Charlotte
Nathan Elliot was deathly intimidating. The threatening scowl he wore was even more fearsome than Luca's and even the tone of his voice sent chills down my spine. The scent of his cologne mixed faintly with cigar smoke was enough to make my stomach turn. As he stood towering above me, everything about him made me feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, I was glad to be on his side of the table. He was here in defense of me, and I could use all the help I could get right now.
"Elliott." Grant scoffed. "I should've known."
"You two should be completely ashamed of yourselves." Nathan pushed the chair back and metal made a horrible scratching noise as it slid across the floor. "This entire investigation is a sham. You'll be lucky if we don't sue you for false imprisonment."
I didn't understand much of what he was saying, but I liked the sound of it. At least it was getting the two of them off of my case.
"There was no false imprisonment. Charlotte was free to go at any point." Grant countered.
"It wasn't presented to her that way. You brought her in here on bogus charges to try to make her implicate Mr. Catalano in whatever laughable crime you think he's done this week. Your accusations are completely baseless. Charlotte received her insurance payment completely legally. The payment from Catalonia was a business venture. Mr. Catalano makes a lot of money, and it's not any of your business what he decides to do with it. You certainly weren't complaining when he donated a similar amount to the police force last year."
"It becomes our business when he pays her off to keep her quiet." Detective Cullen interjected.
"That wasn't what happened! He wasn't..." I started to say, but was quickly interrupted.
"Don't say another word, Charlotte. They know it's not, otherwise they would have charged you." Nathan said, more for their benefit than mine. He pulled a packet of papers out of his briefcase and set it on the table in front of the men. "This is a cease and desist order. If either of you tries to question my client about this mockery of an investigation again, you'll be found in contempt."
Grant rolled his eyes and scanned the paper. What Nathan said must have been true because neither of the men tried to argue.
"Charlotte, you don't have to listen to him." Grant stared at me intently. "I'm willing to bet you've never seen this guy before, this is just another attempt of Luca's to keep you quiet."
"Charlotte is a smart girl Mr. Fallon, I'm sure she can see which one of us is trying to help and which one is trying to railroad her into admitting to things she knows nothing about."
Grant ignored Nathan completely. "I can help you."
I stood up slowly. "You said I was free to go at any point, and I'd like to do that now."
Grant looked stunned. He expected me to crumble and run to him as I did so many times before. Take him back and do whatever I could to make it work. I wasn't that person anymore though; I didn't even recognize her.
"Please leave me alone, Grant. I'm happy, I love Luca, and I wish you could accept that." His face fell again.
"I think that concludes this interview. Goodbye, gentleman." Nathan loaded up his briefcase and started to head towards the door. I quickly followed suite, but Grant gripped my arm stopping me.
"He's going to kill you, Charlotte." Grant pressed a small piece of paper into my hand, locking eyes with me. His voice was so low I was the only one who could hear him. "Look these names up. Luca is involved in every single one of these cases, and if you stay with him, you'll end up on this list, too."
I wanted to give it back to him, let it fall to the ground and forget it ever existed. I wanted to walk out of here confident that what he was saying was a lie, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling I had. Instead of leaving the paper behind, I crumpled it up and put it into my pocket, unsure what I planned to do with it.
I caught up with Nathan, and he led me into the lobby of the police station where Luca and Marco were waiting. I saw them before they saw me, as they sat engrossed in a serious conversation. I hoped Luca wasn't angry with Marco on account of what happened. He was only trying to help me and honestly, if Detective Cullen hadn't grabbed my arm, Marco wouldn't have touched him. When they saw me, both men sprang to their feet. Luca reached me in just a few strides, his faced blanketed with distress.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice almost frantic. In all of my time with him, this was the first time he'd ever appeared worried or scared.
His armed wrapped tightly around me, and I felt an immediate sense of relief. I felt safe and at home and content, and not even the list of names burning a hole in my pocket could dammer that. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I couldn't seem to make sense of all the words in my head so I simply nodded.
"Did they hurt you?" He held me out in front of him by my shoulders, seeming to inspect me. His eyes traveled along my body looking for any sign of injury.
"No, I'm fine, really." I tried to assure him. He didn't seem convinced though. I think he was hoping they had, he was looking for any rational excuse to rip them apart.
"I knew this was going to happen. That bastard knew exactly what he was doing dragging you into this." He pressed his lips to my forehead, and I could feel how tense his body was.
