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“Yeah. Mia says it was a warning, but I’m not going to allow them to take a second bite at the apple. I’m flying to Texas right now.”
“Okay. What do you need from me, brother? How can I help?”
“I need you to be on standby, Elio. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I get to texas. I may be walking into a trap. So, I need you to be my eyes and ears here in Rome. Okay?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“And, for God’s sake, don’t tell mother what I’m doing. I don’t want her to stress about me again.”
“Sure, I won’t say a word.”
“Thanks, Elio.”
“Please be careful, Dante.”
“I will. I’ll call you when I land.”
The next call is to Bruno, who helps me to arrange for a few of our best men to accompany me on the rescue mission. I’m going to need some serious muscle. Paolo is one of them. I know he’s desperate to make up for his fuck up in LA.
It’s 5 a.m. when the jet takes off with all of us on board. I give the men a quick talk to bring them up to speed.
“I’m sure that by now you all know that Angelo is my son.”
I don’t hear any gasps and no one flinches.
“My son and his mother are in danger and I intend to get them back to Rome without incident. I need you all to give me your best. Any questions?”
“We’re with you, Boss,” Paolo says, followed by a roar of affirmation from the rest of the party.
“Good. Your loyalty will be handsomely rewarded.”
Hang in there, Mia, my love. I’m coming.
* * *
Bruno arranges transport for the men and me, so that we don’t have to announce our arrival in Texas with too much fanfare. I don’t know how entrenched the enemy is over here, so I prefer to keep my arrival a secret.
I’ve had ten hours to contemplate what I’m going to say to Mia, but now, sitting here in the car, speeding my way to her, I’m a little less confident than I was when I left Rome.
I still don’t know if she called me because she wants to be with me or if it’s a knee jerk reaction to the danger she’s in. I hope to God it’s the former. I cannot imagine losing her again, especially now that she’s within my grasp once more. And Angelo! My son. My fatherly heart aches for my son. The fear he must have felt when he was taken from his mother. I don’t know who did this yet, but whoever it was had better pray to their maker that I never find them.
I call Mia from the house Bruno arranged for me. It would be foolish to go straight to Mia’s as she is most certainly being watched.
“I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Nervous.”
“Don’t worry. I think we need to arrange a place where we can meet. Better make it public. Somewhere the people who are following you won’t suspect anything.”
“Yeah, we can do that. I’ll send you a location.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
“Right, boys. Time to dress like tourists,” I say once I end the call. “We can’t go around looking like a Don and his muscle.”
I hardly recognize myself by the time we leave the house. I hope Mia does. I look like a female German tourist in full regalia. The men don’t look like they’ve ever seen the Italian mainland either.
It’s 6 p.m. when we get to the aquarium. There must be a visiting school program in progress because there are kids everywhere. Good news for us, as it will be easier to get lost in a crowd.