Page 27 of Checkmate

The plane ride feels like it takes forever, when in reality, I was lucky enough to get a flight that had no layovers. I guess when you’re trying to save someone’s life things seem to move slower. By the time we land in Las Vegas I’m beyond antsy and the first one out of my seat and off the damn plane. I power on my phone and see a text from Foster telling me he pulled some strings. Whatever the hell that means?

I soon find out as I come to the part of the airport where people wait to pick up passengers. There’s a man who looks like an older version of Foster standing there with a sign that says ‘Viv’, Foster’s little nickname for me that I always hated, but never had the heart to tell him. I walk over and extend my hand. “I’m Viv.”

“I’m Foster’s father, Frank McCall. I’m here to take you wherever you need to go as well as get you set up with weapons and whatnot,” he tells me.

“Weapons?”

He nods his head. “Do you have more luggage?”

I shake my head, completely baffled by this whole weapons thing. Frank starts walking and I instantly have to jog to keep up with his long-legged, brisk pace. Tall people never consider short people when walking. Hello, our legs don’t cover the ground that freaking fast. This old man is totally giving me a run for my money and to be honest it’s a little embarrassing.

I manage to keep up with him, but I’m sweating by the time we reach the large black SUV with blacked-out windows. He unlocks the vehicle before taking the bag from my hand and tossing it in the backseat. Once we’re both in the vehicle and buckled up, he looks at me. “So, the bag back there has guns and ammunition for you.”

“I don’t think I’ll need those,” I tell him. I didn’t come here to start a war with Matteo and his family. I just needed to let Luca know that he might not be as undercover as he believed himself to be. I needed to let him know that he could possibly be in danger and to watch his back.

Frank looks at me as we stop at a red light. “You don’t honestly believe that do you, Sweetheart? I mean, I know that you aren’t naïve. You know the danger that this Luca is facing, and you know what it’ll come down to. It’s life or death.”

I sigh and look out the window as we make our way through Las Vegas and the traffic. He’s not wrong. I’m not naïve and do know that this only ends one way… death. Someone will die, but I hope it’s not Luca. “Yeah, my family seems to be surrounded by death.”

“It’s the lifestyle, which I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about.”

I shake my head. “Nope, my family is a fucked-up situation. I know that.”

We pull into the parking garage for the Copper Stone Elite apartments. I’m surprised, because I never even mentioned needing or wanting to come here. I look over at Frank. “How did you know to come here?”

“I might be retired, but I still have my connections, and Foster mentioned this is where Luca lives.” He climbs out of the SUV and collects the bags. I follow him.

“They won’t let us up to the floor. We can’t get in undetected,” I tell him. This place is like my building in New York City. They’re known for their tight security. No one gets past the lobby without the front desk calling and notifying, and to get acceptance from the person you are here to see. Foster and Frank may have connections, but I’m not sure how they plan on getting up to Luca’s floor.

We walk in as if Frank owns the place. I follow behind him trying to keep my head down because I don’t want to draw any attention to myself. Las Vegas isn’t a small town, but when it comes to the mafias of this town, though, very little goes undetected. Frank walks up to the clerk sitting behind the desk and tells them something. They make a call. I hold my breath waiting for them to tell us to take a hike, but then the clerk hangs up the phone and tells us we are expected. I follow Frank to the elevator. Once we’re inside, I look at him. “How did you know Luca would see us?”

He chuckles. “I didn’t. I have an old friend on the force, Ratliff that lives in this building as well. I knew he’d see me. Now once we get to his floor, you’ll have to take the emergency staircase up to Luca’s floor. Now how you get inside is up to you.” The elevator dings letting us know we’ve reached our destination and the doors open. I take a deep breath and step out into the hallway. Frank hands me my bag and the bag of weapons. “Good luck, Vivianna.”

“Thank you,” I tell him, as I take the bags and head for the staircase. I head up to Luca’s floor and try to be sneaky as I enter his hallway. Luckily, it’s quiet and no one is around. I stand in front of the door trying to summon the courage to knock. I’m sure I’m the last person he wants to see after how I left. Looking back, I regret that decision and I can honestly say there are very few things I’ve regretted in my life. Most of my decisions, good or bad, I stand behind, but sneaking out of that bed and running from Luca is probably my biggest regret at the moment. I sigh and knock. I wait and wait, knock again, and wait some more before I finally draw the conclusion that he’s not here. I dig through my purse until I find one of my trusty bobby pins before I squat down and begin to pick the lock. The door opens and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I walk over to the alarm system that I had watched Luca disarm when he had brought me here. I’m sure he wouldn’t be thrilled by how sneaky I can be, but I key in the code and pray he hasn’t changed it. It disarms and I breathe a sigh of relief. I shut the door and just stand there for a moment. I hadn’t considered that maybe he had someone else in here with him. What if someone was in here right now, waiting to attack Luca? I quickly open the bag that Frank gave me and select a black handgun. I’m grateful at the moment that he insisted I bring this bag. I quietly move around the apartment checking every nook and cranny and the locks. Luckily, I’m all alone. I grab my bag of chips from my suitcase and a beer from Luca’s fridge, before taking a seat on his couch to wait for him.

I’ve been sitting there for about an hour when I hear the voice that has haunted my dreams and nightmares. That voice that sends instant chills throughout my body and creates a foggy haze in my head. My heart pitter patters like a maniac. The sound of my name on his lips has never sounded so good. I stand up, but stay near the couch as I watch the indecision on his face. I already regretted my decision, but seeing him now makes that regret grow. Absence, can in fact, make the heart grow stronger. “Hello, Luca,” I finally manage to say.

After the silence stretches between us, he shakes his head and starts toward his room. “Nothing but damn silence for two whole freaking months and you show up here in my apartment and all you have to say is, hello, Luca?” I start to reply, but he cuts me off. “Do I even want to know how the hell you got into my apartment without setting off the alarm?”

I bite my lower lip. “You know that locks aren’t really an obstacle for me.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, and the alarm?”

I sigh as guilt moves through my veins. “I may have watched you key in the code when you brought me here.”

Luca’s eyes bulge out of his head, and I actually worry one or both might fall out of the socket and roll across the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Does that shock you?” I ask him, feeling my defenses rise.

He shakes his head while he scratches at his jawline. “No, you know what, it doesn’t. There’s very few things you could do at this point that would shock me.” He turns away from me and heads toward his bedroom.

I think it would have hurt less if he had physically slapped me. Those words and the underlying hurt laced within them gut me. I might as well be lying on the ground, bleeding out. “Luca.”

He holds up his hand to silence me before he disappears into his room—the slamming of the bedroom door the only sound between us. I collapse onto the couch and bury my head in my hands as tears come freely. I literally count on one hand the number of times I’ve cried, truly cried, in my life. When the door opens, I quickly wipe at my wet face. “So, want to tell me what you’re doing here, Vivianna?” He comes to stand in front of me, but the scent of his cologne doesn’t go unnoticed as he passes by where I sit on the couch. His gray sweats hang low on his hips and the long-sleeve white t-shirt hugs him like a glove. It makes me want to stand up and go to him, wrap my arms around him, and breathe him in. I want to find comfort in him once more, but I can’t move. Luca turns to face me, but I watch as his face immediately changes. He scrubs his hands over his face. “Shit, I’m sorry, Vivianna. Please, don’t cry. I’m just pissed off at everything right now.”

I shake my head. “It’s okay. I deserve it.”

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