He said the night was short, but it turned out to be longer than they both thought before the sun brought dawn to the penthouse windows and Fran found that Luca's hunger was as insatiable as the night was long. 

After the first orgasm, drained and spent for the first time in years, Fran turned over to her side and drifted off to sleep. 

Just a little nap before I leave, she told herself. 

It was Luca's gentle yet firm hand between her thighs, parting them so that the side of her knee was pressed into the mattress, that woke her up. Her eyelids fluttered open to see him rise above her. Even before she fully awakened, he was pressing his erection into her. 

Moaning low in her throat as moisture gathered within her again, Fran parted her legs wider and raised her hips to his when he sank into her. 

Luca forced her hips down, trapping one of her legs with one powerful, muscular leg. He surged up, burying himself balls deep inside her, groaning against her neck as she stretched to receive all of him. He lifted his head to kiss her and Fran turned her head away, her skin heating up now as pools of pleasure gathered between her legs again. Her hands ran the length of his back, fingers digging deep into his flesh until he winced. 

When he rose above her to look into her face, hips still pumping hard and fast below, she smiled at him, her soft brown eyes hidden behind eyelids heavy with sleep and lust. He lost himself in those eyes, grunting from deep within his chest as he surged powerfully, burying himself to the hilt to pour his seeds into her again. 

After a few minutes, he rolled off her to spoon her tightly against him, his erection softening against her bum, and squeezed her with his hand around her waist. 

Fran's eyes opened in the darkness. She looked down at his strong arm around her waist. His hand snaked below, fingers flat between her thighs so that he could feel the heat of her sex while he slept softly behind her. She wondered at the possessiveness of his hold on her. When she tried to scoot away, his arm tightened, bringing her back to the warmth of his body. His fingers played with the soft curls down there, then toyed softly with the lips of her vagina. 

She gasped, feeling a new wave of need course through her again. 

She felt his smile on her neck behind her. He was mocking her. 

"Tonight will never be enough," he mumbled into her hair. 

And he proved it once again, but this time around, he easily maneuvered her on top of him. Her thighs parted, knees locked on either side of his hips. 

She sighed, subconsciously running her hands up and down his chest, his broad, muscular chest. Dark hair spiced his olive skin, and she tangled her fingers in them. 

"Again?" She asked, shifting her hips forward so that she could crane her head to look back at his hardening cock. It smacked her ass. 

She turned back to Luca, and he gave her a charming, boyish lopsided grin. "What does it say?" He cocked his head to indicate that he was talking about his rising erection. 

Fran found herself smiling. "It doesn't get tired does it?"

Not with you, he thought with wonder, but he didn't say those words. Instead, gripping her thighs in his strong hands, he told her what to do, "Fuck me, Francesca."

Fran bit on her bottom lip as, with one hand on his groin for support, she rose up slightly and with the other hand she held his cock, placed it at her entrance and sank onto him. 

Luca bit back a moan. Every time he thought it was good, it got better. Her vagina was a gripping vice on his veined erection, milking the length of him so sweetly, so innocently. She rose and fell on his shaft with care, and he thought he would lose his mind from the effect she had on him. It nibbled at the edge of his mind that come morning she would leave, and he hated it. He would keep her here, go on his knees to beg her to stay if he could. 

But Luca Castello was a proud man, a mafia boss. He bent his knee to no one, much less a woman. Who was Fran to him but mere entertainment? Not even the woman he once loved, or thought he felt something close to love for, could bring him to his knees. Fran was nothing but a passing interest, one that had held his attention since he first saw her on that stage. Once he tired of her, he would discard her, and they would go their separate ways - once he found her sister, that is. 

For now, his balls tightened for her. He lusted for her. The sooner he exhausted his lust the better. Running his hands over the rise of her hips, he gripped her ass apart and forced her to ride him even faster. 

Fran followed his lead, her eyes stretching wide in their sockets. She nearly lost her balance, but soon she leaned forward, found her balance with her hands on his chest and rode him as fast as he wanted, her hips jerking back and forth on his groin. Her body was afire. 

