Chapter 49
Camillo Vicari
Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy
I wandered through the parking lot, my eyes scanning the area for the vehicle.
It wasn’t unusual for Martino to move the SUV whenever a security issue arose; what was strange was that I hadn’t been informed.
I wondered if Daisy had asked him to go somewhere.
He didn’t like her very much, but I knew full well that my Piccola Furetta could charm even the toughest of men.
My phone vibrated in my blazer pocket, and I sighed, shaking my head and a smile tugging at my lips.
She surely charmed Martino.
As soon as I saw a private number on the screen, my heart sank. Our security system was flawless and designed to block those kinds of calls. With dread pooling in my chest, I answered.
“Pronto?”
“Ciao, Don Vicari!” My breathing quickened and my fingers tightened around the phone.
“We’re already taking Signorina Parker to the slaughter.
Soon, you’ll have access to the cameras so you can watch from the comfort of your villa.
As you can hear, Signorina Parker didn’t take the news well.
” Daisy’s desperate sobs echoed from the other end of the line, and the world seemed to shatter beneath my feet. “Have a buonanotte, ‘Padrone’.”
He hung up.
I stood there, the phone pressed to my ear, frozen in the middle of that parking lot, until my teeth clenched and a roar of hatred shattered the night, dropping me to my knees.
Sweat was pouring down my body as if I were standing in a downpour.
With frantic movements, realizing the magnitude of what had just happened, I dialed Luca’s number.
“Don Camillo?”
“How could this happen, Luca?” I gasped, fear and hatred shaking me. The realization that Martino Accuri had betrayed me hit me with the force of a punch.
One of my most loyal men. Always seen as part of the famiglia. I would kill him for that treason.
“What happened?!” Luca snapped from the other end of the line. “Don Camillo, what’s going on?!”
My voice was like a slithering snake, “Luca, Martino handed Daisy over to Cissio Accorinti.” I forced the words out.
Luca gasped. “No… “It’s not possible, Don Camillo. I had everything under surveillance, I—”
“SHE’S IN ACCORINTI’S HANDS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!” I screamed, not caring if anyone heard me. Not caring about anything else. “SHE’S IN THE HANDS OF A HUMAN TRAFFICKER!” It was terror speaking through me, accompanied by tears overflowing from my wide eyes.
I opened my mouth, trying to breathe, trying to say something else, but instead, the phone slipped from my grasp and my body doubled over.
My stomach lurched, and I heaved, everything coming up in a single, violent gush.
I choked out a scream, spitting the bile onto the pavement, and when I scrambled to pick up the phone again, Luca was shouting on the other end.
He was already barking orders at the soldati, mobilizing our people.
“I want everyone at the ports, at the airports, on the roads, at the stations… I want men searching warehouses. I want full access to every system.” I gasped, slumping onto the asphalt, reduced to nothing more than a ragged mess.
“Luca, if we don’t find her in the next forty-eight hours, we never will. ”
“Don Camillo.” Luca’s voice was a firm growl. “Even if I have to descend into hell myself, Signorina Parker will be recovered.”
I laughed, and the hatred and fear gave way to tears. I pulled the phone away from my ear, my face contorting as I tried to control a sob, but it was no use. A moan wrenched itself from deep inside me, and I gritted my teeth, letting the pain set in. Letting the tears fall.
I heard Luca’s voice calling my name. I raised the phone and pressed my free hand to my lips. “It’s my fault…” I sobbed. “It’s all my fault, Luca. She’s going to die because of me.”
“NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE.”
I hung up and buried my face between my knees.
I wasn’t so sure about that.