Chapter 22
Abel
“You are just the most beautiful principessa. Yes you are.”
I rolled my eyes at Master Vincent. He was gushing over Luci, and she was eating it up. My daughter only cooed to Master Vincent like that, and it irritated me. Why him?
“Mio angelo. If you don’t stop glaring at him, he’s going to interrogate you, and then he’ll avoid Luci at all costs. Let him have a little bit of happiness. There is so much going on with Sandro missing and other things he is working on.”
Immediately, I cleared my face and smiled at the coven master. Marcello wasn’t wrong. There was nothing wrong with the fact that Master Vincent was completely taken with our daughter. He gushed over Tulio and Frankie as well, but any chance he got to hold and cuddle Luci, he took.
“Are we ready to eat?” I asked Marcello.
We were in the dining room, but it looked like there were several who were still missing.
I didn’t think there were that many out on assignments, but I didn’t exactly know the happenings of the coven beyond spending my days with the twins and my evenings and nights with my mate.
“If you’re hungry, we can certainly sit and eat.” Marcello gestured me over to my spot, and I realized that Nicolo’s wasn’t set.
“Is Nicolo out?” I asked. A quick look at Rio’s spot across from me showed it was set, but the doctor wasn’t here.
“He is,” Marcello said as he helped me scoot my chair in. Mazzi came in and took his spot two down from Rio’s spot. He looked upset.
“Is Tulio with Naldo?” I asked.
“No,” Mazzi said. He tried to smile, but it looked incredibly forced.
“Rio was playing with him. They’re…” Mazzi didn’t have to finish because the doctor came into the dining room with Tulio in his arms. He was laughing and carrying on, and I wondered when Rio would find his One.
He was such a sweet man, and it was obvious that he loved children.
I glanced down the table and saw that Naldo’s spot wasn’t set, and neither was Dario’s. Armando came in with Carmelo, and I looked over at Marcello. When he offered a fake smile, I rolled my eyes at him.
“What’s going on? As long as I’ve been here and we’ve had family dinners, there have never been this many out on assignments all at once.
” Marcello tried to avoid answering, but I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Where are they? You want me here, you want me to be accepting, and I am. But you still keep me in the dark about certain things. Should I be worried?” I looked over at Master Vincent, who was placing Luci in a bouncer.
He turned on the mobile, and every time she kicked her legs, the bouncer bobbed up and down.
But the circling unicorn, cloud, and star above her completely held her attention and caused her to kick over and over in excitement.
Marcello leaned in and kissed me before he sat up. “They are after Sandro. They know where he is, but there were issues that have been discovered. He’s not been gone of his own free will. He’s being held captive.”
I was terrified, but somehow, I kept that from my face.
I glanced at Mazzi, and I could tell he was incredibly upset.
I stood, drawing everyone’s attention. As I moved around the room to go sit beside Mazzi and try to offer as much support and comfort as I could, both Marcello’s and Master Vincent’s phones chimed.
Whatever it was, neither of them let on if it was good or bad news. I placed my hands on Mazzi’s shoulders and leaned down. “Do you want to go for a quick walk? Maybe that will help take your mind off of things for a bit?”
Mazzi nodded. I knew it was bothering him to have to be here rather than with his One, and there was no way he was going to be able to eat.
“I can go with you,” Marcello said as he started to stand.
I glared at my mate. “You can stay here with the twins. I’m trying to offer support to Mazzi, who is worried about Naldo.
He doesn’t need you breathing down his neck.
We’re not leaving the villa. We’re going to walk in the halls.
” That seemed to calm Marcello’s anxiety, and now I was really wondering what was going on because it was obvious that I wasn’t getting the full story.
Mazzi and I left the dining room, entering the kitchen, and then I tugged him farther away. When we were finally far enough away from the dining room and the others, I looked up at him with what I hoped was a look that said “spill it.”
“Naldo went quiet. They went to Capri this afternoon when Elio sent a message that Sandro had been seen. He looked rough, and he was with some of Piscano’s men.”
“Should I know that name?” I whispered back. “I feel like I should.”
“He absolutely hates your mate. With every fiber of his being. Marcello killed his son. Ironically, the day I kidnapped you from Montana.”
My eyes widened. “Do you know where Naldo is? I mean, other warlocks can poof themselves to where their Ones are. Can’t you do that?”
