Chapter 31
Thirty-One
James
I jolt awake as a coldness washes over my entire body, drenched in water and gasping for air.
“What the fuck?!”
“So nice of you to join the land of the living, Brother,” says Kayden directly to my left holding a blue bucket that I assume used to hold the water that I am now drenched with.
It’s then that I really take a look at my surroundings. Kayden looks pissed and is sporting one hell of a bruised bump on his forehead, and Franklin is face down on his laptop. Emilia is nowhere to be found.
“Where the fuck is she? Where is Emilia? Where is my wife ?”
Kayden runs a hand down his face before answering, “They have her.”
“What do you mean, ‘ they have her’ ? Do not tell me that, Kayden. Just don’t. There is no reality where that is a possibility.” I start to spiral, my words coming out rushed, my nightmare coming true, and I realize I’m unable to save her. What do I do?
The pain in my chest has me clutching at my drenched shirt, trying to pull it away from my body as it feels like it’s suffocating me.
Kayden kicks my shoe, jostling me out of my thoughts so I can focus on him as he bends down to my level.
My eyes widen and I try to back away in the chair, flashes of the night we were attacked taking over my rational thought.
Kayden grips my shoulders, effectively holding me in place as he levels his eyes with my own. “James, I need you to focus. Listen to my voice, control your breathing. That’s it. Slow inhale, slow exhale. Keep doing that.”
I feel the pain in my chest slowly let up as I listen to his instructions, the panic fading away as I continue to rein in my fear and get control back over my mind. We must sit there for what feels like thirty minutes, Kayden never letting up on his grip on my shoulders. It grounds me but at the same time I feel guilt creeping in. I’m supposed to be the big brother in this equation, and here is my little brother saving the day.
“Never thought I’d have to play big brother, but here we are,” says Kayden cheekily as though reading my mind. He’s always been good at that.
“Very funny, Kayden. I’m fine now,” I say as I shrug his hands off of me. “Thanks, though. But seriously, where is my wife ?”
“If I had to guess, the Romanis probably have her. Either she went voluntarily or she’s been a double agent this entire time.”
I give Kayden an incredulous look. “Emilia would never.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. That woman is loyal to her core.”
Kayden reaches a hand out and I take it, hauling me to my feet from the chair and feeling slightly dizzy. “Why isn’t Franklin awake yet?”
“I’m assuming because he’s smaller than us the medicine has a stronger hold on him. Shouldn’t be too much longer though, he’ll wake up soon.”
“So I get a cold bucket of water and he doesn’t?”
“He’s surrounded by laptops, jackass—laptops that hold valuable information. Your ass was seated in a chair.”
“Sure, valid point. So where is she and how do we get her back? Why would she do this?”
“Slow down, James. We have to think rationally here. I feel like I’m forgetting something important. I vaguely remember Emilia saying something to me before I passed out, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was.”
“Fuck… she said something to you? Think, Kayden. We need to know.”
“I’m trying, you jackass. Whatever medicine she used on us is still making my brain foggy.”
“Why must everyone insist on knocking me out…” comes a groggy voice from the direction of the table. We both look over to find Franklin sitting up in his chair while holding his head in his hands.
“Probably because you’re the smartest out of all of us, right, Kayden?”
“Yeah, sure. Hey, Franklin… What’s that note on your laptop,” asks Kayden, peering over the laptop to find a handwritten note.
From across the room I can tell it’s from Emilia; I would recognize her handwriting anywhere.
“What does it say?” I ask lightly, dreading the answer before it’s even given.
Franklin looks down and grabs the note, his eyebrows pinching together as he reads the scribbles on the page.
“It just says, ‘Matty,’” Franklin finally says, looking up, his eyes darting between the two of us.
Kayden looks over at me like a light bulb has gone off over his head, the joy of unraveling a mystery shining in his eyes.
“They have Matteo,” we both say at the same time, two brothers with the same thought process.
“I remember now,” he continues. “She told me ‘They have him’ before I passed out.”
“FUCK. FUCK. FUCK,” I scream, slamming my fist down on the table. I’m quickly unraveling, every fear I’ve had in regard to Emilia has come true. I feel another panic attack coming on as my breath quickens, and my heart beats out of my chest. Kayden approaches me, nothing but understanding in his gaze, and places his hands on my shoulders once again.
“Breathe, James. We will get her back. I need you to take a slow breath in, that’s it, and a slow breath out. Good, keep doing that. Center yourself.”
Once I get myself back under control, I peer over at Kayden. “Emilia’s gone… and we have no idea where Matteo is. What is our plan?”
