Treachery

I chuckle at that, only because I was thinking the same thing.

Luca turns to glare at Gabriel. “I didn’t live in the backwoods, asshole. Not all of Georgia is that bad.”

“If you say so, but if anybody tells me I have a purty mouth, you can bet I’m getting the hell out of here.”

Cutting that conversation off before it gets any worse, I flick a glance at Luca.

“How far is your old house from the storage facility?”

She shoots another glare at Gabriel before turning those gorgeous eyes to me. “Only about fifteen minutes down the road.”

I notice the southern accent she’s pretty good at hiding is coming out now that she’s home, a soft lilt to her words that is fucking adorable. Choosing not to point it out, I tap my fingers against the wheel.

“Point me where you need to me to go. But we’ll have to make it quick.”

Luca happily directs me through the city and into a suburban residence with large oak trees lining the streets, moss hanging from the heavy boughs that sway lazily in front the old-fashioned streetlamps.

There’s a gentleness to this area that I recognize but don’t understand. It matches Luca in a way, unassuming and warm.

Pulling up outside a two-story house with a wraparound porch and massive yard, Luca looks at it longingly while my jaw tics away.

I can never give this to her. Not where I live. Not with the lifestyle I lead. From a large oak tree, a tire swing gently sways in the breeze, a weird chirping noise filling the air, while soft yellow lights illuminate the interior of the house.

It’s easy to see her as a kid ru

And to think I would eventually step in and destroy the i

It fucking kills me.

“So yeah. That’s where I grew up. Dad sold the house before he died in a last bid to rebuild the business. It failed obviously, but I’m sure the family who owns it now loves it.”

Sorrow is in her expression when she glances back at me, and I make the dumbass decision to pay whatever it takes to buy the house. Part of the light that is missing from her eyes right now is my fault. And although it would kill me to lose her if she returned home, it’s something I have to do.

In truth, it’s the least I can do after everything I’ve put her through. Because if it returns the happiness I’ve always loved to see in her, then nothing else can matter. Not even if her absence would only make my living hell worse.

I’ll buy it for her.

Give her back this piece of her life.

Not that she won’t be able to afford it herself, but Luca isn’t enough of a shark to negotiate a family out of their home.

But I am.

“It’s great,” Gabriel grumbles, “I feel like I’ve really experienced the Deep South and can tell all my friends about it. Can we get the hell out of here now and do what we came to do?”

I flash him a look but have to agree. Luca nods her head and we take off again to make the short ride to the storage facility.

The facility is a three-story, climate controlled, square building with very little to offer other than small units and rolling metal doors.

We walk in and skip past the lone security guard asleep at the desk, pile into the elevator and pray like hell as it creaks and groans on its slow crawl up to the third floor.

The place reminds me of Luca’s apartment, and I make another decision to pay off her lease with the demand that she stay permanently with me until we get this situation worked out.

She won’t like it, but it’s what’s best for her. I’ll even let her keep her prison room if that gives her the feeling of independence. She sure as fuck won’t sleep in it, though. Luca belongs in my bed now, and I won’t accept anything else.

“Here it is, I think.” Luca checks her key to ensure we’re at the right unit, the numbers matching up.

But her brows tug together, confused. “There’s no lock on the outside.”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

No.

I refuse to believe what I suspect is going on.

Both Gabriel and I throw the door up immediately, the metal clanging loudly to echo down the hall.

That echo carries through the storage unit as well, but only because the entire place is fucking empty.

“I don’t understand.” Luca looks at her key again and at the number by the side of the door while Gabriel and I glance at each other, immediately grabbing her by the arm and dragging her back to the elevator.

Three minutes later and I’m slapping my palm on the counter to wake the security guard up from his beauty nap.

His eyes blink open, his damn chair almost tipping backwards when he pulls his feet down from the desk, straightens his posture and pretends like he wasn’t just taking a catnap.

“Can I help you three?”

“Yes, hi,” Luca says, her southern twang so thick now that Gabriel and I both stare in her direction. I’m going to need her to talk like that to me when I have her bent over a counter one of these nights. It’s only fair.

“I was hoping you can help me. There seems to be a small mix-up with my storage unit. I have the key for this number, but when I went upstairs, it was empty. I’m sure it’s all just an honest mistake and that we can get it cleared up lickety-split.”

Lickety-split? Maybe she shouldn’t come back here. She just lost eighty IQ points saying that.

And small mix up my ass. Somebody robbed her blind. She just hasn’t figured it out yet.

The guard takes the key from her hand, checks the number, taps a few keys on his computer and looks up.

“That account was shut down about a week ago. The owner closed it and took the contents of the unit.”

Luca’s eyes blink once before she argues, “That’s impossible. The owner of the unit is me, and the man who opened the account was my father.”

Ru

“I show a final payment here that was made last Sunday by John Bailey.”

A low growl erupts in my chest.

“Again, that’s not possible. John Bailey is my father, and he died several months ago.”

Jumping in to deal with this, I bark, “Do you have any security tapes which will let us see who signed the shit out?”

The guard’s head swings my direction. “I’m not authorized-“

I lunge over the counter at him, but Gabriel catches me by the shoulder to drag me back.

Clearing his throat, he says, “I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you didn’t check identification while closing the account. I’d hate to have to call your corporate office, as well as the police, to report you as an accomplice to theft. But if you’re not authorized-“

“Wait, no. I can find the recording.”

Gri

It feels like forever for the asshole to find the right recording. When he finally plays it, he swivels the screen for Luca to see and her lips pull into a thin line.

“That’s Jerry.”

Her father’s former partner, I realize. Son of a bitch.

“Do you know where Jerry lives?”

She shakes her head. “No, he moved when the business failed. The only thing I have is his phone number.”

I lift my brows. “So call him.”

Luca walks away to use her phone, but then turns back to us way too quick. “The number is disco

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I pull out my phone to shoot a message to Taylor.