Chapter 18
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
THE LINK
LUCA
Mindy left the penthouse mid-morning, and she has yet to return. Jules hasn’t checked in, and both their phones are going straight to voicemail. Something is wrong. I feel it in my gut. I’ve sent my men out to look for them, but I haven’t gotten a response.
I’m so distracted with finding my woman that I can’t even focus on what my lawyers are saying.
Truth be told, I don’t really care. It’s their job to get me out of this mess.
There’s plenty of evidence that corroborates that I had nothing to do with Matthew Besser’s disappearance.
Of course, it’s all doctored evidence, but they don’t know that. And they’ll never be able to prove it.
My lawyer is talking about getting the charges dismissed when my phone rings. When I see it’s Mike calling, I instantly dismiss my attorneys and answer the phone.
“Did you find them?” For the first time in my adult life, I’m afraid.
“When we got to the park, a jogger was talking to the police. He had called an ambulance when he found Jules shot. We didn’t find any sign of Mindy, and the paramedics took Jules to Baylor Medical before we got there.”
“Fuck! I’m on my way.”
There’s no way to get my emotions under control. I’m not even going to waste the energy trying. Jules may be fighting for his life, and Mindy might be fighting for hers, so the silent killer is about to get incredibly loud.
As soon as I get to the elevator, I see Paolo striding toward me. I know that Mike called him as well. For once, he doesn’t say anything. His face is a mask of rage that probably reflects mine.
When we get to the lobby, Niro and Roman are waiting. I knew when I was charged with murder, my family would rally around me. But this is different; it’s not about protecting our assets. This is about protecting my woman, it’s not business, it’s personal.
No one says a word until we get into the SUV. Ro is behind the wheel, and I’m in the passenger seat while Paolo and Niro are in the back. There is another SUV with four of our men behind us.
“Did Ross Stewart do this?” Ro questions.
“No. Since I had to delay getting rid of him, I have had eyes on him. He hasn’t left his mommy’s house all day.” I scowl at the thought of Mindy’s ex.
“Then who are the suspects? Niro, what did you find out?” Ro glances in the rearview mirror.
“Mindy is clean. There isn’t much in her background…” Niro starts, but I interrupt.
“Nobody told you to investigate my woman. We’ll talk about that shit later.” I narrow my eyes at my cousin, but he just shrugs.
“You’re the hit man, and I’m the protector. Just like you do your job, I will always do mine,” Niro responds.
I don’t respond because I know he’s right, but it still pisses me off. Mindy is an innocent. Whatever is going on is because of me. I know that deep down in my soul.
“I felt a but coming on before you were so rudely interrupted,” Paolo says, smirking.
“Yeah, so Mindy is clean. But as you know, her husband…”
“Ex-husband,” I interrupt again.
Niro narrows his eyes before continuing, “Mindy’s ex-husband is dirty.
Of course, not on the surface, but after some preliminary digging, I found the connection.
Talia Gates is Mindy’s closest friend from what I can tell, and she’s been having an affair with Ross for his entire marriage.
Jules also did a check-in before he was shot, saying Mindy was supposed to be meeting with Talia. ”
“Do you think this Talia woman has Mindy? I met her briefly, and she seemed nervous, but I had her checked out previously, and nothing came up. Not the affair, not anything.”
“Yeah, well, next time let me do the checking. Whatever amateur you used missed it completely,” Niro says, scowling.
“You know me better than that. I didn’t use a fucking outsider. Vinny did the checking for me.” As the words leave my mouth, my brain starts working overtime. I can’t believe I missed it. I don’t miss anything. I have a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
Vinny has been hovering more than usual.
I thought he was just trying to gain my trust so he could move up.
I have been way more lenient because of Mindy.
I still don’t speak to the men, but I’m not as paranoid or anxious.
The silent killer has actually been silent since I met Mindy. That is until now.
“It’s fucking Vinny!” I seethe, seeing red.
“No, it can’t be fucking Vinny. I vetted him myself. It better not be fucking Vinny!” Niro sits back, squeezing his hands into fists.
“Fuck! We just cleaned out the rats in our organization. There’s no fucking way we still have men willing to betray us after what we did to Vedo.” Ro pushes his dark hair off his face.
My brother is in Don mode, so I know he’s about to take responsibility for all of this. But this situation is not on him. This mess is my making, and I’m going to clean it up.
