Chapter 5

Two years ago

"Yeah," Luca spoke up as he accepted the incoming call and stepped into his New York office.

"Hey, boss," Manny greeted him. "Carla and Gia just arrived at the hospital."

"Thanks," Luca said, dropping his keys on the desk and rubbing his forehead. "Any luck with the car?"

"It's on its way to the city now," Manny said. "We'll have someone look at it as soon as it arrives."

"Good," Luca nodded. "It shouldn't have shut down like that. These cars don't do that. Someone fucked with it and I want to know who."

"There's something else too, boss."

"What is it?" Luca asked.

"Daniel Dimaggio was at the charity last night."

"Fuckin' hell," Luca rubbed his forehead again.

"He left a few minutes after Gia got in the car," Manny continued.

"Find out what he was doing there," Luca ordered.

"You got it."

"And Manny," Luca paused for a second as his eyes fell on the three large framed photographs against the wall, still waiting to be hung after a whole year. "Don't tell my dad about Daniel yet. Let me get the full story first and then I will speak to him myself."

"Okay," Manny said. "Anything else?"

"No," Luca sighed. "Thanks. I'll be at the hospital soon."

Ending the call, Luca sat down on the edge of his desk and stared at the photographs. Every time he saw them, it was like the first. Even in black and white, he could see the gold of her hair behind the veil. The small smile on her lips, her dark lashes spread over her cheeks like wings of a raven. Her smooth canvas-like face. A face he had painted several times in the past year since he had last seen it. Luca was beginning to think he needed to move the photographs to Italy to hang in his office there when his gaze fell on the photographer's signature and the small word underneath it.

Stella

Feeling his heart be knocked out of his chest, Luca stood up and turned away from the photographs. He shut his eyes and balled his hands into fists as memories of blonde hair and intoxicating brown eyes filled his senses.

Buy me flowers everyday, Luca. White ones.

Luca slowly opened his eyes and counted backwards in his mind. The overwhelming sense of suffocation that came over him whenever he thought about Stella never held back its punches. Luca was always left feeling hollow when he remembered he had to go on living without her.

Stella was his first and only love. The only connection he had to his mother who loved her dearly. It was Gianna's admiration for the girl that drove Luca to notice her first and once he did, it was as if his skies filled with stars. Stella was the girl he imagined in all of his mother's stories. She was his dream from the very start.

Not wanting to fall back into the darkness in his mind, Luca picked up his car keys and rushed out of his office. He needed to keep himself busy, distract his mind so that the images of those photographs didn't appear before him every few seconds. His attention was barely on the road as he drove from his office to the hospital where his sister was.

As he parked and entered the hospital, his hands began to itch to grab his pencils and start sketching. Lately, he had found a new liking for graphite sketches. They had to be thought out, no room for errors. One wrong stroke and the masterpiece would be ruined. But a few right curves and a smidgen of shading? The pictures came to life.

Luca liked the control he had over the pencil. He could draw her hair blowing in the wind in any direction. He couldn't do that in real life...but in his sketches he could have her anyway he wanted. Her eyes lowered, lips parted, hair in her face, teeth sinking into her bottom lip...

Fuck, Luca's jaw clenched as he ran a restless hand through his hair and rubbed his jaw. He had never sketched that before. Why in the hell were those images coming into his mind?

"Hey, boss."

"What?" Luca snapped as he looked up at Manny.

"I..." Manny hesitated. "I came to tell you we have the car back. It's in the shop."

Luca stared at the big man for a few seconds. Counting backwards in his head, he slowly nodded, "Thanks."

"Anything else you need me to do?"

"No," Luca said before changing his mind too quickly. "Actually, yes."

"What's up?"

"Gia's probably upset about this whole thing," Luca explained. "Can you pick up her friend and bring her to the house?"

"Daisy?" Manny asked. "The blonde one?"

"Yeah, her," Luca said.

