Page 51 of Past Due

Chapter Fourteen

Besian tried to pay attention to what Luka had to say, but his thoughts were with Marley. He should have warned her about Drita before letting her out of the car. She was his father’s sister and had been part of the household since before Luka had been born. She was notoriously suspicious of anyone who wasn’t blood. He inwardly cringed at the idea of Drita treating Marley the way she treated most people. If Drita made her cry, he would have to say something and that would cause a whole host of problems.

“Besian?” Luka said his name sharply.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“I asked what we’re going to do about Ben,” Luka repeated testily.

“Nothing,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“Nothing?” Luka frowned.

“What’s there to do?” Besian shrugged. “He’s in love. He’s having a baby with the woman he plans to marry. It’s done.”

“It’s not done unless I say it is,” Luka insisted in that imperious way of his.

Besian caught the slight smirk of amusement on Zec’s face but didn’t call attention to it. “Luka, you can do that shit here, but you try that in Houston? You try that with someone like Ben? You’re going to lose more than a cousin from the ranks. He’ll walk, and he’ll take most of his crew with him.”

Luka scowled. “He can’t just walk away. He’s one of us. We’re family.”

“Ben has never even been here to visit,” Besian reminded him. “He’s loyal to us, to our family, but he’s not going to stand for anyone telling him who he can marry. Don’t forget the way his father abandoned him and never married his mother.”

“That was different,” Luka insisted. “She was a whore.”

Besian bit back the nasty retort burning the tip of his tongue. Times like this he wanted to smack the shit out of Luka. If his nephew continued his hardline bullshit, he might give into that urge. Maybe a good slap would knock some sense into him.

“Ben is my problem,” Besian said eventually. “He’s my crew. I’ll handle him.”

“You better,” Luka shot back. “It’s bad enough that I’m allowing you to marry that liability—"

“What did you just call Marley?” Besian interjected roughly.

Luka realized his mistake a moment too late. Not backing down, though, he said, “She’s nobody. No money. No business. No connections. Her mother is in debt. Nobody even knows who her real father is. There is a good chance her stepfather is going to prison or he’ll roll over for a deal. At least Ben knocked up a rich girl who could be useful.”

“Are you done?” Besian asked sharply. “If not, get it out now because this is the one time I’ll abide any of your bullshit about Marley. Do you understand?”

Luke nodded stiffly. “Yes.”

“I don’t know where the fuck you get off thinking you can sit there and lecture me about the woman I’ve chosen to be my wife. After everything I’ve sacrificed for this family, for you and for Rina? After all the blood I’ve spilled? The money I’ve made? Everything I’ve built for us?” Besian angrily spat. “You might be the boss, but don’t forget that you’re still my nephew.”

Luka deflated behind his desk. He scrubbed his tired face with his hand and sighed. After a moment, he touched his chest. “I’m sorry. You’re right. That was out of line.”

“Fucking right it was,” Besian snarled. Trying to figure out why his nephew was acting this way, he asked, “Is something going on? Are you okay?”

Zec, who had remained silent until that moment, cleared his throat. “Luka, tell him.”

Besian narrowed his eyes. “Tell me what?”

Reluctantly, Luka opened the top drawer of his desk and withdrew a large white envelope. He tossed it toward the edge of his desk, and Besian sat forward to grab it. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he opened it. He tugged the contents out and paused when he saw Rina’s face.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled the photos out much more slowly, ready to stop at the first hint of bare skin. Thankfully, she was fully clothed and not in any sort of scandalous situation. As he flipped through the photos, it was clear that someone was getting very close to her, following her around the university and even getting tight shots of her sitting on her balcony or sunning beside the pool out back.

He flipped through the photos of Rina and stopped suddenly when it was Marley’s face staring back at him. The background was familiar, and he easily picked out the landmarks in Shkodër. His stomach dropped when he uncovered a photo of Marley at the hostel in a dorm-style bedroom. She was asleep on her side, her bare foot dangling over the edge of the top bunk.

Fury and fear warred within him. The person following Rina had gotten close, but the person following Marley had been within arm’s reach. His heart hammered in his chest as he considered how easily she could have been harmed. “When did you get these?”

“This morning,” Luka said before coughing into the crook of his elbow. He then held up a flash drive. “They were delivered with this.”

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