Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
MATEO
After parking in the underground lot at Julian’s building, Violet and I take our helmets off and leave them with the bike. With a nod to Julian’s guards, I lead her to the elevator and press my palm on the plate for the penthouse.
“All of you have penthouses,” she muses. “That screams organized crime. You know that, right?”
“It screams wealth, Savage.” I smirk and kiss her head as the doors open and we step inside. Once again, I press my hand to the screen, and then we’re ascending to the top floor.
The doors open right into Julian’s home.
He and his wife recently renovated this entire floor, taking it down to the studs and starting over again.
It’s only been livable for a few weeks. Most of the time, Julian and Natasha live at their mansion outside of town, but Julian likes to keep this place so they have somewhere convenient to go when business runs late.
Music fills the air as we walk inside, and Violet grins from ear to ear as the piano comes into view and we see Natasha and Julian sitting on the bench together, their fingers flying over the keys.
“Wow,” Violet whispers as we hang back and watch. I know that Julian is aware that we’re here. He caught my eye in the reflection of their windows, but they don’t miss a note as they finish the song.
When the last note echoes through the room, Violet applauds, making Natasha giggle and Julian smirk.
“That was beautiful,” Violet says. “What else can you play?”
She walks over to stand beside the baby grand piano, and I join her.
“We can play pretty much anything,” Natasha says with a shrug, and then glances up at her husband. With a grin she starts to play an Adele song, and Julian joins her, and with her jaw hanging open, Violet watches intently.
I knew that Julian could play, but I had no idea that they played together. It’s a side to my brother than no one gets to see, and the only reason he’s showing us now is because his wife wants him with her.
We’ve all become a bunch of big softies for our girls.
Who would have thought?
When the song is over, Violet applauds again, and Julian leans over to kiss Natasha’s hair before he stands.
“Well, that was fun,” Violet says with a grin. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
My brother laughs and shakes his head. “Who gives a fuck if people know that I enjoy spending time with my wife. I dare them to say a word to me about it. Now, we need to talk.”
“Oh, I’ll go—” Natasha begins, but Julian reaches for her hand and squeezes.
“You’ll stay,” he replies simply. “I like having you with me.”
“So sweet,” Violet mouths to Natasha, who blushes.
“Let’s go to the office,” Julian says, leading us all through the new space to his private office. He sits behind his desk and fires up his computer, then points to the monitor on the wall as it comes to life. “I’ll share my screen there. Violet, you’ll want to pay attention to this.”
My girl frowns and then walks over to stand near the monitor. Julian taps his keyboard, and a still shot from a video comes up on the screen.
“I’ve been running facial rec through every program available across the country,” he begins, “using the photos you gave us of your sister. I know that she’d have aged a little since you last saw her, but she was an adult at the time she went missing, so the software wouldn’t have a problem identifying her. ”
Violet turns and blinks at Julian. “You’ve been doing this for the past week?”
“Yes, there are a lot of cameras in this country, and I only went back six months. Now, look up there and don’t blink or you’ll miss it. I’ll put it on a loop for you.”
He taps the keys again, and I stand behind Violet, watching as the video starts to roll. It’s footage from what looks like a party, and a couple strolls by. The woman turns her face, and Violet gasps.
“That’s Rose.”
She reaches up and touches the screen, as if she can touch her sister, and it makes the heart I would have sworn I didn’t have hurt for her.
“Oh my God, when was this?”
“Three months ago, at a party in LA,” Julian replies. “Hosted by Kenji Tanaka.”
I spin and stare at Julian. “You’re fucking kidding.”
“I’m not.”
“The head of the yakuza?”
“What’s that?” Violet asks.
“The Japanese Mafia,” Julian replies to Violet and nods at me, his eyes hard. “The same one.”
Violet goes back to staring at the screen. “Who is this guy?”
She points at the man on Rose’s left.
“I don’t recognize him,” I say.
“The software says his name is Jeremy Lincoln,” Julian replies. “He’s a businessman, and he’s now on our fucking radar.”
