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“Okay, eight weeks.”
"Perfect. Now, amor mio, I'm afraid I must go."
"Go? Already?"
"Si. I have a meeting to attend, and I must call to tell my father the good news. We are having an heir." He grinned brightly and gently placed his hand on my belly before giving me a chaste kiss on the corner of my mouth.
He hurried back through the house on his way out while I sat on the edge of the wooden table, my mind racing with everything that had just happened.
From inside the house, Teo's booming voice greeted someone. The house was always bustling since he conducted most of his work from home after Eli was born. He wanted to be home with his family as much as possible, and who could blame him?
I needed time to process everything, so I decided to go to the cafe for a while. I enjoyed getting lost people-watching while sipping on a cappuccino, although I'd have to get used to drinking decaf for a while.
I was just walking through the kitchen when Luca’s voice echoed down the hall. "I'll meet you in your office after I grab a coffee and maybe one of Bianca's pastries if there are any left."
"Perfect. Take your time. That'll give me a chance to get this conference call over with."
I thought about turning around and going another way but aside from retreating to the wine-cellar, there wasn't really anywhere for me to go.
I was still at the doorway when Luca rounded the corner, nearly running into me. I don't know what I expected to say or feel when I saw him again but stunned silence wasn't it.
"Mira, geez I nearly plowed you over. Are you alright?"
I nodded. "I'm fine. Excuse me."
I stepped to the side, to go around him, but he blocked me. "Wait. Hold up. We need to talk."
"Not now."
"Yes, now. This can't wait. I want to make sure that you're okay after everything that you went through in Milan.”
“I'm fine, but I have to go.” I moved to step around him, but he grabbed my arm.
“Mira I know that you're mad at me, but you have to understand that I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? From what? What did you do to Giulietta and the others?”
“They needed to be afraid—really afraid. We postponed the sale for another few days to let the girls sweat it out. Then, I let that man take Giulietta.”
“You did what?” I raised my voice, but he held up his hands defensively.
“It was all part of the plan.”
“You sick, son of a—you said it was all an act, that you were just going to scare them. I knew there was something up with that man. It all felt too real. He gave me the creeps. How could you?” I pounded Luca’s chest with my fists. When I moved to strike his face, he snatched my wrists, holding both hands in the air so that I couldn’t hit him anymore.
“He didn't actually do anything to her, but I had to make her really afraid. I had to sell what we were trying to do.” Irritation laced his voice but calmed as he explained.
“He picked her up the next morning as planned. Once they were gone, he told her that he was part of a task force to take down traffickers like us. He told her that she was safe and that his men would be arresting us and freeing the other girls.”
Luca released me, running his fingers through his hair in frustration before motioning for us to sit at the small kitchen table and I sat. “We put on a little show for them, mainly slamming things around and running around upstairs, a few gunshots in the air, then his men went down into the basement to rescue the girls.
“The fake police told the girls that they could keep things quiet, that they had enough against the men who had taken them to put them away for life without having to bring their names into it. But for that to happen, they couldn't say a word about it to anyone. The girls eagerly agreed, and they were sent home.”
“So why have me escape?”
“I wanted to get you out of there as soon as possible. The whole thing took another week and a half, and I didn't want you anywhere near our mission to begin with.”
“And why not tell me that it was just going to be me? Why make me think I was supposed to be escaping with all of the girls?”
