by Lux Miller
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…”
Surrender by Lux Miller
© 2018, 2019 Lux Miller
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The medical procedures performed in this book are fictionalized and should not be attempted on any living being. Please note that this book contains situations that may be triggering for some and situations that are not appropriate for readers under eighteen years of age.
ONE
A cold shiver slides down my back as I walk into the Orleans Parish Prison for the first and what I hope is the last time. It’s been almost three weeks since Luca’s arrest. Dante and I have just now been able to secure the funds to pay his bond. In a dirty move, the chief of police had Luca’s accounts frozen and his American Express charge card wasn’t too keen on accepting a fifty thousand dollar charge from his girlfriend. Despite repeated calls to the Orleans Parish prison to speak to Luca whenever possible, it came down to Dante and I getting creative to secure Luca’s release.
I feel like a fraud to the art community for my part in it. I burned the midnight oil and churned out dozens of paintings for a charity event held at the Windsor Court Hotel. Thousands of Luca’s contacts came out for the event, and we raised more than enough to secure his bail. We raised it under the guise of an enormous donation to the children’s wing at Oschner Hospital. We plan to complete the donation as soon as Luca is out of prison and able to access his accounts. Everything will end up where it’s supposed to go, but it just feels shady.
The lighting is harsh inside the reception area of the Orleans Parish Prison, and I can feel all eyes on me the moment I walk inside. I’m in the company of Dante, and he commands the room almost instantly. By default, the nosy little biddies behind the thick plate glass of the reception area take one look at him, then slide their eyes over to me. Word has made it through the grapevine that Luca Barresi is involved with a petite, blonde woman with bronzed skin. Considering I just walked in with Luca’s brother, it’s not difficult to put two and two together.
Dante stops short of the reception counter and bows his head at me. I step up to the counter and drop the bank bag loaded with hundred dollar bills onto its smooth surface. The woman behind the counter widens her eyes, and her gaze drops immediately to the overfilled bag. “Name?”
I clear my throat and stammer nervously, “Mine? Or his?”
She looks up at me like I’m stupid and cocks her head to the side. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty, sweetheart. Prisoner’s name, number, and the purpose and method of your payment.”
I feel anger flare up inside my gut, but I hold my tongue and keep the attitude dammed up. I push the bag through the tiny half-moon opening at the bottom of the glass and reply, “Luca Barresi. Number 64200341. Method of payment is cash and purpose is paying the bond on his bail.”
The woman’s face shoots up sharply from the bag, her mouth dropping open slightly. “Come again? You’re paying Luca Barresi’s bail… in cash?”
I shrug. “Well, technically, I’m paying his bond since his bail is set at half a million dollars. It’s a good thing you’re tenured, sweetheart.”
The womans frowns and snatches the bag, counting it carefully. I watch her with eagle eyes to make sure that she counts every single one of the five hundred one-hundred-dollar bills that are stuffed into the bag. When she finishes counting everything out, she looks up at me. Her face is expressionless as she radioes to someone. What exactly she says, I can’t hear, because she keeps her voice lowered.
She sets the bag aside and pushes a stack of paperwork through the opening. Her voice is as expressionless as her face as I take the papers from her and bow my head slightly. “Please fill these out completely. Thank you, ma’am.”
I grab the clipboard containing the paperwork and hold it against my chest as I turn away from the window. I walk over to where Dante is seated, his back to the wall and his gaze focused squarely on the door. He inclines his head at me with a smirk. “Pissing off the little, old lady who has to release Luca?”
I shrug, narrowing my eyes at him. “She was a bitch, first. Besides, all the money is there. She can’t deny him bail since the proper amount for his bond is accounted for. As far as Orleans Parish Prison is concerned, Luca Barresi has bonded out on the bail they set. Which, I must admit is surprisingly low for what he’s being charged with.”
Dante shrugs. “Technically, he’s being charged with the disappearance of Andre. Being charged in someone’s disappearance is usually a bring in and question type offense. People don’t usually see cuffs until a body has been found, which we know hasn’t happened. And it won’t. Ever. I suspect the only reason he was arrested at all was to make a statement.”
I plop down into the chair beside him and start filling out the mountain of paperwork. Groaning, I complain out loud, “Don’t they already have all of this information? I don’t even know his exact date of birth. I can guess at the rest… is his first name even really Luca?”