"She's in Mexico, boss," Manny said.

"What the fuck is she doing in Mexico?" Luca's irritation surprised him.

"She's on vacation with her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Luca arched his brow.

"Do you....still want me to go get her?" Manny asked. "I have a cousin in Mexico who can pick her up."

"No," Luca clicked his tongue. "I don't want your cousin to pick her up."

"What do you want me to do, boss?"

"Nothing," Luca suddenly felt the full force of the throbbing headache he had.

"I'll go wait in the lobby," Manny excused himself.

Luca watched the man leave before pulling out his phone and googling crime rates in Mexico. He sat in the waiting room bouncing his leg impatiently and reading the numerous articles as he rubbed his jaw to ease some of the tension.

Couple mugged and left for dead on the side of the road near their honeymoon resort, one of the headlines read.

Tourists missing after snorkeling trip.

Boyfriend kills girlfriend in hotel room.

Couple robbed at gunpoint.

The headlines kept coming and Luca's chest kept tightening. Gia would be so hard to handle if anything happened to Daisy. She would lose it. She never stopped talking about her. Daisy this, Daisy that, Daisy likes these, Daisy likes those. Daisy, Daisy, Daisy.

Luca shut off his cell phone and closed his eyes. He had been so restless since he got news of Gia crashing. His mind was on overdrive, filled with memories of Stella's car in the ocean, blonde girls behind veils, his sister's wrecked car...What the fuck was wrong with all these girls.

Luca was beginning to feel crazy when he got up and decided to pace the floor. He pushed every thought into its own separate box before locking it away to clear his mind. As he began to feel calmer, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick text to Manny.

Have your cousin check in on Gia's friend, He wrote. Just check in from a far.

Once Luca hit send, he heard the door to the exam room open and his sister step out.

"Thank you," Gia said politely to the doctor, looking over her shoulder.

"All done?" Luca asked, looking up from his phone.

He watched Gia turn towards him and scowled. Their identical mossy green eyes met each other as she glared at his dramatics.

A ping of irritation flared up inside of Luca's mind. Of course, he was mad. Rolling his eyes, he put his phone away and took a step forward.

"You look awful," Gia remarked. "Your suit is wrinkled."

Yeah, Luca chuckled in his head. I feel awful.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," he said instead. "And there was no time to change once I landed."

There was time but I was too fuckin' distracted by those photographs.

"Why are you in such a rush? Who died?" Gia asked.

Her words undid all of Luca's hard work as all the boxes in his mind flew open.

Stella was in the car. Boyfriend kills girlfriend in hotel room. Tourists missing after snorkeling trip. Gia crashed last night.

As Luca's jaw tensed and his shoulders stiffened, Gia instantly regretted her words

"Luca..." When she spoke, Gia's voice was soft and gentle.

"Did the doctor say you were good to go?" Luca took a deep breath. His handsome face showed no emotion. His eyes were unreadable as Gia nodded her head. "The car is downstairs. Carla is staying for her meetings."

"Okay," Gia nodded once more and turned to follow her brother.

He could feel her stealing nervous glances at him as if she expected him to break down any moment now. That's how they all fuckin' looked at him. Ever since Stella died, that's the only way they ever looked at him.

Slowly reorganizing his thoughts and putting everything back in its box, Luca held the car door for Gia and helped her get in.

"Manny," he called to the man as he shut the door and walked around to the other side. "Any word from your cousin?"

"Not yet, boss," Manny said.

"Keep me updated," Luca said before climbing into the seat beside his sister and shutting the door. "So what happened?"

"I..." Gia turned towards him, her eyes filling with uneasiness. "I don't know. A deer just jumped in front of me and startled me. It was also raining so hard and I couldn't s-"

"Why didn't you wait to leave with Carla?" Luca asked. His emotions were in check. Luca never lost his calm, or at least he tried not to. It was better to leave emotions behind when trying to understand the full picture.