He turns his attention back to the computer, and then the image changes, and this time it’s a little grainier, but it’s the same two people.
Rose’s hair is down, and she’s in a sweater and jeans. Lincoln is in a suit, and he’s holding her hand, but she’s walking a step behind him as he talks on the phone.
“Where was this?” I ask.
“Outside of the private-aircraft terminal in LA two days after the party I just showed you.”
“So, she’s not in LA anymore,” Violet murmurs. She’s staring at the screen, her hands shaking, and she swallows hard. “God, she’s alive.”
“There’s more,” Julian says, and with the flick of his fingers, another video comes up. This time, the image is crystal clear, and Rose and Lincoln are on a red carpet, facing another couple. Lincoln is talking. Rose is quiet, her eyes cast down.
And Violet gasps.
“Her lip is split,” she whispers, leaning in to look closer. “That motherfucker hit my baby sister.”
Natasha approaches Violet from the other side and takes her free hand.
“You two look so much alike,” Natasha says softly. “You could be twins.”
Violet nods as a tear slips down her cheek. “He hurts her. Where is this?”
“New York,” Julian says. “At a museum opening one month ago.”
“And Lincoln is talking to fucking Damiano DeLuca,” I grind out through a clenched jaw.
“Who’s that?” Natasha asks. “I haven’t heard that name before.”
“The head of the Italian Mafia on the East Coast,” Julian replies.
He shows us more. Rose and Lincoln have shown up in Miami, Dallas, Denver, and Boston. Always talking with other organized crime men or at parties where those men would be.
“Who the fucking fuck is Jeremy Lincoln?” I ask as I pull my fingers through Violet’s hair, trying to calm her. She’s shaking, but I can’t get her away from the screen.
“Until seven years ago, he didn’t exist,” Julian says, and my gaze whips over to his again.
“Alias.”
“Definitely. He doesn’t have a home base that I can find, but his primary business is aviation, particularly private jets.”
“He’s a plane salesman?” I ask.
“From what I can tell, but that’s obviously a cover. I’ll keep digging, but his security is tight.”
“Did you find anymore pictures of her?” Violet asks hopefully.
“Not yet, but I’m still digging. I’ll text you everything I’ve found so far.”
“Thanks.” It’s a whisper, and I can see that she needs a glass of whiskey and to be held, but before I can take her home, my phone rings, and my eyebrows climb.
“Cillian O’Connor,” I say to Julian as I swipe the screen, accepting the call, and put it on speaker. “Cillian.”
“Mateo,” he says in greeting. “I’ve been keeping my eyes open like you asked, and I have an update.”
I lean forward just as Julian does. “Go on.”
“When you sent the photo of the girl through, I would have sworn that she looked familiar, so I ran through some security footage and sure enough. I’ve met her.”
I wrap my arm around Violet and pull her against me, keeping her upright because even I can see that her knees are shaking.
“Go on,” I say. “And for the sake of transparency, you’re on speaker with my brother Julian listening, along with our girls. It’s just the four of us.”
“Appreciate it. My brother Declan is here too. Now, I have images to send through. Where should I send them?”
“To me,” Julian says. “I’m at my computer.”
“Sent.”
Julian nods, and then we all look at the screen on the wall, and Violet gasps.
“This was two weeks ago,” Cillian says. “She was here, at my house, for a business dinner I hosted.”
She’s in a white dress, and Lincoln is right by her side.
“Who’s this Jeremy Lincoln?” I ask him. “And why is he making the rounds through every fucking organized crime family in the country?”
Cillian chuckles. “Caught that, did you? He’s a piece of work. This asshole, who I do not trust, has decided he wants a piece of every city, and he’s trying to use blackmail to do it. I don’t feel comfortable saying more over the phone, but he has audacity, that’s for sure.”
“What did he try to blackmail you with?” I ask. “And why is he still breathing?”
“He doesn’t have anything on me,” Cillian replies easily. “But I’ve talked with others and heard rumblings. He’s quite self-important for a man who’s only seven years old.”
I grin at Julian.
