Page 1 of Loving Lucia

1

SAINT

“Lucia’s missing,” I say as Angel and I both enter the lounge. Victor’s sitting on the couch, rubbing his eyes and not looking at us.

“She’s not missing. She’sgone.” Angel walks past me and comes to a stop in front of Victor. “She fucking played us.”

He’d been saying that all evening while we searched the boardwalk for Lucia, but I still don’t believe it. Lucia wouldn’t have left us, not after we were having such a nice time. Yes, she’d been acting a bit strange during our date, but I blame Victor’s “punishments” for that.

“You don’t know that,” I tell Angel, and I go to crowd near Victor too. “We were at the boardwalk, and from one second to the next she disappeared. I think Bellini’s men must have been following us.”

“Both of you—” Victor starts, and that’s when I notice howtiredVictor looks. His eyes are red and there’s faint crustiness collected in the corners, not to mention his disheveled hair and rumpled shirt. He isn’t even wearing shoes or socks, which is unusual for him. Victor clears his throat and starts again. “Back off. Angelo, tell me what happened.”

Angel glances at me, scowling. “We went out to the boardwalk. Lucia was acting weird, but we figured it was because she was still freaked about the closet. We bought some things, went to the restaurant and ate, then she up and left.”

“She didn’t—”

“Shut up, Saint,” Angel growls. “She changed clothes, left the GPS tracker, left her jewelry… She wasn’t kidnapped. She played us,” he repeats for the eightieth time.

“That’s your theory! If I was kidnapping somebody, I would search them for electronics too!” I argue, although it gets harder to believe what I’m saying each time.

Victor groans and reaches into his pocket, then lets out a dark chuckle. “She stole my phone.”

Angel and I both turn to Victor again.

“She stole your phone?” I repeat, confused. “How would she have done that? Are you sure you didn’t just leave it in your office?”

“She stole my phone,” Victor says, “after she drugged me with your party favors, Santino.”

I blink at him. “What?” It takes me a moment to comprehend what he’s saying. “How would she have managed that? They’re kept in my safe, in my room. And you’d have known it if she’d drugged you…”

“Yes, how did she manage to get to your drugs?” Victor asks, and although he isn’t yelling, I can still hear the anger dripping from his voice. I simultaneously want to stand up straight and cower. “And believe me, I noticed when she drugged me. I had her kissing my feet right before I felt the grogginess.”

“And you wonder why she wanted to leave you behind?” I say. “That’s disgusting, Victor.”

“Shit. That’s why you were asleep when we left? And when I called the house?” Angel clenches his fist and raises it, although there’s nobody here for him to hit. “Fucking hell, Saint, you can’t keep your toys better protected?”

“I don’t know how she could’ve gotten the passcode!” I protest. “As it is, I still don’t know how she got the code to my room.”

Angel averts his eyes at that.

“You gave it to her?” I ask him in disbelief. “Jesus, what else did you tell her?”

“Nothing! She said you were being a little bitch and moping about getting fucked by Victor,” Angel growls. “Which is completely in character for you!”

“I didn’t get fucked by Victor!” I say emphatically. “I’m not— I don’t—” I grit my teeth. “He didn’t fuck me. He fucked Lucia. I was fine. I am fine. And I’m the only one who knows the code to my safe, so I don’t know how she got in!”

“Shut up,” Victor snaps. “I have enough of a headache without your yelling.”

Angel grunts loudly and paces over to the armchair, although he doesn’t sit down. “Fine. No yelling, but how the fuck—”

“I said, shut up!” Victor yells, startling both of us. “The fact of the matter is, Lucia outsmarted all of us. I underestimated her, while the two of you were taken in by her charms.”

I’m still a little shocked that he raised his voice, and it takes me a moment to follow his words. I scowl at him. “I wasn’t taken in by anything,” I say stubbornly, even though I know the words are a lie.

“Yeah, yeah, the great Victor doesn’t have emotions, right? You weren’t drooling over her either,” Angelo snaps back. “You know what, though? It’s your fault she’s gone.”

Victor raises his eyebrows. “How so? I’m not the one who not only took her out of the house, but also let her out of my sight. She didn’t have to try at all, did she? She said a few sweet words, and you were both eating out of her hand.”

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