Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
PRESENT
The sun glares too bright, too harsh, bleaching the land in a way that makes my skin crawl. A hum of unease threads through my ribs like barbed wire. The horses shift restlessly in their stalls, ears flicking, nostrils flaring. A metal gate latch clangs shut in the distance; the sound sharp as a gunshot. Everything feels off-balance like the earth itself is tilting beneath my feet.
I wipe my hands on my jeans, stepping out of the barn, my gaze sweeping across the yard. Theo’s laughter rings out from behind the muck heap—high, carefree, sharp against the quiet. Dad’s with him, guiding him through their treasure hunt like they have all the time in the world.
It should ease me. It doesn’t.
The weight in my stomach grows heavier and heavier.
Something’s coming. I just don’t know from where.
Kat stands a few feet away with Fuego on the cross ties but she’s stopped grooming him.
Her arms are crossed over her chest. She hasn’t so much as blinked, her blue stare fixed on nothing in particular but there’s a focus there nevertheless. Tension radiates off her like a second skin. I go to her side.
“You’ve been standing here for five minutes,” I kiss her hair.
She glances at me, forcing a meek smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Just thinking.”
There’s a worry she’s trying to bury. Before I can press her, the crunch of tires on gravel grabs both of our attention. A dark green Monarch Hills pickup rolls up next to us, its paint dulled by dust.
One of my guards has an arm hanging out the window and a baseball cap shades his face.
“Damon,” I greet him with a nod. “Everything all right?”
“Routine check,” he says, his tone gruff but casual. “Making the rounds. Better safe than sorry.”
I nod and he carries on driving off to the fence line behind the muck heap where he’ll follow the boundary for checks. But something about him feels off.
Damon is new here, but he’s been solid. Reliable. No hesitation, no bullshit.
Until today.
His movements were stiff like he was holding something back. His words were the same but the tone? Too clipped. Too careful.
I can’t leave anything to chance. My body reacts, rushing to the muck heap where Theo is supposed to be. And then…
A car door slams.
An engine revs.
And my dad’s roar fills the air.
“Theo!”
I break into a run to the other side of the heap where Theo had been digging just moments ago. A jar of worms sits abandoned on the ground, the lid rolling slowly in the dirt.
My pulse slams into overdrive, my veins ice-cold and burning all at once. Kat is running toward me. “Theo!”
I skid to a halt at my father’s side. “Where is he?” My words are filled with raging heat. “Where’s Theo?”
He’s panicked. “Go! The guard!”
The green pickup is speeding away, a cloud of dust billowing behind it. It heads through a gate that none of us even noticed was left wide open.
For an escape.
Kat races toward the truck like she can outrun the nightmare.
“Stop!” Her cries split the air.
She doesn’t stop running after her son, breathless, clawing for something she can’t reach.
Without another word, I bolt for my truck, pulling my phone from my pocket as I go. “Kat, call Gabriel!” I bark over my shoulder. “Now!”
She doesn’t hesitate, her fingers fumbling with her phone, rushing to follow me to my truck. I jump into the driver’s seat and slam the door shut. Kat’s in the passenger seat before I can tell her to get out. I don’t want to put her in this mess but there’s no time to waste.
I fire up the engine and throw the truck into gear, tearing after the dust cloud.
Theo. We can’t lose him.
Gabriel answers and Kat presses her trembling finger on her cell to put it on speaker.
“What’s going on?” He asks.
“Damon,” I bite out. “He’s got Theo. He headed out the south gate.”
There’s a pause, heavy and charged as I wait. I resist the urge to shout at him, tell him to hurry the fuck up. I trust my brother and Anton are on the other end taking action.
“We got him,” Gabriel says, focused. “The truck has a GPS tracker, and we’ve got one on Theo, too. Stay there, we’ve got this.”
Kat is beside herself. “You have a tracker on Theo?”
Gabriel explains. “Popped one under his insoles. They’re on you, too. Stay with Santi; we can only chase one of you at a time.”
“How on earth…?” She shakes her head but thinks better of giving a shit about how and when they decided to track them.
It was a good fucking idea.
She yells at the phone, “We’re following that damn truck whether you like it or not. We can see him.”
