Page 37 of Ruthless Passion

"He changes his mind whenever it suits him. Shit. There's no way I'm going to be able to take these movie roles with Duke acting out like this. He'll terrorize Monique and Collin whenever they have Jett, or worse, he'll show up to the set and ruin whatever we're shooting for the day. Fuck. Luca, I'm sorry. Stupid Duke ruins everything."

"Don't apologize, Jo. You're not quitting on me either."

"Yeah, Mom, don't let Duke the Puke mess up anything else for us. Where's Uncle Collin? Tell him we need his lucky socks back." He sighs and Jo laughs, tousling his hair.

We finally step out the house to head to Luca Brisco Studios for the day. Although we're in separate cars, I keep an eye on Jo as we weave through morning traffic toward the studio lots. Once we park, I take them both on the grand tour, which doesn't last nearly as long as I'd like before we're confronted with one of the many reasons I won't let Jo quit this film project.

Agent Shaw is terrorizing my employees once again, demanding answers and documents to validate her findings.

"There you are, Devlin," she shouts as Jo and Jett walk around a set built to film a news broadcast.

I try my best to ignore Agent Shaw, but that's impossible as she storms toward me. My tone of indifference is forced. "Here I am, Agent Shaw. I'm here getting my lead actress familiar with the set she'll be working on."

"Is this a scene with a kid from the horror film about the killer mermaid or the horror film with the horde of zombies?" she asks, her gaze drifting toward Jett.

"Darkness at Dusk has a scene where the siren from the Starlight film will interrupt a news broadcast in an attempt to control the horde of zombies."

"Oh, so the two movies are linked now?" she asks, folding her arms across her chest.

"The two movies are occurring in the same universe."

"I'd like to see something, Devlin. You can't keep stringing me along. How about a rehearsal or fitting? I'd love to see the siren's costume." She's fishing for any reason to prove the film doesn't exist. Despite her best efforts to trip me up, my mind is focused on getting rid of Duke without traumatizing Jett or making Jo hate me.

"I'm about to run a scene rehearsal with Luca." Jo's voice echoes around the open set.

"Really?" Jett's eyes are wide with anticipation.

"Are you sure, Jo?" I ask her, hating to agree with Shaw's inference. The movie is not child friendly.

"Actually, there's a scene where the siren is trying to persuade her next victim to come with her as they leave a bar and the guy's girlfriend comes up to fight her. Would you like to play the girlfriend, Agent Shaw? How well can you take a slap?" Jo taunts the agent, but quickly rephrases her question. "I'm sorry, I meant fake a slap."

I interject before Josephine gets herself into federal trouble. "Agent Shaw, it's barely been a few weeks since the re-shoots began. How about you wrap up this investigation and come back in a few months for the premiere?"

"If you can show me that feature length film, I will end this investigation." The agent narrows her gaze around the studio before turning on her heel to go back to the conference room where she's combing through the studio's financial records. The same records my sister, Gina, assures me will paint the studio in the most professional, non-mob related light.

"That's good news, right?" Jo asks as we watch the agent retreat with several of my employees moving out of her way.

"Yes and no. She's calling my bluff, but that's okay. This is going to be one of those artistic pieces. We can strip away all the extras and keep the focus solely on the relationship between Cadence the Siren and that victim she lusts after."

"Who's going to play opposite me?"

"I will." I tell her. "It will save time, money, and my sanity because I don't even want to think about you telling another man to crawl for you."

15

JOSEPHINE

Images of Luca's muscles flexing, contracting and releasing as he pulls several orgasms out of me is enough to distract me from the imploding chaos of my life. I wonder if we can have another moment of release. That's when it hits me. The chaos is trickling into the lives of everyone I care about. Monique is still in the hospital and I have to keep my promise.

I pull Luca to the side. "Is there any way we can have my friend Monique in the film? Either is fine. I told her I'd put in a good word for her."

Luca keeps his eyes on Jett as he plays behind the news desk. "When we do the rewrite, we can write her in as a moral compass for our villainous siren."

"I've never played the bad guy before," I admit.

He grins, stroking the side of my face gently. "I can tell. I think we should have another session to bring that out of you. Get angry. Be vengeful. Sexy on screen and off."

A ripple of lust travels down my body. Luca's desire for me isn't a question. It's a certainty, given the way his eyes devour me in these stolen glances.

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