Chapter 30 Mauro
Chapter thirty
Mauro
All eyes land on me and Alex as we enter the quaint restaurant filled with wine enthusiasts. Can’t say we exactly fit in.
“They’re in the back,” Alex states, his voice holding an undertone of fury. He takes a step, but I place my hand on his chest to stop him. Arching a brow, he questions my authority until he sees it in my eyes; the pain that echoes across my features. “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
I turn and begrudgingly head toward the back corner booth. I keep my eyes on the ground, my chest feeling heavier with each step I take, having no idea how this is all going to play out.
“Hi, guys,” Scarlett greets us as we approach, swirling her glass of red wine before her. “Didn’t know you were into wine bars.” My eyes look up, finding Eli, Madeleine, and Scarlett sitting at the booth.
No Alina.
I spin on my heels, my eyes traveling around the room. Unease takes over, my heart hammering beneath my chest. Fury clashes with worry, causing my fingers to tighten into fists at my sides.
“Where’s…” I inhale deeply, digging my fingers into the base of my neck.
“Where’s my wife?” My words echo over the space, dark and enraged as pain slices its way throughout my throat.
Every head in the place looks our way until they quickly realize who we are and immediately resume their conversations.
Madeleine’s brows furrow. “She’s not here. In fact…” She gives me a pointed stare. “She said she couldn’t make it tonight because she had plans with you.”
She lied.
To all of us.
Alex takes a step closer, placing his palms on the edge of the table. “I asked you if the three of you were here, and you said yes.”
“Yeah.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Me, Eli, and Scarlett. One, two, and three.” Her eyes drift between us, her brows knitting together. “What’s going on?”
We’re too late.
“We’ve been played,” Alex mutters, running his fingers through his hair. “Cazzo!”
Eli leans forward, placing his elbows on the table. His eyes darken as he looks between us, concern swirling around him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Alex looks at me, probably not knowing how much he can say. I merely shake my head, not wanting to reveal too much yet.
“I don’t understand.” Scarlett places her glass of wine before her, and her attention lands on me. “Didn’t you have plans with Alina tonight?” I shake my head, and her lips part as realization hits her. “She told you she would be with us, and she told us she would be with you…”
“But why?” Madeleine asks.
“Why indeed?” Alex murmurs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He reaches into his pocket and retrieves his phone.
“I’m making a call.” He steps toward the exit, but I grip his shoulder to stop him, knowing who he plans on contacting.
“I have to inform Vin,” he tells me with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mauro. But he needs to know what’s going on.
” I let my arm drop because he’s right and watch as he takes quick strides, exiting the wine bar.
“Well,” Scarlett starts, wrapping her arms around herself, “if she’s not with you and she’s not with us, then where is she?”
I grab my phone from my pocket and open my tracking app. Did I install tracking software onto Alina’s phone without her knowing? Yes. And clearly, it’s a good fucking thing I did.
Except…
I zoom in on the screen.
Alina’s current location is at an airport not too far from here.
She’s leaving.
My chest constricts violently, each breath feeling labored and strained.
“We have a problem.” Alex returns, staring down at his phone.
“Before I even had a chance to call Vin, my team reached out to let me know a couple of hours ago, Kazimir was spotted on surveillance footage a few towns over from the estate. They’re sending me the footage now.
” He scrolls quickly through his phone, and the second a notification pings, he presses his thumb to the screen and waits.
I tilt my head closer, trying to get a better view.
The footage opens on Kazimir, clear as day, walking up to a building with a sign reading “Mindful Care” with a few of his men in tow.
Alex pauses the video and studies the building.
Why would he be going there?
“I have a horrible feeling as to why.” He presses play, and we watch as he steps through the entrance. Only seconds later, a chorus of gunshots is heard. He speeds up the footage, but stops when a familiar purple vehicle parks outside.
Alina.
Why the hell would she be there? My heart thunders wildly as I watch her hesitate, cautious before stepping through the front door. Can you get us an angle inside?
“I’m on it.” He makes himself comfortable on a nearby seat and types quickly on his phone.
“Will someone please tell us what the fuck is going on?” Madeleine waves her hands in the air with exasperation.