Anton must be driving because his voice comes through, but it’s a mere tinny echo. “Hold tight.”
“Hold tight?” I snap. “That bastard has Theo, Ant. I’m not waiting around for a play-by-play.”
I shove my foot down on the gas pedal, and Kat grips the dashboard.
“We’re on his tail. ”
Gabriel is resigned, he knows this tone of mine. The one that is a warning to not even think about changing my mind.
“Fine. Stay on him, but don’t do anything stupid, hermano … Just stay on him in case our tracker fails. And remember, if that’s D, he isn’t working alone…”
Could it fucking be? Is Damon the D from the burner phone? Is M working on our ranch, too?
I order my brother to make sure everyone else at Monarch Hills is on high alert. “Call security at the ranch. I have Kat, but you never know what these people will do.”
“Got it.” He hangs up.
Kat ends the call and tosses the phone onto the dashboard. I grip the wheel tightly as I push the truck harder, the tires kicking up dirt and gravel. The distance between us and Damon’s pickup is shrinking, but not fast enough.
Kat sits stiffly beside me, her breathing shallow, her face pale. Fear radiates off her. She has a death grip on the seat belt. Seeing her like this—scared, powerless—fuels my rage.
Damon is going to pay for this.
The truck barrels down the dirt road, the dust cloud growing thicker as we close in. My phone buzzes, and I glance at the screen. Gabriel’s name flashes across it.
Kat answers.
“Damon’s heading toward the old quarry.”
“The quarry?” I bite. “What the hell is he going to do there?”
“It’s remote,” Gabriel replies. “No cameras, no witnesses. It’s perfect for someone trying to disappear.”
Or worse. The unspoken implication sits heavy in the air, choking me.
I don’t have anything on me to threaten Damon. I don’t keep a gun in my truck. “Gabriel. Get there fucking fast. ”
The line goes dead. My jaw is clenched so tightly I’m grinding my molars to powder.
I don’t care what it takes. Who I have to go through. I will get him back.
Damon made one mistake.
He won’t make another.
The narrow road twists sharply as I push the truck harder, every second feeling like an eternity. My knuckles ache from gripping the steering wheel, but soon, the quarry looms ahead, its jagged edges ominous in the harsh sunlight. Dust hangs heavy in the air, each breath tasting of grit and desperation. The dust cloud ahead is thinning; we’re gaining on Damon.
Kat’s breathing is erratic next to me like she’s close to passing out.
“We’re close,” I mutter, both for myself and for her.
The road widens as we crest a small hill, and I finally get a clear view of the green pickup. Damon’s truck veers sharply onto an overgrown trail that leads toward the quarry, its tires skidding in the loose gravel.
“There!” Kat shouts, her voice sharp with panic. “Santi, that’s him!”
“I see it,” I growl, my eyes locked on the truck.
I swerve onto the trail. The terrain is rough, the truck jolts over uneven ground, but I don’t let up. Adrenaline surges through me, sharpening every thought, every movement.
As we approach the quarry, the trees thin out, giving way to a rocky expanse. Damon’s truck screeches to a halt near the edge of the pit. My heart lurches when he yanks Theo from the cab, one hand wrapped tightly around his small bicep .
Theo struggles, his legs kicking at Damon wildly. “Let me go!” he screams, bravely.
But he’s terrified.
The sound tears through me, igniting violent, red-hot rage.
I should stay in the truck until Gabriel gets here. I have no way of taking Damon down, but that doesn’t stop me.
I’m out the door before the engine shuts off, sprinting toward them. My body moves before my brain catches up. One second, my feet are planted—the next, I’m lunging forward like instinct has ripped me loose.
“Damon!” I roar with a fury that could be heard miles away. “Let him go!”
Damon turns, his grip on Theo is unrelenting. He moves my boy toward the edge of the quarry. Damon’s usual calm demeanor is gone, replaced by something colder, harder.
“Stay back!” Damon shouts.
That’s when I hear it. A chance. There’s uncertainty there.
“Don’t come any closer or any negotiation is off,” he spits.
Negotiation.
Fuck, please… I’d give anything to have that boy back right now.
