CHAPTER EIGHT
RAFAELLE
“Run, run as fast as you can,” I drawl, my hand in my pocket as I stride down the hallway casually. “I’m going to get you. And you know what happens if I do.”
Giggles echo ahead of me and I can’t help a light smile at the sound.
Although a part of me can’t believe the sound of happy children is coming from Matteo’s home.
He used to be so uptight and annoying, I can’t believe he managed to not only fall in love but convince someone to spend the rest of their lives with him.
But in a few short years, not just him but Salvatore have managed to start families. And they’re happier than I’ve ever seen then. And I got a great deal out of it in the form of my niece and nephews.
I hear the light click of a door opening and shutting. I wait for a minute before opening it and crowding the doorway. The children squeal in delight and surprise, holding on to each other at the sight of me.
“Found you,” I announce chuckling.
“No fair, Zio Raf, you have long feet,” my oldest nephew complains.
Leonardo Vitale has changed a lot in two years.
He was always a bright, happy kid but with the arrival of his baby sister, he’s become much looser.
He’s protective over both Lucia. And I’m pretty sure Nicolas is his best friend despite being several years younger.
Leonardo plays the role of the big brother with ease.
Salvatore’s son who is only 6 months older than Lucia.
The three of them are as thick as thieves, despite the age differences between them.
Leo drags his tiny little sister everywhere he goes. She’s like his little totem.
Unlike Nico who seems to be thriving without his twin sister. Isabella is with her parents who took her with them on vacation. Nico insisted on staying with his cousins.
“What have I told you, Leonardo,” I begin, “When playing hide and seek, you’ve got to split up. Confuse your enemy. Got it?”
“Yes, Zio Raf,” Nico says enthusiastically, walking up to stand beside me.
I run a hand through his dark hair. Poor kid looks more and more like Salvatore with each passing day. Same as Leonardo. At least my little princess looks like her beautiful mother. I swoop down to lift the two year old, Lucia into my arms.
“How we doing, Luce?” I question.
She offers me a small sleepy smile, dark eyes blinking slowly. The boys have officially tired her out.
“Bed,” she states, making me grin.
She doesn’t talk much, like her father. Most of her words are limited to one word orders, although her parents are sure she can say much more than that. She just chooses not to.
“Alright. Let’s go meet your mama so she can put you down for a nap.”
I carry her in arms while the boys follow, heading to the living room. Matteo and Lindsay are on a couch, arms around each other with their gaze fixed on the tv. Elio’s here too, slumped in an arm chair while scrolling through his phone.
“I asked you over to watch the match, not disappear to play with the kids,” Matteo speaks up as soon as I enter.
I ignore him, looking towards my sister in law and waving the two year old that’s half asleep in my arms.
“This little one wants her bed,” I inform her.
Lindsay smiles getting to her feet to take her from me. “I still can’t believe how good you are with kids, Rafaelle.”
“You know me, cognata, I’m full of surprises,” I state, meeting her deep blue gaze.
She offers me another appreciative smile before leaving the room with her daughter.
“Alright, boys. Are you ready to watch Matty’s team get their asses kicked?” I question, settling down on one of the couches.
“Yes. Arsenal’s going down!” Nicolas agrees, taking a seat beside me.
The kid really gets me.
“Don’t worry, dad. I believe in our team,” Leo counters, sitting beside his father.
Matteo shoots me a smug look and I roll my eyes before turning my attention to the ongoing match. 90 minutes later the match ends leaving me with nothing but annoyance. Fuck, they’re catching up fast to my team in the premier league and that’s unacceptable.
“Wipe that grin off your face,” I snap to Matteo as I get to my feet, needing a drink.
The boys run off to play somewhere else and then it’s just me and my brothers.
With the end of the match, Elio seems to come back to life.
He’s never had much of an interest in sports or anything that doesn’t involve him getting his dick wet.
The only reason he played basketball in high school was to get girls.
I notice him and Matteo share a look and immediately my hackles are raised.
“What are you two hiding?” I ask gruffly.
“Nothing,” Elio says quickly, moving to wrap an arm around my shoulders, “Wanna play some pool? If you win, I’ll give that knife you’ve been eyeing. The one I got on my trip to Egypt.”
I perk up immediately. Pushing his arm off, I start walking towards the pool room. Both my brothers follow. The game is underway and we’ve only been playing for about five minutes when Matteo speaks up.
“So… I’ve been working on a little something,” he starts from his position against the wall. “To bring down Navarro.”
I’d been in the middle of shooting a ball but my concentration immediately breaks. I look towards him with narrowed eyes.
“What something?” I growl. “And does this something end up with him dead?”
I’ve had beef with Ignacio Navarro for years.
The old man is a slimy bastard that’s always messing with me yet somehow always manages to go scot-free.
I would have killed him a long time ago.
But he’s the most powerful drug lord in the city.
Going after him wouldn’t be easy. Not that I haven’t tried.
“Not exactly. But it does provide us with some leverage over him,” Matteo replies.
“We’ve been trying to gather some dirt on him, information that we could use to hit him where it hurts,” Elio continues. “A couple weeks earlier, one of our spies had a breakthrough.”
“Hold up,” I interrupt. “So what you’re saying is, I don’t get to kill him?”
Matteo shakes his head.