“Apparently…” Alex looks at me, and I nod, dragging my fingers through my hair. They’re going to find out eventually, anyway. “Alina is related to the Vasilievs. She’s their half sister.”
“What?” Scarlett and Madeleine ask in unison, wide-eyed.
He ignores them, staring down at his phone. “I’ve got it,” Alex tells me, handing it to me.
I press play, and both of us stare at the screen as if viewing a horror movie.
My eyes focus in on the scene before me, watching with bated breath as Alina appears.
I grip the phone harder as she hesitantly steps forward, looking unsure as she peers around.
My knee bounces as she approaches a woman in the chair and slowly begins to turn it, seeing the woman’s lifeless eyes.
My heart races as she slips in blood, staring at her hands in terror.
My insides coil rigidly as she walks through the hall, seeing all of the dead bodies and checking each one for a pulse.
And my chest contracts when she enters a room, disappearing from view.
A moment later, Alina is seen unconscious, slung over Kazimir’s shoulder.
My vision blurs with rage.
My body shakes with an unrelenting need to kill.
A second passes, and one of Kazimir’s men appears, dragging along… I pause the video.
“That’s Gregory Fowler,” Alex notes, with not an ounce of surprise in his voice.
“When I found out Alina was related to the Vasilievs, I did a thorough background check on everyone in contact with her.” He taps his finger against his thigh.
“Apparently, Gregory has been in and out of memory care facilities for the past several years.”
Memory care?
“His medical records indicate that he has early-onset dementia.”
Scarlett gasps, covering her mouth.
“We had no idea,” Madeleine says softly.
Early-onset dementia.
Alina’s been dealing with this for years and never mentioned this to me? To anyone?
My heart feels heavy as I look back at the screen. What the fuck is going on?
“I don’t know. I’m not sure, but…” He adjusts his glasses, taking a moment before saying, “Giving her the benefit of the doubt here… Maybe she didn’t have a choice in all of this.
” But if she didn’t have a choice, that would mean…
“I think she may have gone into this marriage with the intentions of signing over the land to them because she had no choice, but maybe when she realized what it was for, she told them off and…”
Pissed them off.
“Exactly.” Alex sighs. “They were holding her father over her. Like bait.” He scratches at his jaw.
“Probably the whole time.” He points to the screen.
“That place is expensive. Anyone in her shoes might have a hard time affording the care and services. Especially if this has been going on for years.” He shrugs.
“That would be easy information for the Vasilievs to determine, and when they did, they probably promised her a ludicrous amount for the land. Enough to afford all the care her father would need. Though I suspect they weren’t actually going to give her a dime of it. ”
I rock my neck from side to side.
I need answers, and I need them now.
But first, I’m going to kill Kazimir for everything he has put my wife through.
“Let me see!” Madeleine snags the phone from my hands. Her lips part on a gasp as she stares at the screen, rewinding until she sees Alina. “They have her,” she whispers. “Those assholes have her.”
“The two of you are to go back to the estate,” Alex commands, his attention on Scarlett and Madeleine. His eyes dart to Eli. “Get them home safely.”
“We’re leaving now,” Eli responds, already sliding his jacket over his arms.
I pivot and stride toward the door, every cell in my body feeling on the verge of detonating.
“Mauro.” Alex’s fingers dig into my bicep, stopping me. “We need to come up with a plan. We don’t even know where they’ve taken her!”
I shove my phone in his face, displaying Alina’s whereabouts.
“An airport?” he questions. “Why would they—” He stops himself as the pieces connect. “Fuck,” he breathes, adjusting his glasses. “We can’t just storm in there and hope we win this one.”
Yes, I can.
“You can’t just rush in there,” Eli tells me. “We need to get the others. You’ll be outnumbered and—
There’s no time! My chest heaves with so much force. They took her. They took my goddamn wife! And I am not wasting another second coming up with a plan when I can take care of this myself. I know there’s only one set of eyes that can understand what I’m saying, but I don’t fucking care.
Not when every second is keeping me away from Alina.
“But you can’t,” Alex voices. “They will have guards with them. They will have a number of weapons and be prepared. We won’t be.
We only have a few guns in our vehicle. Not enough to win a goddamn war.
Not to mention the fact that we didn’t bring a single guard with us.
And if you storm in there by yourself, you could fucking die! ”