Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
There was a long pause and then a screeching female voice. “You son of a bitch, where is she?” Lena’s voice was so loud I set it down and put the call on speaker.
“Where is who?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.
“Don’t play games with me, Lorenzo. Where is Ella?”
I said nothing for a long moment. Luca lifted a hand, silently telling me to wait. “I only heard she was gone about ten minutes ago,” I said finally.
There was silence on the line. Then a sharp, broken inhale. “That can’t be,” Lena whispered. “That can’t be right.”
Her fear sounded real and raw. Not performative.
“What have I done?” she breathed. “What has David done to deserve this?”
My stomach dropped. Her words made the truth that I knew, deep down, harder to ignore. “Lena,” I said carefully. “Did you know someone threatened my son’s life?”
She went silent for nearly a full minute. “No,” she whispered. “Mattie?”
“Yeah,” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “That’s why I’m off the grid right now, trying to find out the source of the threat.” I watched Luca, who stared at the phone as if it had all the answers.
“I had no idea,” she answered quickly. “None at all. No one said anything about it.” She sniffled again. “I’m sorry, Lorenzo, about Mattie. Do you think the same people took Ella?”
“No,” I answered to ease her worry. I had nothing against Lena, other than her terrible taste in men. She’d always been kind to me and my son, and to Sofia.
“Lena, I need you to tell me about the PI you hired during your divorce,” Luca said, breaking in before I could say any more.
“He was utterly fucking useless,” she snapped. “Told me he didn’t find any evidence that David was hiding money when I knew he damn well was. So, I hired another PI to break into his office and get the files I paid for. Bastard was holding out on me. What does this have to do with my daughter?”
“Are you safe?” Luca asked instead.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“You won’t be for long,” he shot back in a cool tone. “Go to Valentina’s. Now. Don’t leave until you hear from me or Enzo. Period.”
Silence settled in the room. “Is this really necessary?” she asked, her tone a mix of worry and annoyance.
“Yes,” I said softly. “It’s necessary, Lena. We’re working on finding Ella, I promise.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “I’m heading to Valentina’s now. Please find her, Lorenzo.”
“I will,” I promised before ending the call.
Luca and I stared at the black screen and then each other. “Well,” he said slowly. “That answers that.”
I nodded once.
Shit was about to get very messy.
Chapter 23
Serenity
Iwas wound tight the moment we pulled into the ENS parking lot. Honestly, I was wound tight since we left the mountain. And Enzo. There was nothing wrong, at least nothing I could point to as a reason for my unease. The parking lot, for the most part, was empty. The building was quiet this time of day, with sunlight glinting off the glass doors from the moment the sun rose beyond the horizon. Despite the beauty of everything I had built, my chest felt tight and my breaths came out in quiet, shallow puffs. Every single second that passed stretched thin.
I was a mess, but Mattie? He was vibrating with excitement. “Is Toni going to be there today?”
I nodded slowly. “She is. We have a meeting.”
He squirmed in his seat. “Toni always has good snacks,” he said solemnly. “Do you know Toni, Mr. Damien?”
The quiet bodyguard’s lips quirked into a smile. “No, buddy, I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“You’ll like her,” Mattie assured him before hopping down from the SUV like this was the best field trip of his life.
I was happy to see Mattie wasn’t nearly as quiet and withdrawn as he’d been last night. It was scary, moving locations in the middle of the night, but the excitement had worn him out before the worry could set in. He’d been a little confused, but kids are resilient and adapt to changes easily, and Mattie was no different.
“Stay there, Miss Masters.” Damien’s deep voice held an edge I’d never heard, but given my own discomfort, I nodded and stopped beside the SUV.
“It’s just a few feet,” I insisted for some strange reason.
Damien’s gaze sharpened. “Stay. There.”
“Okay, okay,” I insisted. “We’re not moving a muscle, are we, Mattie?”
The little boy giggled and froze in place. “Nope, not moving at all.”
Damien stepped from the SUV and clicked the fob to lock it.
Mattie reached for my hand as we made our way to the entrance, his small fingers warm and trusting against mine. The normalcy of it all hit me in that moment. This could be our life, taking Mattie to the office so he’s surrounded by other children, sharing these moments with him. “Can we make cookie men today, Ren?” he asked.