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I wanted to say more to her and thought we should’ve discussed what happened, but that ship had sailed. Lucas showing up suddenly was more than likely a sign. A sign I should stop whatever was about to happen before anything did. I set my phone back on the counter with the screen facing down. I lifted a hand for him to continue.
“Was that Dimitri Abruzzo?”
“Pardon?” My brows pinched together. “Why would Dimitri be contacting me at this hour and furthermore, why would you bring up his name out of the blue?”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He sighed, stepped over to the trash can, and threw the empty water bottle away, and moved back over. “I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been tonight. His nephew, Gian, showed up, and I overheard him saying some shit—” the word caught in his throat, “‘Scuse my language.”
I waved him on to continue. His swearing was the least of my worries right now. The mention of the Abruzzo family at all had my full attention.
“K, well, I heard him saying some things to Leo about Maddie.” Leo was one of Lucas’s closest friends. They met when they were three.
I laced my fingers together, squeezing. “What do you mean? And where were you?”
“Dad, I don’t know if I should say—”
“Lucas, tell me immediately. Right now, I don’t care where you were so much as I care if it’s important to the story. I need to know.”
“I was near the club tonight and I guess it was late enough they’d closed.”
My thoughts drifted to him maybe seeing Maddie and I leaving together. I hoped that wasn’t where it was going, though I could’ve played it off as her best friend’s concerned father, which I still was.
“Gian was saying there was, and I quote, this girl named Maddie at his new job, and she was begging to be fucked, but some old dude was cock blocking him, or something.”
Old dude? Fucking fantastic. Maddie begging to be fucked… by Gian? My blood was simmering. My mind was spinning circles.
“Dad?”
“What?!”
“Damn,” he snorted. “Anyway, he said after work they were in the back or something and he kissed her and—” he grimaced. “God, I don’t want to be vulgar in front of you, so I’m just gonna say it like I’m twelve… but he apparently got a good feel of her, if you know what I mean.” He curved his fingers over his chest.
Clearly, Maddie hadn’t told me everything. No wonder she was being weird. Fuck.
“But,” he continued, “the way he spoke about her was really disturbing and I’m worried about the old dude he spoke about, too. I know you go to Abruzzo’s a lot, and I don’t want to start any trouble, but could you maybe just ask someone to keep a closer eye on her?”
“Lucas.” I shook my head, ready to tell him I was the old guy, and I gave her a ride home, but I changed my mind. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll handle it.”
“K, cool.” He played a quick drum beat on the counter with his hands. “I’m off to bed. Don’t wake me up before noon. I’m tired and I’m skipping the gym.” Missing a workout wasn’t something he did often. When he was in high school, he was the football team’s quarterback, and fitness was important to him. He sauntered toward the stairs.
“Luc?”
He spun around. “Yeah?”
“Stay away from that area until I tell you it’s okay to go back there.” I scowled. “It isn’t the safest area for you to be going, even if you’re with a group of people.” Though I was sure he could physically handle himself in any situation, I didn’t want him messing with Gian until I handled it.
He nodded once. “I was only there to talk to some girls from NYU, but I got you. Before I go up, are we still going to the country club for lunch? I know mom’s thankfully gone, but I really want to continue the tradition.”
“What if I grill here tomorrow instead? We still have a few more weeks before I have to turn the pool heater on, and then cover it entirely for winter. We have a ton of food already.”
“Can I invite some friends?”
“Sure.” I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for everyone; our home was always welcoming for anyone who wanted to join us. We’d always been the house everyone loved to hang out at.
With a satisfied grin, he disappeared upstairs. The moment he was out of sight, I grumbled into my palms. Fucking Gian. Now, I had to involve the brothers and Vincenzo. It was something I didn’t want to do, but I had no choice. But not until after I spoke to Maddie. I couldn’t believe she hid that from me. Not that it was my business, but she made it sound way less of an issue than it was.
“Shit,” I whispered, snatching my phone from the counter and went up to bed.
* * *
