by M. Malone
“Give her time.” Nonna’s softly creased face bore the signs of her worry for her granddaughter.
He hated to drop all this in her lap and cause her worry, but he truly didn’t know who else to talk to about this. No one else understood their situation, and she was also the only person he believed could get through to Lucia. Nonna could make her see that pursuing this was just asking for more heartbreak. She was the only one on the face of the planet who loved Lucia as much as he did. He knew how much she’d sacrificed to take in Rafe and Lucia after their parents’ death.
“I’ve given her time. Maybe too much time.”
Maybe he’d been a fool to think that they could just move past it once she remembered their traumatic shared past. Watching the man you love shoot your brother wasn’t the kind of thing one could just get over. Lucia likely needed more therapy. A lot more. Not that he could convince her of that.
The whole thing was a fucking mess.
“There’s no such thing as too much time when mourning a lost family member,” Nonna murmured. “I’m still not over losing Luca.”
Noah could understand what she meant, but he feared that he’d already done too much of that. The way he felt about Lucia was dangerous. He would forgive her anything, and he was worried that his love for her blinded him to serious issues. If she really needed help, he wanted to make sure she got it. There was a very real danger that he’d bury his head in the sand because he didn’t want to admit that she needed help.
For her sake, he had to be stronger than that.
Apparently his thoughts were evident on his face because Nonna reached over and grabbed his hands. He startled but forced himself not to jerk back. Noah wasn’t used to physical contact. Usually when he got this close to someone, it was because he was about to take their life. But when Nonna touched him, all the stress and pain of the last few days hit him at once. Her fingers curled around his and Noah had to avert his gaze, afraid he was going to cry like a baby at the show of tenderness.
“Noah, I know you don’t understand yet, but women are different. Lucia is like me, strong on the outside but she is dolce, sweet and soft, on the inside. There were times right after Rafe’s death when I wasn’t able to accept that he was gone. I would catch a glimpse of a man on the street and be convinced it was him. I would hear a voice in a crowd and follow it, sure it was Rafe. These things haunted me. I was like a walking ghost searching for what I’d lost. I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Lucia needs time to sort this out on her own.”
Noah lifted her hand to his lips. Her skin was paper thin and soft as tissue. She smiled at him tremulously when he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you, Nonna. I’ll try to be patient.”
Her smile was slightly smug as she watched him stand. “I had a feeling that you were going to be the one. Ever since Rafe brought you home all skinny and haunted-looking, I knew.”
He laughed then. “Well, you knew more than I did. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m this lucky.”
Nonna regarded him for a long moment, her shrewd eyes moving over his face. It was tempting to squirm under the scrutiny but Noah forced himself to hold still. It mattered to him more than he’d ever thought it would to have her approval. She was the person that Rafe and Lucia had loved more than any other and he desperately wanted to know that she approved of him for her little girl.
“No, you wouldn’t believe it, would you? Sweet boy. All you’ve ever known is disappointment and pain but this is for real. My bambina loves you. So this is not luck, this is fate. You are strong in all the ways she needs you to be. When she loses her way, you’ll bring her back. Take care of her for me.”
Noah hugged her gently. “Always.”
Lucia moved her stapler to the left and organized the papers on the top of her desk into a neat pile. It should have been strange to be back at work after everything that had happened. Instead it was comforting. For once, all she had to do was focus on whatever ridiculous demands Adriana came up with and drink her coffee. Compared to worrying about killers and conspiracy theories, this was a breeze.
She took a long sip of her coffee and savored the witches’ brew she couldn’t live without. The coffee she made at home was never as good as what she got from a proper barista.
JJ had taken care of everything in her absence so she wasn’t even coming back to a bunch of work. Honestly, it might have been better if she had been. That would have kept her mind too busy to focus on everything that had happened lately.
“So you went to the clock tower, and because you saw sunflower seeds, you think it means your brother is alive?” JJ said.