"I was bored," Gia said. "And I was too hot in there. I just needed to get out and get to the hotel."

"What happened after the crash?"

"I called the police."

"I thought you told Carla your phone was dead," Luca arched his brow.

"It was..." Gia swallowed. "But Carla's car had emergency responder features. The car contacted the first responders."

"Okay," Luca said. "Next?"

"The police came..." Gia continued. "The bridge was blocked off.... so they took me to the motel along with everyone else who was stuck by the bridge."

"Hmm," Luca nodded.

Where the fuck is she in Mexico?

Surprised by his sudden thought, Luca pulled out his phone and began to type a text to Manny.

Find out where Gia's friend is first and let me know. Also who's this guy she's with?

"What was the name of the officer who checked you in?" Luca hit send and turned his attention back to Gia.

"Why?" Gia asked.

"Curious," Luca said. "Name, Gia."

She should know her friend's boyfriend's name too, Luca thought.

"I....I don't remember," Gia's hands began to fidget. "Everything was so crazy."

"You weren't drinking, were you?" Luca asked.

"No," Gia shook her head. "I just had a few sips of champagne."

Luca arched his dark brow. He suddenly remembered the way Daisy had drowned those shots with Billy.

"On a full stomach," Gia explained. "I had dinner before I left the hall."

Luca didn't respond. His mind was still stuck on that night at the museum.

It's her boyfriend, a text from Manny lit up Luca's phone. He looked down immediately at the screen. Eric Anderson.

Find out what you can about him, Luca typed.

"Luca..." Gia spoke slowly.

"Yes?" Luca stared at his phone.

Eric Anderson?

"Are you mad at me?" Gia asked.

"Not mad," Luca paused and put down his phone.

Frustrated and irritated, Luca thought to himself. Really irritated.

"But I'm very upset," he said to his sister instead. "You should have never left on your own like that. Especially in a new place where you don't know the roads."

"It was a short drive," Gia offered. "I didn't think the deer would jump out."

"Doesn't matter," Luca said. "It was a careless mistake that could have been avoided. Dad's very upset with Carla for letting you leave like that."

"Dad knows?" Gia asked in surprise.

"Of course, he does," Luca lied, thinking knowing their father cared about her wellbeing might make her feel a little better. "He was on the phone with Carla all night long trying to figure out how to get you out of that motel."

"Oh..." Gia's face fell instead.

"What?" Luca asked, noticing her expression.

"He didn't call me," Gia said.

Shit, Luca thought to himself.

"I spoke to him while you were with Dr. Emery," Luca lied again. "I assure you he's getting minute to minute updates."

"But he won't pick up the phone and call me," Gia frowned.

"You don't have your phone on you," Luca rushed to remind her. "Which reminds me, you need to get a new phone."

"He could have called Carla and asked to speak to me," Gia said. "Or even you."

"I'm sure he's going to call once you're home," Luca sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He probably doesn't want to overwhelm you ri-"

"It's fine," Gia dismissed him. "You don't have to make excuses for him, Luca."

"I'm not," Luca stared at his sister and watched her chip away her nail polish. "You shouldn't be doing that. Maria doesn't like that."

"Well Maria isn't here right now, is she?" Gia looked up and threw up her arms in anger. Luca needed to change the subject quickly.

"Where did you get the gun?" He asked.

"What?" Gia froze.

"Carla said you had a gun on you," Luca explained. "Where did you get it?"

"Ah....I had it for a while," Gia shrugged.

"Yes, but where did you get it?" Luca didn't like the way she avoided his eyes.

"I..." Gia looked up and shrugged. "I got it from Marco?"

"Marco?" Luca arched his brow. "Marco Fontana?"

Gia nodded.

"How come you never told me about it?" Luca asked. "Did he teach you how to use it?"

"I don't know," Gia sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I must have forgotten it or something."

"Gia," Luca's tone shifted as if she was six years old again. "I hope you don't carry it around everywhere."

