Luca sets down his wine glass slowly. "This is the guy engaged to your archaeology girl?"
"Yes."
"Romeo—"
"I need leverage, Luca. I need something I can use."
"Use for what? To break them up? To blackmail him?" Luca leans forward. "What exactly are you planning?"
"I'm planning to remove him from the equation."
His eyes narrow. "By 'remove,' you mean?—"
"I mean, I want him out of her life. Permanently. I don't care how it happens, but I want him gone."
Luca is quiet for a moment, studying me. "You're serious about her."
"Yes."
"This isn't just obsession. This is—" He stops, and I see understanding dawn in his eyes. "Fuck. You're in love with her."
The word hits me like a physical blow.Love.I've never used that word, never felt that emotion. I'm not even sure I'm capable of it.
But when I think about Savannah—the way she challenges me, the way she makes me think, the way she looks at me like I'm worth seeing?—
No. Not that.I can’t have gone from what I was before her to a man in love. That’s unthinkable. But looking at Luca’s face, he certainly seems to think so.
"Just get me the information," I say shortly. "Everything you can find on Thaddeus Whitmore. I want it by the end of the week."
"And if there's nothing? If he's clean?"
I smirk. "Then we'll create something. Who the fuck do you think we are?"
Luca shakes his head. "You're playing with fire, Romeo. This girl—she's not from our world. She's not going to understand?—"
"She doesn't need to understand. She just needs to be free of him."
"And then what? You think she's going to fall into your arms? You think she won't figure out that you had something to do with her engagement falling apart?"
"I'll deal with that when the time comes."
"Romeo—she’s a Beauregard. Even if we pull this off, even if you break her engagement, your father and hers are never going to let you be together. This isn’t possible."
"Luca." I meet his eyes, and I let him see the truth. The obsession. The need. The absolute certainty that Savannah is mine, that she's always been mine, that I will do whatever it takes to make her see that. "I'm not asking for your approval. I'm asking for your help. Are you going to help me or not?"
He's quiet for a long moment. Then he sighs. "I'll get you the information. But Romeo—be careful. This kind of obsession, it doesn't end well. For anyone."
"I'll be careful."
I think we both know, unfortunately, that I’m well past that.
—
We havea family dinner on Friday, and I arrive at my family’s estate in Riverdale exactly on time. The house is a sprawlingmansion set back from the road, surrounded by manicured grounds and a high stone wall. It's been in the family for three generations, and it's where I grew up—though "grew up" is perhaps too gentle a term for what happened within these walls.
“Forged” might be a better word. Shaped into what my father needed me to be.
Giulia meets me at the door, and I can see the worry in her eyes.