The action brought friction to her clit, her small swollen numb grinding hard again his flesh until she was crying out in pleasure again. 

Luca let out a primal growl, his head pressed hard into the mattress with its tangled sheets when he felt her tighten against him again. Her wet walls clenched his cock tightly when she came again, springing apart very quickly as the insides of her body jerked rapidly. 

"Luca," Fran cried in his ear. She slumped against him, shaking and shivering, and his arms covered her while his hips pumped one last time, deeply, as he drained his balls inside her. 

Luca held her close, soothing her with his hand running up and down her back, which was wet with sweat. He nearly blacked out this time. 

It was several minutes again before he could breathe easy and by then Francesca was already sleeping. Her back rose and fell as she slept softly against him. 

He held her close and listened to her soft breathing. Her body was soft just as he imagined. And he also knew that her heart and soul was just as soft. 

His life was a dangerous one. What she was doing by delving into his world through him was also dangerous, but he could understand her desperation. She was worried about her sister. 

Once he was like her, worried about his brother. He would have done anything to keep his brother away from the dangers of his world, but Giovanni quickly proved that he was his own man, climbing his way from the bottom of the gang to a point that was just below him. 

Luca's hands were dirty, in a world like his it was hard to keep a clean hand. But Giovanni's were even dirtier. His brother quickly became his muscle and knife, teaching the opposition why they shouldn't mess with the Mafia brothers. 

Since the anti - organized crime laws in many countries, popular gangs like the Mafia and the Yakuza had gone underground, keeping a low profile while still keeping their webs in the criminal world. Luca was keeping the Mafia brothers safe through his connections with federal forces. As long as his men didn't go out of their way to cause trouble, they were safe. 

Now he worried that safety was about to be threatened, what with Giovanni talking about Ricky and Francesca insisting that his brother might have something to do with her sister's disappearance. 

The effect of his pleasure was wearing off now. He gently slid Fran off him. 

She mumbled in her sleep and curled against him. 

Luca looked into her face, aching to reach down to touch the soft lines of her cheeks and jaw. He squeezed his hands into fists. 

He was no fool. She was a woman. A dispensable one. 

He turned away from her and slid off the bed. He grabbed his discarded pants off the floor and slid them on at the same time as he reached for his phone. He tapped on it and raised it to his ear. 

The phone rang once before the call connected. 

"Where are you, Bobby?" He listened to the response on the other side, then said, "Be here in 5."

He padded across the room, found a decanter of scotch and some glass in the cabinet in the bar in the living room area. He poured himself a healthy amount, enough to temporarily wash the lust that was threatening to blind him to his job. 

He was pouring himself another glass full when the door opened and Bobby walked in. 

Bobby was huge and bald, a giant with a large white scar on his neck that warned anyone who thought otherwise that his baby blue eyes belied a dangerous nature. The scar was the result of a street fight that would have ended his life in their early days in Los Angeles if Luca hadn't flown in a brilliant doctor to treat him. That singular act was enough to seal Bobby's life to his for life. 

"Mr. Castello." Bobby's voice was coarse and husky. That and the scar was a reminder of his near brush with death. 

"Giovanni?"

"Last I checked he was leaving the club at 4 this morning." If Bobby thought it strange that Luca asked him to tail his brother, he said nothing about it. His loyalty was to Luca, not Giovanni. 

"Was he alone?"

"As far as I know, yes sir. If he turned around to meet Ricky I wouldn't know about that, but I'll check."

"That's fine." Luca brushed a hand over his face. He didn't know what to do about his stubborn brother, but he hoped that Giovanni wasn't getting his dirty hands even stickier. "I have a job for you."

The only indication that Bobby was listening was his intent gaze. 

"Have you heard the name Faith Elaise on the streets?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Ask around. Find out what you know about her. She's disappeared, find out why and who the players are in her disappearance."

"Yes sir." 

No questions asked. If Luca wanted someone to take a bullet for him, Bobby would take it. No questions asked. 

He turned to leave. 

