Keeping My Bride by Angela Snyder
Chapter 41
Verona
IT’S THE MIDDLE of the night when I wake up in bed. Alone. Wrapping a kimono around me, I make my way downstairs. A soft light is shining under the door of Luca’s office, so I knock gently. A moment later, the lock disengages, and I enter.
Luca is sitting at his desk, his attention focused on the laptop in front of him. He glances up at me. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asks with a warm smile.
“No.” I stay at the door, waiting.
“Come here,” he says, pushing his chair back a few inches from his desk. When I approach, he pats his leg, and I take a seat on his lap. He snuggles me close to him, placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.
I really love how affectionate Luca has become. It’s almost like he can’t get close enough to me sometimes, and I feel the same exact way. It’s like I want to crawl inside of him to just be closer.
“What are you doing?” I ask. On the screen is a video that looks like it was taken from a powerful camera high above a huge warehouse with a lot of shipping containers near a boating dock.
“Watching aerial footage from our drones.”
“What’s in the shipping containers?” My curiosity pulls me closer, examining every frame of the footage.
“People,” he says.
My world comes crashing to a sudden halt. “Like…human trafficking?” I can’t stop myself from asking.
“Yes,” he answers, confirming my worst fear.
I’m up and out of his lap in a split second, my hackles rising. “You are buying and selling people?” I accuse him, my voice rising to a fever pitch.
“Whoa, calm down, tiger,” he says, putting his arms up in a placating gesture. “Put the claws away and listen to me for a second.” He pauses the video and turns to me to give me his full attention. “I’m trying to put a stop to it. It’s happening in this city at an alarming rate, and I’m not going to allow it.”
His words instantly make me feel better. I knew Luca wasn’t a good man, per se, but I’m glad to know he’s trying to help instead of exacerbating this growing problem.
“The man you danced with at the costume ball,” he starts.
“Yeah?”
“His name is Constantine Carbone. He’s the one running the human trafficking in the city.”
A shudder rolls through me. I danced with the devil himself, and I didn’t even know it. If I had known what that man was doing and what he was capable of, I would have never let him touch me with those evil hands.
“I’ve been trying to trade him territories where he can sell drugs instead and make one hell of a profit, but he’s not budging. He found his niche, and he’s running with it, making money hand over fist.”
“Is it just women he sells?” I ask.
“Women, men.” Luca hesitates before adding, “Children.”
I close my eyes and swallow hard past the lump forming in my throat. When I open them again, I look at Luca and tell him vehemently, “You have to stop him, Luca. You can’t let him do this.”
“I’m trying everything in my power to put an end to this. I promise you I will stop him as soon as I can,” he vows.
I nod, taking comfort in his words. Climbing back into his lap, I let him hold me for several minutes while I try to process all the information he just dumped on me. Then, I ask him, “What are you looking for in the footage?”
“Any signs of people coming and going. If anyone is taking food and water to any of the shipping containers.”
“Let’s watch it and see if we can figure anything out.”
“You don’t want to go back to bed?” he offers.
“No. I want to help.”
He kisses my temple and clicks the keypad to start the video again. “That’s my girl.”
