Chapter Fourteen
Gaetano
The surgery had been long and difficult, the third I’d performed that day.
Exhausted, I made my way back to my office for a drink and a quick nap before the last surgery for the day.
Not for the first time, I wondered how I could continue this grueling pace with a soon-to-be new wife, or even if it was a wise choice.
I wasn’t the sort to enjoy idleness, but leaving the hospital and opening a private practice might be a better option, or perhaps I could retire as a surgeon and take on more administrative duties, or vice versa.
So many options, but what was the right move?
The question had been haunting me all day.
Although I had never given thought to marriage before meeting her, Gabriella had wormed her way into my heart, and I could no longer pretend my impending vows were unwanted.
That smart mouth of hers and a host of other attributes, played through my mind in a loop.
How responsive she was! Her desires aligned so well with mine, and her delightful body could take whatever I could dish out.
True, she had a rebellious nature. Her erratic behavior and insolence weren’t always amusing, but knowing when she was acting out to provoke me and when it was from a place of genuine irritation or fear was easy to figure out.
Gaby had no game-face at all. Once I cracked her open, she’d held nothing back from me.
I’d been leaving her messages all day with no response.
She was angry, but when I finally made it to the safe house, I planned on reminding her exactly how much she meant to me.
Pulling my phone from my desk, I saw I had forty unheard messages.
A sliver of fear pierced my heart. Before I could hit the playback key, my brother, Massimo, stormed into my office.
The look on his face killed my fatigue and a shot of adrenaline spiked through my system.
“What the hell, Gaetano? Why haven’t you answered your damn phone?”
“It’s called surgery, brother,” I told the raging beast facing me. “What’s wrong?”
“Your girl is gone. Vince had to tell me when he couldn’t get a hold of you. She shut off the alarm system and managed to sneak past the two guards stationed outside. She does know they are there for her protection?”
I could understand his anger, but I refused to be its target. “You want to bitch at me about that or do you want to focus on what’s important?”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.” he sighed and dropped down in a chair. “Can you check your phone and see if she left you any messages that might give us a clue as to her whereabouts?”
Skipping through, I found only one message from Gaby and clicked the speaker.
In the next moment, her small, frightened voice filled the room: “Tano, listen. I’m at the Cock & Tail Club with the girls, and something’s not right.
I need help.” The sounds of a door being kicked in.
Massimo and I exchanged looks. Gabby’s voice dropped to a whisper: “Tano, they’re here.
” More sounds of violence, then Gaby’s cool, striving-for-calm voice: “Can I help you, boys? I think you’re in the wrong bathroom. ”
My heart went out to my brave girl.
“You’re coming with us, Allegra Calabretta,” we heard, and then the message ended.
Silence settled over the office. For a moment I couldn't breathe. The fear wasn't loud. It wasn't panic.
It was worse.
Cold.
The same sensation that struck before a complicated surgery when everything rested on the next decision. Only this wasn't a patient. This was Gabriella.
I pictured her standing alone in that bathroom, trying to sound brave while fear tightened around her.
My fingers curled into fists.
I'd promised to keep her safe.
Promised her father.
Promised my family.
Promised myself.
Most importantly, I'd promised her.
And I'd failed.
The realization was a punch to the chest.
“That was a Russian accent,” Massimo said quietly.
“Let’s go. Romeo, Gio and Antonio are waiting on us.”
I stood, grabbing my wallet and keys. “Where’s Fausto?”
“Already on it. He received a tip from one of his many informants about activity at a warehouse out on Spring Road. We should go see the footage though and have Simon run the facial recognition first. They didn’t go through all this trouble just to kill her,” he told me when I scowled.
“We need to know what we’re walking into. ”
I had Rita cancel my remaining surgery and clear my schedule, then followed my hulking brother through the hospital, glad he was at my side for a change instead of Romeo’s.
It sounded petulant, but years of playing second fiddle to our adopted brother had left a bit of a scar I’d been pushing down for far too long.
“Thanks for coming for me,” I commented as we took the elevator down to the parking garage.
