CHAPTER XVII
A s we veered off the main road and followed the snowy path into the woods, the trees loomed overhead, their branches intertwining like fingers. The coordinates led us to a remote area about ten miles from where we found Lana.
After driving for about half a mile, we reached our destination. We parked behind a thicket of snow-covered trees.
Alphonse leaned forward, his brows drawn together. “Are you sure this is going to work?” he asked with a slight frown.
Luca’s gaze remained focused on the screen. “Trust me. I’ve done this a hundred times,” he replied with confidence. He jerked his head up, scanning the darkened field outside. “I found three cameras on the property. If I can freeze the feed, we’ll have a small window to slip in unnoticed.”
With a series of rapid keystrokes, Luca pressed a button, and a soft beep echoed in the cramped confines of the car. “It’s working. The cameras are frozen.”
“How much time do we have?” I asked, keeping my tone steady despite the adrenaline surging through my veins as I loaded my handgun.
“We have exactly seven minutes before it goes back on,” he said.
“And what happens if it goes past that?” Lo chimed in.
Luca locked eyes with each of us, his gaze intense. “Get ready to run,” he replied simply.
As we stepped out of the SUVs, Alphonse’s guards emerged from their vehicle, each adjusting the straps of their tactical gear and weapons to have them at the ready.
“Stay here and keep watch,” Alphonse commanded them. “If anyone shows up that’s not us, take them out.”
“Understood, boss,” they responded in sync.
Before we had a chance to move, a black car crept up behind us without its lights on.
“Who the fuck is this?” I hissed. We aimed our weapons at the car.
The car rolled to a halt and both doors swung open.
“Don’t shoot. It’s Dante and Liam.”
I narrowed my eyes and stalked toward them, hands clenched into fists. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
“We’ve been following you.”
I reared back in disbelief.
“Don’t give me that look,” Dante said, rolling his eyes as he shut his door with a dull thud. “If you’d just keep us in the loop, I wouldn’t have to follow your asses.”
Liam stepped forward with his hands raised in a placating gesture. “We just want to help, that’s all.”
Alphonse stepped beside me. “We don’t have time to waste with this,” he clipped.
I shot Dante and Liam with a glare like it could burn a hole in their head.
“Let’s move,” I instructed, leading the way down the narrow, snow-covered trail.
Each step echoed ominously, blending with the distant hoots of owls. We soon emerged from the trees into a vast farm field, moonlight spilling over the snow, glistening like a blanket of diamonds. In the distance, two guards stood watch, their silhouettes stark against the backdrop of the barn.
“Luca and Lo, you’re up,” I whispered.
Luca and Lo exchanged a quick glance, nodding in silent understanding before slipping into the shadows.
Luca struck first. He landed a vicious blow to the throat of the first guard.
The man gasped, eyes wide, but Luca was upon him before the second guard could react, delivering a swift, lethal finish that silenced any alarm.
The guards crumpled to the ground, and I motioned for the others to follow. “We need to move quickly. Luca and Lo, stay here with the guards and keep watch.”
Lo nodded, his expression steely, and remained firmly planted in his position, his weapon held at the ready.
“Let’s go,” I commanded Dante, Liam, Alphonse, and Matteo.
The smell of stale hay and rust filled our nostrils inside the barn. Old machinery lay strewn about, rusted and forgotten, but I had eyes only for the task at hand. My gaze soon fell upon an inconspicuous trapdoor beneath the container.
“Here,” I said, bracing myself as I shoved aside a rusted oil drum with all my strength. I bent down and opened the heavy latch. The door creaked as I pulled it open, revealing a narrow staircase leading down into the darkness.
“What the hell?” Matteo asked, glancing around nervously as though the shadows might spring to life at any moment.
“Stay sharp,” I replied.
With a shared look of resolve, we descended the stairs, each step accompanied by the echo of our own heartbeats.
The air around us grew colder and more oppressive as if the very walls were closing in.
The flickering beam from my flashlight barely penetrated the thick blackness, casting long, jagged shadows that seemed to writhe along the damp stone walls.
As we reached the bottom, the first thing that hit me was the metallic scent of blood, mingling with the musty air, smells of piss, and vomit, sending a jolt of dread through my veins. The sight that greeted us was nothing short of horrifying.
Matteo grimaced, his nose wrinkling against the foul stench that clung to the air. “What the hell?”
“Malik!” Dante shouted.
A figure stirred in the first cell, a man with disheveled hair and wild, unfocused eyes. He looked pale as a ghost.