"One more thing," Luca stopped him. 

Bobby waited. "Look into Ricky too. No one should know about this. I want to know what he wants from me."

"Yes sir."

"If you're caught you're on your own."

Bobby cracked a smile. "Right, Mr. Castello."

He left the penthouse. 

Luca walked to the bar to pour another drink for himself. Now that the assignment was given, his mind wandered back to the woman in his bed. She was young and inexperienced, but there was a curiosity about her, he wanted to explore. He suspected that she was wilder than she appeared. 

He smirked to himself. Would she really let him fuck her in the *ss? There was only one way to find out. 

He drained his glass and dropped it on the counter. 

**Fran woke up with a start. 

The room was only dimly lit by the rising dawn. She looked down at the scattered sheets on the bed, lifted the covers and looked down at herself. She was naked, and her body ached and throbbed. 

Damn, it had been a long night. The best night, a tiny voice said in her head. She dismissed it. 

No, she couldn't think of it as the best night of her life. She had given Luca the price. Now it was time to wait for him to fulfill his end of their bargain. 

She slid off the bed feeling shame mixed with the pleasure and ache in her loins. 

It was time to leave. 

Fran's POV

I slid out of bed bare and unashamed of my state of undress. That was because I was alone in the room.

If Luca was there, I probably would have grabbed the sheets and wrapped them around my body to cover myself now that clarity had returned. 

After last night I don't know if I would be able to bare myself to Luca again, especially after everything we did last night. 

Damn! How did I let myself go? 

I knew that a man like him was dangerous and corrupted, but I never guessed how deep his corruption ran - or maybe I did and willfully ignored it until he seared it into my flesh too. I still felt the ache he left behind, my inner walls remembered what intrusion of his thickly veined member felt like. When I sat on him and rode him I feared he would break through my wall. He was that large. 

My lower belly clenched. 

My eyes drifted to the bed where the corruption of my body had all taken place. When did he leave the bed? After the last time, I had been so exhausted I couldn't even keep my eyes open. 

Did I fall asleep on him? 

Damn! How did I go from barely knowing this man to not only bending over for him but also having his scent, his essence imprinted on my senses? My body? 

Keith would not be happy to know what I had done. Who could I even tell of the things I let Luca Castello do to me? 

Along with shudders at the memory of what his mouth and body did to me, I also burned with shame and as soon as I thought about Keith, more shame replaced the flow of phantom shivers in my veins. Fear and worry about my sister Faith completely dispelled what was left from last night. 

How could I have forgotten? 

Anxious to be out of Luca's bedroom as fast as possible, I snatched my underwear and gingerly put them on. They were a bit uncomfortable because now that I had Luca's fluids mixed with mine my body felt sticky. The lace material chaffed my tender clit. I pulled the seat of my panties down for comfort, then found my gown. It jingled loudly in the cold silence of the room. 

I was just pulling the soft material over my head when the door opened again and Luca walked in. 

I froze but only for a second before pulling the gown over my bare breasts and hips. I looked over at him, at the shocked anger veiled behind the swirl of desire in his dark eyes, and smiled. 

Damn it, but he looks so good in just his pants! How was a woman supposed to cope when he stood there tall and all male with the length of his cock outlined through his pants even when flaccid? 

This was the devil that tempted me last night and oh how far I've fallen. 

**

READER'S POV

Luca had not expected to come upstairs to meet her already dressing to leave. He had expected that she would be asleep for at least another 3 hours but, alas, it seemed he had once again underestimated the woman. 

She smiled softly at him. It twisted something in his insides. 

He let his gaze drop from her inviting lips to her dress before he did something stupid like walk up to her to kiss her senseless and beg her to take off her dress one last time. 

"Going somewhere?" He tried to sound neutral, but even he heard the tight anger in his voice. Women didn't leave him! He decided when he had had his fill of them. He should be the one showing her the door, not her carving her own door behind his back, damn it! 

"I have to get back home," She told him. Still smiling oh so sweetly, she turned to pick her shoes off the floor. 

