Page 19 of Ruthless Passion

Good. I don't need her penetrating gaze tearing open wounds I've scabbed over long ago. I let out a deep exhale, answering my phone and turning my back to Jo. I don't have the heart to look at her.

"Devlin." My voice is harsh in the late morning quiet of my bedroom with the most amazing woman sitting on my bed. We have had this magical morning together, mind blowing sex, and I can't stand the idea of hurting her. But that's inevitable dealing with me. So, I do what I do best. I focus on the pain to drive away any fantasies I may have of this being anything more than building her confidence for a movie role.

"Luca, it's Sonny." My brother-in-law speaks with seriousness rippling through every word.

"What's wrong?"

He huffs out a breath. "It's Faith. I got the call from her agent. She's in the hospital and doesn't want to speak to anyone but us."

"She asked for you specifically, Sonny?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he says, voice grim because he must realize the same thing I do. If she wants to speak to Sonny, this is family business.

"Alright, I'll meet you there. Send me the information." After ending the call, I turn to Jo. She's already taking her cue that we're about to leave.

I don't have time to say anything before she turns to me. "Thank you for this Luca. I know you're busy. I'm not sure I’ll be right for the role of Cadence until..."

I drown out the sound of her voice. Hope has me wishing she doesn't see how jarring her words are to me. A pit forms in my stomach as my face heats from the rejection. It doesn't feel like she's simply turning down the part in her movie.

Fuck. Her movie.

"It's fine, Josephine."

"It's not fine, Luca. I know the vacant stare of someone not listening. I hate repeating myself. Are you really going to make me ask you for more sessions like this again?"

My head snaps toward her, confusion replacing the spiral of emotions I'm riding like a fucking rollercoaster. "I'm sorry, Jo. You're right. I wasn't listening. My head is all over the place. One of my girls is in the hospital."

"One of your girls?" Her face reels with disgust. "Shit, of course, there's more than one."

"No, not like this." I gesture between us. "One of my actresses. She needs to talk to me and Sonny."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope she's going to be okay. I can drive—" she starts and stops. "We flew here."

"Come with me. I can take you back to your car. You really want to do this again?"

Jo's soft brown eyes avoid mine as she nods timidly. "There's something therapeutic, cathartic even. I don't want to hurt you, but?—"

"You can tell how much I like it." I finish for her with a smile, taking a few steps closer. "I do like it and it's therapy of sorts for me, too."

"You don't have to tell me anything more than that, Luca." Her hand nudges mine like I did to her in the audition yesterday, bringing me to wrap my fingers around hers to lead her out of my room.

I take her to the garage, where an array of cars wait to be driven. She looks around. "No chopper?"

"I call for those like taxis. The one that brought us here is already gone. We get to drive, my siren. Pick one," I tell her.

There's a vintage 69 Pontiac Firebird, black, shined to perfection with chrome trim and whitewall tires. Beside the classic is my favorite, a black Ferrari Portofino convertible. There's a Land Rover meant for off roading in case the cliffs get too perilous for the pretty cars.

"This one," she smiles as she runs her hand along the frame of the Ferrari.

"Smart choice, you're driving," I tell her.

The shock in her eyes mixes with joy and pure giddiness as she hops into the car. "I can't drive this car. It's so, so, so new."

"Think of it like a test drive. This way, when your acting career takes off after these two projects, you'll know what to buy with your first million-dollar contract."

Josephine throws her head back with a laugh. "You are dreaming, not even Collin's lucky socks can swing that."

"Lucky socks?" I ask, sliding into the passenger seat.

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