Reputation's Memories (Book 2)

Ch. 41 Dimaggio

Chapter 41

Luca stood in the dark gazing down at Daisy. Even in her sleep, the pain on her face was evident through the way her brows furrowed and a deep frown formed on her lips. He was tempted to reach out and touch her. A part of him, a huge part of him, wanted to take back everything he had said and hold her tightly to his chest.

But he couldn't forget how she lied to him.

Every time he remembered, his skin caught on fire. His breathing stopped and it felt as if someone had pushed his head underwater. If she could tell those lies, then what would stop her from hiding a whole side of herself from him. A side he would never see coming. A side that would sit him down in his car and tell him she was in love with someone else and wanted to keep their baby.

Luca walked to the door and paused to look over his shoulder. Daisy remained unmoved in her sleep. He counted the amount of breaths she took before he could pull himself away and close the door behind himself. Silently, in the dark, Luca made his way over to Gia's room and knocked.

As soon as Gia opened the door, Luca's eyes fell on the clock she was holding in her hands.

"What's going on?" She asked as she balanced the clock with one hand and pushed the door open.

"What are you doing with that?" Luca asked, looking down at the clock.

"Stupid thing was too loud," Gia said.

"Put it down," Luca said. "Go grab your passport and a change of clothes. You have a small bag?"

"Wh-what's going on?" Gia asked again.

"You're leaving," Luca said, rushing into the room and switching on the light.

"Leaving?" Gia followed him inside. "To where?"

"A shipment is scheduled to leave our docks in forty minutes," Luca said, picking up a sweater Gia had left on the chair. "It's going towards Greece. There will be a man waiting for you at the docks in Greece. When you get there, show him o-"

"You're sending me away?" Gia trembled.

"Yes," Luca said. "I'm not going to let you marry him."

"The other families...." Gia gripped the clock closer to herself.

"You leave them up to me," Luca said. "I'll handle it."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Not, it's too dangerous," Gia shook her head. "They won't just come after you. They'll go after Daisy and Theo. Carla and Nonna."

"They won't," Luca insisted. His heart contracted at the mention of Daisy's name. He knew it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to leave after the fight they just had. He could send her away some place far and keep her safe until he knew what to do about the other families. "Gia, we have to hurry. Grab your passport. From Greece, you will go to the Philippines. Don has arranged everything, you will be safe. I'll come find you."

"I can't leave you all here," Gia cried.

"You have to," Luca's eyes were determined. "Let's go. Now."

Shaken and terrified, Gia harried around the room as she grabbed her passport and packed a small bag. She barely thought about what she put in there as Luca threw in some cash and a piece of paper with phone numbers and addresses. Grabbing her hand, Luca rushed Gia out of her room and towards the back door of the house.

"Can I see Daisy?" Gia asked.

Luca cursed under his breath. If he saw Daisy in that moment, he knew he would crumble. He wouldn't be able to take such a huge gamble if he saw those sad hazel eyes.