Ro was busy running the family. It took us too long to clean out the Giuliani scum, and Ro was nursing his wife back to health.
We almost lost our Donna behind some bullshit.
Our family won’t be put in that position again.
I should’ve had more men protecting Mindy. I will never make that mistake again.
“We’ll figure out if Vinny is working with anyone and why.
But most importantly, we will find out where Mindy is,” Paolo says.
“We have to play this right. Vinny is probably relishing the fact that he’s been right under our noses and betraying us.
If we go in guns blazing, we could lose Mindy,” Paolo continues, making more sense than usual.
Paolo is usually the shoot first and torture later type. He doesn’t ask questions because our enemies don’t have anything worth saying. His words, not mine. So, for him to speak logically is throwing me off. Especially since I’m the one in a torturing mood.
All I know is we better find out where the hell Mindy is soon, or I will burn down the city looking for her.
“Luca, I’m going to talk to Mike to see if he knows where Vinny might be. Your eyes are damned near glowing with rage. So if you talk to him, I know it won’t end well,” Niro comments as we’re walking into Baylor Medical.
I nod in agreement because I know my cousin is right.
I’m doing my best not to go crazy on anyone I even think crossed me.
If they called me psychotic before, they ain’t seen nothing yet.
I can’t help but blame myself. My meticulous nature failed me.
I let my guard down, and now the love of my life is missing.
If she’s hurt, I swear on everything I ever loved, I will make sure that anyone involved will beg for death before I’m finished.
When we enter the medical center, Ro and Niro go to meet Mike while Paolo and I set off to find Jules’ room. I won’t sit around twiddling my thumbs while my brother and cousin do all the work. I’ll find the attending physician and see how critical Jules is.
Even though we aren’t as close as my other cousins, because Jules didn’t grow up with us.
He came to the States a few years ago and although we are still getting to know each other, he is still family.
My rage isn’t just for Mindy’s kidnapping, it’s also for my family being laid up in a hospital bed.
I don’t actually know how bad his condition is since they wouldn’t release any information to Mike, so I’ll try to control my anger.
Once we find Jules’ room, a doctor is standing outside it. The tall woman is furiously tapping away on a tablet. When we get closer, I can tell by the exasperation on her face that something is wrong.
“Excuse me, I’m Luca Dalonzo. I’m here to check on my cousin, Jules Dalonzo.” I try to sound charming, but my clipped tone gives away my mounting anger.
“Oh, shoot! You scared the living daylights out of me,” the doctor holds her chest with wide eyes.
“Pardon my cugino , doctor. We didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
Unlike me, Paolo is successful at charming the doctor instead of scaring the shit out of her. I can tell when she instantly smiles with a dreamy look in her eyes.
“No, it’s not your fault. I was just immersed in my work. I’m sure Mr. Dalonzo will be happy to see you. He wouldn’t let anyone else near him…”
“Wait. Jules is awake. I thought he was in critical condition?” I interrupt impatiently.
“No, he’s not critical. However, that’s all I can tell you until he gives me permission to discuss his condition. Until then, you may go in and visit with him.”
“Thank you, doctor, uh…” Paolo fishes for her name.
“Johnson. Sharla Johnson.” I hear her reply, but I don’t stick around to hear Paolo continue to flirt.
I feel a sense of relief that Jules is awake and not fighting for his life. I know that he needs time to recover, but I have to find out what the hell happened. Mindy could be fighting for her life right now, and I need to do something, anything to get her to safety.
“Jules, cosa diavolo e successo ?”
“I’ll tell you what the hell happened! That fucking Alicianna Amano tried to shoot me in the head. Fortunately, it only grazed me, unfortunately, I didn’t have time to brace myself before my head got acquainted with the damn concrete.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Vinny didn’t do this?” I question, growing frustrated.
Maybe Jules hit his head too hard. Maybe he’s mistaken. Or maybe just maybe I should’ve paid more attention to what the fuck Alicianna was doing in our territory. I thought she was after Paolo, but it looks like she’s after more than just my cousin.
“What, fuck no! Vinny ain’t no traitor. Motherfuckers should’ve learned their lesson with that shit! He called me to tell me he found out that Talia bitch was up to no good, but I didn’t have time to say anything cause that bitch pulled up and shot me!” Jules winces, grabbing his head.
“Calm your ass down. You’ve given me plenty, now lie back down and rest. We’ll find Vinny.” I run my hand through my hair, trying to calm my nerves.