"Says the guy who's probably carrying two guns on himself right now," Gia huffed.

"I'm not the one who has a plan for a career with the UN," Luca reminded her.

"Even if I did get caught with it..." Gia turned towards her brother. "Couldn't you just....make it go away?"

"Of course, I can," Luca said. "But information like that can always be used as blackmail if you want to involve yourself with politics."

"For the hundredth time, I am not getting into politics," Gia rolled her eyes. "I want to do humanitarian work."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Luca said. "I can't picture you in a t-shirt and sneakers in a hot climate dealing with the underprivileged population of the world."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, dickhead."

"You're better suited for diplomacy and foreign affairs," Luca ignored his sister's remark. He just wanted her to be comfortable wherever she was. And safe.

And safe meant somewhere where he could get to her if god forbid anything happened. Not like Mexico.

"You want to be an Italian diplomat?" Luca asked.

"No, thank you," Gia narrowed her eyes. "I would like to do this on my own please."

"Then stop asking me to make your criminal records go away," Luca was irritated. Not at Gia but at himself.

"I don't have any!" Gia shouted.

"Yet," Luca pointed out. "You might if you keep driving in the dark and carrying around weapons you can't even use."

"Don't you want me to protect myself?"

"That's my job, Gia," Luca said. "It's my job to make sure wherever you go, you're protected."

Damn right, that's my job! Luca thought.

"Oh no," Gia's eyes widened. "Luca, no. Don't tell me you're thinking of bringing back the guards."

It wasn't a thought that had crossed his mind. But having someone with his sister would mean she would be safe and out of harm's way. And of course, he could call and check in any time and not have to worry about calling Manny's cousin in Mexico.

You have got to stop thinking about Mexico, Luca thought to himself. Your sister is here. Next to you. She's fine. She's safe now. Stop with the anxiety.

"After last night, -" Luca cleared his throat.

"Please, no!" Gia begged. "They're unbearable. Daisy despises them so much."

"Daisy?" Luca's brow arched once more. His pulse quickened.

That reckless girl! Running off to Mexico.

"You remember her," Gia said. "My friend...from high school. Tall, hazel eyes. She used to wear Star Wars t-shirts."

Of course, I remember her, Luca wanted to laugh.

"The one with the pink hair?" Luca asked instead.

"Yes," Gia nodded.

"You're still friends with her?"

Suddenly, Daisy's words from a year ago came flooding back to Luca's mind.

Good luck keeping me away from your sister. You're out of your mind if you think I will let you get in between me and my best friend.

"Of course!" Gia looked offended."She's my soulmate."

"She's loud," Luca muttered.

"And she hates having guards follow us wherever we go."

"She's not my sister, Gia," Luca said. "I don't care what she thinks."

"Just please think about it for a few more days," Gia whined, taking Luca's hand. "You're just rattled up from the accident. Everything will be okay, I promise."

"We'll see," Luca patted Gia's hand before returning her hand to her knee and checking his phone once again.

Any news on Anderson? He texted Manny.

"So," Gia sighed and cleared her throat.

"So?" Luca echoed.

"How's the business?"

Luca couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him.

"What?" He asked, without looking up from his phone.

"How's everything going?" Gia asked. "How are the docks?"

"Everything is fine," Luca said. "Nothing to worry about."

"Are we losing money?" Gia asked. "Making money?"

"What's with the sudden interest in our family fortune?" Luca looked over at her.

"I don't know," Gia mumbled. "I'm not really involved."

"We want it that way."

"But shouldn't I know about my family business?" Gia asked.

"The less you know, the safer you will be," Luca said.

"Why do you always say that?" Gia asked.

"Because that's how it has to be," Luca said, his tone sharp to let Gia know they had reached the end of that conversation. He didn't like having to use that tone with her but he knew it was for her own good. If the Feds ever came knocking at their door, they couldn't incriminate her if she didn't know anything. Ignorance was bliss.