"Why?" He heard himself ask. He still hadn't left the door. Was he going to stop her from leaving? He wasn't sure of the answer himself. 

Downstairs he was sure that whatever happened between them during the night was nothing more than an exchange. He helped her, and she paid her dues on his bed. He had convinced himself in his head that that was what it was. There was nothing she could offer him that he didn't already have. In fact, he had women. He could count them all off the top of his head. Actresses, dancers, Yogi instructors he could call and who would come running to climb into his bed. 

Yet he wanted Fran to stay. He wanted to tie her hands and feet so that she would stay until he had his fill of her. Just like the others. 

"It's not like your sister will be waiting for you," he continued to talk. 

He wished he could kick himself in the ass as soon as those words left his lips. Her pretty face fell. Her long, dark lashes fluttered low to hide her beautiful brown eyes and whatever brightness he had seen when he first walked in dimmed. 

"You're right," Fran said, raising her eyes from her shoes briefly to meet his. "But I gotta have hope, right?" She smiled again, but it was not the same as her bright smile. "Besides," She shrugged. "I really need to sleep. After that, I have to practice for tonight's performance. I think I'm a bit stiff after last night," She laughed shyly. 

If she was several shades lighter, he would have seen the color in her neck and cheeks. So even after last night she still maintained her curious innocence. 

It was all Luca could do to keep her from leaving. 

He watched her sit briefly to buckle her shoes. When she rose again, she grabbed her purse. 

"I'll just have to grab my coat from downstairs, and then I'll be on my way," She announced. Not that he needed to know, but Fran felt the heat of his gaze, and it made her uncomfortable, especially because she could feel the anger in his eyes. 

She made her way to the door where he stood watch, but he didn't step aside. His gaze remained on her face, scorching her skin until she feared she was going to become a sweaty messy stain on the black linoleum tiles. 

Finally, he spoke. "I'll send word to you when I get a report from my man."

She was very disappointed that he did not ask for her number or say he would find her to tell her the news himself but that he would send word. 

So that was it then? 

"Thank you very much, Luca." And then, because she couldn't help herself, she asked, "Will you be coming to the club again? I can perform a better performance than last night," Her gaze cut to the chair she had performed with with a slight raise to the corner of her mouth. 

Luca steeled himself. What was her game? 

Finally, he stepped aside. "You should go home."

Fran's heart fell. She was being silly, she knew that. She should be glad that it was all over and not disappointed that he wasn't asking her to stay. Besides, she had better things to do than serve him on her hands and knees or bend over for him to choose which holes he wanted to fuck. 

She stepped toward the door under his gaze and just before opening the door she turned to him. 

"Thank you for the tips... At the club."

Against his wish Luca had to smile. She was smarter than he gave her credit for. She was interesting. 

"You knew?"

Her smile widened and with a one-shoulder shrug she said, "Well, I know now."

His response was a barely visible nod, but that was enough for her. They were parting on friendly terms. The price was paid, Faith would be found and when she was found Fran would ship her recalcitrant sister off to boarding school to complete her secondary education. If she had to scrap on her hands and knees to afford it, she would do that. 

The housekeeper was waiting downstairs as if she was expecting her and from the look on the woman's face Fran could tell that the older woman thought that Luca had discarded her like he did his other women.

Which, Fran guessed, must be something that often happened. 

That gave her a pause. How often did he bring women over for the night? 

She hadn't realized that the thought distracted her until the housekeeper mumbled, "Your coat, Miss."

"Thanks," Fran accepted it, ignoring the look on the woman's face. 

She walked to the elevator and took the ride downstairs.

Outside the lobby in the brightening day, she paused on the curb to swallow some morning air, but just as she was about to open her eyes to begin the long walk to the nearest bus station, a large shadow fell on her. 

She stepped back, eyes going wide at the sight of the tall giant with the large scar cutting from one side of his neck to the other, standing before her. His hands were buried in his coat pockets but the thought of how large they would be and how easy it would be for him to stifle her scream if he gripped her neck flashed through her mind. 

