Chapter 46
Chapter forty-six
Worry plagues me as I will the elevator to move faster to the thirtieth floor. It’s the following morning, but I haven’t slept all night.
Gigi and Nonna are stable enough for me to sneak away and find Dominic.
I’ve had my men searching the city for him. With everyone I love getting targeted and nearly dying back to back, I'm not taking any chances.
But Dominic is nowhere to be found. He still hasn’t returned my calls or texts.
I snuck out at one point during the night and went to his house, but he wasn’t there. I would have searched more, but I had to return to the hospital before Matteo woke up. He would crucify me for leaving, even though it’s been confirmed Gigi and Nonna will be okay.
Now that it’s morning, I’m hoping he will be at work.
I catch a glimpse of my reflection fractured in the metal doors in front of me.
Those are some heavy, dark circles under my eyes. I look like shit. But it’s to be expected since I haven’t slept yet. Last night consisted of listening to heart monitors, watching IV drips, and walking back and forth between Gigi and Nonna’s rooms. I’m so grateful they are okay.
Gigi is stable, but dazed.
Nonna is alive. Thanks to the incredible doctors who were able to administer the antidote in enough time to stop the poison from taking her. Thankfully it had been a small dose.
At this point I’m never eating another muffin for the rest of my life. I need to have a chat with Madeline. Everything is too coincidental. She has to be behind these attacks or have a connection.
My burner dings. It’s Enzo.
It’s taking us forever to find that bastard, boss.
If circumstances were different, I would have personally hunted Elio down and delivered him to death’s door myself.
But with so many attacks against my family, I need to figure out who is behind this and keep us all safe.
Besides I did get Elio good with the iron pipe and this is why I pay people like Enzo.
He had to go to the hospital after the beating I gave him. His knee is probably broken. I text back.
We checked. He must have gone to the private one north of here. Word on the street is The Bianchi Family is after him too since they didn’t get the money.
I remember Elio whining about how he had the money in the car when my people grabbed him.
What did happen to those suitcases of money Enzo?
Look under your porch later, boss.
I shake my head. I’ll give it to Gigi. She deserves it after the hell that man put her through.
We think we have a lead, boss.
I type back: Good whatever it takes. He needs to be where the light can’t reach.
Shoving the phone back into my coat pocket, my thoughts drift to Madeline. Elio had to tell her what’s going on. She must be hiding him somewhere.
The bell chimes and the doors open to reveal Dominic’s sign: Cartieri Investigations. I step out into the hallway.
I try to push away the anxious feeling in my stomach.
I haven’t heard from Dominic in a day. Yesterday during my time in the hospital I had called and texted his phone multiple times with no response.
I know he has been working on different cases, but he always responds back.
Now a day later I still haven’t heard from him.
It’s too quiet.
Opening the door, I step into the waiting room and stop.
The place is empty. The secretary’s desk is untouched. The computer is turned off. There is no paperwork spread out, even her half-drunk ice coffee is absent.
It’s past ten and it looks like no one is here.
A prickle of uneasiness slithers down my spine.
“Dominic,” I call.
No answer.
I walk over to the door to his private office.
I tap on the frosted glass with my acrylic nails. “Dominic!”
No response.
My heart hammers in my chest as I wrap my fingers around the handle and push down. The door moves back and chaos meets my eyes.
Dominic’s type A office looks like it’s been burglarized.
A floor lamp lays sideways and two of the chairs in front of his desk are turned over. The filing drawers are all open with papers hanging out, and folders scattered on the floor.
However, my heart almost stops beating when I see Dominic slumped over his desk.
“Dominic!” I rush to his side fearing the worst. Pressing my two fingers against his neck, I’m relieved to feel his pulse steady and strong.
His face is turned sideways with his cheek pressed against his forearm. Moving my fingers through his disheveled hair, I find trails of dried blood. Redness stains his temple, right cheek, and there’s a small cut above his right eye.
“Dominic!” I rub his back, trying to wake him. I don’t want another person I care about to end up in the hospital.
His shoulders twitch and a groan escapes his lips. “Cipi?”
“I’m here, Amore,” I whisper.
