Lodged (Kinsmen Billionaires #2)

28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Gio Bianchi

I ’ve been working nonstop at the lab. Since I’m neither taking classes nor teaching, all my time is spent doing research—which, to be honest, I thought I was going to enjoy more. The days are quiet, and the nights are even worse—I’m on autopilot, because I know the moment I stop and think about my life, I’ll collapse—and I’m not sure I’ll be able to get back up.

Penny is the only one keeping me sane, checking on me constantly and taking me out so I don’t die from loneliness in my place.

Rain contacted me a couple of months back to tell me Ruin was awake, a little tidbit I already had since the hospital kept me informed of Ruin’s progress. The news she had to share, though, was painful. Ruin is suffering from amnesia and doesn’t remember the past four years—so she doesn’t remember me. Which explains her reaction to waking up in a hospital to a stranger holding her hand.

The doctor recommended the family avoid overwhelming her with details about her past. Despite all of this, I was ready to fight and argue that being by her side might actually help. However, after a long conversation with Dr. Davies, the one in charge of her case, and consulting a couple of neurologists for a second opinion, I agreed to give her more time to recover before returning to Azalea Creek to see her. I also couldn’t bear to cause her the same panic I saw in her eyes that day in the hospital. The memory of that look on her face, coupled with the memories of how she used to lovingly gaze at me, still keeps me up at night. So, I’ve been patiently waiting. But the truth is, life is not worth it without her. I’m reaching my breaking point.

“Good morning, Gio. I was hoping to find you here.” Dr. Smith comes into the lab, which is unusual for him these days, and a young guy is with him.

“I just wanted to introduce you to Merlin. He’s an incoming freshman and asked for a chance to work in the lab during summer to gain some experience. I thought you would be the perfect mentor.” Dr. Smith pats me on my back as a shy Merlin comes to stand next to him.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gio.” I extend my hand, and Merlin shakes it. I swear my mind is playing tricks on me because Merlin looks so much like Ruin—it’s crazy. The same fiery red hair, the same nose. I must be imagining things.

“It’s great meeting you, Dr. Bianchi. I’ve read your papers, you’ve done tremendous work.” I chuckle at his formality; I’m not used to being called doctor; I’m just Gio. But I’m impressed he has read my work.

“I was about to head out for a coffee. Would you like to go with me?” I ask Merlin, who gives me an appreciative smile.

“Well, welcome aboard, Merlin. I’ll leave you two to it.” Dr. Smith waves as he wobbles back to his office.

“So, Merlin. Where are you from?” I ask as we take the elevator.

He shuffles in place, maybe a little anxious. “I’m from a small town in the mountains. It’s called Azalea Creek. I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of it.” My heart skips a beat, but I try to mask my shock. Could he be related to her?

“Never heard of it,” I lie through my teeth as we leave the elevator and head to the coffee shop on the main floor of the building.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m curious. Where are you from? Your accent is cool,” Merlin says in a shaky voice, and I chuckle. Yeah, he’s definitely nervous. If it was my first day at school and my boss invited me to get coffee, I would be nervous, too.

“I’m from Argentina. But I’ve been here for a while,” I tell him as we get in line to order.

“Wow, that’s so cool. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from South America before.” His face turns red, and I can’t help but feel he looks like Ruin when she blushes. I quickly shake my head, pushing that thought out of my mind. I’m just seeing what I want to see.

“So, why did you choose Wolfe University? I’m sure you had other options?” I change the subject, and Merlin’s thankful smile lets me know it was the right move.

“I didn’t have many options, to be honest. I’ve always wanted to come here. You know, coming from a small town, the big city always has a certain appeal. Plus, I was offered a partial scholarship to play soccer.”

We say our thanks to the barista as we get our coffees, and I can’t hide my surprise at his revelation.

“Soccer? You should have started there, Merlin. That’s awesome, congratulations.” He gives me a sheepish smile, and I chuckle.

“That’s right, Argentina is the current World Champion,” he says, and my inner Argentinian beams with pride.

“Yup, the feeling of seeing your National Team win the World Cup is indescribable. Maybe one day, you’ll be the one bringing that honor to your country.”

“Ha, no, Dr. Bianchi. I need to graduate and go back home to help my family out.” I frown at him.

“I don’t mean to pry, but what do you mean?” I ask, suddenly curious to know more.