The way their cubicles were angled, she could only see a flash of her friend’s blond hair every now and then while she moved around.
“Um, not exactly.” Lucia wasn’t sure how to respond. Especially since technically that was how it happened, but it sounded much crazier saying it aloud now that she wasn’t in the moment.
Things were quiet for a moment before JJ leaned back again. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”
Lucia shrugged. “It’s okay. We’ve always been honest with each other. Let’s not change that now.”
“True. But that doesn’t mean I want to hurt you. You’ve been through so much lately. Hell, not just lately. Your mind is just trying to give you the one thing you want more than anything else. No wonder you saw sunflower seeds and came up with my brother has risen from the dead.”
Lucia took another sip of her coffee. When put like that, she supposed it did sound a little crazy. All weekend she’d been over the evidence, if you could call it that, and had come up with a million and one scenarios that would explain how Rafe could be alive. She’d gone from the entire thing was an elaborate dream sequence to her brother was actually a mutant that was impervious to bullets.
But the one thing she wasn’t willing to consider was that this was all a coincidence. Despite her conscious mind telling her it was ridiculous, there was a part of her that just couldn’t let it go. Even if the other things could be explained, she hadn’t imagined hearing Rafe’s voice.
It might sound crazy to someone else, but she knew what she’d heard and it hadn’t been grief or longing or whatever else Noah seemed to think she had going on. It had been in the heat of an extremely scary situation, the last place her mind would have been prone to delusions. After all, she’d adored Rafe, and her mind had no reason to associate him with some scary kidnapper.
But if it was Rafe, why would he have done that? He almost killed your friends.
Lucia brushed the thoughts away. She had no explanations for that part of things, but she’d figure it out.
“It’s not just that. It’s everything. The voice, the weird kidnapping attempts, and yes, the sunflower seeds. When you put it all together …” Lucia held out her hands.
“Put it all together and you get a very thin case for something that is not likely to be true,” JJ finished with a gentle smile. “This is all just speculation at this point. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Lucia reminded herself that her friend was just looking out for her and trying to keep her from getting hurt. JJ wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings by dismissing the idea. Plus, she was objective enough to admit that if the tables were turned, she would be pretty sure that JJ was off her rocker to believe that someone dead and gone for six years was magically alive.
“I agree. It’s early days, and there’s no need for me to draw any concrete conclusions yet. All I’m doing is reporting to you what I experienced over the weekend. Also, Noah and I had insanely hot sex under that clock tower.”
JJ leaned her head out of her cubicle so she could see Lucia. “You should have led with that. Damn girl, that’s what I’m talking about! How is my favorite alpha asshole?”
“Cranky. And hot as hell. The usual.”
Noah would probably object to the characterization, but it was definitely true. It made Lucia smile. He definitely was a cranky thing. Hot b
ut cranky.
“God, you have all the luck. Ugh. Put in a good word for me with the sexy German, will you? That man looks like he was carved out of concrete.” JJ made an exaggerated panting face and fanned herself dramatically.
Lucia laughed at the idea of putting in a good word with Oskar. He was so cantankerous that it was impossible to imagine him with the vivacious JJ. They’d probably kill each other inside of a week. Although knowing JJ, she’d kill him with sex. Oskar might not mind meeting his maker if that was how he got there.
“I’ll tell him you said hello,” she finally conceded.
JJ scoffed. “Don’t tell him I said hello. Tell him I said I want to suck his–”
Adriana appeared at the edge of their cubicles, and JJ went silent. Lucia had just taken a large gulp of coffee and struggled to swallow it without sputtering or spitting it all over herself. Of course, a large portion of it went down the wrong way, and she ended up coughing like she was hacking up a lung. Adriana backed up a step with a look of disgust on her face.
Lucia sucked in a few breaths and then cleared her throat. “Sorry.”
