Page 1 of Finding Love

1

LUCA

Desperate.

I don't recall ever feeling this way.

Frantic.

It’s rare for me even to think this word.

Insanity.

This shit is all the fuck around me.

It was stupid and careless of me to consider we were safe in the damn Hamptons.

All I wanted was for Emilia to have a normal week away from the restraints of the family compound—those bland stone walls blocking out the world.

I blink away the burning of my tired, scratchy eyes and stare at the familiar faces standing in my father's office. "Somebody give me some good news!" I grunt out the words in a bad-tempered tone, my upper lip curling in disdain at the ineffectual assholes in front of me.

Men in my position do what's best for the people they love, even if it means upsetting them. Emilia might have loathed me for forcing her to stay here—where I knew she would be safe?—

but all I needed was for her to be exactly that. Safe.

Now look where that's got me.

Emilia is in a hospital bed.

And she has no memory of anything that's happened between us.

I’m a damn stranger. Again. One she fears and probably resents.

And considering all I’ve ever done is cause her pain, she may be right.

My father sighs deeply before glancing around the room as I did. My brother, Dante, looks roughly as well rested as I’m sure I do—the dark circles ringing his eyes speak of days spent shaking every tree, accessing every bit of intel he can gather about the man who put Emilia in the hospital after leaving her for dead. He is slumped in a leather club chair in front of Papa’s desk, his head propped on one hand.

My cousins, Niccolo and Francesco, are weary, standing with their backs against the bookshelves lining one wall. They returned from their patrol, for lack of a better word, only minutes ago after spending the night combing the streets for any sign of Alessandro Vitali or one of his close associates.

When no one offers an answer, my father shrugs. “I wish I had good news for you. We’re still looking for him, but he’s gone underground.”

Cesco flexes his right fist, where I now notice traces of dried blood along his knuckles that hint at his interrogation methods. “Word on the street is he’s holed up with some bitch he keeps a secret.” Disdain drips from his every syllable, and I have to agree. Hiding behind a woman like a fucking pussy after leaving another woman for dead is just the type of scum Alessandro is.

Pain grips its way around my chest, suffocating me when I think about what he could have done to my poor Emilia if we didn’t get there in time.

I know he’s turned into a ghost, of course, though who could blame me for hoping we’d find him and crush his skull to powder? But that won’t change things right now.

I can’t live without Emilia.

I can’t force her memory to return.

There’s nothing to do but blindly grasp in the dark for some hint of light. Hope. I should know better by now.

I rake my hand through my messy hair and let out a heavy sigh. “Thank you for the update,” I offer as I stand, stifling a groan when my tight muscles ache at the slightest effort. “I’m headed back to the hospital.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” When I shoot my father a glare, he holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m asking for her sake. I know you feel like you have to be with her, but forcing yourself on Emilia isn’t helping her memory return.”

Resentment bubbles in my chest. He sounds like my mother, who gave me the same bullshit last night after bullying me into coming home for a few hours. The thought of them talking behind my back leaves me gritting my teeth. “I’m not forcing anything on anyone. But I’m going to be there for her whether she wants me there or not.” I can’t pretend the nights I’ve spent on a cramped sofa have been comfortable or restful, and it’s not like I got any rest last night, either. The same meager nightmare plagued me.

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