“Pass,” I mutter, my gaze going back down to the pool table.
“At least listen to our plan, dipshit,” my elder brother states.
I roll my eyes, “Fine, go on.”
“Navarro has a daughter. One hidden away that I’m unsure he’s aware exists.”
“Explain,” I say with a frown.
“About twenty-five years ago, he fell in love with a woman called Marisol Zaccari. And when he did his wife wasn’t too happy about it.
They had an affair but the old man’s wife was pretty vicious.
She was gunning for Marisol’s head and Ignacio did a terrible job of protecting her.
Eventually Marisol decided to disappear.
She left, and she didn’t look back. Our sources tell us that when she did leave, she was pregnant, carrying Ignacio’s child. ”
“Sounds like a bad soap opera,” I muse. “And you’re sure the old man doesn’t know about his bastard child.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Elio states. “He’s left them alone all these years, unprotected. And now we have a chance to get his daughter into our clutches.”
I run a hand over my jaw, thinking it over, “You want to kidnap the child he probably abandoned? What makes you sure he would give a damn about her?”
“He may be an asshole but he cares about his children. Which is why I’m leaning towards him not knowing she exists at all,” Matteo says.
“Her existence was only a rumor until I confirmed it by finding Marisol. It took some time to do so. She’s been living off the grid, in a small sleepy town two hours from the city. ”
“You’re going to go to this small town and abduct the daughter?” I question.
Matteo flashes me a grin, “There’s no need. She’s in the city. Arrived today according to the men I put in place to surveil them. We have the perfect chance to have her in our control. And then she becomes a bargaining chip against Navarro. We can cut him down a few notches.”
“Sounds like a great plan,” I agree. “What do you need me for?”
His smile thins, “We need a place to put her and someone to watch over her. I was hoping you could do it?”
I snort, “Pass.”
“Come on, Raf. I can’t bring her to my house, I have a wife and kids. Same as Salvatore. And Elly’s apartment is too small for a hostage.”
“Not to mention the endless amount of people that go in and out of there per day,” Elio chimes in.
“Your house is perfect.”
I lean against the pool stick, thinking it over, “It’s boring. I don’t want to watch over some chick. It’s not like I’ll be able to do anything to her. My talents are wasted on babysitting, fratelli. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
“You are never any help to me,” Matteo mutters.
That draws a laugh out of me, “So when do you plan to abduct the lost Navarro princess?”
“Later today. She has a meeting with some dude. That’s why she’s in the city. We’ll get her once she’s alone and it’s dark. I’m going there personally to oversee the men,” Elio informs me.
“Have fun,” I chuckle. “Give me updates. At the very least, I want to be there when you tell Navarro we have his long lost daughter.”
The game continues and I end up winning my fancy Egyptian knife. Which puts me in high spirits. I leave Matteo’s home after an early dinner, heading to my place while Elio goes to put his and Matteo’s plan into motion.
An hour or so later, I’m in my work out room lifting weights when Elio calls me.
“You’ve got her?” I ask curiously, switching to the treadmill.
“Nope. We’re still waiting to nab her. She looks nothing like Ignacio by the way. She’s actually quite beautiful.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“She seems like your type,” Elio continues. “Dark hair, pretty eyes.”
“I don’t have a type!” I refute.
“Come on. Every time we’re out together, your eyes always find the nearest available dark haired woman. You watch them until they’re out of sight like a creeper.”
“That’s because…” I pause, blowing out a breath. My brothers don’t know about the little siren that blew into my life and then blew the fuck out without looking back. I’d like to keep it that way. “Shut the fuck up, Elly. Why did you even call?”
“I’m still hoping you’ll change your mind. We can’t take her one of our warehouses. Anyone we place in charge of watching her could fuck up and unwittingly harm her and then who knows hell Navarro will raise.”
“I’d like to see him try,” I grit out, still running. “So what? You’re just going to wait until this girl finishes her conversation.”
“Yeah. She’s talking to some old guy. I think his name is Carlos Villareal.”
I pause, the name giving rise to a memory.
“What did you say his name was?” I ask my brother, reaching down to press the stop button on the treadmill.
“Carlos Villareal.”
“She’s meeting Carlos Villareal?”
“Why are you repeating his name like that?” Elio asks with a laugh.
Because I’m pretty sure I have two of his fingers rotting down in my basement somewhere. My heart stops for a full minute, then restarts again as I exhale a shaky breath.
“What’s her name?”
“Who?”
“The Navarro girl, Elio,” I snap impatiently. “What is her name?”
“Oh. Her name is Liliana. Liliana Zaccari. She goes by her mother’s maiden name.”
The line goes intensely silent for a beat, and I start to feel a ringing in my ears. My grip tightens on the phone. There’s no way that’s a fucking coincidence.
“Bring her here,” I order darkly.
“What? A minute ago you weren’t interested.”
“You fucking heard me, Elio. As soon as she’s alone, I want you to grab her and bring her here. No matter what it takes, do you understand?”
My brother’s voice is rife with confusion as he says, “Alright, I will.”
Something slides through my chest, fear, anticipation, anger all rolled up together.
It might not be her, a logical voice in my head suggests.
But I know it’s bullshit. It’s her. My little siren has walked right back into my life once again. And this time I’m not letting her go.
First, she’ll pay for daring to walk away from me in the first place.