“Excuse me?”
“I mean it, Haven. It’s an order.”
He did not just say that. “An order. You will not …”
“Since when do you want to see her anyway?” He arches a brow. “You hated her just last week. All of a sudden, she’s your best fucking friend.”
“She’s my mother!”
He snorts. “Since when does that mean anything?”
I throw my arms up, not in the mood to have this conversation with him. Without another word, I turn around and storm out of his office.
LUCA
I left Haven back at the house to stew. All of a sudden, she wants to be best friends with her mother, and I don’t like it. I park my car behind Kingdom and run up the stairs. I had been on the phone with Bones when Haven entered my office at home. He said he needed to see me, so here I am.
“Hello, sir.” Nigel greets me.
“Is Bones upstairs?”
“He’s in the meat locker, sir.”
Hmm. Wonder who the unlucky bastard is?
“I will escort you.” He walks out from behind the desk and over to the single elevator. Using his key card, he presses the lowest level, and it begins to descend. “You have a good evening, sir,” he says as the door slides open.
I nod to him. “You too, Nigel.” Exiting the elevator, I walk down the long hallway. Coming to the end, I twist the knob and push the door open. Stepping into the cold room, I allow the heavy metal door to close behind me. I see Bones standing in the middle of the room with his hands in the pockets of his dress slacks, staring down at a man who is on his knees. A man I know well.
Marco.
“You’re out of time,” Bones tells him. “And I had to track you down. Know what that means?”
Marco just shakes his head.
“Means I get to break your hands.”
“No. No. You said if I didn’t sign the paper, you would break my hands, but I signed it.” His eyes go from Bones to mine. They plead with me as if he thinks I came to save him.
I don’t.
“I guess that makes you a thief and me a liar,” Bones states.
“Wait. Wait. I can get your money.”
“Obviously, you couldn’t, or you would have.”
“What can I do?” he begs wide-eyed.
“There’s nothing you can do now. You’re out of time.” Bones steps up to him, grabs his right hand, and bends it back. The sound of bones breaking bounces off the concrete walls.
Marco screams out in agony, throwing his head back. “It was only five grand,” he cries, now cradling his broken wrist.
Bones places his hands back in the pockets of his slacks. “I would have broken it for five dollars,” he states. “It’s the principle. Now I’ll give you three days to pay it, or I’ll break the other one. Understand?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HAVEN
I PACE BACK and forth in our room, mad at Luca. Who is he to tell me what I should and shouldn’t feel?
Yes, she is the reason I’m here, and although I was mad at her, I don’t hate her. Not now. Not after I found out about his sister. What all he has done for her and how she described how he missed me. I thought he had left me and never looked back, but obviously, that was not the case.
My cell begins to ring, and I look down at it to see it’s a blocked number. Biting my bottom lip, I debate after a few seconds but press answer. Maybe it’s Mia.
“Hello?”
“Haven.”
I frown at the male’s voice knowing my name. He doesn’t sound familiar. “Who is this?” I ask, doing a three-sixty of our bedroom to make sure I’m alone.
“Someone who has all the answers,” he says cryptically.
I sit down on the end of the bed. “All the answers regarding what?”
“Meet me tomorrow.”
“I don’t think so.” I go to hang up, but his next words stop me.
“I can tell you everything you need to know about your soon-to-be husband.”
“Tell me what exactly?” I ask, my heart pounding.
Is he having an affair with a married woman? There’s so much I don’t know about him. And I never expected him to be celibate while we were apart, so who knows what all he did?
“Tomorrow. In person. There will be a car waiting for you at 4th and Lexington.”
“A car?” I ask. That’s just a couple of blocks from Luca’s house. “I can’t. The house is full of …”
“I’ll take care of it.”
My brows pull together. Who the fuck is this guy? “Take care of what?”
“A distraction. I know he’s got you on 24-hour surveillance. He’ll be at Glass. I’ll give you a five-minute window.”
“Wait?” I jump to my feet. “Glass? The strip club? Why would he be there?” Who the hell would he be up there meeting that early?
There’s a short pause on his end. “He keeps everything from you, doesn’t he?” His voice has an edge to it. As if he’s mad at Luca. “He owns the club. Why else would he be there at eight a.m.?”