I cut him off. “Listen, I know you’re mad. So am I, but this—it needs to end, now. Before someone gets hurt. You know your father will send men for retaliation. I don’t want that.”
“You’re a better person than I am,” Luca tells me. “But it’s not up to you.”
“Luca!”
I feel several sets of eyes on me, and I lower my voice again. “Please, talk to your father. Convince him that retribution isn’t the only way.”
I sense his frustration. “Do you honestly think he’s going to listen to me?”
“He ought to if he wants you to run the organization one day.” I glance toward the door and spot Moreno stalking inside, his overcoat on and black leather gloves. He looks warm.
He’s also carrying my winter coat.
“Moreno’s here,” I say.
“Doesn’t mean we have to hang up yet,” Luca tells me cheekily. “Is it selfish that I don’t want our call to end?”
“Not at all.” I keep the phone to my ear as I stand and approach Moreno, taking the coat and sliding my arms one at a time through it. I button the jacket and he leads me back outside into the cold.
Moreno opens the door for me outside. The awaiting SUV is parked out front, the engine on, with Nico behind the wheel. Moreno opens the back door, and I climb inside.
“Where’d you get the phone?” Moreno asks, glancing at the device as he retrieves mine from his pocket.
“Just a girl who picked me up on the side of the road.” I forgo giving her name to him.
He holds out his hand, wiggling his fingers, waiting for me to deposit it into his palm.
“Moreno wants the phone,” I say, letting Luca know in case we get disconnected. “I’m talking to Luca.”
“You can call him back on your phone.” He ends the call for me, tossing the phone into the nearby garbage.
“Why did you do that?”
“I’m not about to let someone track you.” He shoves my cell phone back into my hand. “Found this at the bar. Thought you might want it.”
I climb into the backseat, and Moreno shuts the door for me. I dial Luca, not wanting to spend another minute apart.
“Everything okay?” he asks when he picks up the phone.
“Yeah, just Moreno being bossy and overbearing. He was worried Izzie might be tracking me.”
“Izzie?” Moreno repeats, his curiosity piqued. “As in Isabel Monroe?” He glances at me from the front seat, turning around as much as possible to face me.
“She didn’t give a last name,” I say.
“Luca called and told us you got away. Did you see who the perpetrator was?” Moreno asks.
I’m quiet for a fraction of a second. “The two men wore masks,” I say, opting not to start a war.
“Was the guy at the bar involved?” Moreno presses further. “Jayden Scott?”
“Moreno, I’m on the phone with Luca. Can we do this later?” I glare at him.
He clears his throat and shifts around to face forward. “Yeah, fine. We can do this with Dante when we get back to the compound.”
Luca is quiet on the call for several seconds. “Are you okay?” he finally asks, breaking the silence when he realizes I’m no longer talking to Moreno.
“I’m…” I pause, trying to say exactly how I am, how I feel. I opt instead to answer with what we’re doing. My emotions are a rollercoaster, and our conversation isn’t the least bit private. “Just pulling away from the resort.”
