Page 223 of Claimed At First Sight

He really did come alone.

Luca exchanges a few quiet words with the men before disappearing inside the house. A cold unease settles in my stomach.

Where’s Isa?

Throwing the blanket aside, I hurry into the hallway and make my way downstairs as quietly as I can. I’m grateful for every childhood adventure that taught me how to move with the stealth of a ninja. I’ve already worked out which floorboards creak and carefully avoid them.

Halfway down the staircase, I stop.

Two guards stand outside Aldo’s office, one on either side of the closed door.

Dammit.

Usually, the men disperse through the house or return to their posts outside, but these two look as though they’ve been ordered to make sure nobody gets near whatever is happening in that room.

Or perhaps they’re there to make sure Luca doesn’t leave it. Not until Aldo decides otherwise.

Does he really think Luca might be dangerous?

That seems ridiculous.

But then again, none of us knows what Luca has been doing these past few years, where he’s been, or whether he truly is the man every government agency seems determined to find.

I retreat upstairs before the guards spot me, but there’s no chance I’m going back to my room. Luca has to leave Aldo’s office eventually, and if I can catch him alone, I might finally get some answers.

I settle near the top of the staircase, hidden behind the banister with a clear view of the hallway below. Voices drift from Aldo’s office, but they’re too muffled for me to make out the words. So I wait.

Long minutes pass before the door finally opens. Luca steps out, and even from here, I can see the exhaustion weighing on him.

One of the guards gestures toward the guest wing. “This way, Mr. Caruso.”

Luca disappears with him down the corridor. Crap. There’s no way I can get to him now.

The office door remains open, and Aldo steps into the hallway.

“I’ll call Maximo,” he says over his shoulder before walking away with the other guard.

Their footsteps recede until silence settles over the house. Then a soft, broken sound reaches me. A sob.

Mamma.

I’ve never heard her cry like that, and the pain in it sends my heart lurching against my ribs.

What has happened?

I hurry down the stairs and rush through the open door. Mamma sits curled in one of Aldo’s armchairs, her face hidden behind trembling hands.

“Mamma…” My voice comes out barely above a whisper. She doesn’t look up.

I cross the room and kneel beside her chair, slipping my arms around her as carefully as though she’s made of glass. She turns to me and clutches me so tightly it almost hurts.

I hold her without trying to speak. Instead, I stroke her back the way she’s always done for me and let her cry until the worst of it passes.

Gradually, her sobs quiet, and her breathing starts to even out. I reach across Aldo’s desk, pull a tissue from the box, and press it into Mamma’s hand.

“Mamma…” I take both her hands in mine. “Tell me what’s wrong. Where’s Isa?”

For a long moment she just looks at me. Then she draws a shaky breath.