17. Seventeen
Seventeen
Luka
We had been at it for over an hour. It was an hour I didn’t have to give. I knew the stopwatch was ticking away. Enzo’s parents were likely at the police station by now. Ciro hunched over a map of the city. He had stretched it across the top of my desk.
I poured a drink, but I couldn’t touch it. The idea that my head would be anything less than clear if Amara or Katya needed me wasn’t an option. I had to stay sharp. Focused. Alert. I left the glass of bourbon on the counter.
I wandered to the bare bedroom. I sat on the bed, letting the heaviness of defeat sink down onto my shoulders. I needed a fucking minute away from the body man. He grunted. Sniffed through his nose. Stomped his foot every time he picked up the damn marker. I needed space.
Nikoli continued to call with updates, but there were none. My Brigadiers were in the city, scouring for leads. Talking at the docks. Roughing up anyone who looked suspicious. They were frustrated and angry. But no one questioned why we were searching for Enzo Barone. They took the orders, like they took their vow to me—faithfully.
My phone rang. It was Katya.
“I don’t have any updates for you,” I explained before she even said hello. I stood from the bed and walked over to the window.
“Luka, shut up and listen to me.”
“What is it?” She had my attention. I moved the curtain to the side, watching a couple walk
“I’m in the car. I’m on my way back from mom’s. We met there for lunch.” She was talking so quickly I was afraid I’d miss something. “Luka, she was happy.”
“And?” I questioned the anecdote.
“She is not a happy person. She was also sober. Not a glass of wine. Nothing.”
“What? So?”
“I think you should go over there. Go see her. I think it means she knows,” Katya spat the words quickly.
“What are you talking about?” It was an absurd thought.
“It’s just…she was so different.”
I couldn’t leave now. I needed to get back to the cabin soon to be with Amara.
“She was smiling. Laughing at lunch. Talking about the baby and Andrey,” Katya went into more details about their lunch.
“Isn’t that what she is supposed to do?” I asked. “She’s about to be a grandmother. Inna was the same way last night. Grandmothers do that kind of thing I’ve heard.”
My sister groaned. “It is what she’s supposed to do, but she’s never done it. Not since I announced my pregnancy. You have to go see her. I think there’s something going on with her. And she mentioned a guy.”
The last few times I had seen her, she was plastered. She wasn’t sober enough to organize a kitchen drawer. She couldn’t execute any task other than pouring another glass of wine.
“A guy? What the hell does that mean?” I balked.
“It was a slip. I’m sure she didn’t mean to tell me. But I think she’s dating. Or she has been dating. I don’t know,” she revealed.
Dating? What the fuck would my mother be doing dating? The flowers hadn’t taken root on Papa’s grave yet. “Okay. I can stop by. Only for a minute,” I caved.
“Thank you.” She exhaled.
“Don’t call her. Let me handle it,” I warned. The last thing I needed was Katya stirring up something that didn’t exist. Our mother was unpredictable now and I had to control the variables in front of me.
“I want him back. I didn’t sleep. I can’t do anything like this. I need to know he’s okay,” she pleaded. “I need him, Luka.”
“I know you do.” I paused. “Did you hear back from Enzo’s parents?”
“I got a text from his dad this morning. They went to the police department. I couldn’t stop him.”
Shit. “It’s better you didn’t try too hard. That looks suspicious enough. Why wouldn’t you want him found?”
“Of course I want him found!” she shrieked.
“I’m talking about what it looks like on the outside,” I reminded her. Enzo’s parents would be looking for any speck of dirt that was out of place. They weren’t detectives, far from it. They were parents looking for their son, and that made them desperate.
“Sorry,” she lowered her voice. “It’s like I need to get out of town, but I can’t leave. I need to be right here for him.” There was a long beat of silence. “Luka, I know you think I’m crazy right now. I realize it sounds crazy. I hear it, the crazy in my voice.” She paused. “But, I don’t think I’m wrong. Even if you’re just patronizing me right now, go. Get over there and find out what she knows about this.”
I cracked the bedroom door. I saw Ciro leaning over the map. “I’m on my way,” I reported. “But it could just be Anna being Anna.”
“I know, but thank you for going anyway. If I’m wrong, then that’s one last thing to worry about.”
“We’re going to find him. Something will surface. We know he didn’t vanish.” I was trying to make her feel better, but my stomach only began to churn the more I talked. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.” Ciro was staring at me. Something didn’t feel right.
“What is it?” I strolled out of the master suite, closing the door behind me.
He raised his phone. “There’s a missing person’s report.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “The parents?” The Barones had made quick time with the police.
He nodded. His dark eyebrows seemed even thicker when he was concerned. “This is a problem for the boss. For the company.”
“For all of us,” I growled.
“Where is she?” he asked. “She would want to be out in front of this story. You need to take me to Amara.”
“She has people to handle this kind of stuff for her,” I argued.
“Yeah, people like Enzo.” He bared his teeth. “This the kind of stuff Enzo does for her. It’s why she hired him and trained him.”
I shook my head. I refused to go back this fucking male posturing. I had a new problem—my fucking mother.
“This is going to be picked up by every news outlet in Louisiana, probably into Texas.”
I slid my hands in my pockets. “Look, I have to go check on something.”
“And Amara?”
I wasn’t about to let him catch a glimpse of my cards. “She’s safe.” It was all I was willing to share. It was a power play.
“What is she going to do when she sees this press conference?” He pointed to the live feed on his phone of Enzo’s parents behind a podium outside the station. It didn’t matter what they said now—they had gone public.
“She’s going to do what she always does—lead her family out of the crisis.”
“But you’re controlling how she does it,” he snarled.
My jaw locked. “I don’t control Amara. No one does.” The instant he implied it I wanted to rip his throat out.
“Then where are you keeping her?”
I ran my palm against the side of my face. I hadn’t shaved this morning. It felt rough and untamed. “I am controlling what I have to,” I huffed. “If it keeps her safe, then I’m good with it.” I turned for the door. “Lock up when you leave.”
* * *
A fter a few blocks I turned off one of the waterfront streets. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. The sun’s reflection off the water was sharp. One of the barges sounded its horn. It was haunting as it traveled across the river.
The first time I’d really been given an important job in my father’s organization was when I had to oversee cargo shipments at the docks. He thought it built character. Gave me a chance to understand the hard work people put in to work for our family. It wasn’t long after I left for France for my Bratva training. I watched the vessel heading out to sea, and wondered if that was one of the ships he used to own that now was part of Amara’s fleet. I sped up, putting the container ship behind me. If it was possible, he’d find a way to scratch and crawl his way out of hell if it stopped me from being with her. Damn it. I pulled into the driveway of the Amato compound.
I tucked my sunglasses into the inside pocket of my jacket. I opened the door and placed one foot on the concrete. It was all I had time to do before I heard tires squealing, doors slamming, and lights flashing in every direction.
I closed my eyes, slowly raising my hands in the air. I didn’t make any other movements. I waited for the words that were inevitable going to be spoken.
“Luka Novikov, we need you to come with us. You’re under arrest for the disappearance of Enzo Barone.”