Chapter 64 #2
“Do I look like a fucking boy to you?” I gritted. “Don’t mistake me for my brother, old man.” I stepped closer, my teeth bared. “Because for every word he’d use, I’d put a bullet in you and think nothing of it. Your men will do shit to save you. I’m the last fucking man you want to cross—”
“Remo!” Lorenzo barked from somewhere behind me. A second more and he was at my side. “Stop this shit right now.” He grasped my arm.
I yanked it free, not breaking eye contact with Veer. “This fucker took her, Renz and I aim to shoot the location out of him.”
“Put a leash on your brother, Lorenzo, this isn’t the respect you’re known for,” Veer spat.
“This is Rossi territory,” Lorenzo fired back. “So watch your fucking tone when you address me.”
The older man tried to hide his surprise, but I caught the flare of his eyes before he smirked at me.
“You have ten seconds, fucker,” I growled, ready to splatter his brains all over the parking lot. Lorenzo cursed, pushing himself between my gun and Veer. I didn’t lower it. “Out of the fucking way, Renz.”
“Put your gun away, Fratello.” Despite the command, his eyes softened, telling me he understood my pain I wanted no one to know about.
I scowled at him, tension threading the air around us.
Any one of these unstable fuckers could let a bullet fly, bringing chaos with it.
Lorenzo might be a merciless don, but he valued family and we both knew that me going toe to toe with the Indian mafia, circumstances unknown, was putting families at risk.
“Fine,” I sneered a minute later. “Just know I’ll burn your entire fucking empire down to find her and nothing will stop me.” I shot Veer a warning glare. The fucker merely grinned, irking me to rethink my decision.
Lorenzo walked me toward our vehicles; all parked haphazardly with the doors open and the engines running. Climbing in, I glanced over my shoulder. Veer watched us, his face red with rage with Ajay blabbing in his ear.
As the car pulled away, a familiar ache pulsed behind my eyes, the same one that came before the dreams. The ones where I was young, and the woman I called mother watched while hands that weren’t hers, hurt me.
I shook it off, pressing the heel of my palm to my temple.
Now wasn’t the time. Ishika was missing.
Pregnant. And I would tear this city apart brick by brick until I found her.
Lorenzo hadn’t asked about the hospital, or why I nearly put a bullet in Ajay’s skull. He just brought me home, poured me a drink, and waited. I figured Dario might’ve filled him in, but he was waiting for me to share, that’s what he always did.
I stared at the sketch I’d worked on for the last hour. Those eyes, as if magnetized, drew me to them every time I stopped to stare. They weren’t perfect, they were hers. Sharp, defiant, intelligent. A whole minute passed before I looked up at my brother.
Arms folded across his chest, he was leaning against the wall, studying me with that same controlled caring I’d known for years. For once I wished for his unerring patience.
“Secrets have a way of either killing you or choking the fuck out of you, Remo, and sometimes it helps to let them out. You want to tell me about it?”
I traced the curve of the jaw on the paper, my thumb smudging the charcoal. “She’s pregnant.” The words hung in the air, heavy and absolute.
Lorenzo’s posture shifted, the casual lean vanishing as he pushed off the wall. He came around the couch to sit opposite me, his eyes searching mine for confirmation. “Are you sure?”
“The hospital confirmed it before she disappeared.” I set the sketch down, the paper fragile under my fingers. “Ajay thinks he can take her from me, thinks he can hide her.”
“Remo,” Lorenzo exhaled my name on a slow sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.
“If her pregnancy is true, the stakes just doubled, but you need to listen to me. If Ajay took her, killing him won’t bring her back, it’ll just start a war we can’t finish while she’s missing and then we may never find her. ”
I stood and walked out onto the balcony overlooking the city and the ocean beyond it. Hands in my pants pockets, I let my gaze run over the view from one end to the other. Somewhere within that busy chaos, Ishika lay hidden. I hoped for whoever’s sake, she was safe.
How was it possible no one knew where she’d gone? Not even Rahul with his ingenious hacking abilities could track her.
Lorenzo came up beside me. “It’s like losing Tanto all over again, isn’t it?"
Dragging my hands through my hair, I took a few deep breaths and turned to look at him. “It’s worse.” Words defeated me as I fought for composure, memories playing ping-pong in my brain.
“Serendipity twists you up and spits you out, but in the end, it gives you what you need most. Only, it doesn’t bring back the dead. Nothing can.” Lorenzo offered me an out, reminding me his love hadn’t come easy. “Losing Tanto broke you. I won’t let this break you too.”
I’d treated Tanto like another brother and time with his family made me forget I belonged to a criminal one. “You’re right. Losing him almost ended me, but this…this is different. When I lost him, I lost family. If I lose her, I lose everything.”
“Exactly. This time though, you know Ishika is somewhere out there, waiting to be found, and I’ve got every fucking man working his ass off to help. We’ll find her.” He gave me another reassuring look. “Just don’t do anything rash, not yet. Okay?”
I stared out at the cityscape once more, grinding my molars to stay my fury.
If I gave into it, there’d be fucking hell on earth.
Lorenzo knew that, and why he was coaxing me to remain calm.
He didn’t know about the dreams, about the woman who watched while I was hurt.
He thought military school had hardened me, he didn’t know the scars were already there.
“Two days, brother. Then I’m painting this fucking city red,” I growled and he cursed under his breath, knowing better than to take my threats lightly.