The Secrets She Kept

Chapter 18

I stood there in silence staring at Luca blankly. "Say yes Lana, give us a chance. Let us find out what our family would've looked like had we stayed together." I didn't know what it was but something was holding me back from saying yes. What if Antonio is right, and love is dangerous. But then again what if he's wrong and I'm able to give my daughter a beautiful life. "I am not promising I will marry you, but we can try to be together, and see how things go, for Leah."

"Don't do that." Luca exhaled irritably.

"Do what?"

"We're not doing this for Leah, we're doing it for us. I love you Lana, and I want to be with you."

"I said we can try."

"Yes but don't do it for Leah, I want you to do it for you."

"Fine, we will do this for us." I gave him a light smile. Luca's face lit up and a bright smile stretched across his face. "Can we finish this later Luca? I want to see Robbie."

"Yeah, let's go." Luca grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly leading the way. Why did I feel so unsure about this? Getting back to Luca's place didn't take long, and by the time we got there, Robbie was already in surgery. "Why didn't you take him to a hospital?' I asked Antonio once I saw him. "Hospitals ask questions." He shrugged. "How do I know the surgeon is certified to operate?" I began biting my nails with anxiety. "Just trust me. Stop that." Antonio grabbed my hand and pulled it away from my mouth. "Don't bite your nails, they're beautiful. He's going to be okay." He looked at me with the softest expression. What an odd thing to say, yet it was the sweetest. I looked over to see Luca staring at Antonio. I quietly left and went to find Leah. I found her asleep in Kate's lap, in the living room. "Hey babe, you okay?" Kate motioned for me to sit with her. "I'm fine, how is she?" I stroked Leah's hair lightly, not to wake her. "You got her so quickly, she never saw anything. She only heard noises and saw things breaking. I convinced her it was an earthquake." The side of Kate's mouth lifted to a small but not cheerful smile. "She really believes that?" I felt bad about lying to her. "Would you rather he remember the truth?" I knew I didn't. I wanted Leah to have as normal of a childhood as possible. "No. Hey kate?"

"Yes?" She adjusted herself a bit better, with Leah still sleeping. "Who are the Moray?"

"They're an old gang on Moray Island. They're poachers, trying to get in the game with Luca."

"Why'd they attack us?"

"Luca wouldn't buy or trade with them, so they lashed out." That must've been what Carla was doing there.

"Are they coming back?"

"I doubt it." Kate seemed not worried at all.

"But there's a chance?"

"Let me explain something to you. The Luca we know is sweet and loving, and protective, and the Luca they know is the opposite. They will regret meeting him by the end of the day. Luca isn't the same when he's working. When he's working he has to be heartless, once you and Leah move in, there will be no place safer."

"How can I be with someone ruthless and cold-hearted?"

"Sweetheart, before you know it, you'll be just as cold. Maybe not towards each other but towards outsiders. It's all a part of the game."

"Are you?" I couldn't picture Kate being cold to anyone.

"Ruthless? When it comes to my family, yes. We back our men baby girl, even if that means being someone you didn't want to be or learning to hustle and fight because at the end of the day, no one would die for us the way our men would."

"I don't get it." I admitted.

"You won't for a while. We protect what's ours. You've already started changing. Don't think I haven't noticed you training with Carla." Maybe she was right but if she is that means Antonio was right as well. About me being collateral damage. "Lana." I turned to see Antonio standing nearby. "Robbie's out, and awake." He informed me. I quickly stood and rushed to his room. When I entered the room I was surprised to see Delilah by his bedside. She was whispering to him, as he wiped away tears from her face. It was the sweetest thing I've seen. They were in love. Robbie, my brother, was actually in love. "Think you'll ever find that one day?" Antonio whispered in my ear, so close to me, I could feel his body starting to press against mine. My heart raced, and I wanted to run. I felt my anxiety creeping in at the memory of what he did to me. "She already has it." Luca said from behind us both. Antonio didn't know he was there by the look on his face. Luca grabbed me by my hand and walked me into the room, pulling me away from Antonio. Luca seemed threatened by Antonio. His grip tightened and he didn't seem to want to let go. "Lana." Robbie finally noticed me. "Robbie, how are you feeling?" I walked over and ran my hand through his hair. "I'm fine, is everyone else okay? How's Leah?"

"She's okay, everyone is okay." Robbie began coughing and struggling to breathe. The sight of it broke me down a little, and tears began to fall from my eyes. Just then machines started beeping, and Robbie began to have what looked like a seizure. "Robbie!" I panicked trying to figure out how to help. "Antonio! Get the doctor!" Luca shouted from the room. Delilah began to panic as well. "Robbie!" She reached out to hold him, only the doctor and a few nurses rushed in pulling Delilah along with us all, out of the room. I watched through the window to see what was going on. Once the seizures stopped, I heard the machine flat line, and that was it for me. I was completely overwhelmed and blacked out. "Lana!" Was the last thing I heard from both Antonio and Luca. I opened my eyes once more to see both Antonio and Luca standing above me, before falling into a deep sleep.