Winter Love (Seasons in Montana: Winter)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Lukas

That ball of dread in my body just ramped up one thousand percent and I have no idea why. I reach for my phone and call Emma. It goes to voicemail and I frown at it, willing her to call me back. After ten minutes, I call Galen.

“Hey I tried to call Emma, is she busy with customers?” I blurt out when he answers.

“She went into the back to do inventory. She said she’d be a bit. I’ll go check. Give me a sec and I’ll call you back. Or I’ll tell her to call you.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’ve been having a bad feeling all day and I don’t know why.”

“No problem. This is what we’re here for, to help you. Call you back in a minute.”

Five minutes go by and I’m climbing the walls waiting for Galen to call me back.

Ten minutes. What the fuck is going on? The storage area isn’t that big. Finally. my phone rings. I look at it and it’s Enea. And that dread is now full blown panic.

“What happened?”

“Calm down, Lukas. We’ve been through this before and I can guarantee it won’t be the last. Where are the cameras in your store? We’re headed there now. Mitchell is with Felicity and I made sure Noah and Antonio are with Paxton and Rhett. Leonardo and Giacomo are waiting to bring you down to the store. The rest of us will meet you there. The one thing I need you to do is not panic. You’re not going to be able to help us if you do. Sebastiano will be with you too. He’s been through this and knows what you’re going through. Talk to him if you need to.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

The whole time he was talking, I noticed one thing. Enea never once promised we were going to find Emma right away. How long could this really go on? I see Sebastiano walking towards me. When he gets to me, he gives me a hug.

“We’re going to find Emma. Guys like William and T-Rex don’t want to kill her.”

“Then what do they want with her…” I trail off with the realization of what they would do with and to her. I’m going to kill them. Fuck the consequences. No one will hurt my family and live to do it again.

“I can see that look in your eye, Lukas,” Sebastiano says.

“Tell me something. The man who took your Schuyler, is he alive?”

I stare at Sebastiano as he stares back at me. I can see he’s debating whether I really want the answer to that.

“The truth? Are you sure you want to know?”

“Your papà said I’m a Mancini now, right? Well I need to know.”

Sebastiano sighs and nods.

“No. Blaine is not alive.”

“Did you kill him?”

“No. But Blaine wasn’t the one who took my wife. Blaine is the one that abused her, but I didn’t kill him. I did kill the man who took her.”

“And do you regret that?”

“No.”

“And neither will I.”

Sebastiano stares at me and finally nods.

“Let’s go and bring Emmanuelle home to you.”

“Thank you. No matter what happens. Thank you.”

“Family.”

It takes us fifteen minutes to get to the store. There’s already police there.

“Lukas,” Officer Jared Taylor says as he comes over to me.

“Hey, Jared.”

“I’m sorry you’re going through this. Enea Mancini filled us in on who you all think took Emmanuelle. We have officers posted on the roads leading out of town. And we’re checking every car.”

“What if they left before those got set up?”

“We’ve alerted the towns around us to be on the lookout. I promise, we’re doing everything we can. We all like Emma and don’t want anything to happen to her.”

I know Jared’s right, small-town living means most of us know each other. I’m just scared and I want my Emma back in my arms. When I think about what they could be doing to her, my blood boils.

Emmanuelle

I can hear voices around me, but I cant seem to get my eyes to open. Which is probably a good thing because I really don’t want them to know I’m awake just yet. My hands and feet are bound and I’m guessing tied to the bed I’m on. I recognize William’s voice and there’s another with a British accent. I can hear a few other voices but they sound farther away. I don’t think they’ve done anything to me. But maybe William’s waiting for me to wake up? I’m trying to keep my breathing steady but it’s getting harder.

I’m sure by now they know I’m gone. But how will they know where to look? I don’t even know where I am. I try to stay still and listen to their conversation.

“Now what are you going to do with her? I told you we weren’t ready to take her. But did you listen? No. Because you’re a fucking moron,” the British accent guy says.

Could that be Pee-Rex? I remember he had a dinosaur name. But they all called him funny names, that was the guy that took Celestino and Francesco’s sister.

“Don’t talk to me like that. Emmanuelle is mine and you need to just fuck off. I told you what I wanted out of this. I don’t even know why you’re here.”

“I told you, I want to get my revenge on Giacomo Bastianini.”

“But you had no idea he would come here.”

“I followed Celestino here and that whole fucking family can’t help but be martyrs. So when you said your girl was here, and she was the one that I saw with them? It was perfect. I get my revenge and you get the whore.”

“Don’t fucking call her that. How are we related again?”

“Your mother is my mother, moron.”

“My mom never said she had another kid besides me and my siblings. Are you sure about this?”

“Oh for fucks sake. My father was an asshole. He was with your mother when she was in England for a family vacation.”

“My mother talked about a family vacation when she was fourteen . Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck?”

“I told you, my father was an asshole.”

They stop talking and I hear footsteps getting closer. I keep my breathing steady as I can.

“Are you sure you didn’t over do her dosage?” William asks.

“She’s fine. I’m hungry. Let’s go get some food.”

“You realize that they’re going to be looking for us, right?”

“They’ve been looking for us for over a week now and haven’t found us. What makes you think they will now?”

“Well, we have Emma. They’re gonna be more inclined to look now. We made the first move.”

“No, little brother. You made the first move. And we still need to eat. We can drive out of town. Now let’s go.”

I hear them walking away as they continue to argue. Then a door opens and closes. I hear more voices but they’re too far away for me to make out what they’re saying. I finally pry my eyes open and try to focus on my surroundings.