31. Enzo
Enzo
“Find them,” I snarled as I pulled my house door open so hard that one of the hinges broke off. “I want their heads on a spike. I want their boss on their knees, begging for their life. Call everyone. They search and don't stop until Serena and Harper are home and everyone else is dead.”
“We’ll do it, brother. I promise,” Rafael said.
He’d been with me when Serena called. He was careful not to touch me.
I could count on one finger the number of times I felt this scared and angry and out for blood.
When my parents died, the only thing to blame was wet roads and rain.
“We’ll do all that and more. Donovan was right near some of our spots.
We have men scouring the city for Serena. ”
I was going out of my mind. Harper was picked up. My men had picked Harper up from school and stood next her while she waited for Minnie. Minnie would be under guard until I was sure the danger had passed.
I couldn’t lose her. Not when I’d just gotten her in my life, just won her love, just made plans for us.
I wouldn’t allow it.
The phone rang. “Did you,”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence when the guy who ran my warehouse, Gino, let out what sounded like a painful breath. “Boss, you’ve got to talk to her.”
I froze where I stood. “You found her.”
“Yeah, and she’s going feral on us. Broke my nose. Tony can’t feel his left nut. She’s got a sharp steel thing that she swipes at us.” It took me a second to fully absorb what he said. Then I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
“Put me on speaker,” I said.
“She can hear you.”
“Amore, please put the weapon down. These are my men,” I said loudly. “I think you ran into one of my warehouses.”
“She did, boss,” a man called out.
“Enzo,” Serena said. I could hear the fear in her voice, which only made me want to rage and tear apart the city, looking for whoever made her feel anything but safe.
“Yes, mio amore, please put the weapon down and let my men bring you home,” I said. “I’m proud of you for fighting back. Maybe we should look into some self-defense classes for you.”
There was some rustling, and then Serena’s voice rang loudly into my ear.
“I took a self-defense class a few years ago.” She paused. “How do I know it’s really you and not some computer with your voice?”
How could she make me smile when moments ago I was willing to kill everyone to find her?
“Remember a few days ago when you were drawing me naked and,” I started.
“Enzo!” Serena shrieked, cutting me off. “You’re still on speaker.”
“Come home. Please. I need to hold you.” I added, “Harper will be here soon with Minnie.”
“She’s safe.”
“Yes, and has a full escort from school. Minnie is very excited by it, according to Rafael.” Serena let out a breathy laugh.
“I’ll be home as soon as I can, but I’m keeping the shank, just in case one of these guys decides he wants to switch sides for fun.” She groused. “I love you. See you soon.”
“I love you,” I said. She hung up, and I leaned back against the wall.
Rafael clapped me on the shoulder and smiled at me. “Glad she’s safe. When you’re ready, we’ll crack some heads and get answers.”
“She loves me,” I said. It still wasn’t real to me, like I was living in some sort of alternate reality.
“Of course she does, brother. Who doesn’t love you?” Rafael said.
The door flew open, and Adrienne Parisi walked in, armed to the teeth with guns and knives. “Everyone should really love me, actually.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “When is Serena getting here? There is something I need to tell you both.”
Some of the other women that Adrienne worked with filtered in quietly behind her.
“The drive from the warehouse shouldn’t take this long,” I complained, pacing up and down the front walkway.
I was impatient, ready for this nightmare to end. Harper was inside with Minnie, playing, none the wiser that we almost lost her mom. Minnie eyed everything with wonder, cataloging what she liked to ask about later.
“She’s fine.” Adrienne sighed, arms crossed, leaning against the door.
I didn’t bother answering her because there was no way Serena was fine, and she shouldn’t be.
The car pulled into the driveway, stopping at the curb. I was running before the door opened. Serena gingerly got out, and I scooped her up in my arms.
She was alive, in my arms, and for the moment, everything was perfect.
“Enzo,” she whispered. “My neck.”
I loosened my hold immediately, taking her in with a critical eye.
There was a bruise forming on her arm, her hands had scratches, and her jeans were covered in dust.
I carried her inside, holding her like she was as delicate as the finest china, letting the relief wash over me, dispelling the thought of never seeing her again that had clung to me since her call.