“Well, even though my family owns an orchard and does well, we’ve been hit with big medical bills in the past few years that have put the farm in danger. I’m the youngest of five siblings, and they think I don’t pay attention, but the truth is, I want to help my family keep the farm.” He looks at me, worried that he shared too much and that I might not be interested. On the contrary, I’m all ears.

“So, how are you planning to help your family?” I ask, and he raises his eyebrows. I need to know—because if he’s related to Ruin, as I suspect, I thought I was already helping with all of the medical bills. What’s going on?

“I’m not sure yet, Dr. Bianchi,” Merlin says, his frustration evident, “I’m just thinking if I make good money, maybe we can pay all the medical bills, and we can focus on the farm again.”

If he is who I think he is, I’d be frustrated, too. From what Ruin mentioned, her family is one of the founding families of Azalea Creek—they’ve been there for generations.

“I’m sorry to ask, but did you say you have five siblings?” I ask, sipping my coffee to occupy myself while Merlin answers.

“No, I have four siblings. I’m the fifth child. River, Miles, Rain, Ruin, and me.” I freeze in place. Fuck. How is this possible? What a small world. This is definitely a sign that I need to go and see what’s happening there.

“Are you okay, Dr. Bianchi?” Merlin asks, and I smile at him as I release a deep breath.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I was just thinking. I have two siblings, and me being the oldest, I always try to protect them. I can see why your siblings are possibly leaving you in the dark regarding all the issues at hand. They probably want you to focus on school and have fun.” Merlin gives me a smile as he nods.

“Yeah, I know. River is super protective of all of us. I know he means well, but I’m not a kid anymore.” He tells me as he blushes again.

We continue to chat about school and expectations in the lab while we finish our coffees. Tonight, I need to start working on a plan to go to Azalea Creek and find some answers.

Gio : Hey, friend, do you have time to chat tonight?

Penny : We really need to stop doing this.

Gio : Doing what?

Penny : Getting together only when you need a favor.

Gio : What? I would never.

Penny : Ha! Good to know your humor is back, at least.

Gio : I’m sorry. I know I need to be a better friend.

Penny : Do you want to come over?

Gio : I feel like eating out. Glenwood Avenue?

Penny : Heck, yes! See you at Maria’s at eight.

I hate not being there for Penny lately, but I’m thankful she understands. I can’t think of anyone more capable of helping me come up with a plan to save Azalea Creek from evil investors.

“Hey ,stranger.” Penny greets me as she kisses me on the cheek.

“Hey.” I give her a hug and say, “I’m sorry I’ve been a crappy friend.”

“I forgive you. I know I’d be a mess, too, if the love of my life vanished.” I wince at her words— it’s time I tell Penny everything.

“I’m sorry, you know I don’t sugarcoat anything. And even though I didn’t meet Ruin personally, I know what she meant for you.” I smile at her, and we make our way inside Maria’s. It’s a Cuban restaurant, and the food is to die for.

After ordering our usual—mojitos and ropa vieja with black beans, rice, and plantains—Penny gives me a pointed look. “Do we need to talk about business now?” I ask, and she chuckles.

“Yes, boss. It’s best to get to it.” I nod at her and thank the waiter who just brought our mojitos.

“So, I actually found Ruin months ago,” I tell her and sip the sweet and minty drink.

“Shut up!” Penny shouts as she smacks me on the chest. I laugh at her dramatics but shake my head.

“When I went to Azalea Creek in the winter, I met with two of her siblings, and they told me she had been in an accident and was in a coma.”

Penny inhales a sharp breath. “But when you texted me you just said a lady had locked you in an office,” Penny says, and I feel like crap because I didn’t update her.

“Yeah, well, she went to get River, Ruin’s oldest brother.” Penny’s face is unreadable so I decide to continue talking. “I told them I was going to cover all of her medical bills; I wanted Ruin to have the best care possible. They agreed, and after a lot of back and forth, they let me see her in the hospital.”

Penny takes a sip of her drink, and I do the same. Reliving all those memories is as painful now as it was to live through them all those months ago.

“When I went to Ruin's room at the hospital, she woke up in a panic. The horror on her face when she saw me standing next to her—it’s a memory that has been woven into my soul.” Penny grabs my hand and gives it a little squeeze, and I give her a grateful smile before continuing. “Her doctor advised against any encounters that could upset her and hinder her recovery, so I reluctantly agreed to back away. But when Rain, her sister, contacted me to let me know she was awake, she also told me Ruin had amnesia. After consulting with the doctor, it was advised to not overwhelm her with her past.”

