You Again (Completed) ✔️

67.

Cole's POV

I enter Rivera holding Julia's hand, and a smile spreads across my face when I see the waitress, Skyler. Skyler is Luca's wife, and when he asks her to give up working at the restaurant, she gives him hell until he tells her she can keep working there. Whenever she's at the restaurant, Luca is in the office, keeping an eye on the everyday running of his restaurant. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he's doing less work for his family because he needs to keep an eye on Skyler.

Skyler's father owed many people money and even sold her to another family. Luca has done everything to ensure the other family doesn't enter his restaurant and take her from him.

I'm about to take a seat when Skyler says, "Hey, Cole. Those men would like a word with you, Sir."

Four men are standing close by, and I can see they have nine-millimetre guns sticking out of their holsters.

A smile spreads as I remember first encountering these men and Luca. I approach them and ask, "Do you remember the first time we met?"

Dwayne, the leading security guy, laughs. "Of course I do. You were such a cocky little shit. You had longer hair than you do and always had your hand on your gun. I'm pretty sure you were trigger-fingered." I laugh. "You also had your cousin and his right-hand man, Jai, with you. Whatever happened to that guy?"

A smile spreads across my face. "Jai's living in Los Angeles, running a seclusive bar for the rich people of LA. Not everyone knows about the club, and those who know about it pay a fortune for alcohol and entertainment. He recently got married to a beautiful woman. Things worked out well for him."

He looks past me and in Julia's direction. "It looks like you're a lucky guy too. Are there wedding bells in your future?"

I place my hand on his shoulder. "Not yet. I'm working on getting Julia to completely forgive me for the shit I did to her growing up. She left home and hasn't returned until now because of me. She's going through a hard time, and the people she thought she could trust are truly her enemy." Looking back at the girls, I add. "The woman with my girl is supposed to be her best friend, but today, she overheard a conversation about having me distracted. I have a feeling it involves her removing Julia from my side. I need Luca to use his magic and tell me everything I need to know about that girl."

A guy walks through the door. He's built like a tank, with tattoos under his button-up shirt's collar. He looks at me. "You must be the guy Boss hasn't stopped talking about since this morning."

I'm surprised he told his men about me.

I look at the table where Julia's sitting with her friend. "Can you keep an eye on my girl?" he nods. "And I need someone to be on her friends at all times. If she goes to the toilet, someone must stand outside it. Something is going on with that girl, and I can't put my finger on it."

"I will do that, " he tells me. He talks through a microphone, relating the message to someone. "There's a group of men out back as well. So, there's enough eyes on your girl."

"Thank you."

Dwayne leads me to a door and types a code into the keypad. Looking at it, I ask. "Is that connected to the electricity?"

It better not be. If it is and something happens while we're here, I won't be able to get to Julia quickly enough.

He looks at me. "No, it's battery-operated. When the shop first opened, it was, and the boss got stuck inside for a couple of hours. He wasn't happy leaving Skyler in the open for others to take." Dwayne opens the door. As soon as we step into the room, it's dark, except for the light shining where the stairs are. We climb the stairs, and at the top is another door. Opening the door, I step into the office and see Luca sitting behind his desk. "Hey, Luca. It's been a while."
He spins his chair around and faces me. "Cole, I'm glad you came by." He points to the chair opposite him. "You should sit. We have a lot to talk about."