I stop, raising my hands in a show of surrender. My heart pounds against my ribs, but I force myself to stay calm. “Damon, listen to me. You don’t have to do this. Let the boy go, and we can figure this out. No one has to get hurt.”
“It’s not that simple,” Damon barks. “This isn’t about me. It’s bigger than you, bigger than this ranch. I don’t have a choice. ”
“There’s always a choice,” I counter, taking a cautious step forward. “Don’t let them turn you into a monster, Damon. Whatever they’ve promised you, it’s not worth this.”
His eyes flicker, uncertainty flashing across his face for a brief moment before his jaw clenches. “You don’t get it,” he snaps. “If I don’t do this, they’ll kill me,” Damon mutters, his eyes flicking between Theo and me. “I didn’t sign up for this. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“Who are they, Damon?” Kat tries to keep her voice steady, knowing we need this detail. “The ’Ndrangheta?”
All I know is whoever they are, they’re taking what’s mine—my family, my reason for fighting. I’ll wreck everything in my way before I let them take this.
Behind me, there’s a faint crunch of tires on gravel a hundred feet behind. Gabriel. Relief flickers through me, but I don’t dare take my eyes off Damon.
“Let’s end this now,” I reason. “You don’t need Theo. Take me instead.”
“What?” Damon’s eyes narrow in confusion.
“You don’t need him,” I press. “You need leverage, right? Let Theo go, and I’ll go with you.”
“Santi, no!” Kat’s voice cracks behind me, thick with panic.
But I don’t look back. My focus stays on Damon, on the subtle shifts in his expression. I try not to let my gaze rest on Theo, whose silent tears are nearly bringing me to my knees.
For a moment, the world seems to hold its breath. Damon’s grip on Theo loosens slightly, doubt creeping into his stance.
Damon swallows hard. “I’ll give you the boy, they don’t need you.” Regret creeps into his features. “I don’t want to hurt him…”
At that, Theo winces, and my heart splits with the force of the universe breaking.
“Just tell me what you want…” I say, as steadily as I can.
“GhostEye can help me disappear. Right? A new identity… I can’t hand him over without that…”
But before I can agree, a small radio clipped to Damon’s belt crackles to life.
“Damon,” a woman’s voice on the other end is calm, cold, and unyielding. “Bring the boy. Now.”
Who the hell is on the other end? Is it M?
Damon flinches as if struck.
The moment that voice crackles through his radio, Damon changes. He’s not a man weighing his options anymore. Not a man making choices. Just a man following orders.
And that makes him more dangerous than ever.
A sick feeling churns in my gut. This was his way out. If he wanted to run, if he really wanted to live, this deal was it. He potentially had a way—a new identity, a clean break…
But he still chose them.
What kind of monsters make a man more terrified of them than of what happens to a stolen boy?
My stomach turns with the answer. The kind who don’t need leverage. The kind who want Theo for something worse.
Without another word, he hauls Theo toward his truck.
“No!” Kat shatters, grief ripping through her like it might tear her apart.
She runs toward them, but I grab her arm, holding her back .
“Stay here,” I snap, harsher than I intend. “He might be armed.”
We rush back to my truck just as Damon shoves Theo into his and slams the door shut. His truck tears away from the quarry.
Anton’s truck skids to a stop beside mine.
Gabriel shouts out the passenger window, eyes dark with reckoning. “What happened?”
“He’s got Theo,” I slam my door shut. “He’s heading north.”
Anton nods. “We’re on it.”
“Hurry!” Desperation crashes through Kat, a force she can’t contain. She cries, “That’s my son!”
I have never been afraid of a sound before. But her cries? They’re not a sound meant for human ears. They will haunt me for the rest of my life.
I grip her shoulders and hold her steady. Her eyes search mine, her fear mirrored in their depths.
Gabriel’s slice through one last time. “Get her back to the ranch! We can’t save all of you.”
At that, Anton speeds off.
Kat grasps my arm. “We have to follow them.”
“Kat…”
“Now!”
She glares at me like she will do anything to get what she asks.
“Are you driving or am I?” She snaps.
I don’t argue.
The engine roars to life and one thought burns in my mind.
Damon, M, the Mafia… they have my family.
And I’m going to make them bleed for it.