Dante chuckles and holds his hand out for the clipboard. I hand it over, and he begins scratching answers down on the papers. I peek over his shoulder, because I’m genuinely curious about some of the answers. I reach over Dante and point at the name line, then look at him with one eyebrow raised.
He shrugs. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t name him. Our father was a very proper Italian man when it came to naming his children.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “But Lucario Anton? His name sounds like a shadow man.”
Dante nods with another chuckle. “Kinda appropriate if you ask me.”
I narrow my eyes at him and tilt my head to the side. “Truth… Hmmm, Dante…?”
He rolls his eyes at my sing song voice and goes back to filling out the paperwork, pretending that he can’t hear me as I nag him incessantly. “Come on, Dante… tell me…”
He shakes his head without lifting his eyes from the paperwork. “Nope.”
I frown and cross my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes into daggers as I stare him down. He shifts uncomfortably, but still doesn’t give up the goods. “Yanno Emily, if looks could kill… you’d be in some serious trouble seeing as we’re sitting in a prison. What’s it to you, anyway?”
I cut my eyes away from him with a grunt, but then it dawns on me that I could find the answer easily if I wanted to… I just have to fall back on skills I haven’t utilized in months. Before he knows what hits him, I’m holding his wallet in my hands, reading off his personal information, “Dante Lorenzo Barresi… ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner…”
Dante scowls and snatches his wallet from me. “Give me that, you nosy little…”
I cut Dante off as something on the paperwork catches my attention. “Wait, seriously? Electronic monitoring device number? How the fuck am I supposed to know that? Hang on… is that an ankle bracelet? He has an ankle bracelet?!?”
Dante shrugs and glances up as the loud buzz of the door unlocking breaks the relative silence of the reception area. “I guess he does now…”
He nods his head at the door. I follow his gaze, and my eyes widen as big as saucers. I scramble out of the chair, and though I nearly faceplant to the linoleum floor, I’m across the room in seconds. I leap at the figure clothed in prison-orange and wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. “Luca!”
He chuckles as his heart thunders in his chest against me. “Well, hello there beautiful.”
My breathing is staggered as I bring my hands to his face, my thumbs brushing across his strong cheekbones. Everything about him screams darkness, except his eyes. They’re stone gray, but they’re layered with a deep blue beneath the grey that sets my heart aflutter. It’s only been a few weeks, but he looks so different than the day he was arrested.
I don’t know if he wasn’t afforded a razor, but his typically well-groomed beard has grown wild. Thick, black hair covers his jawline from ear to ear, and it migrates up onto his cheeks and down to his neck. His thick lips have nearly disappeared beneath a heavy mustache, and I can’t say I’m entirely disappointed to see a grungier look. Despite our audience, I press my lips to his. He groans deep in his chest in response to my forwardness.
The sound of someone clearing their throat very loudly captures my attention. I jerk back from the impromptu kiss and turn to look at a very perturbed guard. He’s leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He glances at us pointedly, and I let go of Luca, sliding down his body slowly until my feet hit the ground. I try not to let my embarrassment show, but I’m almost certain my face looks like a tomato. The guard rolls his eyes and pulls out a set of keys, jingling them in his hand. “Should I take off the handcuffs, or would the two of you like for me to leave them on for ‘ambiance’?”
I frown at the guard, but Luca chuckles and steps between us with his back to the guard, so that my line of sight is focused squarely on the most garish orange color I’ve ever seen. He leans over me and places one kiss to the top of my head, and I can feel all eyes trained on me once again. I step against him and bury my face into his chest. My heart skips a beat as fami
liar, strong arms wrap around my body.
My muscles tense at first, but I can’t stop myself from melting into his embrace, despite our audience. He slides both hands onto my ass, and I shake my head as I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I missed you too, Luca.”
He smirks and tugs me tightly against him. He rests his chin on top of my head and murmurs, “I never realized how much I needed you, until I didn’t have you. I was a fool for taking you for granted. The last three weeks have been hell. I haven’t slept more than an hour or two a night. The miserable cots they call beds in this place are hard and distinctly lacking you.”
I nod slightly and just stand there, breathing in the scent of soap and man. It’s not Luca’s normal smell, but it’s refreshingly clean, despite the slightly musty odor that hangs in the air. It isn’t coming from Luca, but my guess is that when you put thousands of men together in one building, it isn’t going to smell like flowers and sunshine.