Page 55 of Ruthless Passion

"Yeah. She's going to take Jett to school in the morning, and then crash with her sister. Collin's going to be on campus, hiding out for the next few weeks. He's somewhat of a hero and he'll have plenty of places to crash until it's safe to go back home."

He nods as he dumps his clothes into the barrel, douses them in lighter fluid and tosses a match inside. The flames light up the brilliant night far better than the flashlight. Their reflection dances in his eyes as we watch his stuff burn, sending smoke pluming into the air.

"I didn't kill anyone tonight, Jo," Luca assures me with a stoic gaze.

"You don't have to tell me, Luca."

"I do. I care about you and if I'm going to protect you, you have to know what's going on. That's Vito's blood on my clothes. He taunted me about my mother and then told me he's not going to stop bothering you because he sees how much I care about you. I couldn't stop myself. I won't let him hurt you."

My body moves before my mind considers the logic behind it. I go to Luca, wrapping my arms around him as he rests his head on my shoulder. His hair is soft as I run my fingers through the loose strands. We find ourselves sinking to our knees, holding each other as the fire burns, keeping us warm against the coldness blowing in off the water.

With Luca's body wrapping around me like a blanket, it's easy to close my eyes and let sleep take me away.

The sound of birds cawing at the rising sun force my eyes open as the darkness of the beach is replaced with the brightness of the morning. The waves continue to crash, but the air is way colder than the night before. Luca's already up and moving about, I see him washing the remnants of the drum out with sea water.

My limbs ache from sleeping on the beach, but it's one of the best nights I've had in a long time. Luca approaches me with his hand out to help me to my feet.

"It's an easier climb in the daylight," he says, nudging his chin toward the jagged mountainside. He's right. There are clear markings along the beige, red and gray bedrock that form a natural staircase where I don't feel the unbalance like the night before.

"Jett would love climbing this wall," I tell him just as we reach his balcony.

"That's not a bad idea. I'd want to get some safety gear just in case, but it's definitely a great workout."

"So, what happens today?" I ask him, shedding his sweatshirt outside to not bring sand into the house.

"We're going to the studio to get some work done. I want to give Agent Shaw the release date for Starlight. We'll set it for the end of August. That should give us at least ten weeks to get it together as a short."

"That's like those trashy romance series Mojo likes to read where they give her a little prequel, just a taste of what's to come."

"I like the taste of you when you come," Luca says with a smile returning to his face.

Relief washes over me as he pads toward me, wrapping me in a hug. A deep breath of his scent in and out, blending in with the morning sea air, soothes me in a way that feels right. "Not too cheesy this time, Mr. Devlin."

"Thank you for last night, Jo," he whispers into my hair. We stand there as if waiting for time to stand still for only us. However, the sound of his phone ringing in the distance breaks the moment; a reminder we have to be mostly responsible adults today.

Luca steps away to grab his phone, answering the call and cursing seconds after he does. It doesn't sound good as he tells whoever's on the other end that he'll be right in.

"We have to get to the studio." Luca groans.

"What happened? Is it Duke or Vito?" I haven't even had coffee and the morning is off to a roaring start.

"Neither. It's Agent Shaw and she's holding Gina and Sonny at gunpoint."

24

LUCA

Security is standing outside the doors of Luca Brisco Studios alongside the staff who left the building. I approach the door with Josephine not too far behind me when my phone rings. I hope it's Sonny or Gina, but it's Julian.

"Hey, I'm in kind of a crisis right now," I tell him as soon as I answer.

"I'll keep it brief. I just wanted to give you a heads up that Edward spoke to his contact with the family courts. Miss Hansen can come down to grab her restraining order paperwork against Duke Everett and his file's been officially buried. It won't resurface until after the forty-five-day window is up."

"Thanks, Julian. I owe you and Edward."

"No, you've done enough for the Marzano family. Call me later if we still need to go fishing."

"I will," I tell him and hang up. I turn to Jo, who has fear evident on her face. "Change of plans, you need to get out of here."

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