The BodyGuard Bk. 02 - Retribution

"Do you think she had anything to do with her restaurant burning?"

"I wouldn't put it past her. She is a shady character. You should be cautious of her."

"Why?"

"She wants everything Kay has or had. Then wants to destroy it."

Luca had to let this all sink in. His mind was going a hundred miles a minute.

"Get yourself together Luca. I know you want to see Kay. But I think you need a clear head right now. I will take you to see her tomorrow. If that's what you want."

Luca nodded his head. He desperately wanted proof Kay was alive. He wanted to see with his own eyes.

"Meet me at here at my office at 4:00 pm."

Luca turned and left without another word. Tom watched through his window as Luca left the building. He noticed the rest of the team approach Luca. 'You have some good friends there Luca.' he thought to himself.

When Luca stepped out of the building, he knew he wasn't alone. He stopped and raised his hand and then started walking and then stopped.

One by one his friends started to approach him.

"Is everything okay?" Moe said as he and the rest caught up to him.

"King Arthur time in an hour." Luca said.

His friends nodded and departed. Moe and Paulie went one way, Peter and Sal went another. Luca headed for his truck. They all met up a couple hours later. They had a safe apartment in the middle of New York city. Whatever was said inside never came out the door.

They walked in together. There was a round table with five chairs at it (Hence the name King Arthur and the knights of the round table). At each chair there was a shot glass. Peter went to the cupboard which was filled with bottles of Scotch Whisky. He got a bottle and put it down in front of Luca. They all took their normal spots. Luca cracked open the whisky and poured himself a shot. He then passed the bottle. When the bottle got back to him, he lifted his glass. He drew in a deep breath. "Kay's alive." He drank his shot. Everyone stared at Luca with their glasses still raised.

"What?" was heard in unison. Everyone's eyes were focused on Luca.

He looked at his friends. He lifted his empty glass and they all drank their shot. Then he refilled and passed the bottle again.

"We all thought she was dead! When the coroner went to do the autopsy..." his voice faded and he stared. Everyone was quiet waiting for him to continue. "Tom tried to find me, to tell me, but I was MIA." He looked at his friends.

"Where is she?" Peter asked

"Tom says she is at a safe house somewhere."

"Have you seen her?" Paulie asked

"Not yet."

"What are you going to do?" Moe asked

"She has amnesia. She doesn't remember the past couple years." Luca said as he sat there gazing into space.

He cleared his throat. He lifted his glass and drank his shot. Everyone followed suit. He passed the bottle again.

"We know you have strong feelings for her." Sal said.

Luca looked at his friends sitting around the table. They knew each other better than they knew themselves at times.

"That noticeable?"

"We could tell the moment we looked at you." Paulie replied.

"When we first saw her, it was obvious." Moe stated.

"When I first saw Kay, I felt something I never felt before. I wanted to be with her. She made me crazy." He paused for a second. "She stood up to me. She hated me calling her darlin'." He chuckled. "But I did it anyway just to get a reaction out of her. She got tangled up in a bad marriage. The inheritance money from her Grandmother did more harm than good. When I found out he roughed her up, I almost lost it. Feelings I never had surfaced. My father once told me when you find the woman you are to be with you will know. Don't waste time fighting yourself. Because time goes by quickly and your love can be taken away by a blink of an eye."

"Your dad always gave good advice Luca." Peter said.

"Yes, he did. And when my mother got sick, my father dropped everything to care for her. When she died, he died on the inside. He never was the same again. He passed away three months later." Luca said.

They all remembered that time. Luca went crazy for a while. They all stuck with him then. Just as they did as kids and then in the Army and just as they are now. Sal lived on one side of Luca and Peter just across the street from Luca and they hung around together all the time. The three became inseparable. They met Paulie and Moe a year later. Paulie was the new kid. He too came from a bad home. Kids picked on him all the time. Moe was the one that stepped up to help Paulie fight off the bullies, but they were outnumbered. They stood their ground though. They were prepared for a fight, when the other kids turned and ran away. When they looked behind them, they saw Luca, Sal and Peter where standing there. That's what scared those kids away. Both boys straightened up. They didn't know what was going to happen. They knew of these three boys and nobody messed with them. Paulie and Moe were a grade behind the other boys. Luca was already towering over everyone else already. He stepped up, but Paulie and Moe never backed down. They will never forget that day.

