Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“Excellent,” I replied, smiling as I turned to him. “Let’s go then. Our teams are on the ground, so we’ll return to where it all began.”
“Lauren said your wife went to the toilet with Poppy when we were voting,” Lucio said, his eyes meeting mine. “What did they discuss?”
“How would I know?” I retaliated. “I was in the ballroom with you. Women tend to visit the restroom in groups. Did Lauren not hear what they said since she was with Poppy?”
I had hit a nerve, because he had obviously brought Lauren to chaperon Poppy, and she had failed in her mission.
“They went alone,” he said, folding his arms across his chest to try and look threatening.
“Are you suggesting that Olivia flushed Poppy down the toilet? I admit that my sister is small, but I doubt she’d get past the U-bend.”
Ripples of laughter sounded behind me at my suggestion.
“I am suggesting that your wife said something that upset Poppy,” Lucio continued, not realising he was overstepping a line.
“Did I not see Poppy with you after the vote?” Dad asked. “She was standing talking to you. Surely, she would have let you know if she had been upset?”
“I remember that as well,” Roberto added. “She left for the bathroom a while later, giving you her drink to hold. Did you argue as both of your body language seemed to suggest trouble in paradise?”
I disliked my brother-in-law, but his reputation would give me reason to stop and think before arguing with him, and in this instance Roberto had hit the nail on the head.
Lucio pulled himself to his full height. “Poppy and I are a love match, we care deeply for each other.”
Roberto waved his hand as if to brush Lucio’s statement away. “Love does not truly exist. I once read that it is the highest form of friendship. Every friendship has its ups and downs.”
That hit a chord deep inside me like a punch to my solar plexus. Olivia had been my most trusted friend for years. She had been the one person I sought advice from, and the thought of her with anyone else had made me feel physically sick.
Could what I feel be love?
I’d wanted Olivia, craved her with an intensity that left me jealous of anyone else who was in her life, but I had never delved deeper into my feelings than that.
Roberto was a dick, and I had never suspected that he would hold the explanation to what was happening in my life. Right now, I had to put this information into a box until I had time to investigate it later.
“Since women travel to the toilet in packs, why did Lauren not go with her?” I questioned, waiting for the signal on my phone to tell me that Jake had reached Poppy.
“My guess would be that Lauren is Lucio’s latest girlfriend, and she was trying to assert her place at his side,” Roberto commented, giving a shit-eating grin when Lucio started spluttering. “Your affairs are well known for a man declaring his marriage is a love match.”
“How fucking dare you!” Lucio managed to grate out. “I will—”
“You will do nothing in this house,” Dad intervened. “Get out and find my daughter. She was my little girl long before she was your wife, and if anything happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible.”
There was no arguing with Dad when he used that tone, and held that expression on his face.
“Everyone out of my house and bring me home my daughter!” He walked out of the kitchen, leaving everyone else in his wake.
I checked the time on my watch. “Let’s go,” I said. “Our teams are out, but as head of the families our presence will put pressure on everyone. Let’s scare the shit out of anyone daring to even look at one of our women.”
I didn’t wait for their reply, heading to where my car was parked.
Every muscle and nerve in my body fought for me to turn and go to Olivia.
Gabriel’s car was gone when I got outside, meaning him and Willow were on their way to their airport.
It was my job to make sure everyone had enough time to get Poppy away from Lucio.
I was pulling out of the drive when I received a message from Jake that was nothing more than a thumbs up emoji. The rest of the night would just be a fa?ade so that people could see me. Lucio would never believe that I would not be involved in “rescuing” Poppy.
There was no one I trusted more with Poppy’s safety than Jake. He had worshipped the ground she walked on for longer than I could remember. I should have told him to grab her and run before she got married.
Two hours later, my last nerve was about to snap as Lucio continued to be the biggest prat in the world.
“Someone has to have seen something!” He slammed his fist on top of the desk.
All the security cameras had been wiped and nobody knew how. I could have made a suggestion that it was the zip drive Jake had placed in the main computer earlier, and that currently resided in my pocket. All it took was a slight distraction when we arrived for me to retrieve it.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s enough, Lucio,” I snapped, turning my attention to the unfortunate security guards. “You can go.”
Images had started to emerge of Poppy with an unidentified man from Alexandro’s organisation about an hour ago, one of our staff dressed in Poppy’s clothes wearing a wig with her head down.
Her plane had taken off and they were well on their way to Colombia.
Then, Jake had been busy throwing distractions in the air.
“Are you fucking serious?” Lucio demanded.
“These men know nothing. Who the fuck have you pissed off or borrowed money from?” I said, pushing myself to my feet to tower over him. “Poppy was taken for a reason.”
I was well aware that half an hour ago he had received a kidnap demand via text message. I had watched him reading the message and saying nothing.
“My finances are nothing to do with you,” Lucio sneered, and my fist connected with his nose as the last word left his lying mouth.
“Let me assure you that I will not stop until I find what has happened to Poppy,” I said, leaning over him, and real fear flickered in his eyes. “I have no problem making your life a living misery until you beg for release.”
I slammed my heel down on his kneecap and he screamed.
I would shoot any of my men for acting like a little bitch when hurt.
Since my role here was finished, I left to go back home.
Poppy was safe, and no one knew where she was except close family.
Alexandro’s man would disappear tonight with the fake Poppy without a trace, leaving no tracks back to us.
“I’m on my way back home,” I said to Jake when he answered. “Bring our people in.”
“The fucker never replied.”
“I noticed. He read that message as if he had received a text asking if he needed extended warranty.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Fucker.”
“This is going to end in war,” Jake replied.
“Let the battle lines be drawn, because right now I don’t have a single fuck left to give.” It was true, and violence was the language I understood better than any other. “Brief our generals, tell them to tighten our organisation.”
Lucio had always believed himself a player, but he had been using our family name to play in the big league. Now that Poppy was safe and far from his reach, that protection was about to end. I was going to show him exactly what happened when someone displeased me.
“I’ll speak to you at home,” I said before hanging up.
Lucio kept a business downtown that he thought was secret. I had seen the blueprints from it, and he had put a lot of additional structural integrity into one part which indicated walk in safes.
By the morning, it would be nothing more than rubble, and any assets Lucio had hidden away would be gone. War had been declared, and I had no intention of being on the losing side.