Page 61 of Luca

“Maybe the reason Frank felt compelled to take you and leave Boston was so you would be here when I needed you. If you’d grown up with the Monaghans, you would’ve grown up hating my family. If you hadn’t wanted revenge and come back to Boston, I would be in the hands of the Russians. Maybe this was the universe’s way of righting the wrongs of our parents.” She tilts her head so she can look me in the eye. “You saved me, Luca.”

I kiss her soft lips because I can’t help myself. Giada grounds me, reminds me why I’m here and why those bastards won’t win.

“You saved me too, sweetheart.”

Chapter eighteen

Giada

“You’re doing great. Yup. Like that,” Gemma, Alessia’s best friend, comments as Alessia and I spar on the mat she brought over four days ago. We’re set up in the living room again while Luca and Finn are downstairs in the gun range doing a little target practice.

Being a dancer has helped me learn the moves the two women have spent their afternoons teaching me. I’m already accustomed to bending my body in ways that don’t feel natural and picking up on different moves after only a couple of demonstrations. Learning all of this is similar, except for the force I have to put into it. I’m not trying to hurt anyone in dance, quite the opposite, so I struggle with using the strength in my body to do so.

“Let’s take a break,” Alessia says before grabbing her water and taking a long pull from the bottle. “I have to say, I’m rather impressed at how well you’re picking up on everything.”

I preen a bit at her compliment. Alessia has stopped by nearly every day to work with me on either target practice or with Gemma to work on self-defense moves. I’ve never had someone care so much about me being able to take care of myself—or care about me at all, really. My brother, and who I thought was my father, sure as hell never wanted me to learn how to defend myself. They wanted to turn me into the perfect little Mafia wife. It’s astounding that a man as powerful as Mario Amatto was the one to teach his daughter how to handle a gun and support her training in boxing and all different kinds of martial arts. She was raised in the same world as me but so different. It makes me wonder about my real father, the one Francesco killed alongside my mother. Would he have made sure I knew how to handle a weapon? Would he have taught me the things Alessia knows now? There are so many things I’ll never know about him. I don’t even know what he looks like and it’s not as though I can go searching through my mother’s things. Everything was thrown out except her records that were in an old forgotten box when she died, as though Francesco didn't want me to have anything of hers that would bring me comfort.

“Gemma, you’re coming tonight, right?” I ask. Tonight is Alessia’s birthday dinner at the Monaghans. It will be the first time we’re leaving the penthouse in over a week. I’m a little nervous about it if I’m being honest. Not about being outside of these walls; I’m excited for that, but about spending time with the Amattos and the Monaghans. We haven't seen Maeve and Cormac since the first day we were here. I think Luca is a bit nervous as well. His family wants to get to know him, but there’s so much about his past he’s afraid to share. Like the fact he doesn’t hate the man who raised him. Luca has been struggling with merging the two men in his mind, the one who killed his parents and the one who cared for him and didn’t want him to have anything to do with this life.

Gemma rolls her eyes. “Of course I’ll be there. It’s Alessia’s birthday party.”

“Ugh,” Alessia groans. “Don’t remind me. I’m sure there will be plenty of talk about how I’m not getting any younger, and Finn and I should start thinking about having a family. We haven’t even been married for six months and my mother and Maeve are already salivating over the thought of grandchildren.”

Gemma gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I know that’s a tough subject for you.”

I’m curious about why she says that, but I don’t pry.

“Well, you’ll have me to steer the conversation,” Gemma says brightly. “And as long as Eoghan stays out of my way, there won’t be any bloodshed.” Her wide smile is in stark contrast to her violent words.

“You don’t like Eoghan?” I ask, curious about the dynamics I’ll be walking into tonight.

“Oh, come on. Finn told you he was playing a joke on his brother at our wedding. Eoghan had no idea who that girl was,” Alessia says.

“Fair. But it’s not as though that makes Eoghan a saint. I swear, every time he’s around, it’s like he’s undressing me with his eyes.”

“Does he make you uncomfortable?” I ask. The idea that the goofy little brother could cause a woman to feel discomfort in any way surprises me. It doesn’t mean it’s not true, but it’s hard to imagine from what I know about him.

“She’s uncomfortable because he’s the exact kind of guy who she usually drools over.” Alessia laughs and Gemma sends her a scathing look.

“Exactly,” Gemma says. “I’m done with fuckboys. He’s all about the chase and getting what he wants.”

“I think you both want it,” Alessia mumbles.

“Shut it, lady. What I want and what’s good for me are two very different things, and it’s time I started focusing on finding serious relationships, not spending my time chasing losers.”

“Eoghan is pretty far from a loser,” Alessia comments.

“He’s also pretty far from being the type to settle down and take a relationship seriously,” Gemma retorts.

I watch the women banter back and forth lightheartedly, and a pang of sadness hits me. They remind me of me and my cousin back in Italy. God, I miss her and my family there.

“Let’s try to keep the claws sheathed. I love my mother-in-law and would hate for her to have to clean blood out of the carpets. It’s such a pain in the ass.”

Gemma grins. “Okay. I’ll do it for Maeve.”

The elevator doors open and Luca and Finn step out. My husband wears a smile I’ve been seeing more and more lately. As though he’s finally able to be happy now that he can be around his family and not have to hide behind the mask he wore at my house. It makes me regret that he had to hide himself for so long when he worked for my father. I know he doesn’t see it like that, though. He was doing what needed to be done for his cousin and himself.

Of course, there’s still this living, breathing tension with not knowing where my brother is. But in these moments when we’re surrounded by family and friends, or it’s just us, the tension eases, and Luca is allowed a few moments of peace.

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