by Lux Miller
I make a mental note to myself that I have decidedly been hanging out with Royce too much when I can identify the fabric of a man’s clothing simply by sight. I will say, though, that fresco isn’t the hardest thing to spot. The twisted fibers of the wool warn that allow for its breathability also leave a telltale sign that Royce has pointed out to me on more than one occasion.
“So why pizza?”
I stand up and shrug, stretching out my body as I push my arms over my head. I glance over at Dante and laugh, “Because pizza, especially Pizza Bianca, is like a pie… and it’s Pi day.”
Dante raises one eyebrow. “Pie day? What’s pie day?
I shake my head and giggle softly. “Not technically pie day with an e… Pi… the mathematical formula that never ends. It’s starts out 3.14 so March fourteenth is considered Pi day. It would just be sacrilege not to serve pie on Pi day, don’t you think?”
Dante nods, his head bouncing along as he considers it. “Does that mean there will also be dessert?”
He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I can’t help but roll my eyes and giggle. “Dante, I do believe that the ink from all those tattoo sessions has gone to your head. Of course, there’s dessert. When do I not make dessert for you and Luca?”
Dante shrugs and glances over at the front door as it bangs open, bouncing off the foyer wall with a sound so sharp, it startles me, even though I saw the door open. He points at the bedraggled figure that slumps inside the door. Dante looks back to me pointedly and replies, “Well, when he comes in looking like that, usually. He still gets dessert, but I don’t, since his dessert involves you laid out—”
Luca’s voice is thin and dangerously low as he cuts Dante off, “Emergency meeting. Now. Gather any and all guards who are here. Everyone needs to hear the threat we’re facing.”
Despite his cool gray suit and magenta dress shirt, Luca looks frazzled. His normally stoic demeanor gives way to an expression of fury. He barely acknowledges me as he trudges past the game room. Dante and I both jump up; Dante’s headed in one direction and I in the other, hot on Luca’s heels.
He marches straight to the room I’ve been forbidden to enter and slams the door open. Despite knowing I should stay far, far away from whatever is about to happen, my curiosity propels me forward until his gravelly voice stops me in my tracks. “Emily, this isn’t a place for you, for any woman. This is a room of nightmares, I’m afraid.”
He does step out of the room and gather me into his arms, leaning down to steal a series of chaste kisses before letting go of me and shooing me away. He’s left the door open, but after his stark warning, I don’t make an effort to follow him.
However, my hesitation doesn’t stop his voice from carrying from inside the room to the hallway, “Yes, they’ve officially reopened the case. I suspect it’s due to the new evidence they’ve found. It’s only a matter of time before they connect A to C via B, and then we’re royally fucked.”
I press myself against the wall, holding my breath as I listen in to his conversation for several heartbeats. “No, I don’t know why. Yes, that was the information Givens gave us. That they reopened the case because of new leads. Probably the girls, since they’re all linked to that cesspool at Piacere.”
I nearly jump out of my skin as a firm hand lands on my arm. Snapping my gaze to the owner of the hand, I feel my blood run cold. I swallow hard and open my mouth to offer an explanation, but Mike just shakes his head at me and points down the hallway. “Go, Emily… nothing good will ever come to you by snooping on him. If he hasn’t shared the information with you, there’s a reason for it. Don’t betray his trust. It’s the hardest thing to earn and the easiest thing to lose.”
Nodding, I twist out of Mike’s grasp and hightail it away from the open door, dashing into the kitchen. I bend over and heave several heavy breaths as I try to even them out. I don’t know who he’s talking to, but the implication of what Luca’s discussing on the phone isn’t lost on me. Something big is on the verge of happening, and it’s enough to frazzle Luca.
I sigh and get to work making the dough recipe Bianca taught me last week. As I throw in the dry ingredients, I try to focus on the task at hand and not the cacophony of voices coming from the hallway as associates arrive.
Just as I sift the dry ingredients together a third time, Dante pokes his head into the kitchen. He gives me a look that I’ve come to recognize. He’s heading to the meeting as well. I nod and wave my hand aimlessly in the air. “Yeah, yeah… I’ll quadruple the recipe and make enough for everybody because even though the door is soundproof…” I lower my voice and clear my throat to make a point, “...when it’s closed, it’s not smell-proof. The pizzas will be ready in about an hour.”
Dante blinks at me. A wide smile creeps across his face as he nods at me without a word and disappears from the doorway. With a heavy sigh, I walk over to where the broom is stashed behind the refrigerator and grab it, then walk across the floor and position the broom underneath what I know is Noemi’s room.
I rap the handle of the broom against the ceiling sharply three times and wait for some sort of acknowledgement. When I don’t receive one, I do it again. I know she’s in her room, so when I still don’t get a response, I bang it continuously against the ceiling for a good minute, then turn and watch the staircase for any sign of life from upstairs.