Mazzi looked around. “I know where he was. But I’ve been shadowed all day. And I have Tulio.”
I snorted. “Tulio is in a room with Master Vincent, Marcello, and Rio and the others. He’s fine.” I saw a shadow and pulled Mazzi down the hallway and into the first room I found. It happened to be a bathroom, which worked for me. I locked the door and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Mazzi’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Just that. We are not going to wait here. Let’s go. You get us to where Naldo and the others were, and we’ll find them once we get there.”
“We can’t do that.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why not?”
“We’ll get in trouble.”
I snorted. “No we won’t. We are the carriers of the next generation.
We can ask for forgiveness, but I’m totally going to use the fact that I have the only principessa as leverage.
Besides, Vincent had me kidnapped. He owes me, and now I’m going to help you get reunited with your One.
” I grabbed Mazzi’s hand. “Let’s go. Come on, do that poof thing. ” I nudged my head at Mazzi.
Mazzi’s eyes couldn’t get wider. Seriously, they were so round it was funny. There was a knock on the door. “Everything all right in there?”
“Let’s go. Now,” I said urgently. The doorknob jiggled, and Mazzi nodded. My stomach flipped, and then we were suddenly outside. I could smell the ocean, and when I turned around, I saw why. “Oh, wow. That’s pretty. Where are we?” I asked.
“Capri. This was where they were going. There is a warehouse that they were going to be checking out.”
“Okay. Reach out to Naldo and see if he responds to you. Tell him we’re here and that if he doesn’t respond to you, we’re just going to start popping in and out of places.”
Mazzi gave me a look like I’d lost my mind. I probably had, but fuck this. Sandro had been gone forever, and if he looked rough, what did that even mean? We needed to get him and the others back to the villa.
“Mio angelo? Where are you?”
I cringed. “Marcello is reaching out.”
Mazzi’s eyes widened. “He’s going to kill me. Literally. I’ve endangered you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not helpless. I’m helping a friend in need. Friends in need. He is a dumbass who decided to suffer for over a year. He owes you and Naldo for bringing me to Naples.” I nodded and held up a finger. “I’m with Mazzi,” I told Marcello.
“Yes, so you’ve said. But why is it that I cannot find you?”
I took a deep breath. “We’ll be back in just a bit. Give us just a little while, and we’ll be back—with the others. We need to get Sandro though. Sorry, I guess I’m not a good boy today,” I added. I winced when I heard Marcello shout through our bond.
“That good?”
I shrugged. “I’ll ask for forgiveness later. For now, I’ve had to mute the connection a little. He’s going off in Italian, and I don’t understand a word he’s saying. Where did Naldo say they were?”
“He’s not happy we’re here. He said there’s another family here other than Piscano’s, which is what is causing so many issues.”
“Great. Where are they? We can poof in, I can distract them, and you can grab Sandro, and then we can get out of there.”
“They’re this way.” Mazzi grabbed my arm, and I was sure we looked comical as we walked through the streets of Capri.
Mazzi pushed us down another passageway, and I saw the ocean in front of us.
My stomach flipped again, and then we were next to a large building.
There was shouting in the distance, and I turned at the sound of angry voices.
Mazzi pointed to the right, and that’s when I saw the others. Well, I saw Nicolo, but then he was gone. And then he was standing in front of us, and I suddenly found myself picked up, and we were then back where the others were all crouched down.
I pushed at Nicolo and glared. “Excuse you.”
“I’m not dying today because you disobeyed your mate and came here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I haven’t disobeyed anyone. They never said I couldn’t come here. I didn’t ask, therefore, I haven’t disobeyed.”
I smiled at Mazzi as he and Naldo held one another. “You shouldn’t have come. Our phones are going off, and Vincent has ordered us to return immediately,” Naldo told his beloved. Then he looked at me and sighed. “If any of us survive, Marcello is going to kill us, so it won’t matter.”
I rolled my eyes again. “As if,” I said. “I’ll protect all of you from my mate. And from Master Vincent,” I said. “Now…where is Sandro?”
“Inside,” Nicolo said. “He was alive an hour ago. Dino had a visit from some of Cattaneo’s men.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea who that is. Are you sure they don’t know you’re here?”
“We’ve moved around. But counting the number of men who have gone inside since we’ve been here, we’re greatly outnumbered.”