Wanted Twins with the Mafia Boss (Mob Boss's Unexpected Twins Duet #2)

CHAPTER 1

Adriano

I glance at my phone and frown at the time showing on the screen. Chiara has been gone for over ten minutes. Where is she? Maybe I’m just too impatient, but I can’t wait to have her next to me again. All I want is to press my lips against hers and forget about everything else.

I wait for a few more minutes, but then I can’t take it any longer, so I push myself up to my feet with a groan.

“Chiara?” I call as I emerge into the hallway.

No answer.

She said she’d get us some snacks. Why is that taking so long? Maybe she’s in the kitchen preparing some food or something. Or she got distracted.

Or she left you.

I try to push that thought out of my mind. It’s ridiculous anyway. Why would Chiara abandon me? It doesn’t make any sense. She was the one who offered me to stay in her home. If she didn’t want me here, she would’ve already said something.

And things are looking good between us. Spending my time with her and just not thinking about anything else is relaxing.

“Chiara?” I peek into the bathroom, but she isn’t there either.

Pain rips through me as I head to the kitchen, but I ignore it. All I want is to see Chiara’s face and have her smile at me.

I have zero regrets about throwing myself in front of Matteo’s bullets to protect her. It may have seemed like a mistake at that time, but it was worth it.

She’s my light in all the darkness, and Gennaro and everyone else can suck it with their stupid ideas. What Chiara and I have is special, and I’m not going to let anyone mess with that.

But the kitchen is empty.

Huh.

“Do you need anything?” Rocco asks.

“Yeah, I do. Have you seen Chiara?”

“Um, no. I haven’t. I thought she was with you.”

A wave of dread rushes through me. There’s no reason to jump to conclusions. She has to be somewhere in the house. It’s the only logical explanation, but my chest constricts and it’s getting hard to breathe.

She abandoned you like everyone else.

I grit my teeth. No, that can’t be true.

She got tired of you. Everything she said was a lie. She only needed a chance to escape you.

I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. “She said she was going to get some snacks, so she must be around here somewhere.”

“Huh. I’ll take a look.” Rocco strides down the hallway.

I don’t have many guards here so as not to catch too much attention and alert my enemies of my whereabouts, but a few moments later, I have everyone searching for Chiara.

“Chiara!” I shout, desperation straining my voice.

But no one answers my calls. Where could she have gone? To see a friend? A neighbor? To buy something at the nearby store?

But she knows how dangerous it is just to go outside. She would’ve asked for someone else to get it, or one of the guards would’ve accompanied her or simply watched over her from a safe distance.

I rake my fingers through my hair. More pain fills my body as I move, but it’s nothing compared to the pain that’s threatening to crush my chest.

She can’t be gone. She just can’t.

“She left her phone,” Rocco says, handing it to me. “And the cameras are still dead from that power outage when we overloaded the grid, so no help there.”

“What the fuck were you all doing?” I snap. “How did no one see her leave? I swear if someone got into the house and hurt her, I’m going to make you all pay!”

“We’re doing our best. Without all the equipment and more guards...” He shakes his head. “But it doesn’t matter. She’s probably somewhere close by. I don’t think anyone could’ve sneaked in and gotten out with her. Someone would’ve heard something. She would’ve screamed.”

“So you’re saying she left? Escaped?”

“No. Well, yes. I mean, she’ll probably be back. You said she wanted some snacks? Maybe she realized she was out of whatever she wanted, so she decided to go to the store to get it. The store is not too far away, and she’s been living here her whole life, so of course she feels safe to go there and thinks we’re overreacting.”

“But is she there? At the store? I don’t want your fucking predictions! I want to know where the fuck she is right now!” I curl my fingers into fists so I don’t punch him in the face.

Anger is coursing through my veins. I know it’s not anyone’s fault if Chiara left the house, because she can be very quiet when she walks, and my guards are only supposed to watch for intruders, but I’m still pissed off.

She wouldn’t abandon me. I have to believe that or I won’t be able to think straight. But if she’s not back in a few minutes, or if the guards don’t find her, I have no idea what I’m going to do.

“Why would she leave without her phone?” I glance at the device in my hand.

As I tap the screen, it comes to life, but I don’t see any texts or anything that could tell me what’s going on.

“If she was in a hurry and she thought she’d be back quickly, she could’ve left it,” Rocco says.

“Why are you still here? Do we have eyes on the store or not?” I all but growl.

If it turns out Rocco is right, I’ll have to apologize to him, but right now, I don’t know what to do with myself. I should be out there, looking for her and making sure she’s safe. But if I go out there, I could be putting both her and myself at risk.

Not knowing where she is drives me crazy. If she wanted some snacks so bad, she should’ve told me. I would’ve sent someone to get them.

Rocco’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out. As he looks at the screen, his face is serious.

“What? What is it?” I ask, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. “Did they find her?”

“Uh.” Rocco’s wide eyes meet mine. “She’s not at the store.”

“Then where is she?!”

“I don’t know,” he says.

I turn away from him, pressing my fist to my mouth.

Chiara, where the fuck are you?

“Is anything missing? Anything at all?” I ask.

Except for Chiara.

“I... I don’t think so,” Rocco says. “But I’ll take a look.”

“Send someone to watch her parents a little closer.”

If Chiara has really run away, then her parents will be the first ones she’ll go to. Or they’ll start acting weird. Hell, maybe they’re already gone, but someone should’ve told me about that because my men are supposed to be keeping an eye on them too.

“I will,” Rocco says. “I’ll have everyone searching for her. All our forces.”

I just bob my head. Finding Chiara is the only thing that matters, but what if she doesn’t want to be found? My guards aren’t completely incompetent idiots. They would’ve seen someone getting into the house and grabbing Chiara. She must’ve gotten out herself then.

Was she only pretending? Was she waiting for me to lower my guard around her so she could escape? But it doesn’t make any sense. She could’ve been free and run away a long time ago, so why now?

Everyone abandons you eventually. Just deal with it.

But I don’t want to deal with it. I want her back. As I drop to my knees, ignoring the pain, Chiara’s name slips past my lips.

She has changed me and my life in so many ways, and I can’t imagine going on without her. What if she really doesn’t feel the same? What if she was lying until she could pull off her plan and disappear? Maybe her only goal is that I never find her, and she’s already on her way to the airport or the train station.

“We’ll find her,” Rocco says, reaching out for me as if he’s not sure what to do.

He’s never seen me like this.

I can barely recognize myself, but I can’t help it. An invisible weight is crushing my shoulders, and I don’t know how I’ll breathe freely again until she’s in front of me, safe and sound.

If she didn’t want me in her house or around her anymore, she should’ve just told me. I would’ve found another place to stay. I could’ve removed myself from her life while still having my men keep her safe. Was she really so afraid of me that she didn’t tell me anything? Was I so blind and so smitten with her that I didn’t recognize how she really felt about me?

I don’t know what to think anymore. What if someone made her walk out of the house? What if there’s something else I don’t know about? My mind is reeling, and I’m not used to feeling this helpless.

I support myself against the wall as I push myself to my feet. If my men don’t find her in an hour or two, I’ll go out there myself to look for her. Consequences and risks be damned.