Chapter Twenty-Four
Maximus
The thrill of adrenaline pumped through my veins while we created an illusion. Olivia had been inspired tonight, giving Poppy the opportunity to run, and demonstrating how resourceful she was in an emergency.
Her eyes were huge as she watched me leading her and Mum into the saferoom. I knew she hated to be enclosed, but there was no way I was leaving her vulnerable while the rest of us were locating Poppy, and getting her out of the country to safety.
A private jet was ready to take her to Colombia with a fake passport since Lucio had her real one. Gabriel would deal with the officials when they arrived since Alexandro had them in the palm of his hand.
The details of Poppy’s tracker had been transferred to Lucio when she was married, but that didn’t mean I no longer had access to it.
There was no way I was letting my sister out of my sight when I had already lost a sister a year before that.
She was currently offline, which meant the blocker Olivia had given her was working, and hiding her from prying eyes.
Olivia’s black card was currently being monitored, and I was waiting for the first time it activated with a secure channel activated with Jake to mobilise him immediately. He was one of the few people Poppy would trust if he turned up at her door.
“You and Mum shouldn’t be down here long,” I told Olivia, tucking her hair behind her ear. “As soon as we have Poppy and she is in the air, our security will be back here.”
She turned away from me, which was something Olivia had never done before, and I felt the cool as she took her warmth away from me.
“I’m sure Athena and I will be fine,” she replied, walking further into the room, and it almost felt as if she was walking away from me instead.
“Take care of Poppy,” Mum said, stepping in front of me. “That monster has that house turned into a prison, and she was dying one day at a time.”
“We’re dealing with the situation, Mum. Olivia gave Poppy a chance tonight, and we have to trust that she’ll take it.” My gaze moved to Olivia, and a shiver rippled down my spine that I tried to ignore.
“Do you have a safehouse for her to run to?” Olivia asked, moving her attention to Mum and I. “Caine insisted we always had an address in every city we visited.”
I ground my teeth together to stop the reply I wanted to give because right now I was sick of listening to the Gospel of Saint Caine.
“No, we don’t have safe locations,” I replied. “Anyone in the family has access to any of the houses we own.”
She nodded absently. “I should have given her the address for here.”
That caught my attention. Olivia had a safehouse in this city, and I knew nothing about it? I stored it in my memory to address later.
“Stay safe, and I’ll be back soon,” I said.
Olivia’s gaze met mine, but there was something different in her green eyes.
I felt guilty locking the door, and activating the alarm.
I had tried to get through that door when it was installed, and it had been impossible.
The flooring closed over the staircase to hide the entrance to the saferoom. Only Dad or I could open that door.
“Olivia seemed quiet,” Dad said when I wandered into the library.
“She’s still recovering,” I replied absently. Her body had been covered in bruises, and I watched them changing from purple to yellow as they faded, but that didn’t erase the memory of them, or the guilt that rested on my soul for not protecting her.
Olivia was my wife, and it was my job to keep her safe, and I had done a lousy job so far. My problem was that I had no idea how to make it up to her, and so I watched her while she slept and let her body rest.
My phone pinged, and I slid it from my pocket.
Jake: Any news?
I typed a reply.
Me: Not yet. Lucio is in the kitchen holding court.
Jake: Did Athena hide the steak knives?
I replied with a series of rude emojis. I’d only used it because it was within reach. Next time, it would be a machete and I would mount his head on my wall.
Dad moved toward the door, stopping to half turn in my direction. “I have been married a long time, and made many mistakes. It is not natural for a woman to be quiet.”
That shiver rippled down my spine again, but I suppressed it when I heard Lucio hollering in the distance. He may not know it, but the guy had a limited life span, and was about to become extinct.
The kitchen of this house was its heart, Mum creating an environment that mixed the intricacies of family life, and also the ability to have a round table meeting for business.
Gabriel stood with his arms folded watching everything that happened.
Willow was currently packing since they would be leaving on our jet with Poppy.
“Any news?” I asked on my way into the room, knowing that I would be the first one to be notified of any news. “Has the CCTV been viewed?”
Jake had been first to the surveillance hub of the hotel, and knowing Poppy was wearing Olivia’s cape, she was last seen leaving from the side employees entrance.