Gia muttered under her breath as she turned away to look out the window. Luca was too distracted waiting for Manny to answer about Eric Anderson when he felt his sister suddenly sit up.

"What?" He asked. "What is it?"

"I should call Daisy," Gia said. "But I don't have my phone! Shit!"

Yes, call her. Call her and ask where the fuck she is.

"Here," Luca handed Gia his phone.

"Thanks," Gia quickly grabbed the phone and punched in Daisy's number. Luca made a mental note of it, in case he ever needed it in the future to check in on Gia.

Inside the interior of the car, the phone rang between Gia and Luca. She had it pressed to her ear away from Luca. He couldn't hear a thing.

"What are you doing?" Gia asked as Luca rolled down the window. "I can't hear."

"It's hot in here," Luca complained.

"The AC is on," Gia pointed. "Luca, I can't hear."

"Not my problem," Luca shrugged, rolling the window down even more to fill the car with the sounds of the highway. Gia clicked her tongue as she lowered the phone and hit the speaker button.

"Hello?" Daisy's voice rang out, loud and clear.

"Dee?" Gia raised the phone. "It's me."

"Whose number is this?" Daisy asked.

"It's Luca's phone."

"Ah so Mr. Beckham is in town, huh?" Daisy asked. "Bo!"

"Where are you?" Gia asked. "Are you still in Mexico?"

"Yeah, it's our last day here," Daisy said. "G, it's been so amazing. Eric is so amazing. We had so much fun."

Luca's eyes narrowed.

"That's great," Gia said. "I can't wait for you to come back."

"How have you been?" Daisy asked. "I've been calling you all morning."

"Oh, I...." Gia looked at Luca. "I didn't have my phone on me."

"Why?" Daisy asked. "Is everything okay? Or is your control freak brother making you go to some uptight brunc-"

"She was in an accident," Luca spoke up, cutting Daisy off.

Gia's eyes widened as she swung her hand against his chest, "Shut up."

"Wait...what?" Daisy moved closer to her phone. "What do you mean? G? Are you okay? What the fuck happened?"

"I don't want you to worry," Gia glared at her brother. "I'm fine. I was going to wait until you came back to tell you."

"She's not fine," Luca snatched the phone from her hand. "She drove her car off the road in a rainstorm and crashed into a tree."

Daisy gasped.

"Luca!" Gia yelled. "Stop. You'll freak her out."

"G!" Daisy yelled. "What the fuck? Why are you driving at night? I leave for one weekend and you drive off the road? Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm moving up my flight, we'll be in New York ASAP."

"No!" Gia yelled. "I'm fine. Luca, stop stressing her out. She's on vacation!"

"You were all alone in a shady motel because the bridges were flooded," Luca said. "You are not fine."

"Where are you right now?" Daisy asked.

"On our way home," Luca answered. "Go to the airport right now, I'll have Manny set up a charter to pick you up in an hour."

"Eric!" Daisy called her boyfriend. "We're leaving."

"Babe, that bikini looks amazing on you."

Luca's eyes narrowed to form dangerous slits. He bit down on his molars so hard he feared a dentist visit would be in his near future.

"Go pack up," Daisy said. "Babe, we have to go."

Yeah, babe, Luca snorted. Hurry up and get the fuck on the plane.

"Dee, you don't have to leave," Gia shook her head. "I am completely fine."

"It doesn't sound like it," Daisy said. "Luca said you drive off the road and hit a tree."

"He's being dramatic!"

"But am I lying?" Luca asked.

"Will you shut up!" Gia yelled.

"I'm on my way," Daisy said. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Before Gia could argue, Daisy ended the call. Luca rolled the window back up and leaned back in his seat.

"Happy?" Gia asked as she tossed his phone back to his lap.

With his head leaned back and a small smile on his lips, Luca nodded, "Very."  

What do you think of Luca?