I looked over to Enzo and Tristan and pointed my chin at the door. They stood up from their chairs and left me alone in the office, closing the door behind them.
"Luca?"
"Come back to me," I told her. "Tell me where you are and I will come get you. Most of your stuff is still here and I'll buy you whatever else you need."
There was only silence on her end.
"Veda..."
"I can't do that," she said quietly.
"I miss you," I admitted. "And you belong here. With me."
"Maybe you should've thought of that before you kicked me out of your house and told me to leave town."
I thought about my words carefully. "I was angry. I thought you had betrayed me."
She hesitated only for a moment before she asked, "And what do you think now?"
The lie was on the tip of my tongue. But in the end, I went with the truth. "I don't know what to think. And I don't care. I just want you here, where you belong."
She was silent again for a long time. And when she finally spoke, I could hear the tears in her voice. "And that's exactly why I can't come back."
I heard her friend talking to her in the background. She didn't appear to be a fan of mine. I needed to get her alone, where no one else was in her head but me. "Veda, please. I can send Enzo to get you, if you'd prefer, and we can talk."
"I just want to see my parents," she said. "That's all."
"I will bring you here to see them. If you promise me, you'll talk to me afterwards." I wasn't a complete bastard.
"No, I can't do that."
"Can't, or won't?"
"Do not underestimate me, Luca," she said, and there was a tone of fortitude in her voice I hadn't heard before. "You got super comfortable with me the last few weeks I was there. I know you're only about a mile from the marina. And I know what direction. I could find your house. Quite easily, I think."
"You'll never make it inside unless I tell my men to let you in," I insisted. "Also, my brother had a man at the hospital. He's watching for you, Veda. If you come here, you could bring him straight to me, putting all of us in danger. Including your parents."
"No one is following us."
I heard her giving directions to Sammy. "VE-DA, do not be stupid. You will bring him right to my door."
"That's not my problem," she told me. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you stole my family from me."
"Goddammit! I did not fucking steal them!"
She was silent for a long moment, then softly said, "Liar."
"Despite what you may think of me, I'm not a complete monster. I brought your parents here so they would be safe."
"You brought them there to lure me to your house," she said. "I'm not stupid, Luca." There was a long silence. "I'm almost at the marina," she said. "I will find you, and you better not have hurt one hair on either of their heads."
"Veda, wait for Enzo. He's on his way. Let him make sure you're safe." I walked over to the office door and opened it. "If not for my sake, then for your own. For your parents."
"Since when do you care about my safety? Really?" was all she said.
And then she hung up the phone.
"Fucking hell." I tossed Enzo's phone back to him. "Get to the marina. Cut her off before she can lead my fucking brother here. Make sure she wasn't followed. Get Veda and bring her here. I can't have her wandering around the area, trying to find me with my brother on her tail. Take the keys to the boat and bring her in that way. Send her friend home."
"Do you want me to go with him?" Tristan asked.
"No," I told him. "But take another vehicle and take care of anyone who might be tailing her without her knowledge. Make sure her friend is safe, then come back here. Enzo can handle Veda on his own."
The question was, could I?