Yeah, we like the Irish.
“Rose was taken seven years ago,” Violet puts in. “Is that a coincidence?”
“Hello, lass,” Cillian says, his voice softening, and despite liking him, it sets my teeth on edge. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any more information about your sister.”
“How was she when you saw her?” Violet asks, leaning toward the phone. “Was she healthy? Did she seem scared?”
“I didn’t speak with her,” Cillian admits. “She didn’t make eye contact, but she wasn’t physically bruised that I could see. She was polite. I’m sorry, but that’s all I remember. It’s disrespectful to ogle another man’s woman.”
Violet hangs her head. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Can you reach out to Lincoln and arrange for another dinner?” Julian asks. “That we might also get an invitation to?”
“Now, that I might be able to pull off,” Cillian replies smoothly. “I’ll be in touch shortly with those plans. Are you sure you want to come to New Orleans?”
“I want her here,” Violet interrupts, shaking her head. “Can we host a party? Or a gala? Something important that this asshole will want to crash?”
I lift an eyebrow at my brother, and he narrows his eyes, thinking it over.
“What if it’s at Rapture?” I ask. “Or King of Spades.”
“Tell us what you need,” Declan says into the phone. “We could likely get the other heads of the families in Vegas for something like this, and there’s no way Lincoln would turn that down.”
“A charity event,” Natasha says. “Benefiting women who have escaped trafficking.”
“Bloody perfect,” Cillian agrees. “Again, let us know what you need and when we should be there. If needed, I could also host at the Four Leaf.”
The Irish own a resort here on the Strip, and the Four Leaf does quite well.
“We have options, then,” Julian says. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you,” Violet says before anyone can hang up. “Thank you so much. I don’t know how I’ll repay you.”
“Don’t mention it, lass,” Cillian says before ending the call.
Violet takes a shaky breath before she walks back to the screen and stares at the photo of her sister.
“She’s alive,” she whispers. Her breath hitches.
Julian takes Natasha’s hand, nods at me, and they leave the office. He closes the door, leaving me alone with my girl.
“She’s alive,” she says again, and now her voice breaks and she starts to cry, her eyes never leaving that screen. “Oh my God, look at her. She’s s-so pretty.”
“Like her sister.”
With a sob, she buries her face against my chest, her whole body shaking with each ragged breath, as if she’s held this back for seven long years and, now that she knows that Rose is at least alive, she can let go of this grief.
Lifting her in my arms, I cross to the sofa and sit with Violet in my lap. She buries her face in my neck and continues to cry, babbling words that I can’t understand, but I don’t need to.
Because what she’s feeling is obvious.
Grief.
Pain.
Relief.
Hope.
“Shh,” I croon and rub my hands up and down her back. “I’ve got you, baby. Let it out.”
“I didn’t kn-know, this wh-whole time.” She takes a shuddering breath. “If she was even alive.”
“I know.”
“But she is.”
“Yes, sweetheart. She is. And we’re going to get her back with you, where she belongs.”
Her arms tighten around my shoulders, and she continues to cry, and all I can do is keep holding her. Rocking her, brushing her hair with my fingers.
“We’re getting so close, baby.” I press kisses to her forehead. “So close. It won’t be too long now.”
“None of this would be possible without you.” She swallows and takes another ragged breath, but the sobs are slowing. “You’ve done this.”
“It’s a team effort.” I brush my lips back and forth over her forehead. “You have a whole army behind you now, and we won’t fail you on this.”
“I think I lost hope years ago,” she admits softly. “Even though I never stopped looking, with each year that passed, it felt more and more hopeless. And now, I have it again.”
“I will get her back for you,” I promise, tipping her chin up so I can brush her tears away. “I will do whatever I have to do to make sure she’s safe and back with you.”
“I don’t deserve—”
“Stop.” I press my finger to her lips. “Don’t go down that spiral, Savage. You deserve everything, including your sister in your life and safe from a tyrant.”
She blows out a breath and then leans on me. “Can we go home now?”
“Anything you want, baby.”