Page 67 of A Treasure To Keep
“The accident was with one of those self-driving cars, meaning no one was driving. Normally, self-driving vehicles do a decent job of following the rules of the road. In this instance, we believe it may have been programmed somehow to speed and merge too early. What we’re trying to say is that the signs show someone intentionally hit Ms. Gallo’s car. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt her?”
“That’s ridiculous. El is kind and amazing. No one could hate her enough to intentionally harm her or the baby. Who did the car even belong to?”
The unsympathetic one speaks next. “The plates were taken off the vehicle, but the VIN led us to a Giovanni DeAngelo. Does that name mean anything to you?”
Giovanni. Could he honestly have enough hate in his bones to do this? “Yes. He’s a family friend of the Gallos and her ex-fiancé. Even with his fragile ego, I don’t see him being this vengeful.”
Both of them nod simultaneously. I can assume they have been partners for some time, balancing themselves out in the good cop-bad cop dynamic with similar mannerisms. “I see. Regardless of your opinion, he’s our only suspect as of now. We plan on tracking him down once we’ve given you a ride.”
They asked me if I needed a ride after they finished with their line of questioning, which, of course, I accept. Even if I owned a vehicle, I’m not sure if I would have the mental strength to drive right now.
The walk is quiet when we approach their car. There’s only one question on my mind, one question I’m not sure if I’m ready for the answer, but one I need to know.
The driver’s side door closes, and I hear the sound of the engine. The second the car is shifted in reverse, I ask the question I should dread. “El is pregnant. Is the baby okay?”
Unfortunately, the unsympathetic one answers. His neutral tone doing nothing to settle my nerves. “Any medical-related questions need to be answered between you and her doctor.”
Sont-ils sérieux? Mon trésor and my baby are in the hospital, and they tell me nothing. I bite my tongue to keep from cursing at them.
The twenty-minute car ride is painfully long until I see the sign for our exit is three miles away, confirming we’re getting close to the hospital. A cleanup crew is on the other side of the highway, and I can’t help but think that it could be from the accident. I know that’s the path she would have taken from the Leone estate to the shop. A choking noise catches in my throat, and the officer in the passenger seat catches my eyes through the rearview mirror. His sympathetic eyes convey that he understands what it means. I break our eye contact, focusing on my hands as I twiddle my thumbs.
Something has been biting at me since I asked about my baby. The last thing El would want is for him to be there, but I’d want to know if I were him. I pull my phone out of my pocket, calling the man who created the baby I’ve fallen in love with.
Chapter 73
Marco
I’m sneaking back into the house after El’s baby shower, hoping that she didn’t stick around. Her vehicle is gone, even though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. With the copious amount of gifts on the table, it’s feasible that they pulled her car into the garage for easy access to load everything up.
My phone rings, and when I pull it out of my back pocket, I’m shocked to see Andrea’s name light up. Other than the vague text here and there, we haven’t been in contact in months. My lawyer and their lawyer mainly play middleman between this mess I continue to push.
“You need to contact my lawyer if this—” It catches me off guard when he cuts me off, saying a series of sentences that practically make my heart drop out of my body.
“El got hit by a car driving home from her baby shower. The police won’t tell me anything. I’m on the way to the hospital to speak with her doctor. I thought you deserved to know.”
Those words are a punch to my gut. “Who the fuck hit her?”
“It was a self-driving vehicle registered to Giovanni DeAngelo.”
Giovanni. That disgrace of a man.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital. I have a little bitch boy to find.”
I hang up the phone, fire in my veins, ready for revenge.
Surprisingly, finding Giovanni isn’t that difficult. He posts a fair amount of his life online, including showing off the car that hit El. He’s got some big balls walking around while pretending nothing happened after his car hit her. I tracked him down to the gym he belongs to, snatching him after he was done flirting with some girl. She has no idea what I saved her from by snatching Giovanni.
I’m straddling a chair in the basement, flipping the pocket knife open and closed repetitively, when he stirs. He whimpers as he attempts to sway back and forth on the medical table I’ve tied him to. It only takes a few seconds for him to realize that he’s not in a bed. His eyes spring open, and his body shakes as he takes in the room, pausing when he sees me.
“Hello, bitch boy. Do you know why you’re here?” Silence. “I guess that’s a rhetorical question. You’re here because, for some dumbass reason, you hit a pregnant woman with a car. Excuse me, I misspoke. You didn’t hit her directly, but you programmed a car to hit her. I will say I’m pretty impressed. Self-driving vehicles are badass on their own, and I’m baffled that you figured out how to get it to that speed without being in the vehicle. I don’t know if I could get it to do that. A new tinkering toy once I’m done dealing with you. Anything to say now?”
“I didn’t hit El!” And there he goes. Spitting out the information I didn’t even carve out of him yet.
“I never said it was El. And technically, you’re not lying. Your car did, though. I’ll ask you more specifically now. Why did your car hit her?” He shakes his head violently, tucking his lips between his teeth to avoid saying anything. I guess he needs convincing.
I walk over to the table full of blades, grabbing a knife sharper than my pocket knife off the top. Before he has a chance to ask anything, he screams out in pain when I quickly slice across his chest, taking the time to watch the blood pool. At that moment, Domenico comes in, letting the door close behind him before he speaks.
“Hey, Marco. Who’s this, and why did you ask for me exclusively?”