Remington is a businessman, even if he has connections to the underworld, but why would he hurt Fina when she’s my father’s daughter?
40
Chiara
My phone buzzes with an update to say Matteo is in hospital. Seriously injured, but still alive. I heave a sigh of relief. Thank god nobody has to break the news to Fina that he’s dead.
She’s the strongest woman I know, but that kind of emotional loss is hard to recover from.
“Angelo will find her,” Luka tells me while massaging my shoulders. We’re sitting in the family room with the TV on in the background. Neither of us is watching it, but the sound of conversation and music is soothing. A reminder that out there, people are going about their business without a care in the world.
Luka’s fingers dig into the tension across my shoulders. He’s as quiet as I am, worried like I am.
“What if he doesn’t?” Saying the words out loud is hard, but I need someone to reassure me everything will be okay, because right now, it doesn’t feel that way.
Luka stills. “I’m not my brother’s biggest fan, but he gets shit done. And he’s always stood up for me against our father, so Itrust he will figure this out.” I let his comforting words settle in my bones as he continues massaging my shoulders and neck.
The bruises Lorenzo left on my skin look worse this morning, and there’s a lump on my head from where I smacked the desk, but the ointment Angelo used has helped. I suppose I should thank him later.
For being so caring.
And…forotherthings.
But I’m not thinking about those things. Fina is in danger, and until she’s safe and well, I refuse to obsess over my complicated love life.
An hour passes with no further updates. At some point, Luka changes the channel to a popular daytime soap. It reminds that he still hasn’t heard back from his agent about the role he auditioned for.
I want to ask, but since it was the precursor to the attack on him, I say nothing. The last thing he needs is my inadvertently triggering him. He’s been doing so well lately, so a setback would not be helpful. I trust that he’ll tell me the outcome when he’s ready.
“The plots in this show are ridiculous.” I snort when a stolen car crashes into the front of the ER and there’s a massive fireball.
“Yeah.” Luka hums. “But people eat this shit up.”
“Hmm, I suspect they watch it for the hot doctor dude and his sexy nurse sidekick.”
“He’s leaving at the end of the season. He got offered a big role in the next Marvel Universe movie, so the show’s writing him out. Reddit claims he’s going to contract Ebola and die horribly while on aMédecins Sans Frontièresassignment in some remote African village, but who knows.”
My face screws up. That’s nasty. “Jesus, couldn’t they just have him meet the love of his life and resign from his role so he can adopt stray dogs or something?”
“Nah, that wouldn’t be fun. Besides, his one true love died in the last season, remember? She donated a kidney to her long-lost sister, only to expire on the operating table from a seizure. That’s why he’s been fucking all the hot nurses this season. Unresolved emotional trauma.”
“Hmm, not sure that makes sense, but okay.” I scrub my eyes as the ER burns on screen while the final credits roll. “I need more coffee. Want one?”
Luka kisses my neck before releasing me. “Nah. Coco wants to go out, so I’ll take her while you caffeinate.”
He hops off the sofa and stretches, treating me to a delicious glimpse of hard abs. I try not to drool, but damn, the man’s a snack. Coco trots after him, eager for a sniff around the garden.
She barely gives a shit about me these days, having decided Luka is her new favorite person. Honestly, it’s galling how quickly those two have bonded. But I don’t mind. Pets are good for people with trauma and PTSD.
Hell, I should know. Coco helped me stay afloat after Dad’s death. She gave me a reason to get up in the morning.
I wander into the kitchen to find a basket of muffins waiting for me. Blueberry, my favorite. Only the second I reach for one, an image of Fina, broken and bloody, pops into my mind.
How can I possibly enjoy baked goods while she’s stuck somewhere, in danger, frightened, and enduring fuck knows what? My hand drops away as my appetite vanishes.
Instead, I head to the coffee machine and spend five minutes trying to remember how the stupid thing works. After pressing the buttons I think will give me a latte, I wait for the machine to spit out my coffee.
My gaze drifts over to the seating area, where a sparkly clutch catches my eye.