"I suppose you want to fight us too?" Moe said.

Luca looked back at Sal and Peter he laughed. "Now why would we want to do that?"

"Everyone else seemed to think it's the in-thing." Moe replied.

Peter and Sal stepped up next to Luca.

"We just wanted to see what all the commotion was about." Peter said.

He could tell they were terrified. But they weren't backing down.

"What do you think?" Sal said to Luca and Peter as he was looking at the two boys.

"Don't know just yet. What are your names?" Luca asked them.

"Moe."

"Paulie."

"How long you been friends?" Peter asked.

They two boys looked at each other. "We just met. Paulie is new. Kids were picking on him. I stepped in." Moe said.

"So, you basically don't know each other at all. And yet you both were willing to fight off a mob of kids."

"Yes," they both said at the same time.

The boys had no idea what was going on. They were confused and scared. But again, they stood their ground.

"Brave and fearless. I like that." Sal said.

"Strangers to boot." Peter threw in.

Luca's dad drilled into these boys about loyalty, friendship and trust. He told them good friends where hard to come by and best friends could be complete strangers. You want friends that will stick by you though everything and never question unless it's wrong.

"We were watching what was happening." Luca said.

"And we decided you two might need a little help." Peter said.

Both boys looked at each other. They felt a little relieved.

"You were willing to help us?" Moe replied.

"But you don't even know us." Paulie said.

"And you don't know each other." Sal said.

"You're right." Paulie said as he and Moe looked at each other.

"Why don't we all go to the soda shop?" Luca said. They all turned and started walking. From that day forward, nothing came between them.

Chapter 3

Luca sat at the table looking at his glass.

"I love Kay. But am I right for her? She doesn't remember me. Should I leave her? Should I try and get her to remember? How does she feel about me? I don't know." He looked up at his friends waiting for answers.

"We know Kay was in love with you too Luca." Moe said.

"Yes, but both of you were stubborn." Paulie chuckled.

"And you did flip out on her when you thought she knew about the drugs. You should have known she wasn't that type of person!" Peter said.

"Did you really trust her?" Sal questioned him.

"She wanted to know more about me, but I am not quite sure I am ready for all that. Will she understand? Will she trust me?" Luca put his hands to his face.

"You have to remember Luca, she was betrayed. Not only by Sonny, but by her sister. And she doesn't even know about her sister's betrayal yet."

Luca looked at Sal funny. "How do you know about her sister? I never told you."

"Well..." Sal cleared his throat. "We started our own investigation. Off the record of course."

"I see. And what else did you find out?"

"We found out that when Connie turns twenty-five..."

"That she gets her inheritance." Luca finished.

"We also know that she is hooked up with some guy names Virgil Sollozzo. He was Sonny's best man at the wedding."

"Hmm..." Luca started putting the pieces together.

"What are you thinking?"

"Connie was having an affair with Sonny. Now she is hooked up with his best friend? Does that seem odd?"

"Connie wasn't at the wedding. She didn't know Virgil was the best man or friends with Sonny."

"Yes but, if she was sleeping with Sonny, I am sure she met Virgil. Tom told me that Kay probably knows who Barzin is but doesn't realize it. Now with her amnesia problem that won't be easy."

"So, I take it you're not going to let her go?"

"I will protect her until this is finished. I can't see the future. She may not want anything to do with me. I can't make her love or want me. I can't force her memories to come back. All I can do is be there. I love her more than I knew. But I can't let that get in the way of her happiness. She deserves to be happy."

"With or without you?"

Luca cleared his throat. He refilled his glass and drank another shot.

"She has to make the choice. She doesn't even know me."

"Best friends can be complete strangers." Moe and Paulie said at the same time.

They all refilled their glasses and took another drink.

"But the thing is, we are not strangers." Luca looked at them.

"Yes, Luca you are. Kay doesn't know you." Sal looked at him.

Luca closed his eyes. "I know." He let out a deep breath.

"One step at a time. She may get her memory back." Peter said.

"And what if she wants nothing to do with me if she does?"

Everyone looked at each other. "Then it wasn't meant to be." Sal said.

They all refilled their glasses one last time and downed the shot together.

