Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Marchello
Fear wasn’t an emotion I was familiar with until now. I didn’t get this far in life by hesitating or being afraid of anything or anyone.
Whatever Lissia had gotten herself into, she wasn’t going to be able to get herself out of. It wasn’t that I didn’t think she was a capable woman. I feared for her because of who she came from.
Her father was a dishonorable piece of shit who wouldn’t think twice about selling her out if it benefitted him. I didn’t expect Lissia to know that or even see what could happen, but if she chose to trust Gian, she would find herself in a bottomless pit she would never be able to climb out of.
The kind of trouble I wasn’t sure I could get her out of.
What was she thinking? All she had to do was stay put and let me figure this out.
If she went back to her father, he was going to marry her off to Collins. No matter how many tantrums she threw or how many escape attempts she made, she was going to suffer. And when Collins found out she wasn’t the virgin she was before she came to me, there would be hell to pay.
After reviewing the security footage again and searching the property with no sign of her, my initial thoughts of her knowing who was in that car were becoming more of a reality.
“None of this makes sense.” I barreled through the front door to the safe house and glanced around the foyer. “Where the fuck did she go?”
Milo followed me into the house. “Chello, you saw the footage. She left here willingly.”
I didn’t want to believe what my brother said. There had to be another reason.
“One of our men could be compromised. If they are working with Gian, that could explain how they took her,” I said, but I didn’t want to believe that either. My father had always been spot-on when it came to vetting who we trusted. There was always a chance, though. Everyone had a price.
“I only let a small group of our most trusted people know this location,” he said. “You know none of them would have betrayed us. I want there to be another possibility, too, but I’m not seeing it.”
“How could she have pulled this off?”
“That car we saw on the camera found her because they knew where to look. She must have given up the location.”
“Why would she do that?” I circled the foyer like a caged animal. “She was safe here. She was safe with me.”
“You’re upset, but you have to think rationally.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I get that you care for her. I feel for you, man, but you have to look at the facts,” Milo said. “She walked out of this house and went to the person she had come to get her. There’s no other explanation. This was deliberate. She knew what she was doing.”
“Whatever she planned, she didn’t think it through. If she had, she wouldn’t have gone back to him.”
“Her father?”
“Collins.” I gritted my teeth. “He’s going to make her pay for being here with me.”
Ricardo came rushing into the foyer. “Marchello, I—”
“Shut your fucking mouth.” I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. “How could you have let this happen?”
“Marchello.” Milo came toward me, but I held up my hand to stop him. “This isn’t helping.”
“You had one job, Ricardo.” I applied more pressure to his throat. “You were responsible for her. I told you how important it was to watch her and to make sure she didn’t do anything that could get her killed. Didn’t I?”
He nodded, struggling to breathe.
“We saw the footage,” I said. “Lissia walked off the property and approached a car. Do you have any idea how that could have happened? Being so close to the road was bad enough, but how would she have known someone was going to meet her there?”
“I’m sorry,” he gasped.
“Sorry for what?” I released his throat and stepped back. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t know she would leave. I thought she wanted to let her family know she was okay. She wanted to protect you.”
“How did she let her family know she was okay?” I clenched my fists. “She didn’t have a phone.”
“She used mine.”
I lunged at him and slammed my fist against the wall. “Are you out of your mind?”
I had been so careful not to let her have any contact with the outside world because she was too impulsive to be trusted. She had been trying to formulate a plan to help me for days. I knew she was going to get into trouble, but I left her anyway. And now she left me!
“Fuck!”
“I’m sorry,” Ricardo said.
“You’re sorry?” I drew my hand back.
When my fist connected with his jaw, he went down like a ton of bricks.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him into a standing position.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You sent her back to a man who will not protect her. A man who has no moral compass. She is nothing more than a negotiating tool for him.”
“I didn’t know. I wanted to help her. She was so concerned about you. It was tearing her apart.”
“Don’t stand in front of me and act like you know more about her than I do.” I shoved him. “You don’t know anything about her.”
“That’s not what I’m doing, but she confided in me, and I had to help her.”
I hit him again. This time, his head smacked the wall before he fell. When my foot connected with his ribs, images of Lissia flashed before me. She wasn’t smiling or laughing. She was crying and afraid. That only made me stomp on Ricardo harder.
He moaned and groaned each time my foot hit his solid body. He rolled over, trying to protect himself, but that only gave me access to his back.
“I’m going to fucking kill you.” I reached for my gun as I rammed my foot into him again. “You made her a target.”
“That’s enough.” Milo jerked me back before I could pull my weapon. “You’ve done enough.”
“I’m just getting started.” I shook out my sore hand. “We trusted him, and he failed us. He gave her to the enemy.”
“At her request,” Milo said. “You keep forgetting that.”
“You’re blaming her?” I glared at my brother.
