Chapter 85

Marabella’s POV

Luca placed a tender kiss on my lips, before taking my hand into his. As we turned around Cal was looking around for dangers, but Rex had apparently been watching us, because he quickly looked away and smiled. Luca gave him a cold look, but didn’t say anything. Not until, Rex spoke, of course. “You are both really cute with each other”, he said happily, trying to keep from giggling.

This brought a smile to my face, but Luca stopped dead in his tracks and growled. “Shut the fuck up Rex. I’m starting to think you are getting to relaxed accompaning Marabella to school”, Luca hissed, through gritted teeth. Rex’s face paled, “No boss, sorry boss. It won’t happen again”, he said, getting serious again.

Luca continued leading me to the front door of my mother’s house, which should have been a serious and tense moment for me. However, I was having issues containing a giggle. Luca loathes being called cute, in any situation. Luca stopped and pulled me around to his chest, making us face each other. Rex and Cal stopped a few paces behind us, giving us space.

Luca bent his head down beside mine. “If you don’t hold your giggles in, I am going to bend you over my knee and spank you, Marabella Rose”, he growled. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on *. Visit *. to read the complete chapters for free. His deep voice reached my soul and struck me immobile. I wasn’t scared, but I sure as fuck didn’t have the urge to giggle anymore, in fact, it turned me on. Which is what really scared me. My breath hitched, making Luca pull back slightly to look at me.

Luca smirked, “Hmm, that seemed to have worked”, his eyebrow was arched, as he studied my face. Then, he placed a soft kiss to my forehead and gestured for us to continue walking. As we approached the front door, the strong metallic scent of meth reached my nose, making my face crinkle in disgust, as disappointment filled me.

I took a deep breath and opened the front door. The smell hit me, like a slap to the face. On the couch sat my mother, high out of her mind and half-naked. “Mom”, I uttered, running to the couch and grabbing a blanket to drape over her. I checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive, by putting two fingers to her neck. “Her pulse is fast, but she’s alive”, I said, looking up at Luca. His eyes showed concern, but I wasn’t sure if it was for me or my mom.

A skinny, shaggy looking man walked out of the kitchen in nothing but his boxers. “Who the fuck are you?”, the guy asked. “God damn, man”, I said, immediately turning my head and standing into Luca’s embrace. He held my head to his chest as he, Cal and Rex drew their weapons.

“Who the fuck are you? And put some fucking clothes on”, Luca bellowed. I could feel his fury through the rumble in his chest. I reached my arms around him and stroked his back lightly. My goal was to calm him, even if it was just a little. “Woah, okay. Just hold on a second”, I heard the guy say. “Who are you?”, Luca demanded again. “Travis”, he answered quickly.

“Last name, Travis”, Cal snapped angrily. “Johnson, Travis Johnson”, Travis said nervously. “Have a seat for me, Travis Johnson, and if you value your life, Travis, you won’t move”, Luca’s authorative voice, left no room for discussion. Luca slowly released me, before turning around, I looked up at him and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you”, I whispered softly.

Luca lowered his weapon but did not holster it. He rubbed his thumb along my bottom lip. He didn’t utter a word. He didn’t need to, the look in his eyes told me everything that I needed to know. I drove him mad. I slowly lowered my eyes and looked back at my mom. “What has she taken?”, I asked sternly, looking at Travis.

“A lot, take your pick. Meth, ectasy, vicotin”, Travis shrugged nonchalantly. My heart stopped and my head snapped toward Luca. “Call an ambulance, Rex”, Luca ordered. “Yes, boss”, Rex said, turning and walking out of the house. Luca rubbed circles on my back. After a few moments, I sat on the coffee table in front of my mother. Luca stood behind me, keeping his hand on my shoulder. I placed my hand over his, as I tried to steady my frantic heart.

“Wait! Are the cops coming too, man?”, Travis asked with panic. “Don’t move, Travis”, Luca demanded, drawing his weapon back up. Travis stilled, “Who are you people?”, he asked. “Just mind your fucking buisness. You are the intruder, not us”, I snapped. “Why did you come back?”, my mother’s mumbled voice caught my attention. My head quickly snapped in her direction. “To check on you and get you the help you need”, I said, with furrowed eyebrows. “I don’t need your fucking help. This is all your fault”, my mother yelled.

“My fault?”, I choked out, standing up. “I fixed all of your mistakes. Everything that happens to you is your fault”, I said, stepping backwards into Luca’s embrace. “You don’t seem to be suffering”, my mother said, looking at how Luca’s arm reached out to wrap protectively around me. “You’re right, mother. I’m finally happy, healthy, and taken care of. The sad part though, is it wasn’t intentional on your part. Your intentions were evil, but they worked out well in my favor”, I snapped.

“They are here, boss”, Rex said, as he walked back in. The paramedics were the first to enter. I told them what Travis had said she had taken. I also told them that I wanted her comitted to rehab, which she tried to protest obviously. Then Luca pulled me to the side so that he could talk to the officers about Travis. I walked outside onto the porch to sign the relase form to have my mother admitted into rehab.

I was watching them take my mother away in the ambulance, when Luca’s arms wrapped around me from behind. “Are you okay, baby girl?”, he whispered softly. I nodded my head slightly, but didn’t speak. Luca sighed and was about to speak, when he was interrupted. “Mr. Barello”, one of the detectives said.

Luca looked over at the detective, but didn’t let go of me. I’m sure the look on his face said ‘spit it out’. “The narcotics have been removed”, he said, sounding a bit rushed. “Thank you”, Luca said, his deep voice vibrating my chest. “Let’s go home”, Luca whispered. He took my hand and led me to the black escalade.