Page 42 of Ruthless Passion

"It's been a few months since I've been fishing." The sound in Julian's voice is one of longing, as if he's been on good behavior for far too long. But, his reason is as good as mine. I've met the woman in his life. It was brief, but I know Claire is someone special to him.

"This guy from the footage filed paperwork with the court, terminating his parental rights. I want to make sure those documents stay filed. He's been a nuisance ever since he spotted me with Josephine. I don't need him causing any more problems."

"Send me as much information as you can about the guy and I'll have Edward do the rest. I'll make sure the boat's in decent shape, too." He laughs. "We can make it a guy’s trip and everything."

Yes, because nothing screams guys' night out like murder and body disposal. Although, now I think of the people who'd come on this trip … murderers and criminals alike; it sounds like a killer good time.

I laugh. "Sure thing. Thanks again. I'll talk to you later."

We end the call so I can get back to work when Gina slips into my office as if she's hiding from someone. What now?

"What's going on, Gina?" I ask her.

She throws a glance over her shoulder at me, almost surprised to see I'm at my desk. The way her brows knit tells me she's up to something. "Agent Bitch Face is on another rampage. She wants more financial statements. But I think something's off with her. I'm waiting for Sonny."

Before I can reply, Sonny slips into the door. "Shit, Luca. I thought you left with the girl and her boy."

"Josephine and Jett." I correct him. They're much more than a girl with her boy. "She's going to drop him off. We need to go see Vito again."

"Yeah, but first we need to talk about Agent Shaw. I don't think she's supposed to be here anymore." Sonny's voice is low and I look around as if to remind them my office can be bugged.

Gina chimes in. "I overheard her having a conversation in the conference room when she thought we all went to lunch. Someone who sounds like they're in charge was screaming at her over her phone telling her that she should have wrapped up her investigation weeks ago. If she hasn't found anything, there isn't anything to find."

Sonny adds to her explanation. "Yeah, so I made some calls and found out we're not under investigation. Don Marzano isn't even on the FBI's radar. This was a shot in the dark investigation between the IRS and the FBI. They wanted to see if they could link us to Don Marzano, but since Agent Shaw's coming up empty, they're ready to call it off."

"So why is she asking for the Starlight of the Sea?" I ask them.

Gina shrugs. "Maybe that's her last-ditch effort to make something stick. Once we give that to her, she'll have no reason to hang around. But I think I remember her from somewhere, like not in a professional way. I don't know. Something about her seems annoyingly familiar."

"Okay, while you two deal with her, I need to figure out what we're going to do about Vito. He's getting too close."

Gina turns to me. "Are you sure you want to tango with Vito?"

"Tango?" Sonny purses his mouth, side-eyeing Gina. "We don't want to dance with him, I think the word you want is tangle, my love."

"I know what I said and you know what I meant." She bickers back with him. Over a decade together and they still fight like cats and dogs. She turns to me. "You know his history with our family doesn't let you see things objectively, Luca."

"Well, he had one of our actresses put in the hospital and tried to intimidate Josephine in the parking lot today. We need to put an end to this feud. I should have—" I stop my words, uncertain if the office has listening devices and not wanting to chance it. "Keep an eye on Agent Shaw. I'm going to finish up here, and then I'm going home to Jo."

The words slip out. I can't take them back. Gina and Sonny share a glance, silently communicating before they look at me and smile.

"You're in love." Gina sings in a way that grates my nerves how only a little sister can.

"Stop it. I like her, and I want to keep her safe."

Sonny laughs, elbowing Gina. "Love. Told you. It hits hard and hurts like a motherfucker if you lose it, Luca. Don't lose it."

"It's been three days. Calm down, Cupid." I chastise them both. "That's a great title for a horror film."

"Scorsese here is trying to deflect the fact he's into the new girl." Sonny smiles. "But you're right. Calm down, Cupid is a great title. I'll put together a pitch and we can write it. Or do you want to write it with the love of your life?"

I hate it when they're not fighting and focused on me. It's like having two younger siblings, but I know they only want what's best for me. They also want me to settle down so my nieces and nephew can have cousins. I'm sure my happiness fits into their plan somewhere, but a guy like me can't have that kind of happiness. Something always happens to take it away.

"We can write it together, all four of us," I tell them.

Gina's eyes widen with excitement. "Yes, finally someone I can write with who doesn't have a penchant to kill everything frilly and pretty in our movies. Bring her and her son to the house for Sunday dinner."

"Again, it's only been a few days."

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