Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
When my phone went off just before four a.m., I initially thought my alarm had malfunctioned, but when I picked it up off the nightstand and saw Cara’s photo, I woke up faster than I ever have in my life.
She was hyperventilating on the other end, and I couldn’t get her to calm down enough to make sense.
I quickly threw on joggers and a T-shirt before slipping on tennis shoes and running the two blocks to her bakery and loft.
I didn’t even reach the door before Cara was flinging it open and rushing into my arms. As much as I loved her arms around me, I knew whatever happened was dire.
I gently kiss the top of her head, unable to stop myself, as I hold her tight. “Cara, honey, what happened?” I’m trying to speak softly because I don’t want to wake the kids, but I don’t know how they’re able to sleep through Cara’s outburst in the first place.
“They took them. I don’t know how I messed up, Max, but I failed Dante and Mila, and they’re gone!” Cara sobs and I try to piece together what she’s talking about.
My spine straightens. “Who took them, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know who specifically, but I know who they’re taking them to. I’ve been so careful, I followed all the rules, and I still somehow let this happen!” Cara’s entire body is trembling in distress.
I back up enough to lower my face and look her in the eye while I talk. “I’m going to help you find them, and fix all of this, but Cara, you have to tell me what you think happened. Take a deep breath and try to fill me in so I can help Dante and Mila.”
Cara’s chest rises and falls with as deep of a breath as she is capable of right now. “Salvatore Serrano.” She says the name like a curse.
“And who is Salvatore Serrano, Cara?”
“He’s the head of the Serrano family in Philadelphia.
” Cara looks away from me as a sob escapes.
“And he will hurt them, Max, he will do whatever he thinks is necessary to get to my brother, and if he gets his hands on my brother, he’s going to kill him too.
” Her legs start to give out, and I pick her up and bring her over to the counter.
I set her down so she’s sitting on the countertop and step between her legs, putting my hands on each side of her body, in part to hold her up, and in part to force her eyes on me while she talks.
“And why would this man be after your brother, Cara?”
“Because he’s going to testify against him and it’s enough that it will take Serrano and most of his family down in the process.”
“Where is Joe right now?”
“I don’t know. And his name is Luca—I panicked when you asked me once and made up a name, I’m sorry. But I swear, I don’t know where Luca is right now.”
“What do you mean? And why didn’t you just tell me his name?”
“I don’t know where he’s being kept safe. We only communicate during scheduled calls or video calls, but they’re all set up by…” She looks away and I want her eyes back on me—and I want the damn truth.
“Tell me all of it, Cara. This isn’t the time to keep me out. I want to help you and Dante and Mila, but I need to know what I’m dealing with here.” She nods solemnly.
“The calls are always coordinated by the U.S. Marshals Service. I don’t know who I specifically talk to, I just have a number I text to make a request, and if they can make it happen, they let me know the time.
I don’t have a direct phone number for Luca or anything like that, so even if I wanted to call him like the note demands, I can’t. ”
“What note?”
Cara points to the dining room table and I can read the scrawled-out threat from here. “What am I supposed to do if I can’t call the cops but that’s the only way I can even reach my brother, Max? I can’t lose them, any of them, they’re all I have!”
“That’s not true, Cara. You have me, and I’m going to do everything I can to get them back to you, and hopefully without notifying the police and putting anyone else in danger.”
She rears her head back in shock at what I just said. “Max … what? How … I don’t have any options other than to call the police. What else can I even do? I know you’re stupid rich, but I don’t think that’s going to help right now.”
“My finances may not help, but I’m going to call Jack. He’s formidable in his own right, and he has powerful friends … and brothers.”
I very rarely ask for favors in general, especially of my best friend Jack Callahan.
Sure, we ask for little favors like any friendship, but I’ve never asked him to leverage his connections or wealth for my own person gain.
Over the years, there have been so many people that have tried to take from the guy or they’re just looking out for their own self-interests without actually caring about the man.
It’s never been like that with us, and I’m grateful for the well-established friendship we had before he found his success, because he doesn’t have to question my loyalty or intentions.
I may not have ever made a call like this before, but there’s a first time for everything.
I know Jack’s jet is leaving early for a flight to London today, so even though it’s close to four-thirty in the morning, odds are he’s already up.
Sure enough, Jack picks up on the second ring.
“Hey, Max. What’s wrong?” Jack knows that if I’m calling him this early on a weekend, everything is far from alright.
“I need help.”
“What do you need? Name it.”
“I need to call in each and every favor you’ve ever owed me.”
“Done.” Jack doesn’t even hesitate, and I’m going to owe this man for the rest of my life—not that he would ever cash that debt in. I explain the situation and Jack just quietly listens, without interrupting, other than to hum in acknowledgment a few times.
“You know I’m going to need to make a call, right?” Jack asks when I finally finish.
“Yeah, and I could’ve just called him, but I wanted to call you first,” I admit. I easily could have texted or called his brother directly, but it felt like I should go to Jack with this first.
“I’m glad you did. I’ll call Liam and we’ll go from there.
Please tell Cara to be strong and that we will do everything we can to get them back to her.
” Jack is the oldest of the Callahan siblings, and the four brothers and two sisters are impressive in their own right, but Jack’s brother Liam is in a league of his own.
Liam is only a year younger than us, so I consider him a friend as well, as much as that guy allows someone to be his friend outside of his brothers and team members anyway.
I’m not sure if Jack even knows exactly what Liam does, but I know that he works with various federal law enforcement agencies, possibly even some international ones, and five or six years ago, Jack would go extended periods of time without being able to talk to him.
I didn’t ask a lot of questions, but I know Liam not only has impressive skills himself, but he also has a network of equally impressive connections.
Last month, their sister Savannah was kidnapped, and I don’t know all the details, but I do know that Liam handled it without involving official law enforcement, and despite what the local newspaper claimed, I don’t think the cabin where she was held exploded due to a gas leak.
I also know Savannah was brought home safely and that’s the hope I’m clinging to right now for Dante and Mila.
“So, now we just wait? Who is he going to call? What are we going to do?” Cara pleads.
“He’s going to call his brother.”
“Which one? And how is that going to help Dante and Mila?”
“Liam—and he is our best bet at getting Dante and Mila back as quickly and safely as possible.”