Simo patted me on the back. “I’m always here for you, brother.”
I huffed out a laugh. “You say that now. Growing up, I was pretty sure Romeo was your favorite.”
Massimo barked out a laugh.
“That’s because Romeo needed me more.”
I shot him a look.
“It’s true. You had your books, your grades, and later, your surgeries.
Gio had his schemes. Antonio had his cards and numbers—and the scar over his eye to prove how seriously he took them.
Vincenzo had a gift for getting into trouble.
” His expression softened. “You never needed anyone to fight your battles for you.”
The elevator doors slid open.
“Besides,” Massimo added as we stepped out, “if I had to choose a favorite brother, it definitely wouldn't be Romeo.”
Despite everything, a smile tugged at my mouth.
“Don't let him hear you say that.”
“Please. I've been telling him for years.”
“Shouldn’t we go to the club first and get the footage?” I queried. A little out of my element, I wasn’t usually involved in the action until afterwards, when I cleaned up the survivors.
Simo had been texting on his phone the entire time since listening to Gaby's recording. Now he said, “No need. Vincent picked it up and is on his way to meet us.”
He’d turned into an efficient bugger since being disciplined by Massimo. I’d give him that. As I continued to observe him in action, it was hard not to acknowledge where I’d been blind and missed out on the natural gifts of enforcer my brother exhibited.
I had always felt he was designed to be at Romeo’s side, that papa had put Massimo in the position to be Romeo’s future consigliere not just because he was the second eldest, but for all those traits that made him a natural leader and an obedient soldier to the boss.
The two had always been inseparable, but maybe it wasn’t so much by my father’s design as it was putting two pieces of a whole together.
Romeo was the toughest man I knew, period, and ran our family with an iron fist and a silk tongue.
But would he have been as effective a leader without Simo? I’d always thought so until now.
With two more cars following behind us, I impatiently waited out the ride while Massimo drove, taking multiple calls through his earpiece as he maneuvered through traffic like a NASCAR driver.
As we got closer to the family compound, I chided myself on not putting everything on hold until Gaby was safely my wife.
“Stop it. Don’t worry, we’ll get her back.”
I stared at him, unsettled. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
Massimo laughed. “Are you kidding? You have a tell.”
“Bullshit, I don’t have a tell.”
“Sure, brother, you keep telling yourself that,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’m a blank slate,” I insisted.
“That’s true, with the exception of Vincenzo. He likes to get under your skin, and I think he is the only person who can, or was until Gaby came along. She seems to possess the same talent as our little brother for getting to you.”
He was right. “And the tell?”
“Look at your hands,” Massimo replied.
Glancing down, I saw my index finger rubbing across my thumb on my right hand.
“See? You do that when you feel anxious, but the only time I’ve ever seen you anxious is if something has happened to Simba. I bet when you check in on him at your lunches you do that and never noticed before.”
I was shocked. Had I really been doing this all my life? “You are very observant yourself,” I commented.
“It’s my job. I notice every tick, every inconsistency. Tone is a big tell, but not with you. In fact, I doubt anyone else has noticed, so stop worrying about it.”
I wasn’t worried, more like surprised and maybe even flattered that someone had taken the time to notice and now that I knew, I could remove the weakness. He pulled through the gates and around to the back entrance.
Waiting for us were our brothers, all but Fausto and Vinny, Massimo’s head soldier, and half a dozen others I didn’t know well, but had stitched up on more than one occasion. As we took our seats, Simon hurried into the room. “I have what you need, Don Vitale.”
Sitting down in front of a computer, he brought images up on the big screen.
I recognized the three nurses that worked for me and were my fiancée’s roommates.
Watching them, it appeared that the blonde dancing with Gaby was the culprit.
When the goons entered the club, she made eye contact and nodded towards what I assumed was the bathroom.
My suspicions were confirmed a moment later, when four men exited with my girl stuffed between them.
She managed a glance back at her so-called friend and mouthed one word at her that even I could read: ‘Bitch.’
“We must have overlooked something in that woman’s background check. Simon, I want more on her,” Romeo commanded.
