22 - Alessia
S ince we needed Luca more than I thought I flew him out to us in Rome. This way all of us can get any sleep because we don’t have to worry about the time difference anymore to stay up to date. Not that he is getting more sleep, he’s been in full-on nerd mode since the second he got in.
“Hm… Alessia?” Luca says dubiously.
“Yes?”
“I think someone is trying to reach us. Come look at this.”
I get up off the couch and walk over to the wall of monitors where Luca sits. I’s a goddamn miracle the man doesn’t have square eyes yet from staring at those screens for hours at a time.
“Tell me.” I stand beside him and lean towards the monitors.
“One sec…” Luca pulls up different camera feeds throughout tourist spots in Rome, all with different timestamps. In each frame the guy with the neck tattoo is visible.
‘Neck Tattoo Guy’ as Luca had started calling him, was no stranger to our feeds. He’d been popping up at random places for the past two weeks now. But this? This feels intentional.
“He’s not hiding anymore,” Luca murmurs, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he pulls up more footage.
Each feed reveals the same figure: the man with the neck tattoo, moving through the heart of Rome like a shadow that refused to blend in.
“Look at this,” Luca says, enlarging a frame from the Piazza Navona.
The man stands in the corner of the shot, his head turned just enough for the camera to catch the intricate design snaking up his neck, a swirling pattern that might be flames or thorns. He isn’t doing anything, he’s just standing there, as though waiting for something, or someone.
“Timestamp?” I mutter.
“Early this morning,” Luca replies, already pulling up another feed.
This time it’s the Colosseum. The man is seated on a low wall, one hand resting on his knee, the other holding a cigarette. Despite the throng of tourists around him, his posture is unnervingly composed, as if he’s entirely unaffected by the people around him.
“And here,” Luca says, his voice quickening.
The Trevi Fountain, just after one p.m. Neck Tattoo Guy leaning against a lamppost, his jacket slung over one shoulder. Th e tourists walk past him, oblivious, but his eyes were locked on the camera.
My pulse quickens, “He’s trying to tell us something”.
“That’s not everything.” Luca opens another feed, this time from the Spanish Steps. This one is in real-time. The man is there again, standing halfway up the steps. His body language is casual, but his gaze is anything but. Even in the low-resolution footage, his eyes seem to burn with intent.
“How does he know where to be?” I whisper, more to myself than Luca.
Luca scrubs backward through the footage. In every location, Neck Tattoo Guy isn’t just there; he is strategically placed, always with a clear view of the space around him.
“He’s not leaving this to chance.” Luca says, his voice tight. “This is deliberate. He wants us to notice him.”
“Well, he got our attention now,” I say, my jaw tightening. “The question is, why?”
Suddenly, a sharp ping brakes through the tense silence, drawing our attention to one of the monitors. A notification blinks for a new email. Luca clicks on it, and the subject line made my blood run cold:
She’s still alive.
Luca opens it, and my heart drops as I read the words:
Villa Borghese. Midnight tomorrow.
You’ll find the answers you’re looking for.
I don’t have much time .
A photo is attached. My breath hitches as I click on it, a grainy but unmistakable image of Harper, her wrists bound and her face pale under harsh fluorescent light.
“Sh-… She’s alive…” I whisper, half in disbelief. My chest tightens, and I grip the edge of the desk, trying to steady myself.
Luca’s face hardens as he stares at the screen. “How do you know we can trust him?”
I turn to him, my voice trembling but resolute. “I don’t have a choice. I’m going!”
“Boss—” Luca starts, but I cut him off.
“No!” I say firmly. “Maybe he’s playing games, but if this is even the slightest of chances to get Harper back, I’m taking it.”
“Then we do it right. You can’t go in alone.” Luca’s gaze doesn’t waver.
“I know…”
“I’ll call in the guys.” Luca nods slowly, determination hardening his features.
We gather around the dining room table, the faces of my men tense.
I sit at the head of the table, fingers tapping nervously on the surface.
Luca, Elio, Lorenzo, Alex, and Vinnie sit around me, each of them lost in thought, trying to piece together the plan.
The air is heavy with urgency, the gravity of the situation settling over us.
“I have to meet him tonight. It’s the only way we’ll find out where Harper is.”
Luca sha kes his head, his expression tight with worry. “Alessia, this is a bad idea. We don’t even know who this guy is and if we can trust him?”
“We’ve been over this Luca, we don’t know! But I have to try. I’m grasping at straws here!”
Vinnie leans back in his chair and slides his hands into his pockets, his jaw set in a hard line. “I don’t like it either, Boss. But you’re right. We don’t have another choice. We need answers.”
Lorenzo leans in, his tone calm but firm. “You’re not going alone, Alessia. That’s non-negotiable.”
I look up at him, I know he’s right. Meeting up with Neck Tattoo Guy is dangerous but it’s a shot I’m willing to take.
“Alright, here’s the plan. We give him what he wants, but not what he expects.” Elio continues.
“What do you mean?” My brow furrows, confusion creeping in.
“We let him think you came alone, but you’ll have backup, obviously. Alex and Vinnie will be nearby, keeping watch from a distance. Luca will tap into the CCTV and I will be even closer, just in case.” Elio taps his fingers against the table, his tone more serious.
Alex raises an eyebrow. “You want us to be what, Elio? Ghosts in the shadows? What if he finds out?”
Elio shrugs, unbothered. “It’s subtle. Alessia walks in, just her, confident, like she’s in control of the situation. We’ll make sure she has a clear exit strategy, but we let him think she’ s alone, no one else around, not even a hint of backup.”
I listen closely, weighing his words. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my heart pounding out of my chest.
I look up, my voice steady but doubtful. “And how do we keep him from getting suspicious? He could sense something’s off.”
Elio grins, “We give him the impression that we’re just a bunch of regular people. We don’t make a big show of it. No overt surveillance. Just a few subtle moves, make him think he’s in control while we’re always one step ahead.”
Luca leans forward, his tone now serious, no trace of humor. “What if things go sideways?”
Elio leans back in his chair, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Which is why we need to be smarter than him. We don’t show any fear, any weakness.
And if it does go sideways, we’re ready to move.
Alessia doesn’t stay at Villa Borghese longer than ten minutes. If things feel wrong, we get her out.”
Luca nods, a look of determination settling on his face. “I’ll handle the CCTV. No one’s going to see you coming, I promise.”
Elio grins. “Then it’s settled. We’ll go there at eleven forty-five. Alessia walks in, Neck Tattoo Guy gets what he thinks he wants, and the rest of us stay in the shadows, just out of sight, but always there if needed.”
Lorenzo gives a thumb-up, his expression cold but resolute. “We’ll keep it clean, no drama. Get the intel and get out, as quickly as possible.”
I exhale slowly, feeling the weight of the plan settle on my shoulders. My mind races but hardens with resolve. I know it’s the only way.
“Alright. Let’s do it. But… if anything goes wrong, we get out. No matter what.”
We exchange a final glance, our silent agreement hanging in the air. Each one of us prepares to step into their role, ready for the night ahead. The weight of what’s to come presses heavily on all of us. We’ll get Harper back one way or the other.