Page 37 of Scarlet Embrace

“He’s been pretty much distracted these days, to be honest,” I admitted to Roland, who was tapping his finger continuously. He was clearly on the edge, and I guess my entire relationship with Lucas was bothering him. Right from the start, Roland was never pleased with me being with Lucas, and I understood his concern.

“Yeah. We believe it’s only a matter of time before things escalate into a shootout, and I can only imagine how that will turn out.”

People will die, families will mourn their loved ones, and it will be because of two people who can’t stand each other. If only there was a way to stop the brewing war, but the truth was that only Andrew Cruz and Diana LaRosa could stop this war, but neither of them would do that. Not when there was a whole lot to gain.

“I’ll see if I can get you any information,” I told Roland, who told me I needed to be careful. He reminded me that neither Lucas nor Andrew would be pleased when they discovered that I was working with the police. I knew the risk when I decided to go with this crazy plan. Bringing about the destruction of the Cruz family was the only reason I agreed to this plan from the start.

Not the entire family. Not Linda and maybe Lucas.

Hating them from afar was quite easy, but after sitting at their table and interacting with them, wishing them destruction was a little bit harder. In fact, I can’t exactly describe my feelings for Lucas. When I discussed it with Carmen, who had suddenly become Team Lucas, she told me that I might be slowly falling for him, a claim I had dismissed almost immediately. Now, I wasn’t so certain.

I walked Roland downstairs before I returned back to the case I was working on. Barely had I stepped into my office when I got a call from Lucas, who told me he wanted to ask if I was free for lunch.

“Yes, though I am not wearing anything fancy,” I told him.

I shouldn’t be excited about the thought of having dinner with him.

But the truth was that I felt excited. Talking with Lucas made me feel, for lack of better words, butterflies in my tummy.

“All that matters is me seeing you,” he told me.

“You know, if anyone overheard you, they’ll think that you meant that,” I said teasingly.

“Maybe I do mean it.”

I paused, trying to think of the best reply to that statement, but I came up empty-handed. Lucas Cruz was quite the complicated man, no doubt about that, and I wasn’t going to bother myself trying to understand him. He invited me for dinner, and I was going to honor that invitation. The one thing I did not plan, however, was that he was going to invite me to his uncle’s place.

“Trust me, you’re going to like him. He’s the normal person in the family,” Lucas assured me.

Rufus Cruz was someone who kept himself out of the spotlight, the elder brother who had given all the power, money, and privilege away to live a life without crime. I could still remember my reactions when I discovered that Rufus had really led a crime-free life, unlike the rest of the family.

Maybe Lucas even has some skeletons in his cupboard.

His records were clean, but then I didn’t expect his record to be spot clean, and yet it was. Rufus Cruz was waiting for us at the door, and I noticed his smile when Lucas and I came down. “Finally, I get to meet her,” Rufus said.

“I’m sorry it took so long, but you’ve been out of town,” Lucas said as he hugged his uncle.

“Yeah. Hello, Elena. It’s Elena, right?”

“Yes,” I said with a nervous smile.

Rufus looked just like his brother Andrew. He had high cheekbones, a sharp nose, and blue eyes, but something about his demeanor was different. While Andrew had much of a commanding presence, Rufus gave off the Santa vibe.

“Good. Let’s go inside. I need to hear all the stories about how you bagged this fella here.”

Lucas and I had developed a bit of a story for a situation like this. I met him during Alex’s case, and I helped him recover his cars, and from there, we had kicked off. It was close enough to the truth that we won’t have any problems remembering it. Rufus’s apartment was warm and cozy. There were pictures of his wife all over the place, and the furniture looked like they were from the Victorian Era.

“Finally, I can settle down knowing you’ll have a family of your own soon,” Rufus said as he placed the tray on the table. He poured out a cup of tea for Lucas and me.

“You and Father are the same. You guys keep talking about me having a family, not considering if I want to take things slow,” Lucas said as he picked up the cup.

“Because you are not getting younger, and it’s time we see the next generation of Cruz,” Rufus answered.

Little versions of Lucas running around. The boys have his bravery and confidence, and the girls are just as outspoken as he is.

It was a nice sight but one I wouldn’t get to witness. In a way, it saddens me, but we all knew that my relationship with Lucas was just a farce, a game to help him get whatever it was he wanted from his father.

He’ll never think of me as a woman.