25. Max
25
MAX
I land in New York at eight in the morning after flying all night. I have Benny in tow, and as I step out of the private jet, I hand Benny to my men to escort him to one of Nic’s holding rooms.
Benny isn’t my priority right now. Gia is. The thought of seeing her again makes my chest tight. The few days without her and the kids have felt like an eternity. Their absence left a void in my life.
The city skyline spreads out before me, familiar yet different. Last time I was here, I'd been running from my feelings for Gia. Now I'm running toward them, even though I still don't know how to bridge the gap between what I want and what's possible.
I obtain a car and wind through the early morning Manhattan traffic. Memories of my life here flood back. Growing up wanting to be a wise guy like all the Nardone men I used to see on the street. Meeting Nic and growing into brothers. I’m where I am today because of him. I worked hard in school and went to college because he did. I grew in the family business through his support and trust. Fucking hell, he’s going to kill me when he finds out the truth.
At seventeen, I made a vow to Gia’s mother that I didn’t fully understand. All I knew was that she was a good woman mistreated by Gino, as all his women were. Nic and I both cared for her and wanted to help her. When she vanished, we knew what happened and we did what we could to make sure Gia was kept safe. But I didn’t raise her as a godfather might. Nic did most of that. But does it matter? I’m sure it won’t to Nic.
But I can no longer deny what’s in my heart. I'm no longer just Nic's right-hand man. I'm a father who's failed his family by choosing duty over love. I just hope it’s not too late to make that up to Gia and the kids.
Will Gia even want to see me? The way she left Vegas, without a word, tells me I've got a mountain to climb. What can I possibly say to make this right? “I'm sorry” feels pathetically inadequate. “I love you,” words I've never said to anyone, may not be believed. Not after I let her walk away.
The light turns red and I drum my fingers on the wheel. I need to tell her everything, spill my guts. I need to share how empty my house feels without their laughter, how I miss making breakfast with the kids, how seeing her first thing in the morning made each day worth waking up to. But most importantly, I need to tell her I'm done hiding, done pretending I don't want a family. Done putting duty before what matters most.
I tense in anticipation as I near her townhome. If I’ve timed this right and she’s taken the kids to school, I should catch her on her way back from dropping them off. As I pull over to the curb, I see her walk down the sidewalk. Her honey-blonde hair catches the morning sunlight, and my breath hitches. She’s so beautiful.
Doubt creeps in and I debate stepping out. What right do I have to be here? To disrupt her life again? But the memory of her face when I failed to acknowledge her and the kids in front of Nic haunts me.
I want to run to her, take her in my arms, tell her I've been a fool. But doubt holds me back. What if she slams the door in my face? What if she's finally done giving me chances? But even if she doesn’t want me, I have a responsibility to her and the kids.
She's almost at her home. I get ready to exit when I see a black sedan pull up. A man exits, but I can’t make him out. He approaches her. It appears he’s her driver. Where’s she going? To meet Nic? Run errands?
I watch as Gia hesitates, takes a step back, and my protective instincts go into overdrive. I unlatch my door to exit and go to her. He grabs her, tossing her into the back.
“Mother fucker.” I leap from my SUV, my heart hammering against my ribs. The man rounds the car to get into the driver’s seat, and that’s when I realize who it is. Ricky Avila.
Blood rushes in my ears as I raise my gun, but there are too many civilians on the street. I can't risk hitting her. The car peels away from the curb, tires squealing against asphalt.
"Son of a bitch!" Raw fury courses through my veins as I race back to my SUV. I yank open the door and throw myself behind the wheel. The engine growls to life, and I slam the gas pedal down.
The black sedan weaves through morning traffic, already half a block ahead. Every second they gain feels like a knife in my gut. After everything, after finally coming back to fight for her, I let that bastard take her right in front of me.
Rage and fear war in my chest as I chase them down. The thought of Ricky's hands on her, of what he might do to her, makes me want to tear him apart with my bare hands. But beneath the anger is pure, ice-cold terror. I can't lose her. Not like this. Not when I haven't even told her I love her.
