Chapter 33 Enzo
ENZO
“Have you heard from Cole?” I demanded, coming out of my home office.
“Uh,” E said. He stepped down the last stair and frowned at me. “He was on my ass all night about being out—”
“Look at the news.”
E opened his phone screen and stared down at it for a moment before paling.
“What… I don’t understand,” he choked out.
I shook my head and dialed Cole again, but he didn’t answer. I knew he came home last night, but he was gone again this morning. I worried he’d seen the news and had bolted. If he had, this could be a major issue.
But what was worse was how sick my stomach was.
Something major had happened. Pictures of Anson being led out in handcuffs were all over the news.
Reports said Rosalie was missing. There were crime scene units at the hotel in the city where they were staying.
Some claimed a body was taken out sometime in the night, and they believed it was Rosalie.
Her show and the rest of her tour had been canceled.
I’d tried calling Church, but was met with silence.
I couldn’t get through anywhere. I even called Levin, but Dom said he was out and likely wasn’t taking calls.
I knew Klaus was involved in Rosalie’s security since they contracted out his company to provide the services.
I did not think Rosalie had a relationship with him, or the news would have broken a long time ago.
Plus, when we asked Levin, he said to go fuck ourselves and that his dad wasn’t fucking our ex.
He seemed extra sensitive on the topic, so we didn’t push it.
“Is-Is she… dead?” E’s eyes widened before he sat, his body shaking. “Is that what they’re saying?”
“It’s rumors,” I muttered, hanging up on my eighth call of the day to Cole. “Did Cole have hospital shit today?”
E nodded wordlessly.
“OK. He’s probably at the hospital. I’ll call him there.” I dialed the hospital and asked for him. I was put on hold and paced, waiting for him to come on the line.
“What?” he demanded a moment later. “I’m trying to set some asshole’s dislocated shoulder, so this better be fucking good because he already tried to bite me—”
“Rosalie,” I said, my voice shaking.
Cole was quiet on the line. “What?”
“S-She’s gone. Have you seen the news?”
“No,” he said, his voice rising. “What’s going on?”
“Just come home, OK? Can you do that?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Never mind. I’ll come to you,” I said. “I’ll be there in a few.”
“OK. I’ll wait.”
I said bye and looked over to E, who was already putting Laz’s shoes on him.
“I’m going with you,” E said. The doorbell rang, and E pulled it open. Ann stood there, smiling.
“Annie!” Laz whooped, rushing to her.
She hugged him and glanced at me before addressing E.
“I will keep him as long as you need,” she said. “We’re baking cookies today.”
“That would be great. It may be overnight. Maybe even a couple of nights, but I’ll let you know. You have a key to here if you need anything of his,” E said tightly.
She nodded and held out her hand to Laz. He rushed back to E and threw his arms around him as E knelt.
“Daddy. Be happy,” Riot rasped. “You are crying. What’s wrong?”
I watched with my heart thrumming as Riot wiped E’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, bud. I-one of my friends may be hurt. I’m worried.”
“It will be OK. I know it will.”
“How do you know?” E asked, his voice shaking.
“Because you will help your friend. That’s why you’re the best daddy.”
E hugged him tightly. “Be good for Ann and Harold, OK?”
“I will.”
E kissed his forehead before releasing him. Ann took his hand and led him out of the living room, leaving us alone. E stood and faced me.
“It’ll be OK,” I said, repeating what Riot had said.
E didn’t say anything. Instead, I followed him out of the room as he went to our weapons room and started loading up. I added a few weapons and left with him.
E was silent the entire time.
Not a good sign.
Christian arrived in the Escalade, and we got inside.
“Hospital,” I said. “We’re getting Cole.”
“You got it,” Christian said, pulling into traffic.
We rode in silence for a long time before E spoke.
“We should reach out to Klaus.”
“I tried to call Levin, but I couldn’t reach him—”
“I said Klaus, not fucking Levin.” E snarled and pulled out his phone. I watched him look through his contacts for a moment before he found what he needed.
