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I ended the call and dragged a hand down my face. “Fuck.” There were not enough cuss words in the world to describe what I was feeling.

“Wife flew the coop, boss?” Arnie asked.

“Yeah. With Divina and Sloane.” I stalked toward the Expedition that followed the commercial truck. I asked Arnie for the keys.

“Arnie, come with me.” I handed the keys to Gian. “Drive the truck back to the warehouse. Await orders.”

Gian asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Get my wife back,” I said. And I might have to beg.

Bianca

We were gathered in the back of the coffee shop, away from the debris and destruction of the front. Heavy commercial tarps covered the shattered windows and the bullet-riddled walls of the café. A few booths were already dismantled. The bar needed repairs and Renz lost one of his espresso machines.

Nico ordered the construction crew off the premises.

“Nice place…well, except for that.” Sloane nodded to the wreckage and slid into a booth. Divina took the seat in front of her while I sat along the edge beside her.

Nico approached us. “Dad and Mom are on their way. So are Matteo and Sera. I couldn’t get ahold of Renz. They went in for a checkup.”

“How is he?”

“He’s going to be better now,” Nico said.

Before I could ask him further, Dad and Mom rushed through the side door.

The look on my parents’ faces…it was heartbreaking. I hadn’t seen Dad and Mom so haggard. It was as if they’d aged ten years since the last time I saw them. There were bags under their eyes and creases on their faces that weren’t there before. A sign of lack of sleep and weight loss.

The tears came before I could stop them.

“Dad, Mom.”

I stepped into Dad first because he seemed to be the one who needed the hug the most. When it came to emotional turmoil and Dad’s hands were tied, as was in my case, Mom had always been the strongest.

I was crushed in his familiar strength and the consoling scent of Dad’s cologne assailed my nostrils, transporting me back to being his little girl, where my palm always found comfort in his warmth and heartbeat. In true Mom fashion, she hugged us both, sliding into the role of the glue that held the family together.

No words were spoken, but when I shifted, my heart splintered seeing the tears that fell from my parents’ eyes. Dad was ashen beneath his tan and Mom was paler than pale, given the contrast with her red hair.

Dad cupped my face and gave me a kiss on both cheeks while Mom squeezed my hand. “You’re really here.” His ragged whisper cracked my heart further. I had never, ever heard such torment in Dad’s voice. It was as if he’d gone through the nine circles of hell. “I failed you,piccola mia.”

My little one. Dad hadn’t called me that in a long time.

“You did not fail me. It was my fault.”

“I won’t hear of it.” Murderous revenge chased away the shadowed despair in his eyes. “Now that I have you back safely, I’m going to send those Rossis to hell where they belong...”

Alarm dampened the elation of seeing my family. I did not consider this. I was thinking there would be a sit-down between the De Luccis and the Rossis. I was Sandro’s wife and that made me a Rossi too.

“No,” I said firmly.

“No?” Dad’s voice pitched dangerously soft. “Because of the Rossis, your brother was shot. Because of the Rossis,” he enunciated, “my children were kept from me and you were forced to marry one of them.”

“Did Renz explain what happened?”

“They should have returned both of you after the incident. Not hold you prisoners. Your brother could have died of complications because they withheld proper medical care!”

“No argument there. That was Gian Rossi’s play, but Sandro is the boss now.”