I pull out my phone and press the numbers to call Nic, just as I see a phone fly out of Avila’s window. My guess is that it’s Gia’s. Our chance to track her is now gone. I speed up, and he must see me as he makes a sharp right-hand turn.
"Come on, move!" I slam my hand against the horn as a delivery truck pulls in front of me.
“Hey, you in town?” Nic’s voice comes through my phone.
"Ricky has Gia." The words tear from my throat. "He grabbed her outside her house. I'm following them."
"What the fuck?" Nic's voice goes razor-sharp. "How did?—”
“It looked like he was posing as her driver or something.” I swerve around a taxi, keeping the sedan in sight. "She seemed hesitant. He forced her into the car."
"I'm mobilizing everyone. Where are you now?"
I give him my location. I grit my teeth as the sedan slips through a yellow light just before it turns red.
"Shit!”
“What?”
“I’m stopped.” I hit my steering wheel. “He’s heading toward the tunnel… maybe… fuck!”
“New Jersey?”
“Maybe.” I inch into the intersection, not giving a shit that I’m about to cause an accident. I run the red light, horns blaring around me.
I keep the sedan in sight as Nic's voice crackles through my phone. “I’ll track her phone?—”
“You can try, but I’m pretty sure the phone he tossed was hers.”
"Fuck!" Nic's curse mirrors my own thoughts exactly.
Guilt has been a constant in my life ever since the night I spent with Gia six years ago. But it’s crushing me at this moment. If I'd just gotten out of my car sooner, if I’d come sooner… Fucking hell, if I’d stepped up like a man when I should have and not let her leave, she wouldn’t be in this situation. This is my fault.
"I should have been closer," I growl into the phone. "Should have taken him out the moment he approached her."
"Max, focus. This isn't helping Gia."
He's right, but the guilt churns in my gut anyway. I'd come back to New York to protect her, to make things right. Instead, I watched that bastard snatch her right off the street. Some protector I turned out to be.
The sedan is inching farther and farther away as traffic tightens. I’m going to lose them, lose her, and I can’t breathe from the fear of it.
“I’ll go get the twins from school,” Nic says. “Get them safe at my place.”
My heart clenches at the thought of my children in danger. "Let me get them." The words burst from my mouth before I can stop them. The need to protect them, to hold them close and keep them safe, surges through me. They may not know I'm their father, but the parental instinct roars through my veins all the same.
"Max, the school won't release them to you," Nic says gently. "You're not on their approved list. You're not family."
The truth of his words stings more than I expect. He's right. Legally, I have no claim to them. I'm just their mother's godfather, their uncle's friend.
I swallow hard and force myself to focus on the sedan ahead of me. "Yeah, okay." The words come out rough. "Just make sure they're safe."
But the knowledge that I can't be the one to protect my own children kills me. Another consequence of my choices, of putting duty before love all these years.
The line goes dead, and I refocus on saving Gia. Ricky makes another quick turn, and I curse as I fight my way to the corner. I turn and nearly run into a delivery truck. The driver gives me the finger. I have an urge to point my gun at him, but he’s not my enemy.
I whip around him and press down on the gas, but as I look ahead, I don’t see their car. I scan the area, but they’ve vanished. The feeling of failure is almost more than I can bear. I continue to drive, but it’s impossible. It’s the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Benny .
That fucker knows something. I know it. I make a beeline as best I can through the crowded city to the warehouse Nic uses to hold people. It used to be one of Gino’s trafficking locations. Nic feels it gives a sense of restitution to hold the guilty where his father once held innocent lives waiting to be sold.
I slam my SUV into park outside the warehouse. Rage propels me forward as I stride inside.
"Leave us," I bark at the guards. They scatter without question, recognizing the dangerous edge in my voice.
Benny sits chained to a metal chair, his face bruised from previous interrogations. His smug expression makes my blood boil. He knows something, I can feel it in my bones.
"Back for more quality time?" Benny's split lip curls into a sneer. "This would go better if you’d agree to my terms.”
I grab his throat, cutting off his words. "I’m done fucking around with you. Start talking."