I glance away to the clock on the stove for a brief moment and catch a blur of movement out of the corner of my eye. Whoever just flew down the stairs wasn’t Noemi because she traipses into the kitchen about a minute later. Her long, black hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail, and though she isn’t wearing lipstick and really never has, her lips are bright pink and slightly swollen. I narrow my eyes at her, but I don’t say anything as I listen for the front door to slam closed. When I don’t hear the sound of someone leaving, I arch one eyebrow at her.
“Too busy to help me make dinner for the room full of hungry men that your brother called to an emergency meeting?”
Noemi heaves her shoulders nonchalantly, acting like she has nothing to hide. “I can help. What are we making?” She brushes past me and peers at the mess I’ve already made in the kitchen. “Pizza?”
I nod and decide to file away her indiscretions for now. I don’t have proof of anything. And whatever she was doing upstairs, it can’t have been anything too bad, because she got down here too fast to have been putting clothing back on. She may be almost eighteen, but I get the feeling that whoever fled down the stairs ahead of her dodged a major bullet since both of her brothers are on the property. Not to mention the shadow-guard that’s supposed to be patrolling the upstairs at all times to ensure there are no intruders.
Maybe Kyle heard something going on upstairs and ran off whatever little punk was obviously getting a little too close with Luca’s baby sister. He’s been loyally protecting her for three years, so that’s probably what he was doing before he was summoned to Luca’s meeting.
I really hope there isn’t a knocked-out overambitious boy in her room. Maybe I’m totally off base, and she had a massive fail with some kind of lip injections. I’m tempted to ask nosy questions to narrow down the possibilities, but Noemi cuts into my thoughts before I can decide which question to ask.
“How many pizzas are we talking? How many men did he invite over?”
I shrug as I start sifting together another round of dry ingredients. “He didn’t say, nor did he ask me to make more, but I know what this is going to smell like once it hits the oven. I’d say four is good to start, probably. I bet any one of them could destroy a whole pizza on his own. Worse comes to worse, if nobody eats, we’ll be set for days of leftovers.”
Noemi nods in agreement and begins working the dough that I’d already made, stretching it slowly until it covers the pan. Then she starts on the next ball of dough until she’s got four empty crusts panned. She looks at me and arches an eyebrow, motioning to the slew of other ingredients laid out on the counter. “Momma never taught me how
to make anything other than Margherita pizza, so I’ve got no clue what goes where or how much to use.”
I smile and grab the ingredients, layering them up on each pizza one by one until the first four are done. “Be prepared, because it’s about to smell amazing in here. Once the pancetta starts mingling with the cheese. Man, I’m fully convinced that the Romans cheated when they conquered the world, and they made something similar to this pizza. Probably lured the warriors into the streets and forced them into surrender for a slice.”
Noemi giggles as she puts the first pizza in the oven. Over the next five minutes, we load up all four of the pizzas into the stacked ovens, then we start to clean up the massive mess we made as the pizzas bake. I’ve just finished wiping down the counters when the doorbell rings. Noemi and I glance at each other and she shrugs. None of the associates ever knock or ring the doorbell when they drop in for a meeting.
I shrug in response and glance over my shoulder. There’s no sign of movement anywhere in the house. I know that there are at least half a dozen guards stationed throughout the house, but nobody’s making any movement toward the door. I step out of the kitchen and wipe my hands on my shorts as I glance down the hallway in the direction of the secret meeting. Turning to look back over my shoulder, I glance at Noemi. “Where’s Kyle?”
Noemi’s eyes widen slightly at the mention of Kyle’s name. I shake my head quickly, throwing both hands in the air. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’m not talking about your inappropriate crush on him. I don’t think we should be answering the door, but they seem insistent. You’re his boss, so he’ll do what you say…”
Another knock echoes through the entryway, and Noemi sighs and turns down the hallway. Moments later, she reappears with Kyle in tow. He looks irritated, but he’s keeping his voice calm as Noemi talks to him in a hushed voice. She backs away as Kyle walks past me and approaches the door. He reaches his hand around his body, and I can see him wrap his fingers around the butt of the gun sticking out of the top of his waistband at the small of his back.
He swings the door open, blocking our view of the doorway. Noemi scurries back over to me, whispering hastily, “It’s cops… Emily, this is bad… maybe we should…”
I shake my head, whispering quietly to her, “Don’t make any sudden movements. There’s nothing we’re guilty of, so don’t act guilty.”
She swallows hard as Kyle glances over his shoulder, a pained look on his face. “They’re wanting to speak with Luca. They said they’re going to have a chat with him one way or another, and that we can choose between the hard way or the easy way.” I nod slowly at Kyle, not understanding what he wants me to do.
