Chapter 12

LUCA

Four months later…

I've looked everywhere for the woman I had a one-night stand with. She told me her name was Sophia, but after interrogating the caterers and servers from the Gala, I found out that's not her real name.

It took all these months to find out who she really is, but now I know. Her name is Maci. I've hired many private investigators and even harassed everyone working the Gala the night that we met. Until now I knew nothing. Once I learned her name, it was easy to get an address. When I showed up at the apartment, it shocked me. There was paint peeling and graffiti on the sides of the building, as well as broken glass in the parking lot. My heart breaks that my girl is living in such a dangerous place.

When I went to the apartment, it was empty. I talked to the manager, who said Maci had left months ago.

Standing and looking around the apartment parking lot, I decide to give Macy's friend Misty one more call.

"Misty, give me an address, please. I love her and want to build a future with Maci."

"Luca, you destroyed her. She met your wife, and she was devastated."

"I'm warning you now, no one is getting between me and Maci. I will kill anyone who tries to take her away from me, including you." I've become a harder man since losing the most important person in my life. No more Mister Nice Guy.

"I won't let you hurt her or the ba… I mean hurt her again." I hear a loud gasp at the other end of the line.

"Wait, what the fuck did you just say? You were going to say something else but stopped. Tell me," I shout, unable to contain my anger. God, I am so frustrated with this woman. She's trying to protect her friend and I can't hold that against her, but I'm tired of her giving me the runaround.

Her voice turns weak. She knows she let the cat out of the bag. "I won't allow you to hurt her or the baby anymore. Are you happy? You got it out of me, and now I've betrayed my best friend, asshole." Misty is crying, and I should feel guilty, but when were they going to tell me? They are hiding my child from me. Fuck her.

"Address, now, or I get someone involved that neither of you wants involved."

"Luca, I've been hearing that you joined the Mob. That's not good for Maci or the baby to be around. Please leave her be."

"Fucking give me the address, Misty. I won't tell you again. Maci is mine, and if she's carrying my child, we are going to be together, no matter what she or anyone else says. They are mine, and I take care of what's mine."

After Misty reluctantly gives me the address, I run home and pack because I'm not coming home until I have my family with me. The drive is only a couple of hours, but my stomach is in knots and the anticipation of seeing my woman is killing me.

Once I pull up across the street from the address, I scope out my surroundings, noting that the neighborhood is nicer than the one she lived in before. She lives in a small house that is well kept and the yard is green with flower beds bursting with color.

The door opens and a man steps out.

"What the fuck?" My words come out in a growl.

Behind him, Maci steps out onto the porch and as she turns, I can see a small baby bump.

Unshed tears fill my eyes. That's our baby. She's really pregnant.

Then the asshole wraps his arms around her, and I see red. No other man should ever be touching my woman. Instinctively, I clench my teeth to stop myself from pulling out my Glock and putting a bullet in his head.

Fuck, if it isn't the same bastard that I saw her with the night of the Gala. So, why'd she run, thinking I was a married man, if she has a boyfriend? This makes no sense, and I'm too enraged to think it through right this moment. My hands are clenched into tight fists and I'm trembling from the images going through my head.

Maci with another man touching her, our baby in another man's arms. I'm seething and ready to commit murder because I'll never let her go.

No matter what Maci and that baby are mine. If I have to kill the man, then so be it. The motherfucker can start digging his grave because I'm sending him to hell.