“Let’s think about this first. She traded herself for Matteo… so where the fuck is he?” asks Kayden, pacing near the head of the table.
I know Emilia would have thought this through. I can’t imagine they would have picked her up at the house and let us all live. No, she likely met them somewhere away from the house.
“My car. If she took the loaner car, Franklin put a tracker in it. We can find where the trade happened,” I say, hope finally blossoming in my chest.
“Franklin, pull up the tracker. Quick,” Kayden barks the order, his military background coming front and center.
Franklin starts typing away, the grogginess still apparent in his eyes, but he continues to work regardless.
“Looks like the GPS has the vehicle located at a warehouse downtown by the marina. It hasn’t moved in eight hours,” says Franklin, glancing up at us from behind his laptop.
“Fuck, we were out for at least ten hours. Let’s hope to God that Matteo is there,” I reply, grabbing my phone from the table and already making my way to the garage. Kayden follows closely, not willing to get left behind.
“I’ll stay here and see what I can pull from the camera feeds at the Romani house,” shouts Franklin.
I’ll get Emilia back if it’s the last thing I do.
And when I do, hell will rain down upon all of those bastards.
* * *
We pull into the parking lot and immediately spot the loaner vehicle. A body lies next to the car and my heart plummets.
“Fuck… is that Matteo?” asks Kayden, squinting his eyes to get a better look. As I take in the form on the ground, I sigh in relief that it isn’t Emilia. The body is too large.
“Only one way to find out,” I reply, undoing my seatbelt and opening the car door.
As we approach, I take in the small amount of blood that has pooled beneath the person’s head.
Kayden and I share a look before Kayden turns the body over and we both exhale a sigh of relief. It is Matteo, thank God. Kayden jostles him by his shoulder, trying to get him to wake up. He must have been hit pretty damn hard to be knocked out for this long. Matteo lets out a moan, clutching his head in pain.
“That’s quite the hit you took, big guy.” Kayden chuckles, assessing the wound on his head.
“Kayden? How did you find me?”
I take that moment to speak up from behind, “I have a tracker on this car. Looks like it finally came in handy.”
Matteo startles as he realizes too late that I’m crouched behind him. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, James. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
Kayden reaches out a hand to Matteo to pull him to his feet, and that’s when we can really see the extent of his injuries. He’s almost unrecognizable—his face is swollen with multiple different shades of bruising. He must have been tortured every day as his wounds are all in different stages of healing.
“What happened here, Matteo? Where is Emilia?” I ask, starting to feel impatient as I grow more and more worried about her. Kayden gives me a scathing look, urging me to give Matteo a second to compose himself.
“Emilia came here to trade herself in. I tried to tell her not to do it, but you know how she is, stubborn to a fault.” He continues on, “They took her and there was nothing I could do. They walked me over to the car and then everything went black.”
“Shit. That would explain the injury to your head then,” Kayden states as I take in all the dried blood making its way down Matteo’s neck.
He rubs the back of his neck, wincing as he does. “Yeah, I guess so. What do we do now?”
“Let’s regroup at James’s house. Franklin is there watching the camera feeds for any sign of Emilia. I’ll take the loaner with Matteo. We’ll follow you back, James,” says Kayden, always the one with a plan.
Just as I’m about to turn to leave, my phone vibrates signaling a text message. Glancing at my phone, I notice it’s Franklin. Heart racing, I hurriedly open my messages, relief and dread filling my body equally.
James. They brought Emilia to the house.
She doesn’t look hurt, but they led her intothe part of the house that has no cameras.
I have no idea what’s happening in there.
Knowing exactly what they do to women in that house, my blood fills with rage as I imagine all the ways they could hurt her.
“Kayden, we have to go. Emilia was brought to the house.”
Kayden looks at me sharply, rage and something else simmering within his gaze.
“I’ve had enough of these sick-headed assholes taking our women,” Kayden spits out.
I can only assume he’s talking in regard to Melody, and now Emilia, as I’m pretty positive he doesn’t have a woman to be taken.
I look at him, confusion written plainly on my face.
“You know what I mean… Melody is family, as well as Emilia.”
“I understand,” I reply, although I still feel like something is off. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
The drive home feels like forever, my anxiousness taking over my body. It’s a miracle I am able to drive without crashing.
The morning sun peaks over the ridges as we get to the house and park our vehicles in the garage.
Walking into the house feels so incredibly empty without Emilia. Little does she know she took my heart with her, which means I have no qualms about doing what must be done to get her back.