“Bianca? It’s Ethan. I need Klaus’s number. Just give me the number, please. Yes. I appreciate it. Thank you.” He hung up, and a moment later his phone buzzed. He tapped it and put the phone back to his ear.
“Klaus? It’s Ethan Masters.”
Seeing E so assertive made me proud, but it definitely didn’t negate my worry over Rosalie.
“Yes. I’m trying to get information on what’s going on. The press says she’s… dead,” his voice cracked on the word. I studied him as he listened, hoping for some kind of answer so I could breathe normally for a moment.
“Yeah. No, it was… great. Really.”
I frowned at his answer. He was quiet for a moment as he listened to whatever Klaus was telling him. I was honestly surprised Klaus took his call. It wasn’t a surprise that the OGs hated us.
“I-I, no. Nothing like that. Yeah. That would be good. I’ll be there. Yes. Perfect. I’ll see you soon. Bye.” He disconnected the call.
“What?” I demanded. “What did he say?”
“He said that last night when she got home with Ryder, she took a shower. She came out. Ryder had been attacked. She fought off her attacker. She called Anson for help, and he rushed back to the hotel to her. When he got there, the hotel bathroom was trashed and bloody, and she was gone. They have no leads. The cameras went out right before it happened. Her security outside her room was called off because the front desk received reports of issues with the lobby fans. They weren’t supposed to go help, but the hotel staff was short, so they left. ”
“And Anson? Why was he arrested?”
“He attacked a cop when the guy accused him of hurting Rosalie. He’s out of jail already. No charges. I’m going to meet with Klaus.”
“I’ll come with you—”
“They asked for only me,” E said carefully. “They don’t want you or Cole. I imagine tempers and worry are high right now. We don’t need to escalate things.”
I ground my teeth but nodded. It was logical for me and Cole to hang back. Cole especially.
“I’m going to grab a ride over to meet Klaus. I suspect he will give me more information so we can maybe help with the search. That is, if you want to.”
“Of course I want to,” I said stiffly.
E nodded as Christian pulled up to the curb at the hospital. Cole opened the door in his doctor attire, and E hopped out.
“Where are you going?” Cole demanded.
“I’m going to meet with Klaus. I’ll see you later.”
“Wait. What the fuck? Why? Fuck him—”
“Get in the damn car, Cole,” I snapped as he made to go after E, who was already hailing a cab.
Cole cursed softly before getting into the back of the Escalade with me.
“Have you heard the news about Rosalie? Like, did you look at it?” I asked.
“I saw,” he said stiffly.
“And?”
“And what? What the fuck do you want me to say? I told you this fucking shit would happen if we didn’t bring her home. I told you she needed us! See how fucking easy it was for her to go missing? Do you, Enzo? Now will you fucking listen to me?” His blue eyes flashed as his voice cracked.
I swallowed hard. “I’m sending men out. We will find her. E will get more information from Klaus since he heads up her security. She will be found safe. I know she will.”
Cole scoffed and shook his hand. He was antsy. Maybe he was so far gone in his grief over her that this sent him into a different place mentally. I wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, he seemed subdued, all things considered.
“Christian, back to our place, then head out and round up men. I want everyone available to look for Rosalie. Question every motherfucker,” I called out to him. “Kill them if you have to.”
“On it,” he said tightly, pulling out his phone and making the call.
I sat back in my seat, my throat tight.
“What if she’s never found?” Cole asked softly. “Then what?”
“Then we just keep looking,” I said, staring out the window at the passing city.
“Boss, how do you want to do this?” Christian called out, gesturing to the sidewalk in front of our building. I let out a snarl, irritated out of my mind.
The press.
Fucking pricks.
I’d made my statement about the damn sex tapes, but they were shit stirrers and just were nosing around. I’d answer their fucking questions.
“Pull up,” I said, adjusting my tie.
“You’re nuts,” Cole muttered.
“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” I opened the door, got out, and was immediately bombarded.
“Mr. De Luca! Do you know where Bishop is?”
