His Revenge

Chapter 20 - Maddox

Maddox P.O.V

The sun beats down upon my head as I lean against the stair rail just outside of The Rook's main entrance, ankles crossed while scanning the faces of the people leaving the building and heading home for the night.

In search of one and one only amongst the crowd.

Luciano's.

Chance had come to speak with him, and I'd tagged along out of curiosity.

"Here he goes." Chance says, moving to intercept the man.

Seeing him approach Luciano's footsteps gradually slowed to a stop. He glances my way before focusing back on Chance.

"Officer Collins," he says, removing the dark shades covering his eyes. "What uh...what are you doing here?"

"I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but Sienna's been found... Dead."

"Yeah, yeah. I have. It was all over the news." He sighs softly, slowly shaking his head. "So sad. I'm uh... Actually on my way to pay my condolences to her family."

"So soon? What with the press and her fans and all, I didn't think they'd want company right now."

"I hadn't considered that." He softly admits, his chin nearly touching his chest. "And can I be honest with you, Officer Collins?"

"Please."

"I don't really know the acceptable time to wait. A week? A month? What? I even debated saying anything at all but knew if I didn't, it would only bring trouble to my doorstep. Bring you to my doorstep."

Chance dips his head slightly in silent agreement.

"I don't know what to do. This has never happened to me before." He quietly finishes, a touch of vulnerability in his voice.

"Do whatever you feel is right. Alright?"

Luciano nods.

"Now, if you don't mind, could you answer a few questions before you go?"

"Sure." He swallows, a faint smile crossing his lips. "Whatever you need."

"Where were you last Saturday night?"

Luciano blinks once, twice, eyes shifting between the two of us. "Wait. What? Am I a suspect?"

Chance pauses for the longest second, the air wrought with tension. "Why? Should you be?" He finally says, his voice low and even.

"No! Or at least I don't think so. I-I was out... on a date." He clarifies, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot. "I can give you her contact information if you want."

"Yes, that would be great." Chance hands him a small notepad and pen. And Luciano quickly jots down the information before passing it back.

"The last time you spoke with Sienna, you said you argued, right?" Chance asks.

"Yes."

Chance tilts his head, looking down at him from his nose. "What was it about?"

"I already told you."

"Tell me again."

"Okay. Uh..." He sighs, pushing his fingers through his hair and messing the dark strands. "She was upset with me because I broke things off."

"Why did you break things off?"

"Because I didn't want my personal life to be the central topic on every tabloid or fucking podcast."

"She's famous. What did you expect would happen?"

"Not that! I know she's famous. And I'm no stranger to being in the public eye because of my mom. At a young age, I learned how intrusive the public can be in celebrities' lives. But this..." He blows out. "This was too much! We were only together for two, maybe three weeks, but they were always there. Every time we went out or did anything, somehow they knew. It was all just... suffocating!"

"And you told her all this, correct?"

"Yes."

"And has there been any other contact between you two since then?"

He says nothing, eyes slowly lowering to the ground.

Chance bends slightly to meet his gaze. "Mr. Steele?"

His head comes back up. "Yes?"

Chance lets out a slow breath before reiterating the question.

"She...may have called a few times. But I didn't answer!"

Chance nods once, slipping his notebook into his pocket. "Alright. Well, Thank you for your time. And have a great rest of the day."

"Same to you." He mutters, a look of bewilderment and confusion on his face as Chance claps him on the shoulder before turning and descending the stairs.

I straighten from the rail and rush after him. "Seriously? That's it? That's all you're going to ask him."

"Yeah...for now."

"For now? So you don't believe him either."

"I wouldn't say that. His story is pretty solid. But..." he sighs. "I just can't shake the feeling he's hiding something."

"Finally, someone's on the same page as me."

"Mmm, okay. But is your judgment based on your years of experience as a Private Investigator or because you're jealous he and Scarlett are...getting to know one another?"

"W-w-what?" I sputter.

"You heard me."

"This is my professional opinion, alright. And I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of separating my feelings from the situation and doing my job."

He slowly nods. "Alright. But you're not even going to try and deny you're jealous?"

"No. Why waste both our time on a lie?"

He chuckles. "I hear that."

Silence falls over us as we walk the last few steps to my car. But instead of getting straight in, I look across the hood to him. "So...You're not going to berate me for feeling this way when I have a girlfriend?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. Knowing you, you've already beat yourself up enough over this. And besides, I trust you to do the right thing for everyone involved."

I softly sigh, tap my knuckle against the roof once, and unlock the door. "Yeah." Suddenly, I stop and look back at him. "Hey, will you let me know if his alibi checks out?"

He shrugs one shoulder. "Yeah, alright. But I'm pretty certain it will."

"Why's that?"

"The contact information he gave for his date," he pulls out his notepad and slides it to me. "It's Scarlett's."