**********

Luca was waiting for Tom outside his office at 3:00 pm. He was nervous. But he knew his friends were with him. Unseen but they were there. They discussed a lot of things last night and they came up with a game plan. Kay would be under watch 24/7 by one of them always. They also were trying to find out more about Virgil and Connie. Luca felt they were on the right track this time.

Sorry, I had some business to finish up. You're early." Tom looked at Luca.

Luca was stone faced like always, all business.

"I am anxious."

"Remember she doesn't know you."

"Let's get this done."

"Follow me."

Luca nodded and got into his truck. He followed Tom's car. He thought Tom got lost a few times, but he knew exactly where he was going. After a two-hour drive, they stopped at a Chinese takeout for some dinner.

"It's about ten minutes away." Tom said.

Luca just nodded as he got into his truck. It was the longest ten minutes in Luca's life before Tom turned into a subdivision. The homes were okay looking. Not trashy as he first thought a safe house would look. He wondered if he was being watched. He was nervous when he got out of his truck. He took a couple deep breaths to calm himself. He walked up behind Tom.

"Well this is it. Are you ready?" Tom could tell he was anxious.

Luca nodded. "Let's get this over with. Does she know I am coming?"

"Yes."

They both walked up to the door. Luca had butterflies in his stomach. He never felt more nervous before in his life. Tom knocked on the door. He was met by a deputy. He let them in.

"Deputy Fife, this is Luca Brasia." Tom said.

The two shook hands.

"Where is Kay?" Tom asked

"In her room. I will go get her." Said Deputy Fife.

"Here you take the food to the kitchen, while I talk with Kay." Tom said

Luca nodded as he took the food.

"Tom." Kay smiled.

Tom cleared his throat. "Remember I told you about your BodyGuard?"

"Yes, did you find him?" she sounded worried.

"Yes, I did."

"Can I meet him?"

"He is in the kitchen, follow me." Tom replied as they entered the kitchen.

"Kay this is Luca Brasia."

Kay felt slight goose bumps as she turned. She gasped as she stared into the eyes of a man that loved her. A man she couldn't remember. She looked up at him. Her heart started pounding. She could feel something was between them. Her body was reacting to him. She felt slightly dizzy and fell back.

Luca caught her to steady her.

"Are you okay darlin'?" he said in a soft raspy voice.

He was trying to control his emotions. 'She is alive! I am not dreaming. She is alive!' he thought. His eyes couldn't leave hers. She was so beautiful and alive. His heart started pounding. He felt heat run through his body. His breathing became elevated. He wanted to grab her and kiss her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her. But he couldn't. 'Control Luca, control yourself.'

"I ah... I ah... am fine."

His touch was soothing her. She wanted to go to him. She wanted him to hold her. She could feel it and see it in his eyes. Something was there. She knew he was more than a BodyGuard.

The deputy left and they all sat down to eat the food that Tom and Luca brought with them. There was idle chatter while they enjoyed the food. Neither of them could take their eyes away from each other. Tom knew it was only a matter of time.

"How tall are you?" she questioned Luca.

He slightly smiled. He remembered the first time she asked.

"When we first met you asked me that question. I am Six feet, five inches tall." he told her.

"Why did you call me Darlin'?"

Luca didn't realize he did. He glanced at Tom, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." he cleared his throat.

"Oh, I am not offended. It sounded familiar?" she squinted her eyes at him looking for answers.

Luca looked back at Tom and he was shaking his head. He had a small smile.

"It's okay Luca. You can tell her, anything that may help."

"Tell me what?"

"When we first met. I was checking out your home. Looking for escape routes, hiding places, windows and doors. You thought I was being too nosy."

Kay laughed out loud and Luca's heart melted. He had to keep it together.

"You stood in front of me to stop me. You reached out with your hands and slammed me in the chest trying to hold me back."

"That should have been a sight." she smiled.

Luca took a deep breath. "I told you what I was doing. You got a little snippy. I called you darlin'. You got mad at me and slammed the door in my face. Told me you weren't my darlin'. So, I called you that all the time..."

"Just to aggravate me?"

"Yes."

Kay was smiling and shaking her head. "I wish I could remember. Just you telling that makes me feel good."

Luca needed to get out of there. He was finding it harder and harder to control himself.

"I need to check out the neighborhood." he quickly turned and left.

