Chapter 50
I’m not even sure what happened, where everything fell apart, but it did, and now we have to improvise.
Failure’s not an option.
The party is still in full swing when we barge back through the doors.
I half expect people to stop and look at us, but they hardly spare us a glance as they continue their conversations, drinking or playing cards.
I guess when you live in the mafia, this kind of thing isn’t outside the realm of normal.
“There!” I shout over the surrounding noise.
Kratos’s head snaps toward the direction I point, and he doesn’t hesitate to push through the crowd to make his way to Elio.
Most are quick to move, either unfazed or looking curiously at us as we pass.
We might not have been raised in the mafia, but that doesn’t mean the guys don’t fit the bill, especially Kratos and Rick.
I doubt anyone would assume we’re just guys from Chicago right now, and that works to our advantage.
“Ahh, my friends, how are you enjoying the party?” Elio asks as we approach.
His smile quickly drops when he gets a good look at Kratos, though.
“Where is Jade?” he asks, his voice no longer that of a happy host as it was moments ago. His eyes flick around, looking for her. He’s quick, which is good because we need every second we can get.
“Follow me.”
Elio doesn’t give anyone a chance to ask questions before he turns and heads back toward the bedrooms he’s let us use while staying here. I expect him to pick one at random just to get some privacy, but he bypasses them and heads for the door at the end of the hall.
We’ve been here all week, mapping most of this house with his blessing to prepare for tonight, but we had no real reason to spend much time in his office.
He flings the door open with enough force that it wobbles on its hinges, and we file in after him, Dom and Leo slipping in and closing the door a moment later. I hadn’t been sure if they would catch up. Or if Leo even wanted to.
As much as I hate to admit it, it crossed my mind that he might have played a part in all of this. I’m sure if I’ve thought about it, so have the others. They’re even less trusting than I am.
Elio stands across the room near his bookshelf, as if looking for something.
“We need—”
Whatever Kratos was going to say is cut short as Elio reaches behind a book, and a loud creaking sound fills the room.
“By God, I need to put that somewhere easier to remember,” Elio mumbles, turning back to face us as he brushes the dust off his hand onto his pants.
Clearly, he doesn’t use this often, whatever it might be.
“Holy shit!” Zander exclaims, pushing his way to the shelf that now sticks out farther on one side than the rest of them. “Tell me this is real! You have a secret room!”
“No, don’t be ridiculous,” Elio tells him, walking over to stand beside him with a smug smile. “I have a whole secret level.”
Zander’s eyes go so wide that I worry they’ll pop out of his skull if he keeps it up. Elio moves forward, letting him stare in wonder as he reaches for the shelf and pulls it wide, revealing a set of stairs where the shelf once stood.
Zander stands frozen as Elio begins his descent down the stairs, the lights turning on as he goes.
Kratos and Rick are quick to follow him, then Jake, and Spencer. Spencer stops just before hitting the stairs and claps Zander upside the head.
“Get your shit together. It’s a secret door to a secret floor—super cool. But Jade needs us. Nothing else fucking matters right now!”
He’s gone the next second, disappearing down the steps with the others as Zander blinks back to reality.
It’s kind of crazy standing here, watching as he slips from one extreme to another.
I’ve known Zander long enough to know he has a darkness inside of him, but I’ve never been so close to watch the change.
He shakes his head before turning to face me, and I almost take a step back at the pure rage I see burning in his eyes.
“Let’s go,” he snaps, turning and taking off down the steps without waiting to see if I follow. I will, of course. Jade needs us, but fuck, he’s creepy like this.
“Kids got more screws loose than I thought possible,” Leo says, his breathing still heavy from running, and I almost laugh. Of everything he can do, running clearly isn’t his strong suit.
“You have no idea,” Dom and I both say at the same time before I move to follow them down, hearing them do the same behind me.
The stairs go on for so long that I start to get dizzy after going around six… no, seven times. Fuck, maybe it was eight. I don’t even know anymore.
Just when I think I might never find the end, the stairs open up into a huge open area.
Holy fuck.
I thought I grew up with a lot of money, and compared to most, I know I did. Rick, Spencer, Zander, Jake, and I have never wanted for anything, but this...