One eye cracks open, “What the hell happened…?”
“You’re okay. You got hit,” I help him sit up in the chair.
He blinks again and shifts his weight. His limbs are sluggish like he’s moving through molasses. Wincing, he brings his hand to his head, fingers grazing the gash. He feels the blood.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “What the fuck.”
I hand him the bottle of water that’s on his desk. “Drink.”
Opening the door, I walk into the bathroom and grab a few paper towels. I run water over them. Returning to the office, I clean his cut.
“Do you have any Band-Aids?” I ask.
“In the top drawer,” he replies, wincing under my touch.
“This cut looks shallow,” I open the top drawer and take out a Band-Aid. Placing it over the cut, I press down gently.
“Thank you,” Dominic replies. He looks around at his office, shock registering on his face at the mess. His hands move across the surface of the desk as if looking for something. “What the fuck!” He slams his fist into his desk. “Dammit! It’s not here!”
“Take it easy, Dom,” I place my hand on his shoulder. “You might have a concussion.”
“That’s the least of my worries. It’s not here, Cipi.”
“What isn’t here? Where’s your secretary?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t she at her desk?” Dominic slowly gets to his feet. He shuffles through another pile of papers on his desk. “Fuck!”
“What?”
He slams his fist again. “I was in here earlier reading through a file. I was so engrossed in it I didn’t hear anyone come in. Then I felt a presence next to me and when I looked up I was met with a blow to the side of the head.”
“Did you see who it was?”
He shakes his head. “No.” He swears again. “I should have been more aware of my surroundings. But I thought Alberta was at her desk.”
“No, she isn’t. The place was empty when I came in.” I gather a few of the scattered papers, fitting them neatly into a pile. “Whoever hit you on the head tore this room apart looking for something.”
“And they got it,” Dominic finishes. “The file I was so engrossed in was the police account of the Marconi Massacre. One of my friends on the force owed me a favor and gave me the file.” He groans in frustration.
“They had a detailed description of everything that happened at the wedding of Aldo Marconi’s daughter.
There was even a list of all the people who had attended.
Now it’s gone. I thought if we were able to see all the people at the wedding, maybe we could find a connection to who is behind all this. ”
“How could someone have known you had that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I called your phone multiple times yesterday and you didn’t answer.”
Dominic rubs his head. “I’m sorry. I drove out to meet my friend to get the file. He lives just over the state lines and he was at his cabin in the woods on vacation. The service was terrible.”
“Why didn’t you let me know where you were going?”
He sighs. “I didn’t know if it would amount to anything and I wanted to surprise you. But now the file is gone. It was the only paper copy.” He looks at me. “What happened while I was off the grid?”
Taking a deep breath, I tell him about Gigi getting kidnapped and drugged then Nonna being poisoned. Dominic stands and takes me into his arms, pulling me close. “I’m so sorry, Cipi.”
“You need to go to the doctor and get your head checked. You could have a concussion.”
He waves off my comment. “Nah. It’s just sore. I’ll be alright. I’ve had worse. Like you said, the cut is shallow. I’m fine.”
I breathe in his scent and immediately feel better. “Don’t ever make me worry like that again. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought you might be the next victim.”
“I wonder what chess piece I would be,” Dominic muses.
“Dominic,” I slap his chest. “That’s not funny. I came rushing over here as soon as I knew my family was okay. Then when I saw you slumped over your desk I thought you were dead.”
He kisses me.“I’m sorry that was stupid of me. With everything going on and everyone in your family getting attacked I should have communicated better.”
“You really should get checked out,” I protest. “You could have a concussion.”
“If it is, which I doubt, it wouldn’t be my first. I’m fine.” He reaches into his desk drawer for a bottle of aspirin. “Just a few of these, a coffee, and I’ll be good as new. Do you need to head back to the hospital now?”
“I will but first I need to run an errand and I need you to come with me.”
“Where to, babe?” Dominic opens the aspirin bottle and shakes two pills into his palm.
“Madeline Toma’s house. We need to talk to her now. We can’t risk anyone else falling victim to her poisonous muffins.”