“When you finally do stand face-to-face with them, what will you say?”
I balk at his question. “I don’t know. I have no idea.”
His lips curve in a thoughtful smile. “You’re going to cry like a baby.”
I know that, too. My tears well just thinking about it.
“It’s going to be beautiful, Pen.” He shoots me a glance. “Seeing you happy. Smiling. Even through the tears. It’s going to be so fucking beautiful.”
I’m lost for words. For thoughts.
His care for me is unlike anything I’ve experienced. Even from my adoring parents.
I love him. God, how I love him.
“What?” He scrunches his nose before returning his focus to the road. “What’s that funny look for?”
“Nothing.” I swallow and turn to face the windshield, unwilling to let emotion get the better of me.
“We’re almost there.”
My breath catches as the silver sedan’s brake lights flash. I dig my teeth into my lower lip. Sit straighter. Scan the sidewalk.
“See those men on the corner?” Luca jerks his head at the two casually dressed guys leaning against a brick wall, their attention on their cell screens. “They work for us.” He tilts his chin to the other side of the road. “Those three, too.”
I trek my attention to the small group chatting out the front of a bar.
“There are men all over the streets. In parked cars. Inside buildings. On top of roofs. All armed and ready at a moment’s notice.”
I nod, no longer concerned about cover when my pulse feels capable of instigating a heart attack. I can sense my parents nearby. It’s as if their hum fills the air; my belly, too.
The sedan pulls into a parking space on the side of the road up ahead, allowing Luca to overtake and glide into the next available spot. I scan my surroundings, looking along the shopfronts to my left.
“Over here.” Luca focuses out his window. “That’s Torian’s restaurant right there.”
I scoot forward in my seat, transfixed by the bright glow coming from the wall of glass. The interior of the building is filled with a mass of mingling people, all of them standing and drinking from champagne flutes and pints.
I search the guests, my nervousness building with each unfamiliar face.
“I can’t see them.” I scoot farther along the seat, my ass hovering on the edge. “I can’t even see Sebastian.”
“He’s in there somewhere.” He points a lazy finger from the steering wheel. “There’s Hunt and Sarah.”
I nod, not caring about those two. Or Benji. Or any of the Torian family. I need to see my parents. After allowing hope to build, I’m now frantic to lay eyes on my mom and dad.
“Want me to drive past?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Please.”
He pulls onto the street, the creep of the car slow as we approach the restaurant with the front door guarded by two hulking men, another situated at the far end of the building.
I scour the crowd of smiling faces in a frenzy, my attention moving from one person, to the next, to the next. “Where are they?” My stomach churns. Nausea takes over. “I still can’t see them.”
“Do you want to take a closer look?”
“From where?”
Luca glances at me, his apprehension visible as he frowns. “I can take you around back and sneak you in through the kitchen.”
“No.” Although I appreciate the suggestion, disappointment overwhelms me. “It’s too risky.”
“We’ll take our time.” He continues driving down the street, past the restaurant, and turns at the corner.
“It’s okay.” I peer over my shoulder, confirming the silver sedan is following us before I sink into my seat. “It wasn’t meant to happen tonight.”
He turns again, taking a side street behind the back of the buildings. We pass small staff parking lots until Luca pulls into one filled with vehicles, Torian’s Porsche parked closest to the few steps leading into the restaurant.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He stops the Suburban in the last available parking space and cuts the engine. “We’re going to sit here for a while, in case you change your mind.”
“I—” I cut my sentence short, already second-guessing myself.
If only I could see them. Just a glimpse.
Time passes as my indecision intensifies, the clawing temptation making it difficult to think while Luca watches me. Each minute spent under his gaze is a million heartbeats filled with anxiety and hesitation.
I’m not ready to speak to them… I can’t face their questions and tears… I’m not prepared to explain my past…
But I’d give anything to see them.
Anything.
“Are you sure I won’t be seen?” I release my belt.