Page 34 of Luca

“Can you just please make sure you aren’t alone with those two?”

“Well, with the way you’re always around, I don’t think it will be an issue.”

“I may not always be around, Giada. That’s why I’m telling you this. Jesus, can’t you just say okay and leave it at that? Everything always has to be a fight with you.”

We’ve pulled up to the dance studio, but I haven’t made a move to get out of the car yet.

“What do you mean ‘always a fight’? I’ve barely talked to you for months. Not since you proved once again that you’re a good little puppy towing the company line.”

“What company line?”

“The one where Giada needs to be handled. Keep the little princess occupied and let the men handle her life. It’s the same bullshit I’ve been dealing with my entire life.” I shake my head and blow out a breath, completely disappointed in myself. “I was stupid enough to think maybe there was another side to you, but you’re all the same. So, excuse me if I think your warnings are laughable. Those men may be pigs, but it’s not like they hide it. And my brother may not care that they can’t keep their eyes in their heads, but they won’t touch me. It would be disrespectful to Carlo and my father.”

“You’re fucking naive if you think that’s going to stop them. And I’m not sure your damn brother would care all that much either way.”

“Why do you care?” I shoot back.

Luca opens his mouth to answer, but the words die in his throat. He lifts his sunglasses from his face and pins me with a stare. “You think I like the way I see women being treated in this life by men like your brother? You think seeing those men follow every move you make, playing disgusting fantasies out in their twisted minds when they watch you, doesn’t make me want to rip their eyes from their heads? I’ve never not cared about you, Giada. I may not be able to show you how much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t.”

I open and close my mouth like a fish underwater as I search for the words to say. “Luca…”

“Forget about it, Giada. You’re going to be late for dance.”

He adjusts his glasses back over his eyes and stares in front of him, not speaking another word. I nod numbly, completely taken aback by Luca’s admission and open my car door, grabbing my bag from the back seat before heading into the dance studio. What did he mean by not being able to show me that he cared? I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but for some reason, he wouldn’t let himself. And I can’t lie and say the remnants of my teenage crush didn’t spark back to life briefly. But it doesn’t matter about any stupid crush or teenage fantasy I used to wish so hard could be a reality. It can’t be. He works for my father, he’s my bodyguard, and he’s part of a life I don’t want.

Two days later, Luca, Carlo, and I are sitting in front of the television, listening to the reporter on the screen in the family room.

“Francesco Cataldi was found guilty on all charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder, and fraud. This is the first time Mr. Cataldi has been convicted of any crime.” The reporter continues her story and the three of us stare at the TV.

“He’s going to prison,” I whisper, looking at Luca with tears in my eyes. To anyone, it would look like I’m devastated by the news that my father is never coming home, but deep down, I’m so fucking relieved. This is my chance to escape. All I need to do is convince my father that no one is going to want to align himself with Carlo, and I’ll be free. Who in their right mind would want to marry a girl from an empire that’s disintegrating right before our eyes?

“That fucking bitch!” Carlo shouts and throws the glass lamp against the wall next to the TV screen. He turns and stomps out of the room before I hear the door to his office slam shut.

The noise barely registers as Luca holds my gaze.

“It’ll be okay, Giada. I’m sure they’ll appeal or something,” he says, mistaking the meaning behind my tears for sadness.

“You don’t understand. This means I have a shot of being free, Luca. With my father no longer in charge, maybe I can convince him to let me leave, let me move to Italy with my family there—or anywhere, really. What good is a marriage to the daughter of a man who has no power?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it? No one will want to be tied to a dying organization, and that’s exactly what this is if my father gets put away. That’s all I’ve ever been good for in the eyes of my father and brother. Just someone they can marry off to form an alliance with another family. But now I have a chance to get the hell out of this life.”

“Be careful of what you say, Giada. If the wrong person hears what you’re talking about they might see it as betrayal to your family.”

“Fuck my family,” I shout, jumping from my seat. “What the hell have they ever done for me? All I’ve ever been to them is a pawn in their games. The organization is dying, Luca. You’ve seen the way my brother is.” I wave my hand toward the broken lamp. “No one wants to work with him. It won’t be long until other capos start gunning for him and anyone who stands in their way.”

Luca’s eyes dart around before closing the double doors to the family room and walking over to stand in front of me. “You need to be quiet. Your brother is in the house,” he says in a low voice.

“I’m going to see my father; make him see reason. I want to move the hell away from here. There’s no reason for him to keep me locked up here like I’ve been my entire life. If he agrees, Carlo can’t say anything about it.”

“And if Carlo decides he doesn’t need to listen to your father?”

“Then I’ll figure it out. I have to try. I have to get out of here. I don’t want this life.” Tears spring to my eyes again, thinking about being chained to some asshole my brother picks out for me. It could be anyone, and he won’t care about what it means for me so long as he gets what he wants.

That thought has always terrified me with my father. If my brother has the right to negotiate a marriage contract on my behalf…I don’t even want to consider it.

“Please don’t tell my brother,” I beg Luca. He works for my brother now and no doubt feels loyalty to him. And I could very well have just ruined my chances of getting free from these ties by confiding in him. Real smart, Giada. “Let me talk to my father first. If Carlo finds out, there’s no doubt he’ll try to sabotage me before I have a chance to speak to him.”

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