Luca
“Hello? Earth to Luca?” Alessandro waved a hand in front of me, a sardonic expression on his face.
“Huh?”
“Bro, you’ve been distracted and off your game all day,” Gabriel added, studying me like I was a microscopic bug on a slide.
I dragged my thoughts back to the present, attempting to remember what they’d been talking about. I looked over at Marco who stood leaning on the opposite wall of the headquarters. He was watching me, too, though he was doing a better job than my other brothers at feigning indifference.
I’d been feeling fidgety and restless ever since Molly had left, but today I’d felt it to a much stronger degree. I couldn’t say why. Maybe it was simply that this was the first time she’d taken such an extended absence.
Also, the fact that she wouldn’t call me back didn’t exactly calm my nerves.
I’d exercised a huge amount of patience since she’d been gone, only texting and calling her once. But she hadn’t responded to either one, which had led me to check her physical location on my phone app. When I’d pinpointed her coordinates earlier this afternoon, she’d been inside a movie theater over on the west side of the city.
So her lack of communication could be chalked up to her having her phone on silent. It was a reasonable explanation, but I didn’t derive much comfort from it.
Hours had passed since then, and she still hadn’t returned my call. I’d checked the app again just now, seeing that she was now in a café a few blocks from the theater. Probably having dinner or something. But it was getting close to nightfall. I’d expected her to be back to her cottage by now.
But she wasn’t.
Not that I’d told her as much. And not that she’d necessarily listen to me if I did. One thing I’d learned about Molly Greene was that she had her own mind and would do what she wanted in any given situation. My desires rarely played into her behavior.
Not that they should. She wasn’t mine. She didn’t belong to me. And she never would.
I’d texted the security detail a couple of minutes ago, asking for some photos to be sent. I received one of the café itself, and two of Molly sitting inside with another woman. Probably her sister. I released the breath I’d been holding.
“Shit, he’s gone again,” Sandro said, releasing a gusty breath of vexation, and I looked up, realizing I’d missed more of our meeting. We’d been discussing the possibility of opening a new drug corridor up north in Canada.
The border was physically closer, and with the U.S. dollar being stronger than the Canadian one, this meant our profits on a commodity like heroin could be statistically greater. But the Mounties had a reputation for being much more resistant to bribery than American law enforcement. It was a calculated risk we weren’t certain we should take.
“Luca,” Marco spoke up for the first time, dropping his pretend apathy. “Just contact her already.”
I sighed. “I have. She’s not returning either my texts or my calls.”
“Send a car for her and tell her to get her ass back to the mansion,” Marco said, as if this was be a feasible solution.
“Dude, you’re never going to find a woman with that attitude,” said Gabriel, shaking his head.
“I find plenty of women.”
“Yeah, for a couple of hours,” Gabriel went on, eyeing Marco. “What if you want to keep one around for a little bit longer?”
“Not going to happen. Besides, you don’t have a woman, either,” Marco pointed out.
“I haven’t found the right one to pursue. Unlike Luca, here.” My half-brother nodded toward me.
“I’m not pursuing anyone,” I said, and all three of them snorted. In unison. “I’m not.”
“Only because you’ve already got the one you want,” Marco said, sounding arrogantly sure of himself.
“I don’t,” I said firmly, sending all three of my brothers a warning glance, but Marco, as usual, wasn’t the least bit affected by it.
“We’re not blind. Molly’s not just a professional part of the organization, she yours. You’re in love with her, and she’s in love with you.”
“No,” I snapped at him, furious that he’d said it so blatantly. “It can’t happen, so it won’t.”
“It’s already happened whether you admit it or not, brother,” Marco continued, waving a red cape at the bull that was the universe. Having already been gored by that bull, and not willing to relive the experience, I turned on him.