Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Levi
When we get back to the store, Lukas tells us that Rhett took Armando to the ER.
The head wound he had was bad enough that he wanted to get it checked out.
Eros has already called our Lake Renegade family, and more are headed to Wintervale.
They should be here in about three hours.
While that makes me feel better, I’m still scared of what could be happening to my girl.
Rhett and Armando get back just as a text comes in from Felicity.
“We know where she is! We need to go now,” Lukas says to everyone.
“We don’t have enough backup for that. And I’m not saying that lightly,” Eros says to him.
“And what if they move her?” Lukas snaps at him.
“I just texted Sebastiano and Francesco. I told them where she is and what she said. They said they’re tracking her. We’ll get to her, but we need our guys here first.”
“This is Felicity we’re talking about. We can’t just sit around and wait.”
“Come on, Lukas. You know how this works and that we’ll get her back. It isn’t the first time we’ve done this together. And it probably won’t be the last.”
“Is it possible to close the store so we can get back to the house? I would feel a lot better. I can’t protect everyone myself, not now that Armando’s down,” Eros says to us.
“Yeah, let us get the signs up and we can leave.”
We watch the brothers put up the emergency ‘closed' signs. The signs let people know that there was a family emergency. But if they really need something, call. Then we head back to the house to figure out what we’re doing next.
“Okay, so I talked to my baba, there’s ten more of the family coming. They should land in two hours. We’ll need to pick them up,” Eros tells us.
“And we all know how big they are. So…we need like, five cars.” Noah chuckles.
That makes everyone laugh, which makes me feel a little better. It’s not that Noah isn’t worried, it’s just that they all feel like humor helps us get through the worst times. And I have to agree.
“What’s the plan when they get here?” Rhett asks.
“You know we don’t make the plans.”
In the family, the heads of each branch make the plans for anything that’s going on.
There are six of them that make up what is called the ‘Lake Renegade Council.’ There’s Leonardo, Enea and Antonio Mancini, Giacomo Bastianini, Zeus Athanasiou and Panagiotis Nikolaidis.
Each one is scary and impressive at the same time.
Their families are their number-one priority and they’ll defend them no matter what it takes.
“We have to do something.”
“I get it, but this isn’t the first time you’ve seen how our family works. I know it’s Felicity. Two hours. We’ll start talking as soon as they get here.”
No matter how much I want to rant and rave, I know better than to start.
Because Eros is right. When Kayla died, Leighton had to deal with her parents.
They tried to kidnap Davis and sell him.
The family came together to save Davis, and now Kayla’s mother and her brother, who was a cop, are in prison.
So is the judge that signed their fake warrants and legal papers.
I hope whoever took my Felicity pays with their life.
It takes six cars to get twelve people from the airport back to the house. I watch all of them getting out of the cars. I spot my sisters and go over to them, I had no idea they’d be here.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were both coming? And where are the boys?”
“Of course we’d be here with you,” Lynton says to me.
“We’re going to get her back,” Leighton says. “And the boys are with their mamó and zias. They offered to come so I could be here. But we all agreed that we don’t know what’s going to happen. So it’s better if they stayed home.”
I hug both of my sisters tightly. “Thank you.”
The house is super loud with everyone here, and the kids are having so much fun. I can’t wait to add more babies to our growing family. Having everyone here also helps take my mind off the fact that I’m so fucking worried about Felicity.
“Okay, we need a plan to get Felicity. Sebastiano and Francesco have been tracking her with her phone,” Enea says to everyone.
“From what we can see, she’s not moving at all. Which could be a good thing or not. Good because they’re staying put. Bad if they left her phone in the room,” Sebastiano tells us.
“I got in touch with the owner of the motel and they’ve given us the blueprints and we know where the room is,” Francesco adds.
“Then let’s go get her now,” I say to them.
“We need to get the motel evacuated first. And I’m headed to the police station in that precinct now,” Tadashi Yamaguchi, Emiko’s brother, says to us.
“Adonis and I are going with him,” Leonardo says.
“And Valentino, Eros, Noah, Francesco, Sebastiano, Zeus and I will head to the motel to wait for them.”
“What about us?” Paxton asks angrily.
“Remember when Emma was taken?” Enea asks.
“Yes. And you let us help then.” Rhett frowns.
“This is your baby sister. The bond you have with her is different than the bond you have with your spouses,” Enea says to them.
“Making us stay here is the worst thing I can imagine. I need to see who took her. We need to know,” Lukas says to him.
“I’ll tell you what I told all of you before. Let us do this part. And I promise you that we won’t make any decisions about them before we talk to you.”
While I don’t agree with Enea…I’ve been in the family long enough to know that Enea and the rest of the council are always looking out for us.
Felicity
Looking at the clock, I can see that it’s been two hours since we got to the motel.
The pilot went out and came back with food.
I figured if they were going to kill me, they would’ve done it already.
So I start to nibble at the burger and fries.
I keep thinking that if they wanted to hurt me, they would’ve by now.
And at the same time, I don’t think they’re ‘allowed’ to.
Whoever is behind this is telling them that they can’t touch me. But why?
I stare at both of them. I wish I could say that I know who they are. Or that I’ve seen them before. But prior to seeing them on the plane? I’d never seen them anywhere, I’m positive of that.
“Why are you doing this? Who are you working for?” I ask as I stare at both of them.
“Shut up and eat your food,” the pilot says.
Well then, someone’s the asshole in the room.
I look at the attendant and I see him frown at the pilot.
I’m beginning to think that he doesn’t agree with the assholishness of the pilot.
Maybe that could work in my favor. Because earlier I thought they were both the same.
Now I’m wondering if I can get him to help me…
Another hour passes and there’s a knock at the door.
“Fucking finally.” The pilot rolls his eyes.
My stomach goes into knots as I watch the pilot go over to the door. In walks two older women and a man. I’m even more confused now. Who the fuck are these people?
“Let’s get going. I’m sure they’re on their way here,” one of the women says.
“Well Lorraine said they work fast. So we need to move if we want to do this,” the man says.
I get yanked off the bed and shoved back into the car. Only this time, I have the attendant on one side, and the new guy on the other. The two women get in front with the pilot. They still haven’t taken my phone. They must know I can be tracked with it. What the fuck is going on?