Adriana ignored her and instead turned around to speak to someone behind her. “And this is where the real work is done, Mr. Nelson. I pride myself on having the best and brightest in the fashion industry. It takes a great team to create the fashions you saw on the runway.”
Lucia refrained from rolling her eyes. Every so often Adriana would bring investors around to see how they operated and to convince them to part with their money to fund her international expansion. That was the only time she seemed to think that what they did was a ‘team effort.’ On any other occasion, it was all Adriana, all the time.
“Jessica Jones is our extremely talented makeup artist who has been instrumental in creating our signature runway looks. And this is Lucia DeMarco, a design intern who shows great promise.”
Adriana widened her eyes at them as if to say, look alive, so JJ stood and extended her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Nelson. I hope you’ll be joining the Adriana Fashions family soon.”
JJ was smiling so widely that Lucia could tell the guy had to be cute. She only acted like this around the investors she thought were hot. Lucia pasted a smile on her face but couldn’t see past JJ since her friend was still hanging on to his hand. She was glad that JJ was so good at the schmoozing stuff because she wasn’t. All she’d ever wanted was to hole up and work on her own designs, not convince someone else that it was worthwhile.
“Glad to meet the people on the front lines. Perhaps I could get a tour while I’m here. Miss DeMarco could show me around, perhaps?”
At the sound of her name, Lucia choked slightly on the last sip of coffee. Adriana frowned at her, and she hurriedly grabbed the napkin from her lap to dab at her lips.
“Sure, I mean … of course. I can give you a tour. There’s not much to see though.”
“There’s plenty to see,” Adriana interjected with a sideways look at Lucia that was sharp enough to cut glass. “Show him the samples closet and the design floor at least.”
“Yes ma’am. Follow me, Mr. Nelson.”
He stepped from behind Adriana, and Lucia immediately noticed the cut of his suit. It fit perfectly and looked like it had been designed and tailored just for him. Then he turned his head and she got her first look at his face and realized why his voice had sounded so familiar.
The coffee cup in her hand fell and would have hit the floor, but his hand shot out and caught it in midair. He placed it gently on the edge of her desk.
“Careful. We don’t want to make a mess, do we?” His eyes narrowed meaningfully as Lucia just stared with her mouth open.
It was Rafe.
chapter six
Lucia's heart thundered against her ribs. She tried to drag in a deep breath, but her breathing was shallow and thin. She wanted to turn around and ask JJ why she hadn't recognized him. He was wearing what was obviously a wig, since it was threaded liberally with gray hair, and a thin pair of wire-framed glasses obscured his eyes. But it was him. It was Rafe. She'd been right.
You're not crazy. He’s here.
For the life of her, she couldn't think of one word to say to her brother. After six long years where she’d grieved him, and missed him, and was so desperate to talk to him sometimes she talked to herself, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
"Miss DeMarco, right after you."
She could only stare at him. He was waiting for her. Her boss was waiting for her. Everyone was waiting for her to do something, say something. Somewhere Ryan was in the building. All she had to do was push her panic button and he'd come running, and the whole team would have her immediate GPS location.
Ryan was there to protect her ... from Rafe ... her brother. She spent several long seconds debating what to do, what to say, and how to say it. But in the end, she just pushed her hair back and forced a smile.
"Of course. Follow me."
At her side, Rafe smiled and nodded at her coworkers, while Lucia tried to get her nerves under control. Her hands were sweaty, so she wiped them on her slacks. Once they left the main pen and emerged into the hallway, Lucia turned to face him. It was a shock all over again, to see him here out in the open like this. She repressed the urge to reach over and pinch him to see if he was real.
"Why are you doing this?"
Despite the wig and the glasses, the smile Rafe turned on her was pleasant and familiar. It reminded her of summers at Coney Island, teasing pillow fights, and brotherly hugs. It reminded her of a lifetime ago when his smiling at her like this would have been no big deal.
It reminded her of a lifetime she’d been robbed of.