This is a whole different bracket of money.
The mafia is wild.
It’s only one room, but it’s huge. It’s easily at least half the size of the house above, maybe even more.
You’d never know it was underground, though.
I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t just taken a million stairs down to get here.
The wall opposite the entrance is one giant rock formation; whether man-made or something they built the house around, I’m not sure, but it’s beautiful, nonetheless.
Water flows from the top, cascading down the fall and into the pond below.
The rest of the room is decorated in whites and creams with so many lights overhead that it feels as though I’m outside.
Huge columns line the sides of the room every twenty feet, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re for show or actually needed to support the weight we just went down.
There isn’t much down here. A few tables scattered around in various areas, a board with information, and a desk, a few hundred feet in front of us, that Elio is currently sitting at.
Monitor’s line the right wall, flicking different feeds every few seconds, and it only takes me a second to find things I recognize.
Elio has every inch of his home under surveillance. The thought is shocking, even though it shouldn’t be. He’s a powerful mafia man who, I’m sure, has his fair share of enemies.
Hopefully, he doesn’t have the rooms tapped.
I cringe at the thought of what he might have witnessed if he does. I make a mental note to ask him about it when this is all over. If he has anything like that, he’s going to need to delete it.
As I walk over to stand with the others, I notice most of the left wall is actually a door. What could someone even need a door that big for?
“The plane is fueled, but I don’t have a pilot on hand,” Elio says, standing and making his way to the door that’s now wheeling open.
“I can fly it.”
Elio damn near jumps out of his skin as Kyn appears on the other side of the doors, rushing in the moment they open enough for her to squeeze through.
Even with all the tension, I can’t help the smile that splits my face.
It’s not every day you get to see a big, bad mafia man scared by a small teenage girl.
“Merda, Zee!” Elio scolds her, clutching his heart. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he says, shaking his head.
“Don’t be so dramatic. You need a pilot, and I can fly it. Really, you should thank me, Uncle Elio,” she tells him with a smile that’s all mischief.
“No,” he says without missing a beat. “Your mother will kill me if I let you go. You are supposed to be mingling, not flying off into danger.”
Elio reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder, turning her toward the stairs. “Now go. The last thing I need is your mother coming down on me for something else. She already thinks I’m a terrible influence on you.”
His voice is stern, but I see the worry and affection in his eyes. I get the feeling he’s turning her away, more to keep her safe than out of fear of his sister. But no matter how badly I want to find Jade, I can’t say I disagree with his choice.
Getting Kyn involved is a bad idea. If something happened to her…
I don’t let myself finish the thought. We have enough to worry about right now. Dealing with hypotheticals won’t help us.
Kyn takes two steps before she ducks out of his hold and sidesteps behind him.
“You need my help. Jade needs my help. I’ve looked up to her my whole life! If you think I’m going to go back to that stuffy-ass boring party when I could be helping, you don’t know me at all!” she shouts, crossing her arms over her chest.
Elio sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, and I know Kyn’s won, even before he opens his mouth. I’ve raised Hazel long enough to know that look. I’ve been there.
Elio drops his hand, turning to face her, and a smile splits her face.
She knows she’s won as well.
“You are to stay in the damn plane, Kyn.” Her smile slips, but he holds up his hand to stop her when she opens her mouth. “I’m serious. You fly them and wait. If you can’t agree to that, then no deal.”
They stare each other down, hard, neither saying a word, both refusing to back down.
“Fine!” Kyn finally caves with a shout, throwing her hands up in annoyance before she nods.
“Wonderful. Let’s go.”
We rush out after him. Kyn is already halfway up the steps when we exit the underground lair onto the landing strip.
This is definitely not where we landed when we flew in.
Elio must see the confusion on my face when we stop near the plane, because he claps me on the back with a smile.
“This is only for emergencies, and I’d say this would definitely count as an emergency, don’t you think?” he explains.
I nod, and he waves us forward.
The second we’re on the plane, everyone sits, ready to go. Nobody is excited about this flight. There’s no fighting over where to sit like last time. With Jade missing, it’s got everyone on high alert, but it’s also like we’re missing a piece of us.