He must have read her mind or maybe her expression gave her away, but he raised his hands up and grinned. 

"Name's Bobby, Miss. Mr. Castello has ordered me to drive you home."

"Oh," Fran thought foolishly. "A-are you his driver?" She could not recall him being the same driver who drove them last night. 

"I can be anything he wants me to be. He walked to the car she hadn't noticed parked in front of the building and opened it. " Are you leaving now?"

Fran craned her neck to look up at the building. The penthouse was obscured by the thick fog that was characteristic of cool near-winter mornings in Los Angeles. She could barely see past the wispy white fog but for some reason she knew that Luca had to be in front of the window overlooking the city. He had such a powerful presence. 

Was he watching this exchange? 

"Miss?"

Fran's eyes met Bobby's, and she was shocked at how friendly they looked, yet his scar told a different story. 

"Yes, thank you."

She climbed into the comfort of the car and when Bobby shut the door, her eyes went once again to the penthouse where Luca indeed stood watching, now dressed in his robe - not that she saw it. 

Luca watched the car drive off. He stepped back from the window to reach for the intercom on the wall without looking. He pressed it and his housekeeper came running. 

"Bring more, Rosie."

"Another bottle before breakfast?" She questioned, the disapproval evident in her voice. 

Luca tore his gaze from the window, dark brows furrowed over equally dark eyes. Rosemary returned his stare defiantly. She had been in his service for as long as he stayed in the penthouse. She was aware of the darker details of his life and work, yet she was as fearless and protective as a mother hen defending her children from preying hawks.

Usually she stayed out of the way, interfering only when absolutely necessary, especially if the few cops not on Luca's payroll came sniffing. Luca appreciated her interference, but not today. 

Today he was in no mood to be questioned by a woman. Women came and went, an endless stream of them. Nothing more. 

"I didn't stutter," He replied her darkly. 

She looked like she was going to argue with him when her lips parted, but soon she snapped her mouth shut, her eyes sparking with unexpressed anger. 

"A bottle of whiskey and some breakfast." 

She turned on her heels and worked away before he would contest her stubbornness. 

He was tempted to laugh. 

I guess I'm lucky she's not my mother, he thought to himself. The last thing he wanted was a mother hovering over him now as an adult when he never had one as a child. 

His childhood in Italy had been quite normal until his father's lawlessness had gotten their mother killed. And then Luca had gone ahead to make the same mistake. 

Giovanni was not the only one with blood on his hands. 

Luca's were just as tainted, tainted with the blood of someone who was family to him. 

Jaws clenched so tight the joints nearly snapped, Luca turned away from the window and yelled to Rosemary, "Where the hell is that damn whiskey?!"

FRAN'S POV

I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep when I returned home, but it turns out when you're trying to avoid the consequences of your actions and forget how foolish you've been, you can do just anything - sleeping being one of them. 

In the midst of the sounds of the waking city, I closed my eyes to sleep, forcing thoughts about Luca Castello out of my mind. I even had to push thoughts of my sister to an unexplorable corner of my mind, not because I didn't love my sister but because thoughts of Luca kept poking through my concern for my sister. After all, she was the reason I had gone to him in the first place. 

When I finally woke up from the most uneventful sleep of my life, I dragged myself out of bed and went to stand before the mirror in the bathroom. 

Who was the stranger looking back at me? 

I didn't recognize her. Would my mother or father recognize the woman I have become? Would they understand the things I've had to do to survive without them? Were they disappointed in my inability to protect my sister? 

The urge to cry was strong, but my tears were dried up. So many years have passed, so many tears shed. Now was not the time to be weak. I had to stand strong for my sister. Whatever trouble she's gotten herself into, she's still my little sister. Whatever I do, I do for her. She's my only family. 

I sucked in a breath and released it slowly. I would have to face the day and doing so meant that I could not escape Keith and the questions he would ask. I wasn't prepared, but I was ready to let him know that his judgments, whatever they were, were insignificant. If I had to sell my soul to the devil to keep my sister safe and alive, I would. 