Rafe’s pleasant smile fell like he could sense her thoughts. "There's plenty of time for asking questions. Just give me a moment."
The shudders racked her body. She tried to keep her hands still by clasping them together in front of her tightly. Where was Ryan? Was he going to find them? Was he going to hurt Rafe? Was Rafe going to hurt him? The fear of either of those things happening was the only thing that kept her from pushing her panic button.
Rafe had already hurt Ryan once before, when he’d broken into her apartment. She’d never forget the sight of Ryan slumped over in that chair, looking like a broken doll. The only member of Blake Security that Rafe hadn't yet hurt was Dylan. She didn't want to give him that opportunity. It made her sad to have the thought, but she couldn’t trust her brother. An entire lifetime had passed between now and when they’d eaten funnel cake together. This man was capable of anything and she could never forget that.
"I don't even know you anymore," she whispered.
He stiffened next to her, but his expression never altered. "Lulu, I know you're concerned." Anyone watching would think they were having a friendly conversation about maybe the weather, or how she really must try some divine Italian restaurant next time she was in Italy. It was a charming smile. It was also the smile of a killer.
He’s still your brother.
"Follow me,” he said to her with that false smile. She would never understand how he got the smile to reach his eyes as if he meant every word. And then it hit her. Men like Rafe, men like Noah, men like Matthias—this was what they were trained to do.
Lie, kill, betray.
He directed her, even though it appeared to everyone who passed as if she was giving him the grand tour. He led her down the back stairwell. Down to the next floor where hair and makeup was, and then down to garment repair.
As soon as they hit the third floor, he visibly relaxed. "Okay, through here there's a laundry chute. It'll put you into one of the laundry baskets. Not to worry; that's the one I've got marked to go to my van. I need to walk upstairs and do the whole routine before your security figures out you're missing. We leave in exactly seven minutes. Do you understand?"
He turned her toward the door, but she couldn't move. All she could do was stare at him, bile rising in her throat. Her heart hammered behi
nd her ribcage, and her lungs refused to cooperate. This was her brother. She needed to do something. But she couldn't move. It was like her legs had gone wooden or become encased in lead.
"Rafe, what is going on?"
"Lulu, I will explain everything as soon as I have you to safety." He took her arm gently and pushed her toward the hallway where the laundry facilities were.
She tugged her arm free of his hold. "You've been trying to hurt me."
His dark gaze focused on her. "Listen to what you just said. My whole life, my one and only goal has been to protect you. Do you think that I would ever hurt you?"
"But you tried to take me. You broke into my place. You tried to hurt me." Her legs wobbled and she stumbled backward.
He held his hands up. "I didn't try to hurt you. Think it through, Lulu. I broke into your apartment the first time to try and get you away from Noah's men. I tried to grab you at your fashion show. I underestimated that they'd have an ORUS operative watching you. And I tried to take you again from the penthouse. Take you. Not hurt you."
"You hurt my friends."
"Those men are not your friends. Those men are killers. Every last one of them. I trained Noah myself so I know what he's capable of. He's not your friend."
"And I should trust you?” She laughed bitterly at the thought that he was judging Noah when he’d done something so much worse. He’d lied to her and let her mourn for years. For nothing!
"Yes. I'm your brother."
She tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. "Oh yeah, then where have you been for six years? When I was grieving, when Nonna was grieving, where were you? I buried you. The only person I had to lean on was Noah. Where were you?"
He opened his mouth, and then it snapped shut. "Lucia, I'm not going to get another chance like this. Come with me. I'll explain everything. You'll understand."
She wanted to. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe in him. But it hurt. The six years of compounded pain and loss, they hurt. Not to mention, she didn't think his plan was going to work. If she didn't show up on the cameras any second, Ryan would be on to them. Then Dylan, Matthias, Noah, Jonas, Oskar, all the people she cared about, they would engage with her brother. And somebody she cared about was going to get hurt again.
