Luca POV
I've gone fucking insane. I swear to God, I've gone into a fucking rage at least 3 times today in a need to protect her. I get angry when someone touches a fucking hair on her head, let alone forces themselves on her, attacks her house and gala, and corners her in a goddamn car chase.
I resist the urge to punch something as these thoughts rush through my head again, yet my reasoning returns as I glance at the woman next to me.
"Where to?" I ask, placing an arm on the headrest of her seat and looking behind me, I back out of the woods.
"Lilly's Spa. I'll tell you where to turn." She informs as the car jerks awkwardly over the branches of the woods. I actually know the whole way there, remembering from when Iz forced me to bring her there when we first came.
The space between the dirt and the road is significant, and causes the car the jerk backward as it merged onto the pavement.
I hadn't paid much attention to her reactions while I was reversing out of the forest, needing to pay attention in the unnatural territory, but as I continue to drive, I hear a small hiss of pain. Immediately whipping my head to the right of me, I find Ivy clenching her shoulder, an well-hidden, yet noticeable to the trained eye, agonized expression on her face.
My hand subconsciously moves to her thigh to comfort her as I return my gaze to the road. I find it oddly comforting as well, even a small amount of contact with her.
It reassures me slightly when I hear her breathing become even again. After about 15 minutes of a comfortable silence, I pull up into the front parking lot. Before me is a large light pink and black salon with obnoxiously large windows.
The car is placed slightly behind a bush and a small crevice of concrete, meaning I can eye her sorroundings discreetly.
She twists to unbuckle but halts her movement once she sees something through the dashboard. Following her gaze, I find her redhead friend next to a stumpy buff guy, who appears eerily familiar to me.
"Who's that man?" I question, gesturing in his general vicinity.
She scrunches her eyebrows a little and leans forward slightly. "I'm not sure." She admits, slowly pulling the seatbelt fully off before shoving her gun into her jeans a little more. "I'm sure it's fine. Probably some random dude." She reassures, but that same skeptical look remains on her face.
My eyes move back to the pair, as I glare at the man for various reasons. The main one being if he so much as fucking thinks about her, I will snap his fingers off and force him to use them as chopsticks.
My gaze flickers back to her, as she begins to get out of the car. My hand involuntarily tightens on her thigh, as she looks back to me in confusion. "Be careful." I warn, knowing I can't stop her. If this man is in fact a threat, Ivy will clearly know and he can't know she's even remotely suspicious. Plus, he won't try shit on her in a public space.
If he does, I'll happily shoot him between the eyes.
She gives me a small nod and leaves the car, shutting the door behind her and slowly approaching the suspicious couple. The man continues to seem like someone I know, I would recognize him if he was maybe a few feet closer. As I watch their tense interaction, one thing becomes clearer and clearer:
I am not leaving this parking lot until she comes out and gets in this car with me.
I'm high on my guard while waiting for her, periodically checking my work emails. Everything is the fucking same, nothing goes down because every other mafia is scared shitless of mine. My father randomnly asserts his dominance, but I'm really just waiting for the high-ups to vote Achille, my father, out so I can take his position.