I moved into LA as a naive girl of 15. I avoided the girls who lined the streets at all hours of the day and ignored the DMs of predators who promised better living conditions if I joined what they called their "modeling agencies".

I know you're not as naive as I was, so you know as well as I do that they didn't belong to no modeling agencies. They were escorts. Girls who served wealthy men with every hole and inch of their bodies in exchange for a lavish lifestyle. I'm not one to judge anymore, but I'm not stupid either. I understand that greed plays a big role in the choices we make, but I'm also very much aware that choices are limited when your means of survival is threatened. 

My sister is my life, my only surviving family. If I would be judged for trying to save her, then so be it. 

I heaved a sigh at my reflection in the mirror, the action caused my breasts to swell above the heart-shaped neckline of my night chemise, bringing the darker brown spot on my right breast to view. I touched it, instantly taken back to Luca's hard sucking on it when he woke me up again in the early hours of the morning. 

My heart beat quickened beneath my fingers. 

"No," I chuckled bitterly to myself, shaking my head as I took my eyes off my reflection in the mirror. "You're not going to think about that. Last night was a necessity. You've paid the price, now is the time to move on and hope for the best."

I ended up washing my face in the kitchen. Here the only reminder of what happened last night was the dull ache between my legs, but even that was ignored when I made coffee, drank the first cup and made myself another before turning toward my tiny fridge for some eggs for breakfast. 

I had just placed the eggs on the cracked slab when my phone began to ring. Crossing the small hallway between the kitchen and the living room, I retrieved my phone from my purse and swallowed a groan when I saw who it was calling. 

A video call at 9 in the morning. 

"Hmm, if you are up this early then you didn't do it then?" Were Daniela's first words. 

I started to reply when she looked up from whatever she was doing, looked at my face and squealed. 

"My God, you look like hell! What did Luca do to you?" She laughed. 

"Nothing," I bit out through my teeth. 

"Don't tell me nothing. Your eyes are swollen baby, you look like you've barely gotten any sleep today. And is that a hickey I see on your neck?"

I fought the urge to pull the strap of my chemise to my neck. Not that it was any good. It wouldn't hide anything, but it would confirm that there was indeed a hickey on my neck. Guess I'll have to put a spoon in the fridge later. 

"Why are you calling so early, Danny. Shouldn't you be sleeping? I know you worked late last night."

"Yeah, well, I called you over and over, but you weren't answering. I had to make sure my best friend was safe, you know. Now tell me, what happened?"

Nothing that I wanted to tell her, that's for sure. And it wasn't because she thought I was uptight or virtuous, but I just didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want to be delusional.

What happened last night was a business transaction. Sure, it awakened things I thought were long dead and dry, but that's it. It cannot repeat itself. The last thing I wanted was my mind making up scenarios of what might be when Luca could be in bed with another helpless woman fucking every hole in her until she cried his name and her voice turned hoarse. 

Limerence is what they call it. 

Nope, I will not go down that path. 

"Come on," My best friend pouted, "Don't keep the juicy details to yourself."

"Stop it!" I snapped, my voice harder than I intended for it to be. "Last night with Mr. Castello was not a ride in the park, Daniela, you know why I had to do it. This is not about me. My sister is missing!"

I felt a twinge of regret for being so snappy with her, but she needed the reminder just as much as I did about why I had gone to Castello in the first place. 

Daniela was a little contrite, she sucked air through her teeth. 

"You're right. You're right."

I sighed. For now, she won't ask, but the wicked glint in her eyes indicated that the topic wasn't over yet. I suppressed a smile, rubbing a hand over my face to relax my facial muscles. 

Just then, there was a knock on my door. Hard and forceful. 

I held my breath. I wasn't expecting anyone. I barely had any visitors since I didn't have time for a social life and Faith knew better than to invite her friends here. It wasn't just that I wouldn't approve of them, I didn't want them turning my house into some kind of den. 

So, as I stood there looking at the door, I breathed slowly to slow my heart beat. 

