“Thank you. My brother is a good kid…he’s just been hurt the most protecting me and?—”
“It’s okay,” Luca whispered, not wanting Abel to apologize because in his eyes they did nothing wrong. “I won’t give up…on neither one of you.” He offered Abel a reassuring smile.
Luca waited for Abel to nod his head in understanding then watched him slide into the back seat. Once Luca got behind the wheel, he took the time to rest his hands in his lap for a moment. Nobody spoke, the silence spoke volumes as the engine hummed lowly.
For the first time in a long time, Luca’s chest felt full. It overwhelmed him so suddenly that he had to drop his chin and pace his breathing.
“You good bro?” Roy whispered lowly.
Luca slowly nodded his head and held a finger up, indicating to Roy that he just needed a moment. Something unfamiliar sparked deep inside of him. It spread through his ribs, igniting places in him that had been dormant since childhood. Responsibility, purpose, something close to hope. Although he had halted the Bonetti Mafia until he sniffed out his father’s killer, Luca felt like his life in the moment had tilted on its axis. In the span of days, he had claimed a woman he barely knew but somehow already understood. He stepped into the lives of two boys that his brother had already decided were disposable since they were born. He stared through the windshield at nothing in particular.
All of the twins facial expressions replayed in his mind. Luca had already started planning. School would bring them structure with good tutors. He would make sure his security wouldn’t suffocate them but protect and make sure no threats got close enough to breathe the same air as them. He was happy to provide a home where heat worked and food stayed stocked up for weeks at a time.
He thought back to how his father always made quality time for him and Kentrell no matter how busy he remained as the Don.Luca also remember the many therapy sessions Dontrell placed him in to get him right.
Luca was determined to not fail the twins. That thought anchored itself in his chest like a vow. Roy glanced at him from the passenger seat, saying nothing, sensing the shift from his close friend. Before Luca pulled off, another thought crept into his mind.
His throat.
The familiar ache had settled again, dull, constant, like a bruise that never healed. Years of whispering. Years of refusing help, and telling himself that the damage was permanent, that his silence was safer.
But tonight, and after days of speaking more than he had in years. After seeing the boys flinch at his voice yet they still listened… He touched his neck unconsciously.
Maybe it doesn’t have to be like this forever.He thought.
Luca considered the possibility oftrying, like his father begged him to do over the years in his adulthood. He got determined mentally to find a good specialist. Someone who understood scarred vocal cords and chronic pain. He needed a specialist who could help him get his old voice back but could also ease the burn. He wanted to speak more in order to teach the boys without suffering from every word spoken.
He thought about La’Nova as well. How witty she was and stubborn. He needed his voice and her understanding as well. He imagined them conversing and how both of their word play could be mixed together. The chemistry that he already felt empowered his thoughts even more to push for the specialist.
He swallowed, throat tightening. The idea scared him more than violence ever had. Because fixing his voice meant reopening the wound. Reliving a moment that he survived and buried so far deep inside of him that he had forgotten intricate details of the night he was stabbed brutally by someone that was supposed to protect him.
“You good?” Roy broke into Luca’s thoughts.
Luca nodded his head, grateful for the interruption. He was so far into his thoughts and all the new possibilities that if Roy hadn’t interrupted, they’d sit in that parking lot for hours.
Chapter 8
Salvation and Damnation… January 18th, 2026
La’Nova woke up slow, not in the way that she usually did. Normally she’d wake up tense and alert, looking around her camper wildly. She’d made sure everything was like she left it when she first fell asleep. Today, the mattress beneath her wasn’t thin or lumpy or familiar. This mattress cradled her like it had been made for her body alone. It sunk just enough to hold her weight without swallowing her whole.
Her lashes fluttered open. She eyed the high and white ceiling first that caught the morning light perfectly. Sun poured in through the massive windows dressed in sheer dark gray curtains that moved gently with the breeze through the slightly cracked window.
La’Nova’s heart skipped. She sat up a little too fast, realizing that this was not her camper. This wasn’t the narrow bed she’d slept in with one foot brushing the wall as she fought to get comfortable by tossing and turning. This room was expansive, a little too expansive for her liking. The bedroom stretched farther than her eyes could take in all at once. There was a plush gray rug that matched the sheer curtains. A sitting area was next tothe huge windows that had velvet yet darker gray chairs with a glass table stacked with different thick leather books.
The room looked too perfect, like it was just for show. What comforted her was the faint smell of vanilla. Her mind went back to the night before when her camper pulled onto the estate. From what she could see, she was on private property with acres of land.
She yelled and cursed out the guard that drove her camper to who she suspected to be Luca’s estate. The guard quietly ignored her and told her to get a good night’s rest. That night, La’Nova stayed up until her eyes grew too heavy. She fought her sleep because she expected to see Luca.
La’Nova expected some sort of terms and conditions. At least a conversation, especially after the explosive orgasm he made her have back-to-back. Those powerful orgasms fucked with her sanity, it had her body still sensitive and craving more. What Luca did to her body, disturbed her. She thought for sure he would march in her camper and demand for her to come inside of his three-story mansion.
Instead, he let her stay in her camper without ever appearing. That confused La’Nova even more, making her wonder if she was either kidnapped or invited over. She spent the entire day yesterday inside of her camper. She spread crayons and markers across her small fold-out table. She relaxed her mind by coloring and drawing until that wasn’t enough.
She smoked an entire pack of cigarettes and was down to her last pack today. She even cleaned the inside of her camper yesterday. At one point, she’d dumped the camper’s bathroom waste right on his lawn and went back inside of her space with a crookedsmile on her face. La’Nova knew it was petty yet very intentional of her.
She hadn’t cared one bit. Her water tank had been running low too today. She noticed the warning light and shrugged it off, telling herself that she would deal with it once she got a chance to talk to Luca. La’Nova was too stubborn to march up to the front door and demand a conversation with him. She felt like he brought her here, so he should be the one to come and start up a well needed conversation.
She tried calling Lucille, but to no avail, she got no answer. La’Nova came to the conclusion that she was taken against her will when she noticed that her camper keys were missing from the inside of her camper.