I close my eyes, feeling the pain those words caused me and how living without her has been hell. “I agreed to leave her be, but you won’t believe what happened today.” Penny looks at me with those big, expressive eyes of hers.

“A kid joined my lab today. He’s a freshman and wants to gain some experience in the lab before the semester starts in the fall.” I look at Penny, and her whole focus is on me, so I continue. “He’ll be shadowing me to learn the basics of working in a science lab, and I invited him to have a coffee, you know, to get to know each other better.” Penny’s eyes turn mischievous, and I immediately know what she's thinking.

“Stop it, you know what I mean.”

“I didn’t say a word,” she says, batting her eyelashes.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Anyway, we started talking about his hometown and his family, and I don’t know… things were getting too coincidental, so when I asked him his siblings’ names, he said: River, Miles, Rain and Ruin.” Penny’s mouth is ajar.

“Exactly,” I tell her with a triumphant smile.

“Did you ask his last name? Is it the same as Ruin’s?”

“Damn, I forgot.”

“Dude, what kind of detective are you?” she says as she rolls her eyes.

“Not a very good one,” I answer as I get my phone out. “Luckily, Dr. Smith emailed me his contact info.” I open the mail app, and when I check Dr. Smith’s email, a huge smile stretches my lips.

“Yup, it’s MacAllister.”

“I mean, there’s definitely more families with the MacAllister last name, but the chances of them having a Ruin MacAllister are slim.” I nod in agreement as our food arrives.

Before continuing our talk, we both dive in. The plantains are sweet and crisp to perfection, the beans are full of flavor, and the ropa vieja , a marinated shredded beef, melts in my mouth. It’s delicious.

“Okay, so what are you going to do with this information?” Penny asks as she calls the waiter for a second mojito. I shake my head and order water instead.

“Here’s the kicker. Merlin, that’s my student’s name, mentioned he wants to get a good job to help his family because they’ve been paying lots of medical bills lately, and they’re at risk of losing their orchard.”

“And you’re planning to go to their town and offer to pay their bills? I thought you had already done that.”

“Well, I was just thinking about going to her town and assessing the situation. Talk to Ruin, see how she’s feeling. I mean, it’s been six months since the accident. Maybe she doesn’t remember that she was terrified to see me back in January.” I shrug, suddenly feeling like my plan is the weakest in the history of getting a girl back.

“I agree. You need to speak with her in person, see what happened. But also, you need to be prepared for her to tell you to fuck off. What if she doesn't have amnesia anymore, and for some reason, doesn’t want to see you?”

I’m not feeling great about my odds. My jaw clenches at the thought. There’s no way she can send me away—I’m still in love with her.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” is all I say.

“Ohhh, Gio Bianchi is ready to fight to get his girl back,” Penny sing-songs.

“Damn right, I am. I have never loved anyone the way I love her.” I close my eyes, thinking about everything I got to experience with Ruin. And how happy we were together.

“Well, you let me know how I can help. I’ll be ready for sidekick duty.” We clink our glasses and toast to new opportunities and the power of friendship.

Gabo : Hey, is anyone available?

Vicente : Hey, bro. What’s up?

Gabo : I’m still in Sweden. Just got word we can lift off after a terrible storm. But Bella is in Geneva. I was supposed to be there to attend a gala with her.

Vicente : Aww, she’s mad at you because you chose work over her?

Gabo : Fuck, I don’t know. But neither she nor her security team can be reached.

I’m at work and have decided to check my phone since I have some downtime before I need to continue the experiment I’m running. That’s when I found a message thread with Vicente and Gabo. My blood leaves my head when I read what Gabo is saying—my sister is missing? Before I jump to conclusions, I send a text to the group.

Gio : What? What do you mean they can’t be reached?

Gabo : Yeah, we can’t find them.

How on fucking Earth did my sister go missing when she has two bodyguards with her 24/7? And who would take her? My mind starts racing with possibilities.

Vicente : I’m on my way.

Gio : Me too.

Luca : Fuck you, Gabo. I told you to take care of her. I can’t leave Karina alone; she’s due any day now.

Luca : You all better keep me posted.

My sister, Isa, has been spending the summer in Italy with Gabo, our brother-in-law. And now she’s missing. There’s no way in hell I won’t join the search to find her. Even though Gabo feels responsible for her and has mobilized his entire security team, I’ll always feel responsible for my siblings.

My plan to get Ruin back will have to wait until we find Isa safe and sound.