Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Enzo’s gut tightened. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and sweat broke out across his shoulder blades. Alessandro Vitale. The man was vile. Hatred rolled through Enzo’s veins, rising hot and fast. It climbed his throat like bile.
“What the fuck do you want?” Enzo snapped.
“That’s no way to treat an old friend,” Vitale replied smoothly.
“We are a lot of things, but friends have never been one of them,” Enzo bit out.
“It’s never too late,” Vitale said, amused.
“What do you want?” Enzo was having a hard time controlling his temper.
Vitale chuckled, the sound cold. “You have something that belongs to me.”
Understanding slammed into Enzo, but he played along. “And what might that be?”
“Oh, come now, Enzo. You are many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.” A pause. “Well… except maybe once. You had the opportunity to kill me, and you didn’t.”
“A detail I regret every single day.” It was true. He’d given in to his better angels that day and instantly knew he’d made a mistake.
The laugh that followed was low and cruel.
Enzo gritted his teeth. “What is it you think I have?”
A long-suffering sigh came down the line. “That stupid, ugly little statue has a map inside it. I want that map.”
“I see,” Enzo said carefully. “And what’s the map to?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re going to bring it to me.”
Enzo tried to stay calm. Stay focused. “And why would I do that?”
“Because I have something you want.”
“I highly doubt that,” Enzo shot back. “There is nothing you have that I could remotely want. I’m retired now, didn’t you hear?”
“I heard,” Vitale said lightly. “Congratulations on your retirement.”
There was a muffled sound, shuffling, and then a small, frightened voice whispered: “Enzo?”
His stomach dropped. His heart stuttered. “Bianca? Is that you? Are you okay?”
Silence met his questions. Enzo demanded. “What are you doing with her?”
Vitale chuckled. “Oh, she’s just hanging out with me. We’re having a nice little visit.”
A strangled cry sounded in the background. Bianca.
“If you hurt her…” Enzo warned.
“Hurting her isn’t my intention,” Vitale offered. “You bring me the map. If not… well, accidents happen.”
“And what makes you think I have the map?” Enzo pushed.
“Let’s not play games. The men at the meeting tried to get it from you. They were unsuccessful. So, you bring me the map, and you can have Bianca back. Don’t bring it… and you’ll never see her again.”
“If you harm one hair on her head—”
“Enough with the threats,” Vitale snapped. “We both know the truth. You had your opportunity once, and you didn’t take it.”
“And as I said, I regret that.” Enzo wanted to scream. Wanted to put his fist through the wall. Instead, he gripped the arm of his chair, knuckles whitening, settling into a firm belief in second chances, and he was looking forward to exercising that theory on Vitale.
“Where?” Enzo forced out.
“Good question. It needs to be somewhere outside your territory. Somewhere you don't have the same connections.” A pause. “Let’s see…”
“Just pick a spot,” Enzo growled.
Another chuckle. “You never did have patience. Fine. Mallorca. When you’re on the island, I’ll know. Then I’ll call again and tell you where to meet.”
Enzo froze. His mind whirled.
“When? I need some time.” In rapid fashion, Enzo considered an idea, then just as quickly rejected each thought.
“Why do you need time? There are flights from Milano to Mallorca every day.”
Enzo ground his teeth. He needed to buy time. “You aren’t the only player in this game. Someone tried to kill me today for this thing. I’m damn sure going to take my time to guarantee my safety before I give you the map.”
“I’m aware of what happened, and I am invested in finding out more.” Vitale’s voice dropped to a silky threat. “Fine. You can have a couple of days. But don’t try anything stupid. Bianca will suffer.”
The line went dead.
Enzo sat immobile, staring at nothing. What the hell had just happened?
Alessandro Vitale was a fucking monster.
Always had been. He was the money man for one of the rival mob bosses with whom Enzo’s boss, Massimo Rinaldi, had formed an alliance.
Vitale appeared to have the Midas touch.
A wizard at washing money, except he got greedy with his skimming.
Enzo had caught him. Massimo wanted Enzo to kill him to send a message, but Enzo knew it would escalate the animosity between families into a war.
Massimo was aging, and his grip on the family wasn’t as tight as he thought.
A war would likely result in his death and quite possibly Enzo’s as well.
Instead, Enzo had gotten the money back, and he’d run Vitale out of town as the saying went. But the fucker had reappeared just like the cockroach he was.
Vitale was right, Mallorca was a short flight away, but the delay he’d managed to get Vitale to agree to had given Enzo time to plan, to gather people, and to strategize.
But why would Vitale agree to that? Unease gripped Enzo by the throat.
There was more going on here. Vitale might have Bianca as a hostage, but if he was granting Enzo more time, then it was only because Vitale benefited in some way.
Why did that waste of humanity need time?
The question spiraled through Enzo’s mind, but he was too scattered to find the answer.
