Page 64 of Always Mine
“As I said, she was buzzed before we got there, but after one more drink, she became way more animated. She dragged me onto the dance floor for a bit. Working the room like she owned it. I didn’t try to rein her in because I knew she would have flipped a switch about me acting like her boyfriend when I’m not.”
I jump in to ask the glaringly obvious question. “Do you think she took something?”
“She promised me she doesn’t do that shit anymore, but her behavior was off. I made sure to keep an eye on her, and when I could see her waning, I told her I was going to get her some water and order an Uber. Next thing I see is her being ushered out through another door by Rizzo, stumbling as she went,” he explains, clenching and unclenching his fists in time with his jaw that looks about ready to break under the pressure.
“I made a run for her, but one of the other guys, a big dude they called Big Mike, blocked my way. When I tried to get around him, he backed me up into a wall and told me to mind my own businessif I knew what was good for me. I called her phone repeatedly, but it went straight to voicemail. By the time I got away from him, she was out of sight. You need to help me find her, Marco. What if they fucking drugged her? I need to know she’s not hurt,” he pleads.
Then his eyes flare and he clicks loudly and points at me. “Wait! Don’t you have that tracker app activated for all your clients?”
I see it there in his eyes, the bonfire of warring emotions. Even if it means threatening the career he’s worked so hard for, he’d do whatever it takes to convince Arabella to give him and what they could be a second chance.
“Okay, let me call Avery. I’ll get him to put a trace on her phone. See if we can find her whereabouts and make sure she’s safe.” I grab my phone from the lounge.
Thankfully, there’s a message on the screen from Ethan, which alleviates some of my worry. Chiara is home, and he and Dallas are staked out. Now to get to the bottom of this stunt, because there is no doubt in my mind there’s a bigger play in the making here. Before I head to the bedroom to dress, I pull Sophia into my arms and plant a slow, firm kiss on her lips, leaving it to linger there as a promise that we’ll finish what we started later. “Do me a favor, Kitten, and get some black coffee into him. I need him fully sober and making some sort of fucking sense.”
“Kitten!” scoffs Luca in mock disgust. “I think hearing you use a pet name for my sister is enough to fully sober me the fuck up!”
I pin him with a glare over my shoulder, warning him to shut up before my fist does it for him.
Goddamn. That’s the thing about warm bubbles; they burst far too soon.
Chapter forty
So This Is Happening?
Sophia
“Hereyougo.Drinkthis,” I say, pushing a double espresso towards my brother. I take in his stance, arms braced against the edge of the kitchen island, head hanging low to stare between them.
He looks up briefly, face etched with worry, his eyes dark and ominous. All traces of humor, which is his default setting, are gone. He looks ready to go to battle. The hard, dark shadows of worry and determination kiss his cheekbones like camouflage paint.
Arabella the girl had grip on him, but I worry Arabella the woman will be his undoing. But I also understand better than most that you can’t choose who the heart ties itself to with an invisible string. The pull is deep. Guttural. No matter how hard you fight to break the ties, they can never fully be severed. So I tread lightly. It’s my best chance of him not shutting down or shutting me out.
“I didn’t realize you and Arabella were still so close.”
“We keep in touch on social media and text often,” he admits ruefully. “She knew race season was on a break, so we made loose plansto catch up.”
“I thought you both agreed maybe it was better to cut ties completely after what happened. That nearly ruined you, Luca,” I push a little further.
He slams his hands down hard on the counter, making me jump. He turns his head to face me, eyes blazing with anger and something else.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t know shit about, Soph. Remember, in our world, there is a version of the truth to benefit an agenda. Then there is the actual truth.”
“So tell me,” I say softly.
Before he can respond, Marco walks in, the focus of the assignment ahead of him intensifying the green of his eyes.
He looks every bit as tantalizing as he does menacing. A zap of electricity zips down my spine as he walks towards me. I can see a switch has flipped and he’s all business, and yet I don’t miss the way his eyes flare seeing me ensconced in his kitchen like I’m part of the room itself. Becoming a piece of furniture has never been so alluring.
Closing in on me, he pulls my body flush with his, and the zap threatens to become a full-blown electrical storm. He brackets my jaw firmly but kisses me softly, the contradiction fitting to describe the man I have no choice but to watch walk out the door when I just feel like I finally just got him in my arms.
“So this is finally happening, huh?” says Luca, motioning between me and Marco, a bemused expression on his face as he takes in the sight of me in Marco’s t-shirt and the blanket I hastily grabbed from the back of the couch wrapped like sarong around my hips.
“Well, children of mine, you have my full blessing,” he says, deepening his voice and pretending to bless us with the sign of the cross, his signature playfulness back.
“Here. Take this before it blows up,” Marco says, handing me my phone before placing one last kiss on my forehead like he can’t bear the thought of leaving either.
He motions for Luca to follow him as he strides towards the garage. “You’re the only one who needs a hope and a prayer right now,” he warns, “because let me tell you, you’re one step closer to God after the cock-block stunt you’ve just pulled. Now let’s go. Avery tracked her down. She’s still at La Rosa.”