I brought her to my office, the one I barely used, and sat on the couch, cradling Serena.
Adrienne, Rafael, and Minnie filed in behind me.
Adrienne sighed and stared at the ceiling. “I hate when I have to be the one to deliver bad news. I send Jessen to do it, but she’s on strike.” She cracked her neck and started.
“It looks like Apple Livingstone has more than two brain cells to rub together. I called the security company to make some threats, which was a lot of fun for me, and they gave me some information. Peyton traced the money through multiple shell companies and found that Apple had formed all of them. She was the point of contact, gave the orders for every attack, from the break-in to the boat, and I’d put money on this instance as well.
Charles’ name is on some of them, but from what we gathered, he was using the companies to fund money offshore, not realizing she was skimming some of it for whatever her plans were. ”
“She wants me dead?” Serena asked. She slumped in my arms, as if the information were weighing her down.
Adrienne looked at Serena with fire in her eyes.
“Yes. She’s wanted you gone since she found out about you.
She’s been waiting in the wings for years for Charles to finally forget you and hit her breaking point recently over some missed visitation day or something.
Jessen would probably have a better idea of what’s wrong with her, but I’m betting it's a lot.”
None of what Adrienne said surprised me. Shell companies were standard, as were offshore accounts, and hiring someone to do our wet work when we needed to keep our hands as clean as possible.
But that was the world I lived in, and this was mild compared to what I’d witnessed in the past.
Cupping Serena’s face, I tilted it up to me. Tears streaked her face, mascara leaving black tracks, eyes red and puffy. It made me want to burn everything down, make the streets run red with blood, if only to remind and warn everyone of the consequences of Serena getting hurt.
“How are you doing with this?” I asked. Her eyes were sad and resigned. “It’s okay to not be okay.”
“I don’t know what I expected. Thankful that maybe there’s a chance Charles wasn’t aware of everything Apple was doing, but he’s a part of this in some way.
” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Hurting me was one thing that I could maybe understand. But involving Harper like that? Endangering his daughter?”
“Yes, that’s another thing,” Adrienne interrupted. “They weren’t only after you. There was a second, smaller unit dispatched to snatch Harper, unharmed, and bring her to a location.”
“Which was?” I prompted. I assumed as much. Whoever was after Serena knew Harper was the fastest way to get what they wanted from her. It was why I had men waiting for her every day at school. No one saw them, but that was the point.
“A small airstrip out on Long Island. There were three people on the manifest, filed five minutes before I showed up. The flight is to Ecuador, which has no extradition.”
That was the nail in the coffin for me. Both Apple and Charles were going to die; it was only a matter of time.
“If you want, I can bring you there to confront them,” Adrienne offered. Serena stood up before she finished.
“Of all the screwed-up things I’ve had to deal with, they thought they could take her?
” She limped as she paced back and forth.
“What a bitch. I’m going to strangle her.
” She brought her hands up, mimicking the action.
“She thought she could take my daughter and what?” She whirled, facing me.
“Did she think she could replace me as her mom? That monster wasn’t born with an ounce of maternal instinct.
The one who was the reason it was hard for my daughter to make friends at school? ”
Serena screamed. “I’m going to break her for thinking she could do this. For scaring Harper. I’m going to make her feel every bit of fear she made us feel. Over and over again.
“And Charles? He’s a fucking idiot, but even he can’t find a way out of this one.
I’m going to break him, maim him, make him regret every time he let Harper down.
” She turned to Minnie. “I know he’s your son, and you love him, but he deserves every single thing I’m going to do to him when I see him. ”
Minnie’s face was stricken, but she nodded, seemingly accepting Serena’s potential actions.
I liked this angry version of her. Serena dealt with a blow and moved on. It was impressive, admirable even, but everyone had their breaking point. She had finally reached hers.
There was a bloodthirsty woman who came out when the people she loved were threatened.
“We’re going. Give me a minute to change my clothes.” Serena walked out, shoulders back, rubbing her neck.
Minnie was in the chair, her face in her hands, shaking her head.
“I thought Charles had tapped out my disappointment. Now, I can say I’m disgusted by his actions.
” She stood, straightening her clothes. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to play with my granddaughter, and hopefully she’ll remember there are some good people on this side of the family. ”