Chapter 28
28
M assimo
"Boss, we got her phone," Tom says, walking up to me.
Minutes earlier, the tracking app showed us that Amara's cell phone was in the backyard. She must have hidden it before she took off. Smart rat.
She even buried it, so it took us a bit longer to find it.
I take it and swipe the screen to find her last phone call.
Three hours ago, she called Andie. The call lasted two minutes. I dial Andie's number, but it goes straight to voicemail. Maybe she's asleep, but she has to know something.
I call Dante. He'll help me and wake her up—this is an emergency. I need to know what Amara told her before she took off. Is she planning to escape like she did before, with James? Anger fills my heart.
She told me she loved me, then she left.
She has a funny way of showing it , a bitter voice inside me says.
I saw the video of her leaving. She took the back exit when the employees who should have guarded it were distracted. How did she know the code? She must have paid attention.
Did she plan her escape for a while, and my discovering her brother's situation expedited it? A dark emotion takes hold of my heart and squeezes it tight.
I want to hate her.
I want to destroy her, to cause her great harm.
I want to know that if I saw her, I could go through with it and end her.
Courage—that's what I need. That's the one thing I lack where Amara is concerned.
"Massimo," Dante says, picking up the call.
"Hey, man. Can I talk to Andie?"
"Andie is missing. She was supposed to come back a couple of hours ago from a dinner with friends. I didn't want her to go, but they were here from out of town. I've been talking to Rocco, trying to figure out who did this."
I pop my knuckles. Something isn't right. What are the odds that Amara and Andie would disappear on the same night? Unless… they planned it all along. My stomach curls like it's been punched. "Are you sure she's missing? Did you track the limo? Her phone?"
"The cell phone was a couple of miles from the restaurant. We're looking for her driver. The limo was left behind. They probably took a different vehicle to get to wherever they wanted to go," he says impatiently like he's wasting time telling me this.
Dante should have called me first thing. I'm the head of the family. But that's a conversation for another time.
"Dante… do you know what time she disappeared?"
"Why?"
" I argued with Amara, and she slept in the guest room. She left our home in the middle of the night but called Andie before she left. I'm trying to clarify if Amara met Andie." I choose not to share the possibility of them running together from the life we can offer. Maybe they bonded quickly and decided it was time for a clean slate.
"I hope she hasn't… because it looks like Andie was kidnapped. If Amara met her, they would have taken her too."
Taken.
The idea that someone would have the balls to kidnap my wife lights a fire in my chest. That person is already dead if that's the case. I run my fingers through my hair, fucking frustrated. Not knowing sucks. "Do you have any idea who's behind it?"
"My money is on the Santinis. I didn't tell you, but three days ago… I was in the crossfire. They tried to bribe one of our employees for tips about our digital gambling operations. I went after them and wanted to shoot the person who proposed the bribe, but instead, I shot one of the Santini boys. He died yesterday. They're trying to get back at me."
Fuck. My jaw clenches, and my entire body stiffens with anger. I could kill Dante right now. He knows he can't keep such a big piece of information from me—that could cost us our lives. "Why the fuck would you keep it from me? Are you insane? I need to know these things."
"I wanted to fix it alone. I had a meeting scheduled with the Santinis for next week and thought I could offer them something in return for the misunderstanding. I planned to talk to you before then."
I run my hand over my face, which now feels cold and clammy as my panic rises. The odds don't look good. I'd love to lecture Dante over his colossal mistake, but we must find our women first—alive.
"I'm coming over. We need to figure out what happened."