47. Luca

Chapter forty-seven

Luca

" A ngel, can I get you anything?" I brush her hair off to the side and as soon as I uncover her face, she buries it under the blanket. She's been like this for several days now and I'm worried. I knew cramps could be bad, but I didn't realize they could be this severe. I feel helpless. There must be something that will make her feel better, like medicine or a shot. I don't know. Something.

"Please, baby. What can I do? This can't be normal. You've been like this for days. Let me call a doctor—"

Her head comes flying out from under the blankets and she shouts, "No!" She's not looking at me, but the anger on her face stuns me silent. "Damnit, Luca. How would you know if this is normal or not? Just leave me alone." She rolls away from me and buries her head back under the bedcovers as I sit here, wondering what the hell just happened.

This isn't Kylie. This can't be from cramps alone. Her eyes are still red and swollen, and she's so angry.

I hesitate a moment before responding, "Okay, baby. I'll go downstairs and let you rest."

Shutting the door behind me, I plan. I don't care what anyone says, this shit is not cramps or period emotions. No way would Kylie scream at me like that, no matter how horrible she felt. There's something going on and I will damn well figure it out.

I text Gio and ask him to meet me and Rafael in my home office. While Kylie is still in school, I'll only work at the downtown office. I'm not ready to be far after her kidnapping. When I got called to meet the police about the break in at my country house, I couldn't wrap that up fast enough. Hell, Rafael had to handle most of it because my head wasn't in it.

I threatened Gio not to let her out of his sight, but then I wasn't expecting her to fall ill and go to bed early.

This can't be because of her kidnapping. She was doing so well. She was laughing at something Gio said when I got called out for the break in. Something happened while Rafael and I were gone. I know it.

"She still sick?" Rafael asks when I storm back into my home office. We're working on last-minute details before her graduation and our trip, so he's been here since I brought Kylie home from school.

I pace the length of my office, running a hand through my hair, trying to replay the last few days.

"Luca?" Rafael sets the folder down on the coffee table and leans back on the couch, watching me pace.

"Something else is going on." I stop in my tracks, putting my hands on my hips as I stare out the window to the backyard.

"Yo. What's up?" Gio saunters in, but stops when I look at him over my shoulder. His brows dip as he looks back and forth from me to Rafael. "Uh, what did I miss?"

"I need you to tell me everything that happened after Rafael and I left the other night to handle the break in." I walk to the chair by Rafael and settle before pointing at the couch and demanding Gio sit.

"Dude, what's this about?" Gio asks. He walks around the coffee table and sits next to Rafael, eyeing us both.

I blow out a breath as my knee bounces with nervous energy. My gut is telling me I'm on the right track. "Something isn't right with Kylie and I don't think it's cramps. This is ... the way she just spoke to me … she's angry. Like, really angry." It's hard to spit it out when I don't know how to convey the wrongness of what just happened.

Rafael snorts.

I narrow my eyes on him.

"Dude, it's the cramps. Trust me. Women get weird when they are on their periods. It messes with their hormones and shit." Gio leans forward and grabs the TV remote.

I lean over and yank it out of his hand. "What's with this dude shit? And it's not her hormones. I'm telling you, something is going on." I sit back down, keeping the remote away from him. "Now tell me what happened after we left."

"Just humor him." Rafael tells Gio.

Gio shakes his head. "Fine, but I'm telling you, this shit is normal."

I growl.

"Okay. Okay. You left, we watched a movie, she went to the bathroom, then came out and said she wasn't feeling well and that she was calling it a night. The end." Gio raises his hands, shrugging.

"I need more than that, you dipshit. Did you talk about anything that might have upset her?"

"No."

"Did you watch something that might have upset her? Was the news on?"

"No, and no."

"Did she get a phone call? Did her parents call?"

"No. Like I said—wait, she got a text." Gio frowns, staring off to the side.

I move to the edge of my seat. This is it. I know it is.

He shakes his head and looks at me. "She frowned down at her phone, but she wasn't angry. I remember asking her if she was okay, and she smiled at me and said yes. But …"

"But what?" Rafael asks as he also leans forward.

Gio's looks down with a scowl. Rafael and I stare at him, afraid to interrupt his thought process. "She kept looking at her phone. I didn't think about it much because it was soon after she said she was having cramps and wanted to go lie down."

Pushing off the chair, I run to the stairs and take them two at a time. I burst into the bedroom and frantically search for her phone.