Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
DANTE
Rubbing the beads of my rosary between my fingers, I half listen as yet another specialist explains why Angelo will never walk again.
“There is simply too much?—”
“That will be all,” I interrupt, jumping to my feet. “Frankie has your payment and will see you out.”
Crossing the room to the large window overlooking the backyard, my mind drifts back to the farmhouse in Texas, and more importantly Kate. It had been more than a month since our abrupt departure and not a single word from her.
“Maybe they’re right, Dante. He’s the third doctor we’ve consulted and the answer is the same.”
Closing my eyes, I lower my head in defeat. Italy was on our asses for a definitive answer whether Angelo could fulfill the role, while Marcus was threatening to petition for the position.
“Maybe you should have listened to me when I said to wait until you were more recovered before jumping on a plane so soon after surgery.”
When Frankie broke the news Angelo had given the order to ready the plane, I was beyond pissed. My brother claimed the farmhouse was compromised and with his condition we needed to leave immediately. With the amount of space Angelo required to travel, it limited the number of people who could board the plane.
To complicate matters, Valentina showed up with her usual clinginess. The last thing I wanted was to expose Kate to her venom. I tried to sneak in the house to tell Kate I had to leave, however, Val refused to leave my side. In one final act of desperation, I had used one of my extra phones, typed a message to Kate along with my personal number and stuck it in her backpack, along with an envelope filled with twice the amount we had agreed upon.
“Come on, Dante,” Angelo started, but I was having none of it.
“No, you come on,” I spun around, separating the distance between us. “Admit it, you overreacted!” I shouted at him. “You did exactly what Joseph taught us not to do and allowed your fear to rule you.”
“What was I supposed to do, let Chuy and his?—”
“I had Chuy.” Slamming my hand on the arm of his wheelchair. “Damn it, son, I had that motherfucker where I wanted him and you fucked it up.” My anger echoes off the walls of the room. Chuy had continued to demand restitution and I had returned with a solid fuck off.
“Worst of all,” I paused, choking back my emotions. “You cost me the only woman I ever truly loved.”
Tears form in the lower half of Angelo’s eyes as he places his hand on mine.
“Have you checked on her?”
“Johnny said she refused a ride with him and there has been no activity at her apartment.”
When Johnny arrived in Boston, I expected him to have Kate in tow. He told me how she stitched him up, and claimed it was time to do what she’d promised as she counted the money I’d left inside her backpack.
“Have you tried calling her?”
“I never got her number and my phone goes to voicemail.”
“What about the tracker?”
“I never got a chance to put one on her.” It was common practice within the Family to place tracking devices on its members, as well as the untouchables.
“On your phone, you idiot.”
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Motherfucker.”
Jumping to my feet, I ran out of the room and into Angelo’s office. Signing into the computer, I bounce my foot as I wait for the app to open. Clicking on the device I needed to track, Angelo rolls his wheelchair into the room, parking beside me.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” He offers as the indicator wheel spins on the screen. “It’s good to see a little life return to you. I’ll do whatever you need to help find her and get her back.”
The ding of the app pulls my attention back to the screen. My eyes narrow as I take in the location of my phone. Angelo clears his throat, pulling out his phone and selecting a number.
Placing the call on speaker, I look to my brother as we waited for the call to connect.
“ Hey, Angelo. How are you doing, baby ?”
“I’ve been better. Tell me something, Val. Where are you right now?”
“Ugh, waiting for my agent to call. Why, wanna party ?”
“I mean, are you in your apartment in LA or New York?” Val bragged about how she lived in a house in the hills, while in reality, she lived in a studio apartment over a dry cleaner near Studio City.
“New York, why ?”
Her apartment in New York was owned by Angelo, he let her stay rent free to keep squatters away.
“Kate Romano isn’t with you by any chance is she?”
“ God, no. I left that pathetic bitch in Texas.”
Angelo held up his hand to silence me. “Then explain to me why the tracker we have for her is pinging from your apartment in New York?”
“I—”
“Don't even think about lying to me, Valentina. I'm the leader of this Family and you know what will happen if you do.”
“I saw Dante put the phone in her backpack. I didn’t think much about it until I saw her,” Val’s voice drops to a whisper. “I had to do it, Angelo. I love him. Kate doesn't deserve him, I do.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Val. I don't deserve her.” I may not deserve her, but that didn’t stop me from wanting her.
Picking up his phone, Angelo raises it to his lips “This is low, even for you, Val. I want you out of my house by the end of the month.” He spoke flatly before ending the call.
“Promise me one thing, brother,” Angelo tosses his phone to the table, shifting his attention to me.
“I think we are beyond oath swearing.” Pointing at the ring which sat on the middle finger of his right hand.
“I need you to swear this obsession you have with Kate isn’t about bringing Bellamia back.”
I’d kept so many things that happened in my marriage to myself, believing if I took them to the grave it would be easier for everyone.
“Kate isn’t Bella,” I answered honestly. “They may share features, but that’s where it ends.” I could go on and tell him all the differences, however that isn’t what he wants to hear. “I swear, I’m not trying to bring Bellamia back.”
“Good.” Reversing his wheelchair, “I’m going to go meet with the next doctor. Once you’re done finding her, we need to have a talk about you taking the lead again.”
I want to argue, however, Angelo wheels out of the room before I can.
Tapping my fingers against the grain of the table, my thoughts are in overdrive. Kate hadn’t returned to her apartment, nor had she stepped foot inside the hospital. So where had she gone? There was no family I could find. Even the surveillance on her former best friend, Andi, hadn’t provided any answers.
“Where are you, Tesoro?”