“I am, this woman…” I was at a loss of words; how could I say what India meant to me?
“I know.” He looked toward the back door. “I feel the same for Cassie.”
I sighed, leaning back on my chair. “The other day I didn't get a chance to really ask questions.”
“Yeah, I expected that much.” He pointed to the coffee machine. “Let me grab a coffee and let's take it to the library. Do you want another one?”
I stood up. “Sure.”
I followed Luca to the library and sat on the green velvet chair across from him.
“Is he still alive?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Luca looked away before shaking his head. “Matteo is not forgiving when people touch who he considers to be part of his circle.”
I grimaced. Matteo Genovese was my brother, how could I even deal with that.
“Did the man say something?”
Luca crossed his legs and shrugged. “I was not there when Matteointerrogatedhim. It’s something he really enjoyed, and I was much more worried about you.”
“If anyone can get the truth out of anyone, it’s Matteo,” I said, hating to admit it.
Luca took a sip of his coffee. “The man didn’t know much. He received a file with all the details in regard to his sister and you. He left the notes on your car, but he was not the one texting you.” He rubbed his fingers across his lips. “Talking about the messages. This is not something I should have found out from Matteo, Dom.”
I looked down in shame, not able to stand the hurt etched in his eyes. “I wanted to tell you, I did, but Luca, you’ve already done so much for me. I wasn’t sure it was something worht bothering you with.”
“Dom,i tuoi problemi sono i miei problemi.”
Your problems are my problems. I took a deep breath and looked up. “You sacrificed the little childhood you had left for me, Luca. How—”
“And you stayed with me for two years, taking abuse and insults day after day just to make sure I didn’t kill myself. We’re family; that’s what family does. We took an oath, remember?”
I nodded sheepishly. I knew that hiding the truth from Luca had been a mistake—of course I did—but things had been going so well for him.
“Just promise that no matter what, you won’t hide anything else. Whatever it is, we will deal better if we do it together.”
“I promise.” I took a sip of my coffee and looked down at my cup. “So nothing really came out of it, did it?”
Luca gave me a half smile. “Not necessarily.” He reached for his phone in his pocket, scrolled for a few seconds, and turned it to me. “Matteo sent me that yesterday.”
I looked at the list of twelve names that I knew—they were all men of the famiglia. “Okay?”
“They are the only ones who knew enough about your father’s side business to tell.”
I glowered down at the list; one of them was our traitor, and once I found him…
“Does Matteo have a plan?”
Luca chucked. “When does he not? The guy is the master calculator. I suspect every action and every word coming out of his mouth is done with ulterior motives.”
“And that man is my brother… yay.”
Luca cocked his head to the side, signaling he was deep in thought. “I hate to admit it, but he stepped up as soon as he realized you needed his help, and he was frantic when he made it to the house, well as frantic as a man like him can be. I never thought I’d ever say it, but I think that Matteo Genovese really cares about you.”
I snorted. “The man cares for no one but himself. He always says ‘loyalty runs deeper than blood.’”
“He does say that,” Luca agreed. “I’m just not so sure he means it.”