Shattered, really. The fact that Alessandro had Bianca…
was devastating. Hard to process. Guilt washed over him.
He’d pressed Vitale for more time, but that extra time meant Bianca would be captive longer.
More time with the cockroach. But what choice did he have?
Rushing in would only end in death, likely his and quite possibly Bianca’s.
No, he needed the time, if only to make a plan to get Bianca out safely.
Bianca. He had loved her once—or thought he did.
She was vivacious, fun, and full of life.
Enzo had been drawn to that brightness, craved it even.
But their relationship had been volatile from the start.
High highs, low lows. Even-keeled wasn’t in Bianca’s vocabulary.
And being the daughter of his former boss hadn’t helped matters.
When they broke up, her father had understood.
He knew exactly what Bianca was like. The old man was not stupid.
He’d married Bianca’s mother after all, and had more than once regaled Enzo with tales of what life had been like living with her.
He had meant those stories as a warning, and, after a while, Enzo received the message.
Massimo had treated Enzo like a son, a fact that had made his real grandson extremely jealous, which had been yet another problem.
Massimo had lost his son in a turf war many years ago, and Enzo had stepped in to fill the void.
Massimo retired, handing the reins over to Rocco. Massimo begged Enzo to stay on for six months to help Rocco. Enzo had reluctantly agreed, and neither he nor Rocco was happy about it, but it helped get Rocco established as the new patriarch of the family.
Enzo had made his escape just shy of six months. The writing had been on the wall. If he’d stayed, Rocco would have taken him out. As far as the new boss was concerned, Enzo was a threat.
The fact that Bianca had been kidnapped meant one of two things. Rocco had lost a lot of his power and so no longer had the power to protect Bianca, or Vitale had grown exponentially more powerful, and Rocco couldn’t touch him.
Bianca had sounded more shaken than he’d ever heard her. Doubt crept in. Was she part of this? A distinct possibility. Bianca was beautiful, magnetic…and manipulative. Narcissistic. Possibly bipolar. Could she be working with Vitale? Absolutely.
But was he willing to bet her life on that?
No.
Two days. That was about all the time he had. Would that give him enough time to find the treasure first? Maybe. If he knew where the map led. But without words or clear landmarks, it was nearly impossible to decipher.
First, he needed to explain everything to Kathleen.
Second, he needed more information about what the treasure might be.
He pushed off the chair, went to the bar, and poured two fingers of scotch. He took a long swallow. The burn helped. Focused him.
He grabbed his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and hit a number.
Despite being on her honeymoon, Alex Callahan answered immediately. “Enzo?”
“I need your help,” he said tightly.
“What is it? Is Kathleen okay? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. For now.” He exhaled. “But I need you to put out some feelers. If I do it, it’ll attract attention. If you do it…” His voice trailed off.
“If I do it, people will assume it’s just me looking to steal something.” Alex laughed. “Of course, I’m all right with that. I may be semi-retired, but I’m not dead. What’s up?”
“You know Ernie?”
“Ernie… oh, wait… The statue?”
“Yes. Inside it was a treasure map.”
“A treasure map?” Excitement lifted Alex’s voice. “What kind of treasure map?”
“That’s what I need you to find out.”
He put her on speaker, took a quick picture of the map, and sent it.
“This is all I’ve got. I have no idea where it is, though it seems vaguely familiar.”
“I’m looking now,” she murmured, her voice now echoey, as if she’d put him on speaker. “There are no words describing anything, no real reference points. Is that a fountain at one end?”
“Looks like it to me. And then maybe a statue or two?”
Silence stretched for several seconds.
“You’re right,” she said slowly. “It does seem familiar. But I don’t know what it is or where. The initials don’t help. Neither do the symbols. And there’s no way to decipher the scale either. Whoever made this wasn’t leaving any breadcrumbs.”
Enzo grunted his agreement. “We need to find out who exactly is behind this. Maybe they can shed light.”
“Leave it with me,” Alex said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I need you to find the basics, Alex. Just the basics. Don’t draw attention to it.”
“I won’t. But Enzo, what’s going on?”
His turn to hesitate. “Not yet. Soon. I need to do a couple things first. Then I’ll explain everything.”
“All right. But be careful.”
“I will.”
They disconnected.
Enzo stared at the phone he’d dropped on his desk, jaw tight.
He trusted Alex. He knew she’d be discreet.
He just didn’t want anyone else dragged into this.
His thoughts flicked to Kathleen. He needed to get her out of here.
Away from all this. He couldn’t have her anywhere near Vitale.
If Vitale knew or even suspected that Kathleen was in any way important to Enzo, he’d have her killed out of spite if he could manage it.
And knowing Alessandro Vitale? As Enzo left his office, he was forced to admit that Kathleen’s demise was a very real possibility.