"Luca, calm down. They're trying to upset you and you're just feeding into it." Nathan urged.
"Don't tell me to calm down. They involved Charlotte in this damn witch hunt, they slap Marco with some bullshit charge and they expect me just to take it lying down?" Luca was angry. His concern for me had quickly turned to rage and I pitied Grant if he ever got ahold of him.
"That's exactly what you are going to do." Nathan warned, his tone was direct. I could tell he was used to Luca, he had probably used him several times in the past. "You lay one finger on that guy and you're going to jail, too. They will be looking for any thing they can nit pick to get you to do something you'll regret. Let me do my job. That man will never come near any of you again."
"Ah, Luca, I figured you were probably here. Any chance you feel like coming back and answering a few questions about your investment in the gallery?" Grant smirked. He wanted to get a reaction out of Luca. He was asking for it. Like Nathan said, he was looking for anything--no matter how insignificant--that he could lock Luca up for. This wasn't about the crimes he committed anymore, this was about his jealousy that Luca was with me.
Luca was enraged, lunging toward Grant. Marco grabbed him before he could get too close. "Not here, man." Marco said quietly. It was almost inaudible. I moved behind them, wanting to avoid Grant and Detective Cullen at all costs. Nathan said their case wasn't real but I was going to have nightmares of them dragging me in here for months. I didn't want to give them the opportunity to do it again.
"I swear to God," Luca growled. "If you so much as look at her the wrong way again, I will bury your body so deep you'll be able to feel the heat from the center of the Earth. Put your hands on her again, and I'll break every finger off of your hand."
"Luca, please..." I begged, trying to pull him back myself but his strength was no match for me.
"Is that a threat?" Grant's grin was cocky. He thought he held all the power in this situation. Little did he know, Marco and Luca were probably out here plotting all the ways they could torture him the whole time Grant was questioning me.
"It's how a man defends his woman." Luca said through gritted teeth. "I don't make threats, Grant. I make promises."
"His woman? Are you seriously going to stand here and let him talk about you like you're some sort of possession?" Grant scoffed, leaning around Luca's shoulder so he could see me.
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. This had to take the cake for awkward ex boyfriend encounters.
"Right. Because you know so much about what she wants. That's why you cheated on her and she's with me now." Luca chuckled and rolled his eyes. Grant was stunned into silence. A sense of calm came over Luca, and even though I was glad, I got the feeling he was planning something much more sinister.
"Let's get you home." He said turning towards me and pressing his lips firmly to mine. It wasn't as much a loving gesture as a way to shove Grant's face in it, and something about it rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like being used as a device, even if it was at Grant's expense.
Luca interlaced our fingers and led me out of the squad room, Marco and Nathan close behind. I didn't have to turn around to know that Grant's eyes were burning into the back of my head.
Once we were outside, I felt like I could breathe again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Marco asked, looking at me sheepishly. He felt guilty about all of this, like it was somehow his fault.
"I'm fine Marco," I assured him. "How are you? They aren't really going to charge you, are they?" I knew Marco was no stranger to assault and petty offenses but I didn't be the reason that list was added to.
"Of course not. Once Nathan accused them of bringing you here unlawfully and you were cleared, I was too. If they hadn't made us think you were under arrest, I never would have touched him. Luckily the judge agrees with that so we're both home free." He smirked.
"Although, I would appreciate it if you two didn't make a habit of having to call us to come bail you out of jail." Angelo joked as we all walked up to the car. He was leaning against it scrolling through his phone.
"As would I." Luca raised his eye brow as he opened the back door for me. I climbed in and he followed.
Marco and Angelo sat up front and Luca had the divider up between us and them. Angelo began driving and I laid my head down on Luca's shoulder, trying to block out all my swirling thoughts. It had been a long day, and I was ready to get home and crawl into bed.
I couldn't get Marco's comment out of my head. Not here.
If not here, then where?
They were certainly planning something and it made me feel conflicted. I hated Grant. For so many reasons and today's ordeal only added to that hatred, but did I really want Luca to take care of it? I hadn't the faintest idea what that would entail, but I could only imagine it would be awful and torturous. And most likely result in death. Grant was an asshole and an arrogant jerk, but did he really deserve to die? Is that what I wanted?
It was one thing to know what Luca was involved in, but it was another to have it be so blatantly in my face. To have it involving someone I once cared deeply about.
To be responsible for it.