Chapter 50
Wakingup at Renzo’s place feels surprisingly normal, considering I’ve never been here before last night. I suppose it’s not so much the apartment that feels familiar as the man. I think I might feel at ease no matter where I am so long as he’s there with me.
I don’t even have to open my eyes to feel the effects. His pheromones are to me what catnip is to cats—a single tendril of his scent and my insides go all warm and gooey. I stretch out in the bed, relishing the feel of waking to such sublime contentedness.
“Never letting you out of my bed again,” Renzo murmurs in a gravelly voice heavy with sleep as he pulls me closer with an arm lassoed around my waist.
The joy in my heart unfurls in a smile. “Never is awfully absolute. I might need to go to the bathroom or eat every now and then.”
“Nope. Too risky.”
I giggle and snuggle up closer to him. “What do you have planned today?”
“If you are absolutely sure you don’t want me to step down, then I need to talk to my uncle and tell him that he doesn’t have to take my place as boss. He’ll be relieved, so that will be easy enough.”
“I’m certain.”
He nods. “After that, I should probably deal with my cousin Sante. He made some seriously poor life choices last night. That conversation won’t be so pleasant.”
“Noemi mentioned that he was having a hard time dealing with his dad’s betrayal.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Renzo mutters. “What about you? You have plans today?”
“I suppose I’ll start thinking about what I want to do with myself. I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night, but I’ve already told my cousins I’m stepping down.”
He lifts above me so he can see my face. “You sure about that? I don’t want to be the reason you quit doing what you love.”
I smile softly. “I’ve thought about it extensively over the past couple of weeks, and I’m positive. You’re worth the change.”
He kisses me ardently. “Fuck, I love you so much. And I promise you won’t be bored. We’re doing this together—not only going after those Albanian assholes but all of it. We’re a team on all fronts. My role as boss included.”
“You think your family will accept me? Trust might be an issue.”
“It took you a handful of days to have me eating out of the palm of your hand. The others will be no different.”
I like his optimism, but for once, I’m having trouble seeing it. “The other thing I need to do is check out the address on Mari’s passport. It’s not the same as her apartment.”
“It wasn’t familiar?”
“Nope.”
“Well, that sounds like a perfect excuse to avoid dealing with my cousin. Let’s get cleaned up, and we’ll check out the place together.”
My answering grin makes the Joker look demure. I’m definitely a little unhinged when it comes to Renzo, but I adore how happy it makes me to work alongside him and to know that he wants me right there with him. We are a team—a good one—and I’m so damn grateful to have him.
Two hours later, and we’re standing outside the small apartment building housing the unit listed on Mari’s passport. We investigated the address online and found it’s listed in someone else’s name. That’s about the extent of what we learned, which meant it was time to do an in-person visit.
Renzo arranges for several of his men to meet us near the building. We decide on a direct approach of knocking on the front door with me taking the lead. Renzo joins me while the others are on standby down the hall. We’re both armed, though we leave our weapons holstered as we wait for someone to answer my knock. It’s an older building without an entry code, so anyone can get in. It”s not that the buzzered entries are all that difficult to circumvent.
I knock again after no one answers. We wait another minute, then decide to go in. I take out my lock-picking kit and have the door open in thirty seconds flat.
“They need to upgrade to a better deadbolt,” I say distractedly as the door swings open, and we peer inside. The place is small. Looks like a family home—maybe an older couple. It’s not what I expected to find.
We do a careful sweep to make sure the place is empty before we start combing through its contents. The main bedroom has one of those old oak rolltop desks. Photos are stacked in piles and shoved in the open slots. It’s overflowing with pictures, and most of them are of me.
“Fuuuuck,” I say on a weary exhale.
“Jesus Christ. Who is this woman?”
“Hell if I know.” I thought I knew, but clearly, I was horribly wrong.
Renzo flips through the stack of photos that’s most front and center of the desk, pausing to show me one. It’s me and Devlin hugging.
She was stalking me.
She knew I’d had a thing with him. She was glaring at the necklace because she knew damn well who’d given it to me.
My stomach makes a quick trip down to my toes and back.
Renzo doesn’t ask about the photo. He simply keeps flipping until something else catches his attention, drawing a string of curses from him.
“What?” I crane my neck to see what he’s looking at.
Photos of Conner. Several of them, with and without Noemi.
“This was last week when he was getting ready for the wedding.” My words are paper thin, too shredded from shock to have any substance. She’s still following me and my family. “I don’t understand. Is she a stalker or a mole for the Albanians? What the fuck is going on here?”
He doesn’t answer because he’s equally as baffled. Instead, he flips to the next photo, which has my blood running ice cold. It’s a close-up of Noemi, and someone has drawn a red X over her in fat red Sharpie.
“I don’t like this, Ren,” I whisper.
“Me either. Give Noemi a call and make sure she’s okay.”
I nod and pull out my phone with shaking hands. I select her in my favorites and wait while the phone goes unanswered. The second voicemail picks up. I end the call and dial Conner.
“Good to know you’re alive,” he says when he answers.
“Where’s Noemi?” I demand.
“She and a few of the other ladies who were in town for the wedding went to brunch this morning, which you’d know if you’d made it to your brother’s wedding last night.”
“Where are they?”
He’s quiet for a second. “Why? What’s going on?” Wary concern sharpens his tone.
“I think Noemi might be in danger. There’s not time to explain. Where are they having brunch?”
I have his full attention now. Conner gives me the name of the place, and we all race over. When we find the group, Noemi isn’t with them.
“She saw a friend she hadn’t seen in a while and said they were going to visit for a bit. Why, what’s going on?” They all give us worried looks, but I don’t have time to explain.
“This friend—did you see her?”
They nod.
“Brown hair and eyes, Romanesque features, very striking?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” one of them says warily. “Why? Who is she?”
“Motherfucker,” Conner barks, slamming his fist on the table.
The entire restaurant quiets.
I look back at the ladies. “We don’t have time to explain, but you guys should get home. We’ll let you know when we have her back safely.”
We don’t wait for a reply, barreling back through the restaurant. The second we’re outside, Conner starts pacing.
“Tell me you know where she is, Shae,” he demands. “Where the fuck is my wife?”
Being responsible for the gun theft was bad enough. If something happens to Noemi because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.
Think, Shae. Where would Mari take Noemi?
Not her apartment or the house. She shares a photography studio with two other people, so that’s unlikely. Could she have gone to her rooftop? No other place comes to mind, and it makes sense. Whatever is going on is personal for her. She’s likely to go somewhere familiar. Somewhere she knows I could find her.
“I think I know where they are.”