Behind his back, his hand moves from his gun to his back pocket as he pulls out what I recognize to be a burner phone. He flicks it open while he continues his conversation with the man standing on the other side of him. He makes several motions on the phone, then quietly slides it back into his pocket, then responds loudly, “Mr. Barresi is out of pocket at the moment. Is there something I can assist you with?”
A familiar growling voice that comes from the other side of Kyle makes me stop dead in my tracks. I recognize it almost instantly at the gravelly voice of the red-headed man who confronted Luca right after Dante was ambushed. As Kyle moves to the side, I can see the man’s gleaming blue eyes shift to me. He lets his eyes wander down the length of my body, then back up to my face. He smirks and steps around Kyle and into the house. “Surprised to see you here. Still playing house with Barresi?”
He cocks his head to the side and licks his lips with a nod of his head at Noemi, “Well, well, well, it’s a family reunion. Looks like the little princess grew up good.”
Before the man gets more than two steps toward Noemi, Kyle has moved in front of her with his teeth bared. The red-headed man puts both hands up, stepping backward several steps as he chuckles. “Whoa… down boy. Somebody get this two-bit guard on a leash before he does something he… regrets…”
The red-headed man smirks and turns his attention to me, reaching his hand out to mine. Perched in his hand is a business card that he nods at me to take. “In case you decide that the indentured servant life is no longer for you, you can give me a call.”
I pluck the card from his outstretched hand and shove it into my shorts’ pocket. He clears his throat and looks pointedly at Kyle, “Now, with all of the lovely pleasantries out of the way, I’m here to do a job. Like I said before, we can either do it the easy way… or we can do it the hard way.”
The man has grown impatient, and his voice reflects this as his continues to speak to Kyle, though he doesn’t take his eyes off me. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re stalling. Considering you’ve crawled into bed with the mob, I’m not entirely surprised to see that your loyalties are questionable at best. It’s no matter, though. Barresi can either come out here, or we can go in there. Either way, we have a warrant, so the end result is going to be the same…”
I feel my knees buckle slightly when I hear Luca’s voice behind me. “That won’t be necessary. You can stop harassing the people I’ve chosen to have live at my residence. I don’t fear you or your bravado. I have nothing to hide from you.”
The man throws his head back and bellows with laughter as he reaches into a bag at his hip that looks like a miniature fanny pack and pulls something metallic that flashes as the light catches it. “It’s not me you should worry about. I’m merely the enforcer. Luca Barresi, you’re under arrest for the disappearance of Andre Norris. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. You have the right at any time to refuse to answer any further questions. Do you understand the rights that I’ve read to you?”
Luca looks up at me and sighs heavily, turning his back to the red-headed man. The man grins and slams handcuffs around Luca’s wrists. They’re probably too tight, because Luca winces as the red-headed man jerks him around. Before anyone can step in front of me and stop me, I’m across the room and have my arms wrapped tightly around Luca’s waist, my face buried into his chest.
The red-headed officer’s partner grips my arm and tugs on me less than gently as I tighten my arms around Luca. I’m shaking my head wildly as Luca’s yanked backward from me. He looks down at me, anger and sorrow on his face. The one thing I don’t see there is worry. Luca closes his eyes for a moment, then sighs gently. “Emily, we’ll beat this. I don’t know how, but every person standing in this room knows that I had nothing to do with Andre disappearing.”
I gasp as Luca is forcefully yanked away from me. He bows his head as he’s manhandled out the front door. Both of my hands fly to my face as a strangled gasp tumbles out of my mouth. I can feel my breaths getting short as strong arms encircle me from behind. Dante’s familiar scent engulfs me as he pulls me tightly against himself and murmurs, “We got this, principessa. We’re Barresi… and we run this town…”
Coming Soon…
Despite our questionable beginning, there’s no doubt in my mind where Luca and I will end up – if he can beat the city of New Orleans to victory. He’s set to inherit the empire he’s spent over a decade building. Enemies are at every turn and the threat level has hit a fever pitch. Luca is a powerful man with powerful allies, but it’s a race against time and those who would see Luca’s empire crumble. A rookie prosecutor, a rogue cop, and New Orleans’ most infamous drug cartel all threaten to rip us apart. Nobody is safe and I soon find myself in the crosshairs of more than one enemy. Surprise allies will emerge, as will unexpected traitors. Only time will tell if we can outrun and outsmart our enemies, and if I’m willing to pay the price to love Luca Barresi. There’s only two ways this love story ends – with a funeral or our happily ever after.
Available June 21, 2019 on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
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Also by Lux Miller:
Barresi Series
Fairly Twisted Tales Series
If you found errors or inconsistencies in this book, please email [email protected] and let me know about them! Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review!