The Morretti Brothers Book 2

“Don’t touch me.”

“Red, I—”

“You still don’t even know my name!” Anna whips around, pulling her T-shirt over her head. “How drunk were we?”

“Actually, I wasn’t really drunk…”

“Yet you slept with me? You don’t even know my name and you slept with me! Who the hell do you think you are?” Anna yells at him. Marcello goes to answer, but she holds her hand up to stop him.

“Forget it! Don’t answer that. I’m going. If I ever see you again, it will be too soon!” Anna shouts, storming out of his bedroom.

Anastasia eventually finds her way out of Marcello’s enormous house. She is saddened and happy that Marcello didn’t follow her. As she makes her way out onto the street, she realizes she left her bag behind. Anna curses at herself but doesn’t turn back. She can cancel her cards, her phones are replaceable, and she can always buy a new bag.

Marcello watches the beautiful woman leave from his bedroom window. Never had a woman yelled at him like that, except for his mother. That is her Italian blood, he thinks to himself. Moving away from the window, something catches his attention at the foot of the bed. A bag. ~Her~ bag.

Marcello ignores his mother’s voice in the back of his head telling him not to look through her bag. He pulls out her wallet and immediately looks for her license.

“Anastasia Carmichael,” he reads aloud. Taking his phone off the nightstand, he calls one of his men. “Find me everything on Anastasia Carmichael,” he barks into the phone before hanging up.

“Who was the girl?” Luciano Morretti, Marcello’s brother, enters the bedroom.

“Hacker who found your burner,” Marcello snaps.

“Name?”

“Anastasia.”

“Fiery hair.”

“And personality.”

“And the sex?” Luca asks, overstepping his boundaries.

“Why are you here?” Marc snaps at his brother.

“Can’t I come and see my big brother?”

“Luciano!”

“Fine. I’m here because Ed is pissed at me. I needed to get out of the house.”

“What did you do this time?”

“Nothing!”

“Tell me.”

“I seriously did nothing. She is…”

“Yes?”

“She is pregnant,” Luca says softly.

“Complimenti! I’m so happy for you!” Marcello hugs his little brother.

“So, who is the girl really?” Luca asks.

“Anastasia Carmichael,” Marcello replies.

“You like her?” Luca asks, and Marcello just nods. Marcello’s phone rings, and the two stare at it for a moment. Marcello presses the phone to his ear.

“Morretti.”

“Don, we found nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?”

“It’s like she doesn’t exist.”

“I’m holding her driver’s license. The girl exists!”

“All we found was a couple in Las Vegas. Anita and Jacob Carmichael. Two kids, Anastasia and Charles. It says Charles died twelve years ago.”

“That’s her. That’s Anastasia.”

“But that’s all there is. The girl vanishes when she turned fifteen. No trace of her.”

“The parents, what about them?”

“Millionaires. They own the Carmichael Grand on the Vegas strip.”

“Good work. Thanks.”

“No problem, boss.”

Marcello hangs up the phone. He throws it on the bed, and Luca lets out a low whistle.

“Not the answer you were looking for?”

“They found nothing on her, only her parents.”

“How is that possible?”

“The girl is a hacker. That’s how she found me. Did you know iPhones take photos throughout the day?”

“What?” Luca throws a pillow over Marcello’s phone. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. Crazy, right? How am I going to find her?”

“Why do you want to?”

“She left her bag. I should return it,” Marcello stares at his feet.

“It’s more than that. I have seen countless women leave your bed since we moved to San Francisco. Never once have you tracked one of them down. You like this girl.”

“She is indescribable,” Marcello admits. “And she speaks Italian.”

“Damn, fratello! You have to marry this one. I have been with Eddison how long, and the girl still can’t understand a word.”

“Go home to your wife, Luciano.”

“Go find your girl, Marcello,” Luca counters.

***

Thankfully for Anna, Elliot and Lucy are out when she sneaks back into the apartment. She doesn’t feel like answering the fifty questions they would throw at her about last night. Anna is shocked she let it happen. She scolds her drunk self, vowing never to get that drunk again.

Checking the clock, she only has thirty minutes before she has to start work at the Coffee Bean. Anna has a quick shower and steps into her wardrobe for something to wear. Picking a ripped pair of skinny jeans and an MIT T-shirt, she makes her way to the Coffee Bean. She takes her tablet with her, planning to make use of the free Wi-Fi during her shift. She can hack and shut down her smartphones while she cancels her cards.

“We are going to talk about last night,” Lucy says when Anna enters the Coffee Bean.

“Not now, Luce.”

“Not now, but at some point, I want to hear all of it.”

“Whatever.” Anna rolls her eyes as she takes her place at the coffee machine. With two orders waiting for her, she starts those while working on her tablet with her free hand.

“You are multi-talented,” a low voice interrupts her.