Chapter 71
Chapter Seventy-One
RICCI
The interrogation room is small and sterile, the kind of place designed to make a man feel trapped.
Gray walls, metal table bolted to the floor, a single fluorescent light buzzing overhead like it’s trying to crawl inside my skull.
Miriam has been sitting across from me, sharp-eyed, composed, and her suit crisp even at this hour.
We’ve been talking for what feels like hours — me laying out the deal, her weighing every word like it might explode in her face.
But now, after Viola’s call, I can’t stay a moment longer.
Her voice had come through shaky and breathless, the words tumbling out too fast. I could have put that down to our situation, but the moment she called her puppy Massie, I knew she was trying to signal that she is in danger, and I will be walking into a trap.
“Does she seem like she is in trouble to you?” Miriam asks.
“Yes,” I reply. My fingers move fast, pulling up the kitchen camera from earlier this evening.
The timestamp shows Rebecca moving around the playpen, but then I see it — one of my own men, someone who has full access to the house, slipping in through the service door.
He’s the one who takes the puppy. Not Rebecca. Not some random kidnapper.
My jaw locks.
If it’s one of my men, then this has to be an inside job. The only way anyone under me would do this or work for someone else is if they’re working for Salvatore’s son.
“This is a setup,” I say, my voice flat and cold. I turn the phone so Miriam can see the footage. “And I’m pretty sure I know exactly who is behind it.”
Miriam’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t argue. She’s smart enough to see the play.
I rise to my feet. “I need to leave.”
“Alright,” she says. “We’ll go with you and help you.”
I sit back down on the metal chair and quickly go through my plan with her.
My mind is already ten steps ahead. Contingencies, exit routes, the exact words I’ll say when I get my hands on Mario, but underneath it all, the anxiety and fear for Viola burns like acid in my veins.
She’s out there right now, probably scared to death.
If Mario even touches her… I swear to God, I’ll kill him right there.
Miriam quickly coordinates the team, and we’re out of the bureau and on our way.