“I already have it, boss. That and the results of the facial recognition scan.”
Next up were the four men who’d left with Gaby. All known associates of the Solntsevskaya Bratva and all ex-military.
“Now we know who ordered her to be brought in,” Massimo commented.
“Do we, brother? Just because they are known members, doesn’t mean they are working for Ivan Knyazev. They could just as easily be Peskov’s men.”
He was right, the most obvious answer isn’t always the truth.
“Check the airlines,” I commanded. “Find out which flight they came in on. Don’t bother with the passenger lists, look for a charter flight that’s got one more passenger booked to go back than came in.
It probably won’t be a straight flight to Russia, but at least the stopover destination might help us narrow down who’s behind this. ”
The room had gone silent. I found both Massimo and Romeo looking amused instead of offended by my speaking out of turn.
Spearing Simon with a look, Romeo said, “You heard my brother, get on it, pronto.”
Simon scuttled out of the room and Gio took over the computer, bringing up an image on Google Maps and zoomed in.
“This is the footage of the area that Fausto has a lead on. As you can see, it looks empty. Two hours later, these guys show up.”
We watched as two black sedans pulled up to a docking bay and drove into the building. “We were able to catch the last three numbers of the second vehicle before it went inside. We are waiting on a response regarding the outside footage from the club to see if we have a match.”
I zoned out, removing their voices until it was only me in the room.
Hang on, baby. I’m coming for you. Logically, I knew she couldn’t hear me, but I approached it as if I were with a patient in surgery.
Instead of speaking aloud, I filled my mind with images of Gaby and sent her strong feelings of love and support.
You’re not alone. I’m with you. I’m going to help you. You are safe in my care.
Wherever she was, I hoped she received my message.
“I have the package, boss,” Dante announced from the door. “She’s in the interrogation room.”
Massimo stood, as did I. His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word as I followed him.
Within the interrogation room, a petrified Lucy sat shivering, her eyes darting around the room like a scared rabbit looking for a hole to escape into.
She flinched when we entered the room, Dante taking up position at the door.
Lucy shrank into her chair as Massimo transformed in front of our eyes, becoming at once terrifying.
“Dr. Vitale,” she stammered, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“You are mistaken,” I replied. “There is no doctor in this room at present. Tell us, Miss Carmichael, everything you know or the man beside me will wring the truth from you in the most unpleasant ways.”
As expected, Lucy gave up immediately. “I’m sorry.
This is just a big misunderstanding, I swear to you.
The other night, the girls and I were partying and were approached by some very handsome men.
They bought us drinks and we danced, and you know how it goes.
Turns out, mine wanted to know about Gaby, where she was and when she’d be back. ”
“And you told him,” I said acidly.
“I didn’t have anything to tell him!” she protested.
“Gaby just left without saying anything to anyone. I was worried about her!” Her eyes jumped from face to face, looking for sympathy, and landed on Dante.
“He said her father was looking for her and that she was in great danger and he only wanted to protect her. I wanted to help!”
In her distress, she started to get up, bringing Dante away from the wall to reseat her.
He left his hands on her shoulders. In the past, he’d leaned into it a little, letting his victim feel his strength and power pinning him to the chair, but with Lucy, Dante appeared to just be resting there, even patting her once or twice.
“Did this man give you his name?” Massimo asked.
“Milash, but he didn’t offer a last name.”
We already knew Milash Kotnik worked exclusively for Gaby’s birth father, Dimitri Peskov.
“I was trying to help,” she said in a small voice.
“When we talked at the club, she said all sorts of things, about the mob being after her and all this stuff that made it sound like he’d been telling the truth, that she really was in danger.
I didn’t know what to do.” She looked up at Dante imploringly and he gave her another pat on the shoulder. “I was trying to help.”
We left her crying as we went back to the meeting room. I wasn’t concerned about leaving Dante with her. While we may threaten to do so from time to time, no one in the Vitale operation would ever torture or kill a woman, but I hoped our resident interrogator was giving her ass a good blistering.