Undressed By The Mafia God

That look almost broke her. The fear in his eyes held tight, buried beneath control, but she knew him. She saw the strain in his mouth, the terrifying stillness of his body, the way every part of him was ready to burn the world down.

"We have to go," Massimo said.

"No." Vee sucked in a breath. "No."

Luca’s head tilted slightly. "Bambola."

She walked to him, ignoring the weakness in her knees. "I can’t."

"Go with Don, Vee," Luca said, voice low. "He’ll get you out."

"I can’t. Not yet."

"What?" His eyes searched her face. "Why?"

She looked at him. "I know," she said simply.

Luca understood. "I..." His voice broke slightly. "I tried to.... Vee..."

She shook her head. There was no time to bleed emotionally. That could be scheduled for later. "Allow me go with Voss...Dorian can get me out on bail in the morning."

Luca shook his head immediately. "No."

"Listen to me."

"No."

"Luca!"

"You are pregnant. You think I am going to let them put you in a cell overnight?"

"I’m not asking for permission." She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Get Matteo."

His breath shuddered out. "I cannot leave you. Not even for one night. I... the conditions do not suit you right now."

"I’m not made of glass," Vee said. "Do what you have to do. And don’t come anywhere near me until I am out."

His face hardened with agony. Then, slowly, he turned away from her and walked over to Voss. "She didn’t do this,"

Voss held his ground. "Then tell me who did."

"You know damned well who did."

Behind them, Massimo’s eyes narrowed. Something began to dawn on him. Luca knew a lot more than he had been letting on.

"Luciano?!"

"She wouldn’t," Voss said.

Luca looked at him through the harsh wash of headlights and police lights, his face carved out of shadow, his gun now lowered but not forgotten.

"She is not capable," Voss added. "Both of them aren’t."

"People get desperate, Voss," Luca said.

Voss stared at him. Desperate people lied. They clung to bad choices because letting go meant admitting the damage had been for nothing.

"Luciano Genovese!" Massimo’s voice cracked through the night like a whip.

Conversing with a cop, especially an enemy cop, was against the rules no matter the situation. Men had died for less. Luca knew it.

Luca did not look away from Voss. "I swear if something goes wrong..." He did not finish the sentence. He did not need to.

The threat lived perfectly well.

Voss held his gaze. For all the hate he had for Luca, for all the years spent chasing him, building files on him, Voss knew what Veronica meant to him.

His wife was not an accessory. She was his centre.

His religion.

His home.

And Voss knew, that if something happened to Veronica while she was in police custody, the city would pay for it in ways no incident report could properly capture.

"Let me handle this myself," Voss said. "If I find anything," he continued, voice low and careful, "anything at all, let me bring her in, Luca."

"That is not how it works," Luca said. "And you know it."

Voss took a step closer. "Then what? You go after her yourself? You make a bigger mess? You think Veronica will thank you for that?"

Luca looked back at Vee, still pale, still too still, one hand resting near her stomach. Her face was drained of emotion. He turned away from Voss and walked back to her.

Vee lifted her eyes when he came close.

"Bambola," he said softly.

"Not here," she whispered.

He nodded, leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I am sorry," he breathed against her skin. "Hang tight,"

Vee nodded also. Then she turned and walked back to Voss’s vehicle. Every step looked wrong to Luca. She got into Voss’s car like a queen entering exile. Her face remained drained of every kind of emotion. She was broken completely. She did not have the energy to even form thoughts.

Thoughts required structure. She had only fragments now. Voss watched her settle into the car, then turned back to Luca.

"So once again, you are going to leave me to deal with this mess?" he demanded, pointing at the ruined patrol vehicle behind him and the unconscious cop still being pulled from it. "That is your plan?"

Luca glanced at the wreckage as if Voss had mentioned a parking inconvenience. "It is already taken care of."

"I am beginning to think I am working for you and not against you!"

Luca did not respond. There was nothing to say to that. He walked back to his car. Massimo followed, his expression carved from old stone and colder fury.

Neither of them spoke until they reached the vehicle. Luca opened the driver’s door. Massimo paused before getting in, looking once at Veronica in Voss’s car, then at his son.

Luca got into the car along with his father and drove off.

"Idiota..." Massimo muttered the word beneath his breath.

"Don?" Luca said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Not now." He pulled out his phone with one hand and sent a brief text to Dorian Heathcliffe.

"You are a damned fool," Massimo said.

"I am aware you have many feelings. Kindly have them later."

"You were stalling on purpose," Massimo said. "All this time, you were dragging your feet because there was a piece of the picture I was not seeing."

The car moved through the night, the city lights sliding over the windshield in gold and white streaks. His hands stayed firm on the steering wheel. His face stayed calm. Inside, every instinct he had was screaming in three directions at once.

"Who were you protecting?" Massimo demanded. "Who did this?"

The silence thickened. Massimo watched him. Luca could feel it. His father was not guessing wildly. Massimo was working backwards.

Then Massimo inhaled.

"Marco," he breathed.

Luca’s foot hit the brake.

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