“No.” Lucio shook his head. “My people have viewed all the CCTV, and no one matching Poppy’s description or her outfit has been seen. They are currently searching the hotel as that is the only place she can be.”
“Car park?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Lucio replied. “She’s in that hotel, I know it. My men will search every room until we find her.”
I didn’t comment since he was talking shite, but while he was occupied elsewhere, it gave us more time to get Poppy out of the country.
“Have you checked your home?” Dad asked Lucio. “If she managed to escape, she would head there.”
An expression flashed across Lucio’s face, showing he knew she would never run there. Why would she go to the place where she was tormented?
“I’ll notify our housekeeper,” Lucio said, lifting his phone to start typing on it.
“Anything on her tracker?” I asked, and Lucio shook his head as he continued to type. Everyone knew he had been having an affair with his housekeeper for years, she was one in a long line of women he had occupying residences, and part of the reason he was always in debt.
The house phone rang in the background, and I wandered out into the hall to answer it since Mum was safely in the room underground.
“Hello?”
“Max?” Poppy sounded weak and exhausted.
“Yeah. What’s up?” I didn’t want to alert anyone to who was on the phone.
“Olivia said to phone this line and not your mobile.”
“She was right. What do you need to tell me?” I asked, trying to keep our conversation neutral.
“I’ve booked into a hotel near where we went for ice cream when we were little, the one you used to always say reminded you of something from Grammie’s house in Italy.” I knew exactly where she was talking about. “What am I going to do?”
“Absolutely nothing.” I was already texting Jake while talking. “Thanks for checking in, Jake. I’ll see you soon.”
“Room twenty-nine,” Poppy said. “I’m really scared.”
“No need to be. Gabriel and Willow are heading back to Colombia when we find Poppy as he has business he needs to return for.”
My message had been read, and I knew Jake was already on his way across town. I added her room number to our conversation.
“Am I going with them?” Her voice was low, and I imagined her crouching down to hide.
“Absolutely. I’ll speak to you soon.”
“Thanks, Max. I don’t know what this family would do without you.” The line went dead, and I returned the phone to the elaborate cradle that housed it.
“Any word?” Lucio was standing watching me.
“No. Jake tends to use the houseline to keep my mobile free. He’s expanding the search, and wanted to know if her tracker had come online,” I replied.
“She’s in that hotel, I know she is,” Lucio insisted, and I resisted the urge to punch him in the face.
“Your men are already searching there, we don’t want to draw too much attention. Jake has our people in the police department searching the city CCTV.” I moved to walk back to the kitchen, and Lucio grabbed my wrist as I went to pass him.
“You better not be playing me, or Poppy will pay the price,” he said in a sinister tone.
My last nerve snapped. I grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him to the wall.
“One, you never touch me, understand? Two, that is my fucking sister we are looking for, so have some respect. And lastly, you do anything to hurt her, and you’ll discover what pain really is.
There are over seven trillion nerves in the human body, and I know how to cause every one of them to explode in pain since you have irritated all of mine, including my last one which is currently irate.
I can make you disappear as if you never existed, and am more than happy to do so. Do you understand?”
He nodded frantically, trying to regain his footing since he was on tip toe.
“When we get Poppy back, you fucking disappear out of my life until I can be bothered looking at you again.” My knee connected with his balls before I dropped him, and walked away before I gave into the temptation of shooting the fucker.
There were just some people in this world you would never tire of slapping.
Gabriel glanced up when I walked in, and without a word, he left the room. He would be waiting for Poppy at the airport with Willow. For this to work, I needed to be seen at all times by Lucio or his men.
“I think we should return to the hotel,” I said to everyone and no one. “Another pair of eyes on CCTV helps, and I think we should speak to the staff. They may have seen something that will help us find Poppy.”
I knew Lucio was behind me when eyes moved to my right, but I continued to ignore him.
“I will lead the questioning of the staff,” Lucio said. “Poppy is my wife, and her safety is my concern.”
He was trying to show the balls I had already shoved back up into his body cavity, but if it gave Jake time to get to Poppy, then I would grin and bear it.