Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
VANESSA
Mateo has been gone for almost four months, and I’ve been losing my goddamn mind.
Gino won’t give me any real information about where Mateo is or what’s happening to him.
All I’m told is that they’re doing everything they can and that I need to focus on the babies.
I’m honestly starting to resent Gino and the rest of the guys.
I get not wanting to scare me, but this is getting out of hand.
I’ve built a routine over the last few months just to survive.
Every morning I wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, and then walk to Gino’s house.
Alonso lives with me now. I can’t bring myself to move into Gino’s house, just in case Mateo comes home.
Alonso stays in one of the guest rooms downstairs so he’s close to the front door if anything were to happen.
This morning I decide enough is enough. I’m six months pregnant, and I can’t keep living like this.
I’m in a constant state of fear, waiting for the moment Gino walks in and tells me something is terribly wrong.
It isn’t healthy for me or the babies. I know I’m supposed to stay busy, but I can’t anymore.
“I’m going over to Gino’s,” I say to Alonso as I walk into the kitchen.
He freezes with a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. “Oh shit. What are you about to do?”
“Give Gino a piece of my mind,” I snap.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” I let out a dramatic sigh.
Alonso and I have built a strong friendship over the last few months, and this isn’t the first time I’ve tried to march over to Gino’s to give him a piece of my mind. Every time, someone stops me. Usually Alonso.
“Gino’s doing everything he can,” he says. “I’ve been in the room when he’s working. You going in there angry is just going to add more pressure.”
Before I can argue, his phone rings. I can see Gino’s name on the screen. Alonso listens in silence, barely responding.
“Yeah,” he finally says. “We’ll be right over.”
He hangs up.
I look at him, panic rising in my chest. “What is it?”
“Jake got hurt. Not bad enough for the hospital, but Gino wants you to take a look at him.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
I go straight into nurse mode, grabbing the bag I keep stocked with supplies. Gino has a full medical room, but there are things I like having on hand. Even though his house is less than a ten-minute walk, we drive. If someone’s hurt, every minute matters.
We’re there in less than three minutes. Alonso opens the front door, and I hurry inside. The medical room is in the basement next to the safe room. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see Gino standing in the doorway.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Jake was getting intel from another family and got into a fight. He drove himself back about twenty minutes ago.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look.”
Jake is sitting upright on the table. Juliet is cleaning the cut above his eyebrow.
“Thanks, Juliet. I’ve got it,” I say softly.
She gives me a look and pulls Gino out of the room.
I silently get to work. Jake has a few cuts on his face and hands, a split lip, and he’ll definitely have bruises along his ribs in a few days. I clean each wound carefully to make sure nothing gets infected. Thankfully, he doesn’t need stitches.
“Keep everything clean,” I tell him. “If anything turns dark red or swollen, come find me. I don’t want you getting any infections.”
“You got it. Thank you, Vanessa.”
He smiles at me before getting up and leaving the room. I start to clean up, gathering the used gauze and tape and tossing them away.
I hear footsteps and turn to see Gino in the doorway.
“Hey, Ness…” He stops, waiting.
I look up and see how exhausted he is. Juliet said he’s been sleeping in his office, and I can see it on his face.
“Thank you,” he says with a softness in his voice.
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“Let me help.”
He steps farther into the room. Over the last few months, he’s called me down here often enough that he knows the routine and how to help.
We work in quiet sync, and when I reach for the disinfectant to wipe down the table, Gino gently takes the bottle and cloth from my hands and finishes it for me.
When we’re done, we head upstairs together.
No matter how upset I am with my brother, he always knows when to step in, when I need him. That’s how we’ve grown close. He knows what to say and when to say it. And when he tells me he’s doing everything he can to find Mateo, I believe him.
Once we reach the first floor, Gino leaves and heads to his office.
No one is in the kitchen, so I stand there for a moment, just looking around.
I grab an apple from the fruit basket Juliet left on the counter.
As I take a bite, I decide now is the time to go upstairs and ask Gino the questions I’ve been holding back.
I’m a woman on a mission, so I completely ignore Jake, Alonso, and Drew as they walk into the house calling out to me.
I head straight for the stairs and go right to Gino’s office.
The door is half open, and I can hear him on the phone.
I stop just out of sight and listen, hoping to catch something.
“Listen, Lorenzo, I don’t give a fuck what you think. I’ve given you everything you wanted so far. You wanted drugs, I gave them to you. You wanted money, you got that too. What’s next?”
He pauses, listening.
“That’s not fucking happening. I am not ripping up a contract we already agreed to. You fucking asshole, just give him back. There’s no point in dragging this out any longer.”
Another pause.
“I swear to God, Lorenzo, if you keep this bullshit up, I’ll send my own people over there to find him and bring him back. The only reason I haven’t is because I don’t want to start a war in another country.”
He listens again, then snaps, “Fuck you. I’m done negotiating. I’m going to find him myself, and I’m done with your demands.”
I hear him drop into his chair and throw his phone onto his desk. Maybe confronting him right now isn’t the best idea, but I need something to hold on to for my own sanity. I knock on his office door.
“Yeah,” he calls, and I step inside. He looks up at me, exhaustion etched across his face as he drags his hands through his hair.
I take a seat across from him. “I’m not going to lie, I heard most of that conversation. Do you think he’s still alive?”
“Yes, I do.” He lets out a long breath. “They wouldn’t keep making demands if he wasn’t.”
“Have they given you proof of life?” I ask, hopeful.
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” He’s got a somber look on his face.
“Why not?” I say, raising my voice.
“Because it isn’t pretty, and I don’t want you to see him like that.”
“Seriously?” Now I’m getting angry.
He stands and comes around his desk, stopping in front of me. Leaning back against it, he crosses his arms, the way he always does when he’s trying to make a point.
“Yes,” he says firmly. “Trust me, you don’t want to see it.
And don’t try asking anyone else. Only Drew and I have seen it.
Drew is studying the photo, trying to figure out where Mateo is from the background, and we’re also trying to track Lorenzo’s phone.
We haven’t gotten anything yet, but we’re not giving up. ”
I nod. “You promise you’ll tell me anything you hear?”
“I promise.”
He grips my arm, pulls me to my feet, and wraps me in a hug.
Even though we haven’t known each other long, it feels like I’ve had a brother my whole life, someone I can tell anything to.