asked for."

"You have all of the documents you requested, Agent Shaw," I tell her and take another step closer.

"Freeze!" She points her gun at me.

"Crenshaw?" Gina asks quietly, tipping her head to the side. "That's what we used to call you, right?"

"I hate that name." Agent Shaw's voice drops to a low and menacing tone.

"Get the fuck out of here!" The surprise in Sonny's voice mirrors my exact sentiments. "What the hell did we do to you? Why do you have this vendetta against us? You're from the old neighborhood. Why?"

"It's your fault he's dead," Agent Shaw replies, tears welling in her eyes. She sniffs them back, waving her gun to punctuate her words. "He's dead because of all of you."

"I don't know who or what you're talking about. We ain't killed nobody." Sonny rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. At this point, my brother-in-law is exhausted. We all are.

"You need to pay for what you did. You forced him to end his life, to jump off that stupid bridge." Agent Shaw's voice cracks as she recounts the past we all share. "You came knocking on our door. He opened it because he saw your face and thought we were friends."

"Fuck," I mumble. I know what she's talking about. My gaze shifts to Sonny and Gina. "Jawbone."

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!" Agent Shaw shrieks. "He had a name. His name was David Shaw. He had a family. You beat him in front of us, in front of his children."

"Sonny and I tuned him up, yes," I admit because it's true. "We were foot soldiers back then. We followed orders, but we never killed Jaw…um, David. We can't collect money for a debt if the guy is dead."

"So, breaking his spirit isn't the same? You mentally crippled him, and now I'm going to cripple you. I'm going to make you all pay."

"Is that what this investigation was about?" I ask her.

"Someone needs to make sure that people like you, guys who work for the mob, don't get away with doing what you do to innocent people."

"No one leaves this life innocent, Agent. Look at you. Kidnapping, holding hostages, threatening the lives of civilians. The people who work here aren't working for the mob. Gina doesn't work for the mob. We only used her to get your father to open the door. We told everyone to get out of the house. You chose to stay. David escalated the situation by getting loud and belligerent."

"He thought you were going to kill him!"

"Again," I sigh. "We can't collect money from a dead man. We only came to blows because he wanted to be big and bad in front of his daughter who refused to leave the house after we asked her to go. We're sorry you had to see that, Quinn."

I use her name to show her I remember, because I do. The look in a child's eyes when they can't save their parents is a look I've worn too many times. Quinn Shaw easily morphed into Crenshaw back then, growing up by the Bay.

"It doesn't change anything. You need to bring me what I'm looking for, right now. I'm going to take you down," she reiterates.

Gina growls in frustration and puts her head down on the desk, shouting at the floor. "For fuck's sake, somebody end this already. We have work to do."

I hold my hands out in surrender as an idea clicks. I bargain with Agent Shaw. "How about I get you a mafia Don? Possible money laundering, definitely extortion, assault, and whatever else you can indict them for. All the evidence is in plain sight. You won't have to go back to your superiors empty handed or with three very serious complaints filed against you for this shit show."

"I'm listening." Agent Shaw lowers her weapon as my phone rings. It stops, but rings again incessantly.

"Let me grab this because it's probably an emergency. We can talk about how you're going to put Don Vito Dacosta behind bars after I take this call. In the meantime, please take the zip ties off my family." I take a deep breath and grab my phone. It's Jo and she's hysterical. I can barely hear her.

"Jo, babe, slow down."

"It's Jett, Luca. Duke signed him out of school. Monique's not answering. Please, you have to help me find my baby!"