“Is it true you met up with Bishop last night, and it’s why Anson was arrested? He caught you two together?”
“Mr. De Luca! Where did you hide Bishop’s body?”
I stopped and held up my hands. “I was not with Bishop last night. I have not seen her in many years. We were engaged, but we split long ago. We are not in contact, and have not been for years. I do not know where she is, who took her, or what’s happened, so please, give us some peace while we try to sort things out. ”
“Mr. De Luca, is it true you forced Bishop into a relationship with you?”
I snapped my attention to the asshole who asked that question.
“Absolutely not,” I snarled.
“There is a video that suggests otherwise. Are you unaware of its existence?” the reporter continued.
Some short little fuck with thick glasses and a goatee.
Mark Tomlin. I knew his prick ass because he was trying to break a case open on me and ties to crime in the city. He’s lucky I hadn’t killed him already.
“I am not aware of any such video,” I said, nodding for Cole to follow.
“Mr. Scott! Is it true you filmed all of the sexual interactions between Lorenzo De Luca and Bishop?” Mark continued, his voice rising above the other reporters.
We kept pushing our way through, but that ended with the next question.
“Mr. Scott! Cole! It’s said you cheated with Bishop when she was dating Fox Evans, the Mayfair Heisman winner. That you impregnated her and she lost the baby because of your abuse of her during her pregnancy. That you killed your baby so no one would find out about your relationship with Bishop—”
Cole’s fist collided with Mark’s face in a sickening crack.
It was chaos.
Christian jumped in with me as we tried to drag Cole off Mark, but he wouldn’t relent. He punched him repeatedly as Mark tried to defend himself.
“Fuck you, motherfucker,” Cole shouted. “Fuck you! You don’t know shit about anything! Fucking lying little bitch!”
We managed to tear Cole away and get him into the lobby with help from our building security.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Cole roared, tearing away from Christian and me. “That motherfucker! How dare he… How fucking dare he talk about blossom like that. That I-I killed her. Fuck.” He put his hands on his knees, sobbing hard.
I went to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
His and Rosalie’s baby had nearly taken him out.
He blamed himself for years because Rosalie lost it.
Thought it was his fault because he’d walked out in a panic when he found out, and then Ian Hall had attacked E and shot him, nearly killing him, before he took Rosalie away and tried to murder/suicide them into a tree.
Not long after the accident, Rosalie lost their baby.
Cole hadn’t been right since.
We all still wore a ring with blossom’s ashes in it on our thumbs.
“I-I need to get the fuck out of here,” Cole rasped. “I-I need to go.”
“Cole,” I said as he shoved me away from him. “Cole!”
“I’m fucking walking out this door, and you’re not going to goddamn follow me.” He rounded abruptly on me and got into my face. “You wouldn’t fix this shit, so now I have to. This is on you. I told you to bring her home to us! I fucking told you! Now look!”
“Cole, you need to calm down—”
“Fuck your calm.” He shook his head as he backed away from me. “I’m done, Enzo. Done.”
“Don’t do anything fucking stupid,” I shouted at him as he walked away from me to go to the parking garage.
“Christian?” I called out.
He came to stand next to me. “Make sure he leaves and doesn’t attack anyone else. Once he’s gone, bring me the saints. We have work to do.”
“Yessir,” Christian said, leaving me behind to follow Cole.
I rubbed my eyes and blew out a breath.
If I thought we were in hell before, it was nothing compared to what we were in now.
I went to the elevator and pushed the button for our place on the top floor. I rode all the way up, my heart in my damn throat. The doors to the elevator opened, and Dante Church, Malachi Wolfe, and Sinclair Priest stood waiting for me at my door.
“Hello,” Church said in his icy, cold voice. “I think we need to talk.”
I nodded tightly. “I think we do too.”
“Perfect. Invite me in,” Church replied.
I knew I ran the very real risk of dying in the next few minutes, but I couldn’t find it within me to give a damn.
I was tired of all this shit.
I sent up a silent prayer that I’d go fast because, seriously, fuck all this.