That took Kay by surprise. She looked at Tom confused.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Tom let out a sigh. "No, he went through a lot when he thought you were dead. In one moment, you were standing on the porch behind Luca and then he was holding your lifeless body in his arms. He blamed himself."

"But it wasn't his fault."

"I know. He has to realize that."

"He was more than a BodyGuard, wasn't he?"

Tom cleared his throat. "That's not for me to say."

Kay nodded. "Is he going to stay?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"I am going back to my room."

Kay went into her bedroom closing the door behind her. She knew they had some sort of a relationship, but she didn't know how much of one. She could feel it. Every part of her body was yearning for him. 'Damn I need to remember!' she thought.

Luca was checking out the neighborhood. The feelings he was having were unnerving. He wanted Kay so much. He could tell she felt something. The sparkle in her eyes. Her laughter he longed to hear again. Should he stay away or should he try to get her to remember? Would she accept him for him? 'Damn Luca your confusing yourself!' he thought. After an hour of looking over the neighborhood it was starting to get dark. He was no closer with the answers to his questions. He gave the knock on the safe house door and Tom let him in.

"How is she?"

"She is confused."

"How many sheriff's deputies are watching her?"

"There is one per eight-hour shift, three per day. The money from the Feds is about to run out and then it would come out of the sheriff's budget. He would be grateful if we took over watching her."

"What about her memory?"

"She remembers things now and again. But the doctors say it will take time."

Luca nodded. "Time."

He walked to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"No thanks, it's getting dark, time for me to leave."

Tom was at the door. He looked over at Luca.

"She will remember, someday."

Luca nodded and closed the door and locked it after Tom left. Luca went back to the kitchen. When the coffee was finished brewing, he poured himself a cup. He sat down at the table and was in deep thought. Luca shook his head and look at his watch, it was 11:30 pm. and then he heard Kay scream. He raced towards her room.

Kay was in the middle a nightmare. She was thrashing in her bed.

"No please stop!" she shouted. Tears were falling.

She was trying to defend herself. Luca burst into her room with his gun drawn. It was dark in her room, but all he saw was Kay. She was tossing around in her sleep. He walked quietly over to her.

"Kay." he softly said as he tried to wake her.

"No! No! I don't know anything." she cried.

"Kay," he said a bit louder.

She began to swing her arms. Tears were falling. She was crying out. Luca grabbed her and held her in his arms.

"It's okay Kay."

He kissed the top of her head. He was rocking her trying to sooth her. She began to settle down. Her cries became whimpers. Her breathing went back to normal. He had a hard time coping having her in his arms again. It was tearing him apart.

Kay opened her eyes. She felt arms around her. She heard Luca's deep voice. She felt him kiss the top of her head. She knew they had to be lovers. She looked up at him and she saw love, passion and desire.

"Luca." she softly said.

He gazed down at her and he couldn't help himself. He had to kiss her. The kiss was passionate. Kay quivered, she was devoured by Luca's kiss. She wanted more. He felt the need, the desire. She pressed herself against him and moaned. He almost lost all control. He had to stop this. He couldn't take advantage of her. He didn't want her like this. He pulled away and stood up.

"I am sorry." he said as he turned and left the bedroom.

He went back to the kitchen. He was staring at his coffee cup when he heard her behind him.

"Why are you sorry Luca?"

He didn't say anything.

"You were more than a BodyGuard to me, weren't you?"

"You don't remember."

"I don't have to remember. Don't you think I can feel it? I can feel it in my heart Luca. I can see it in your eyes. Hear it in your voice."

"Kay please..."

She held up her hand. "If you want to pretend otherwise so be it. I don't need my memories to tell me I was in love with you."

"Kay..."

"Goodnight Mr. Brasia." Kay turned and went back to her room.

Luca stood there speechless. Could this be a sign to let her go? Can he let her go? She deserves so much more. Luca didn't sleep a wink. All he heard was Kay's words, in love with him.

Morning came fast. Kay got up and took a shower. She knew there was a reason why Luca was holding back. It wasn't just because of her memory. Something happened, was it a fight? Did she do something or say something? Or did he? 'Damn it Kay!' She thought the best way to handle this was treat him like everyone else. Even though she knew it wouldn't be easy she had to do it. She got out of the shower and got dressed. She walked into the kitchen.