Luca froze. Completely. His arms stayed rigid at his sides, muscles locking. The sensation was unfamiliar. He couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him like this. Well, except for Nonnina.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and Vee pulled back instantly, mortified. "Sorry," she murmured, stepping away, suddenly self-conscious.
"Come with me," he said quickly, already turning toward the door to hide the disruption she had caused. He opened it and gestured for her to follow. He led her down the corridor toward Marco's office.
"Boss." Luca said quickly as he opened the door. "She needs five minutes with you." He stepped aside just enough to usher Vee forward, his hand gesturing.
"Oh…" Marco drawled, lifting his head slowly. "Come in."
Vee stepped into the office, her spine straight, her fear carefully leashed. She looked at the frightening man in front of her, taking in the expensive suit, the cold eyes, the stillness that suggested violence didn't need to be loud to be effective. "Good morning," she said.
"Get to it," Marco said flatly. He was imitating Luca now, down to the cadence, the faint curl of disdain.
"Uh okay." Vee swallowed and launched forward before her courage could evaporate. "My name is Veronica Scalese. My friends call me Vee. I am Vito Scalese's daughter. I run the pizza parlour." Her hands were clasped in front of her. "See, it's just me and my sister. She is all I have…My dad spends all his time lazying around. He loves us, but the alcohol clouds his mind, he… he makes wrong decisions."
Behind her, Luca yawned deliberately, an exaggerated show of boredom. He rolled his shoulders and gave Marco a subtle signal with his eyes, a silent instruction to speed things along. The performance was flawless.
"I said get to it," Marco asserted.
"You cannot take my sister. Please." Vee's breath caught, but she forced the words out anyway. She lifted her chin, meeting Marco's stare head-on. "Take me instead." It was a sacrifice offered plainly. Behind her, Luca shook his head slowly.
Marco cleared his throat. "A deal is a deal, Miss Scalese. Your sister it will be. End of story."
"No! No!" Vee rushed forward frantically. "You cannot do this!" Her hands reached out.
Luca reacted instantly. He caught her by the waist as she screamed again. "No!" she cried. His grip was firm, his arm banding around her middle. The contact was intimate and shocking all at once, her back pressed against his chest as she fought him with every ounce of desperation she had left.
He lifted her easily off the ground as she kicked, sneakers scraping uselessly against the floor as she tried to propel herself back toward the office door. "Let me in there!" she shouted, tears spilling freely now. They streaked down her face unchecked, blurring her vision, soaking her lashes. "She's all I have! Please!" The plea ripped through her. She clawed at his arm, fighting a man who barely had to exert himself to restrain her.
The guard at his station stiffened, eyes snapping to the scene unfolding. His hand hovered at his gun, fingers twitching as instinct screamed threat. But even he hesitated. Luca had the situation handled—or rather, contained. With one arm, Luca held Vee against him, turning smoothly and crossing back into his office without breaking stride.
"Calm yourself!" Luca snapped as he set her down, releasing her just enough for her feet to touch the floor. "There is nothing you can do about this." He stood in front of her now.
Without thinking, without planning to, he reached up. His thumb brushed the tears streaming down her face, tracing their path slowly. Her skin was warm beneath his touch, and the contact sent an unwanted jolt through him. He itched to lean forward, to follow that trail with his tongue, to taste the saltiness, to taste her skin, to understand why her desperation had lodged so deeply under his own.
The thought disturbed him enough to make his jaw tighten.
"This is business, pizza girl," he said. "Best you do not get involved."
She stared at him through blurred vision, chest heaving, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "How can you work for such a monster?" she demanded. "Do you have any idea what he is going to do to her? She is eighteen years old!"
"Well, Luca is not going to do anything to her. Bastardi will. Bastardi will auction her to the highest bidder." Luca explained. He knew exactly how brutal the words were. He also knew there was no soft way to deliver them.
"What?" Vee whispered, then louder, panic clawing its way back up her throat. "What do you mean?" Her hands trembled as she took a step closer, refusing to let the meaning fully settle. "Who is Bastardi? I can talk to him too." The hope in her voice was fragile, born from the belief that there had to be another door somewhere.
Another man to beg. Another deal to strike.
"Well, have fun finding him," he said lightly. "Your father made his choice." He paused, letting that sink in. "His battles are not yours to fight."
"It is my battle," Vee snapped back. "She is my sister. She is a child."
Luca shrugged, the gesture deceptively casual. "Like I said, nothing you or I can do about it. You just have to hope and pray that she meets with a man who would treat her reasonably…well." He turned away from her then, and moved toward the desk. He opened the box of pizza.
Reaching in, he grabbed a slice and walked back toward her, holding it out. "Pizza?"
Veronica stared at him. Was he really offering her pizza right now? In the middle of this?
"If you don't eat it," Luca said mildly, "I will have to believe it is poisoned." One brow lifted. He watched her closely, waiting.
She opened her mouth to argue, then stopped. Fine. If this was his test, she would pass it. She leaned forward and took a bite. The crust crunched softly between her teeth. Luca's eyes followed every movement without shame. The way her lips parted. The brief, accidental glimpse of her tongue.
The white of her teeth as she bit down, the slow, unconscious roll of her jaw as she chewed.