“Just hang tight, we’re getting you out,” Dante reassured him, his eyes darting anxiously to the second cell. But then his expression twisted into one of horror as he beheld the bones in the corner.
“No,” Alphonse groaned.
“It’s not Gigi.” Malik’s voice came out cracked, raw with anguish.
I spun around to face him. “Who is that then? Where is Gigi?” I fired off the questions as Dante and Liam moved to help Malik to his feet.
“Valarie,” Malik rasped.
“What did you say?” Alphonse said.
“Angelica’s sister. He kept her in that cell for years. The bones… they belong to her mother.”
“What the fuck?” Matteo hissed.
The door to the cell Valarie had been held in was left ajar. Alphonse pulled the door, and it creaked open.
In the dark corner of the cell, a figure nestled into a tight ball against the rough stone wall, her form swallowed by the darkness.
Alphonse knelt beside Valarie’s unconscious body, his eyes wide with disbelief. Her skin was ghostly pale, her lips tinged a sickening shade of blue, and dark bruises covered her body.
“She’s dead,” he said a mere whisper.
A strangled sound tore from Malik’s chest. “I watched him beat her,” he forced out.
Alphonse’s hands trembled as he reached out, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. He shook his head sadly. “We can’t leave her here.”
I pressed my finger to my earpiece, trying to maintain focus. “Miguel, send a few men to drive down to our location and meet me in the cellblock.”
“Understood, boss,” Miguel replied.
I turned to Liam. “Go inform Lo and Luca that Miguel will arrive shortly.”
Liam nodded and sprinted down the darkened hall.
My heart shattered at the thought of what they had endured. The knowledge that Malik was forced to witness such horror was a slow poison gnawing at my insides. I could only imagine what he was feeling.
A few minutes later, the muffled sounds of hurried footsteps outside the cell echoed through the stone corridors, growing louder as my men raced toward us.
“Alphonse,” I called, but he didn’t look up from Valarie.
“My men are here and will take care of her,” I said firmly. “But we need to find Gigi.”
He finally met my gaze and gave me a determined single nod.
I gestured to my men. “Take her to the hospital.”
My gaze shifted to Malik, who was barely hanging on. “And make sure he gets there, too.”
Two of my men stepped forward and carefully lifted Valarie’s limp body from the cold, dirty ground and out of the cell.
“Alphonse, let’s go,” I urged.
Alphonse rose to his feet, following closely as my men carried her toward the exit.
“Malik, where is Gigi?” I repeated.
“I don’t know. They knocked me out, and by the time I came to, she was gone.”
My heart sank like a stone, rage boiling in my veins that demanded justice for my angel. My hands clenched into fists, and I had the desire to burn the world down, to unleash my fury like a tsunami.
What game was this fucker playing at?
Dante turned to Malik. “Are you good to move?” he asked.
“Yeah, I can walk.” Malik grunted, pushing himself up despite the obvious pain etched across his features. “Let’s get out of here.”
Then the phone that had been beside Lana’s remains suddenly rang.
We all turned to Matteo, who hesitated for a moment before retrieving the device from his pocket. “It’s a message.”
“Read it.” I felt like I was standing atop a land mine, ready to detonate this suffocating anxiety.
Matteo's expression went blank, his brow furrowing in concentration. “It’s new coordinates.” His eyes slammed shut, which only amplified my anxiety and fear. “Cemetery,” he uttered.
“Motherfucker!” I roared, the word tearing from my throat as I bolted out of the hole.
I could barely breathe.
The thought of her buried alive, trapped in a box thinking I abandoned her, the asshole who walked away because I believed the lies that were fed to me.
My soul couldn’t take another minute, hour, or day without her by my side.
Gigi, I’m coming for you baby.
The wind howled as if it were echoing my rage, sweeping through the cemetery’s trees and rattling the snow off the branches like a warning.
“How the hell are we supposed to find her in here?” Matteo asked looking around the cemetery.
“Did the message say anything else that could lead us to where she’s buried?” Alphonse asked.
Matteo shook his head, and my heart sunk to the depths of the Atlantic. Just as the weight of hopelessness threatened to drown me, many thoughts pierced through my mental fog. My thoughts bounced around in my head like a game of Plinko until one finally hit its mark.
“We need to split up,” I said. “We have to look for any soil that seems disturbed.”
“I agree,” Alphonse replied, as he stood beside me.
“Hold on a sec,” Lo interjected, his brow furrowing. “If the ground’s frozen, we’ll need jackhammers or something to break through.”