“There hasn’t been any more correspondence between Aldo and this mystery person, which means they are probably staying with them. The only record of any email, phone call, text, or even credit card payments is all from before Luci left. Since he drained bank accounts beforehand, everything he purchases must be in cash. Shit, I’ve even tried to track any purchases in their names for baby items or a registry. It’s like they’re ghosts.”
“None of this is helpful if you don’t have an address or hint on where they could have gone. This is all shit we’ve known forweeks.” The fact that the man is a grandfather and can outsmart Marco is equally impressive and annoying.
“Dude, I’m trying. We’ve totally underestimated Aldo. We both did everything right when it came to keeping her here.”
Marco’s words cut deep. I don’t want to keep Luci here forcefully. I want her to be here. To be here with me. To crave me the way I crave her. I can’t let myself break down in front of Marco. Weakness doesn’t exist for Leone men. I already ruined that beforehand when talking to El. I can’t let anyone else know.
Uncharacteristic words come out of my mouth, calm and neutral, haunting in comparison to how manic I’ve been for the last six weeks. “Find a fucking way, Marco. Find her.”
Marco understands what I mean as he walks to the door, turning around before answering. “We’ll find her, bro, I promise.”
He better be right. The idea of never finding Luci, never finding our baby, drives me insane. I can’t have my DNA running out there, raised by anyone else except for Luci and me together.
A single click on my computer pulls up the one thing that’s been there for weeks. The video of Luci leaving that night has been on replay both in my head and on the computer screen, and I know nothing will get achieved today.
I give up on work for the day and head home, walking into the bedroom I put Luci in when shewas first brought here. The room still smells exactly like her and it drives me crazy. I lay in the bed and bask in her scent, closing my eyes to imagine her still here. How it feels to touch her soft skin and the pleasure on her face when she lies under me.
When I open my eyes, the note that was left lies on the floor where it landed weeks ago. I pick it up, reading it again, hoping it’ll give me some hint about where she may be. Marco thinks she’s somewhere isolated, most likely a small town or farmaround the north or Midwest. The issue is, who would her family know around there? Everyone she knows lives around here.
My cell phone ringing breaks me out of the fog and I groan when I realize it’s Geno. He’s been on my ass since Luci left and hasn’t let up. I’d rather get beat up in my basement than answer another phone call from him, but he’s insatiable and will keep calling until I do.
“Hello, Geno.”
“Where the fuck is Luciana and why haven’t you found her yet?” Straight to the fucking point.
“What happened to having a soft spot for family?” Sarcasm is not the right way to deal with Geno right now.
“If you weren’t an idiota, I’d be nicer to you. The past was not supposed to repeat itself. That was your only job, Alessandro.”
I don’t need Geno to remind me of my fuck ups. “Marco has been prioritizing this for weeks and hasn’t found anything since we spoke last. In his words, they might as well be ghosts.”
“I didn’t ask what Marco is doing. I asked what you are doing. You have exactly one week to find her before I send Giuseppe to do your job so you can focus on fixing your fuckup.” The idea of Giuseppe being in the same country as me makes me want to throw my foot through a wall. Geno’s right-hand man is short and annoying and we both know I do my job significantly better than he ever could.
“Why do we have to bring Giuseppe into this? You taught me everything I know and if you thought Giuseppe could do your job, you would have taught him instead of me.”
“That may be true, but if you can’t focus on your responsibilities while getting Luciana back, then I need to hand your job to someone else. Do you understand me?”
When do I become too old to be told what to do by my nonno? “Fine. I’ll find her. Marco and I will find her.”
“You have seven days, Alessandro.” And with the click of his phone, he’s gone, leaving me with my thoughts.
Chapter 53
Luci
12 Weeks Pregnant
With enough begging and Quinn’s suggestion that I get light exercise, I broke down Nonno to allow daily walks around Elio’s property. Even though he insists someone comes with me for my safety, most of the time I’m given space. It’s nice to not be bombarded by my family or Elio. Today Mamma has the pleasure of walking with me. We’ve barely had a conversation since coming here. Most of the time she avoids me, speaking to Nonna about how she’s failed me as a mamma.
“Luci, can I talk to you?” That’s new.
“Okay. About what?” My hands shake in my coat pockets, not because of the cold but from nerves.
“I want to apologize. I’ve been cold and mean toward you. I hate that you’re in the same situation I was in and that we’ve had to pick up our whole lives. I’m grieving over our life in Philadelphia that we’ll never be able to return to, and I took it out on you.” Is this an apology or a guilt trip? “It doesn’t excuse how I’ve been. Nothing is going to change this pregnancy and I could either support you or have our relationship suffer. I love you, my Luci Girl, and I’m going to support you like your nonna supported me. Will you let me do that?”
Mamma embraces me when she notices I’m crying. Stupid emotions. What makes me cry harder is her shushing me and rocking me back and forth like she did when I was a little girl. I’ve been hurt by so much, including Mamma ignoring me, but I guess I never realized how heartbroken I was until now.
“My Luci Girl, don’t cry.” She should know by now that people telling me not to cry makes me cry harder.