“No, but you have to accept that she did what she did. She knew there was a risk if she contacted her father.” Milo helped Ricardo off the floor. “You have to put the Accetti family first.”
“I always put this family first, but I won’t let Lissia suffer for choosing us.”
Milo was right. The logical thing for me to do would be to let Lissia go and concentrate on our family. If Ricardo was telling the truth and she thought she was doing this for me, how could I ever trust someone so out of control? Loose cannons tended to get men in my business killed.
“I told you I don’t listen.” Her voice echoed in my head. I should have heard her when she told me that. Maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation if I had.
“This safe house is useless to us,” I said. “It’s been compromised. We have to clear it out.”
“I’ll have a team in here tomorrow.” Milo held Ricardo up by his arm. His bruised face swelled, and he looked as if he might pass out. “I’ll get your things moved back to the penthouse.”
I pointed at Ricardo. “Make him your priority. I don’t care where you keep him, but until I know she is safe, he doesn’t see the light of day.”
“Marchello,” Ricardo said. “She was trying to make things right for you.”
“Shut up.” I headed up the stairs. “You should worry about yourself, because if anything happens to her, I’ll make you suffer a long, slow, and painful death.”
Once I reached the bedroom, I kicked open the ajar door and looked around. Did I actually think she was going to be in here waiting for me?
Fuck, why isn’t she waiting for me? I told her to behave. Why didn’t she let me handle this?
A note rested in the center of the bed, mocking me. She left me a note? That was a punch in the gut, wasn’t it? Knowing she had planned all of this out made it worse. She had been working Ricardo and biding her time. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape.
I shouldn’t give her the satisfaction of reading her goodbye. Whatever she had gotten herself into she deserved.
Pacing the room, I stared at the folded piece of paper on the bed. I scooped it up and crumpled it in my hand.
Milo, Lucas, and my father warned me not to get involved with the Gallanti family. Why didn’t I listen? I was arrogant enough to think I could save her. That she would choose me over her father.
I sat on the edge of the bed, holding the crinkled piece of paper in my hand. Did it matter what she wrote? She was still gone. If I read this letter, then I would know she walked out of here willingly. Her words would confirm that I had given her the power to rip my heart from my chest while it was still fucking beating.
Her betrayal cut deep.
I took a breath and then slowly exhaled. I had to get my head back in this game. I would read her letter so I could put all of this behind me. I unfolded the note, taking in her girly handwriting.
Marchello,
You’re mad, and I don’t blame you. I didn’t behave. Not because I didn’t want to listen to you, though. It was more that I couldn’t listen to you. Not this time.
You think I’m a spoiled, selfish, entitled brat. That’s true most of the time, but I’m trying to do better. I’m trying to be better for you. I didn’t need you to change me. I wanted to change for you and be the woman you deserve to have by your side.
How could I be that woman if I stood by and let you go to war with my father? What if I had the power to stop all of this? Shouldn’t I try?
We’re going to find a way out of this. If we have to be apart while the dust settles, it will be worth it. I’m determined enough for the both of us. When I want something, I get it. I want you, Marchello. I have since the night of the auction. I didn’t stop then, and I won’t stop now.
I can do this for us. Trust me.
Your willing hostage,
Lissia
She had no idea what she had gotten herself into. Her father would never listen to her side of things. His hatred for my family was too strong for him ever to see the possibility of a relationship between me and his daughter. And the arrangement Gian had made with Collins was far more important than his daughter’s happiness.
We were doomed before we even started. Everyone except Lissia understood that.
She placed too much faith in her father, and now she was going to pay a steep price for leaving me.
In the end, everything came back to choices. The hardest ones were the most crucial. I had responsibilities and obligations while I kept the throne warm for my father. I didn’t have time to search for her and bring her back.
I had to make things right with the Argentina cartel and keep our cartel happy. We had to investigate Bello and figure out what happened to the nephew of a very dangerous man, all while trying to get my father home.
These were the things that required my full attention, but why were none of them at the top of my list? Because it all came back to Lissia. Without her by my side, none of it mattered. If I didn’t get her back, I didn’t stand a chance.
A mafia prince would be stronger with his princess by his side. I found a woman who was willing to sacrifice it all for me. Only a fool to let her go. And I was no fool.
I would do whatever it took to get her back, no matter how bloody it got or how many men came for me. If Gallanti wanted a war, I’d bring it to him. Accetti style.
The door creaked, and when I glanced over, Milo stood in the doorway, shaking his head.
“What?” I shoved Lissa’s letter into my pocket.
“I know that look,” he said. “It’s full of regret and the blood of your enemies.”
“Are you in?”
“Am I your brother?”
“I’m getting her back.” This was what my father would do. He would never let anyone get the upper hand, and as long as Gian had Lissia, he had leverage against me. “Nothing will stop me.”
“So, you have a death wish then?” Milo smirked. “I’m in.”