Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
Gualtiero
The tracker pings again. It’s still locked onto the train station.
We’re close. And yet the car only crawls forward, every second stretching thin.
I dial Tomas’ number. He answers on the second ring. “Have you got her?”
“Still looking, boss. No sign of her so far.”
“Find her,” I growl.
I end the call and lean forward in my seat, my fingers tapping against the leather.
She’s there. The closer we get, the more certain I am.
I can’t believe she ran after the night we shared.
She gave herself to me like never before. All of her was mine. I didn’t imagine it. And she said she loved me.
What happened after I got out of bed this morning?
She looked so upset when I watched the videos just after she went missing.
Taking a deep breath to find some calm, I close my eyes for a second.
At first, I thought Molinaro had somehow got to her, that she’d been taken again. But the security footage tells a different story. She saw her chance and took it when the gate wasn’t properly manned.
My jaw tightens. Heads will roll for this.
I stare at my phone, willing it to ring.
It doesn’t.
Why haven’t Tomas and Arturo found her yet? They’ve been there long enough. A station isn’t endless. There are only so many places she can hide.
The car finally stops.
The sense of her presence that’s been building on the ride here settles into something sharper. It tightens low in my gut, spreading upward.
There’s no doubt in my mind.
She is here.
I’m out before the driver has fully pulled the brake. Entering the station building, I slide my sunglasses up my nose, scanning the crowd.
When Tomas and Arturo spot me, they rush forward but shake their heads.
“Keep searching. She’s here somewhere,” I say tersely, and they disperse again, now with reinforcements. Five more of my soldiers spread out, checking every corner, every shadow.
Santino steps up beside me, holding out his phone. Her signal hasn’t moved.
“Zoom in closer,” I bark, and he adjusts the app.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a steady breath. Why is everything taking so fucking long?
My heart rate ticks higher, my stomach tightening. A telltale sign she’s near.
I lift my gaze, searching the crowd for Ella again. Faces blur together. There’s no sign of her.
No doubt, she’s seen us and is hiding.
Where are you, angel?
I shove my hands into my pockets before I do something I regret. Like strangle someone out of pure frustration.
My phone rings. Hope surges for a split second. One of my men must have found her.
But it’s Mateo.
A train rolls into the station behind me, brakes screeching softly as it slows.
Passengers gather as the train comes to a stop. People step off in clusters, many dressed in the colors of their favorite Formula One teams.
There are people everywhere now, making it harder to spot her. I need to focus here. Still, I answer my phone in case Teo has news.
“Have you got her?” he asks.
“No,” I say, scanning face after face in the crowd. “Are you still monitoring everything?”
“Of course. She hasn’t withdrawn any more money. And as far as we can tell, she hasn’t tried to contact Rhia yet. We’re monitoring all her numbers, private and work.”
“Good. Keep me posted if anything changes.”
I end the call, signaling to Santino to move closer to the train. The burn in my gut tells me Ella is still here. She’ll probably try to get on it.
Santino’s gaze snaps to his phone before he makes a beeline for me.
“She’s on the move again,” he says, pointing to the red dot shifting across his screen. “She’s leaving the station.”
He gestures for the others to come back, shouting orders through the comms to the men out of sight.
Has she really left? Did she wait for this crowd to slip away unnoticed?
I close my eyes briefly, drawing in a slow breath, reaching for that unmistakable pull between us.
I can feel her… watching me.
My eyes snap open, my gaze locking onto the train preparing to depart. I scan the windows, searching for her face, but all I see are strangers.
My heart is pounding now.
She’s on that train.
I take off, running toward it, waving Tomas over. “Get on that train!” I shout, but the doors slide shut before he gets anywhere near them.
The train pulls away.
A sharp, hollow ache settles in my chest.
I’m too late.
For a moment, I want to throw my head back and roar my frustration, but I don’t. My hands clench into fists instead.
I drag a hand over my face as I watch the train leave the station, gathering speed.
The hairs along my neck rise.
Then the sensation drops out of me.
Gone.
That will never do.
I told her I would always find her. And I will.
I glance up at the digital display.
Milan.
Shit. If she gets there, she can disappear far more easily. Another train, a bus, a taxi… to anywhere.
“She’s on that train to Milan,” I tell Santino, who appears beside me. “Station two men at each stop along the way. Get the car. We’ll intercept her there unless she gets off before that.”
“She’s not on the train,” Santino insists.
I grind my teeth, forcing down the urge to pull my gun on him for questioning me.
“Her signal is moving away. Look.” He shows me his screen again. “I think she took a taxi. Mauro is already following, but we need to go now, boss.”
“She could have realized the earrings have a tracker and handed them off to someone,” I snap. “She was on that train. Do as I said.”
Santino nods, wisely dropping any further protest. A second later, he’s on the phone, issuing orders.
I should have trusted my instincts and implanted a chip in her. We wouldn’t be in this mess then.
“It only takes eighteen minutes for the train to reach Milan. We won’t make it,” Santino says as we head back to the cars. “Mateo is closer. If he leaves now, he might just get there.”
I dial my brother. He answers on the first ring.
“Get in the car and drive to Milan railway station. Ella is on that train. She’ll arrive in…” I check my watch. “Fifteen minutes. You need to intercept her.”
I hear him moving, footsteps echoing, then a car door slams. “On my way,” he says.
“Get Uberto to hack the CCTV at the Monza station. See if he can find her. I’m pretty sure she dumped the earrings.”
“Shit. No more trackers then,” he says, the implication just as clear to him. “I’m on it. I’ll call you.”
Mateo is the perfect wingman in any situation, especially in a crisis. He stays calm and thinks clearly. Something I don’t seem capable of right now.
If Ella was on that train, how did she get on without us noticing?
Or is Santino right? Did she use the station as a distraction and slip out through another exit?
No. My gut is never wrong. She was on that train.
Still, we cover every option.
“I want the surrounding streets searched,” I say. “Check the bus depots. Taxis. I want eyes everywhere. We find her before Molinaro does.”
I rub my neck. My heartbeat steadies again.
Dammit, angel.
Why did you run?