26. Federica
FEDERICA
Istay in the bathroom for four minutes.
Maybe five.
Long enough to keep my promise, but not long enough to keep my sanity.
The guards outside the door argue with someone down the hall. I hear the shift in their voices, the distraction, and I move before fear can make me obedient.
I tie the robe tighter, slip through the service door, and take the back stairs down barefoot.
Every step hurts. Broken glass clings to my skin. I barely feel it.
I reach the balcony over the courtyard and crouch behind the stone rail.
Below, Valerio stands firm, gun drawn, shirt half-buttoned, blood on his cheek. A guy faces him from beside his motorcycle, smiling for an audience he shouldn’t have.
“Mateo Rubio.” Valerio sounds composed as he says it, but I can hear the rage beneath. “You want my brother back? I’ll give him back.” He shows teeth. “Just as soon as you give me back my sister.”
My breath stops.
Valentina.
The guy named Mateo laughs. “You still think this is a negotiation? I’ve had your sister for six months. You, Riccardo Romano, every feared man in New York, and none of you found her.”
The world tilts.
Six months.
But I’ve been texting her. I’ve sent her photos, jokes, voice notes. I’ve told her secrets. I’ve?—
My hand covers my mouth.
No.
It can’t be.
It wasn’t some cartel goon. I know that in my bones. Whoever replied to my texts knew Tina, knew her well enough to imitate her to perfection. And they knew me too.
Only one person fits the bill.
Valerio raises his gun. I snap back to the present. “You die here, then.”
Mateo’s smile doesn’t move. “Kill me and she stays buried. You’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if she died calling your name.”
Valerio’s arm stays steady, but I see the cost in his shoulders. “Tito,” he says. “Bring Rafael. We’ll trade at dawn.”
Mateo lifts a finger. “Dawn, yes. But I take collateral now.”
A man breaks from the side line.
He goes for Alessio.
I don’t think. I run.
“Ale!”
The boy turns. His eyes go wide.
I throw myself between him and the man. Something hard slams into the back of my skull.
Pain detonates white behind my eyes.
I hit the ground. Alessio is crying. Someone is shouting my name, but the sound comes from far away.
Mateo’s grin appears above me.
Then Valerio’s face. Stricken. Furious. Destroyed.
“Federica!”
I try to answer, but darkness takes over.