"Who's it?" Daniela whispered, leaning close to her phone as if she could see past the borders of our call to my door. 

"I don't know," I whispered back. "Let me go see." For safety's sake, I grabbed my new cup of coffee. It was still hot. 

"Be careful," Daniela called. 

I stopped a few feet away from the door and called out, "Who is there?"

"Fran open the door. It's me!"

"Keith?"

"Yeah."

Dropping the mug carefully on the floor, I made my way to the door and opened it. He breezed in even before I could open it wide enough for him to come through, his eyes darting around my apartment like he was looking for something. 

I stood with my hands on my waist and waited until his gaze returned to me. 

"Well, good morning to you too," I muttered sassily. 

Frowning, his eyes narrowed on my face and then very predictably drifted down to the sheer material of my chemise, his brown eyes darkening with desire until he saw the hard raise of my brow. 

He cleared his throat, his eyes now at the hickey on my neck. He looked like he was going to spurt some angry words and I dared him with my eyes to go ahead.

Clearing his throat again he eventually settled for, "You look like hell."

"I already said good morning, you don't have to repeat it," I said crisply, moving away from the closed door to walk past him. 

At least he had the grace to look remorseful. "I'm sorry. Good morning. You look like... You didn't sleep." His jaw tightened. "You went to him, didn't you? You went with Luca Castello."

"I already told you I would," I shot back at him, angry that he was taking such a tone on me. 

"To talk, to beg for his help. You don't go to a man's house overnight to talk unless you're on your knees. And you know damn well you weren't on your knees to beg him!"

I slapped him. Hard across the face that my palm stung. 

"Don't you dare, Keith. You're like family to me and that's the reason I'm not throwing you out on your ass right now but, I will not tolerate insults from you. Faith's been missing for two weeks. You've done nothing to help me find her. Now don't stand there and judge me."

The slap barely moved him even though he held his face in his hand. He dropped his hand, his voice softer now. "You don't know what you're doing, Fran."

"I know what I'm doing!"

"No you don't! The powers at play are more than you think they are! I talked to a friend last night and he..."

My eyes flew to the table where my phone sat. "Excuse me."

I walked over to grab the phone, hitting the cup of coffee on the way. The mug landed with a sharp sound on the floor, spilling black coffee that burned my foot when I stepped in it. Wincing, I hopped over and grabbed my phone. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Daniela asked. 

"Yes it was just Keith. Listen, let me call you later."

"Daniela?" Keith called out, hoping over the spilled coffee. "Did you know she was going to sleep with Castello? Did you tell her to do that?"

I shot Keith a dark look. Daniela made a face. 

"What's his problem?"

I sighed. "Look, I'll call you back, okay?"

"Yeah sure."

I cut the call and threw my phone on the couch. "Keith enough."

"Fran, you need someone to talk to you. Daniela is not that person. I know her. I see the way she eyes the patrons at the club."

"She's employed to entice them, to tempt them to stay and keep drinking, that's her job. She had nothing to do with my decisions or actions last night!"

"So you're saying you came up with the idea yourself? I don't believe you. That's not the Francesca I know."

"Maybe you didn't know me at all."

"You're different, Fran."

I rubbed the space between my brows because I could feel a headache coming on. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to be questioned by anyone, least of all Keith. The last thing I wanted was someone questioning my actions when they were doing nothing to find my sister. 

"Why are you here Keith? You said you talked to someone."

He took a step toward me, his hands reaching out for me. 

"You're my responsibility, Fran. I promised Jay I would look after you. I can't let anyone take advantage of you."

His hands went around me. It wasn't uncomfortable, but I didn't want to encourage him either. I've seen how he looks at me, how he looked at me even when Jay was still here. Men are simple. A pretty face, a sweet smile and a supple body were all they needed. Give them a chance and they will think they owned you. 

I stepped out of Keith's embrace. "Jay's dead," I said flatly. Sadness covered his eyes but I didn't care. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I added, "You said you talked to someone."

He sighed but he too stepped back. "I did."

"And? Did you find something?"

"It's not good news."