Page 11 of Bound in Promise

Regardless, I can’t rage at Ellie. This isn’t her fault.

And Victoria will skin you alive if you make Ellie cry.

God, I fucking hope so. I hope Victoria will be spitting mad, in fighting shape, when I find her.

If I find her.

If I find her alive.

Slowly, deliberately, I release my crushing grip on the steering wheel and take a deep breath.

“Ellie, did Victoria contact you?”

“Oh!” she squeaks. “Yes, yes, she did. She texted.”

Patience. Don’t yell at Ellie. I clear my throat. “Great. Can you tell me what she said?”

“Um… yeah. She said Liam took her. And she sent me an address in Rochester, New York. It’s a hotel. I looked it up before I called. It’s near-ish to Niagara Falls, so he’s probably taking her to Canada?”

She says the last bit like it’s a question and I catch myself nodding before realizing Ellie can’t see me. “Sounds right. I need the name of the hotel, the address, and when Victoria sent the text.” Ellie rattles off the details and I hastily update my phone’s navigation app. “And Ellie?”

“Yeah, Mr. Moretti?”

“Tell her I’m coming. Call me if she reaches out again.”

“Sir, yes sir!” she snaps cheerily, relief evident in her voice.

I end the call and put the car back in gear, merging with the flow of traffic on I-90 West. I have a confirmed address. And it’s been confirmed that as of—I glance at the time on the car display—twenty minutes ago, my wife was still alive. Thank fuck Ellie is attached at the hip to her phone and called me so soon after Victoria reached out.

Now it’s time to make my own call.

There are only two numbers programmed in my list of contacts on speed-dial. Victoria and…

“Enzo, I need a favor.” I say the words as soon as I hear the call connect. Enzo has never let me down. We go way back, all the way back to my days running around Italy as the Giordano’s favorite enforcer. Enzo had his own ties there. He’s like a Swiss Army knife—useful in creative ways. And Enzo always gets the job done, no matter what the job is or what it takes.

If anyone can get eyes on Liam and Victoria in the next hour, it’s him.

“Name it, friend.”

“Liam took my wife.”

“That takes balls.” I can practically hear Enzo’s eyebrows arch to his hairline. “I didn’t realize your nephew had any.”

I chuckle. “Me either. I have a last-known address, and I need to know if they move.” I repeat the address Ellie shared. Come on Enzo, work your magic.

“Do you know the vehicle?” my friend asks, suddenly all business. I can hear the soft clack of a keyboard in the background.

I growl. No need to protect Enzo’s delicate feelings. “Maybe. Liam took her in her car, but if he’s smart he would have traded vehicles at some point.”

“Your nephew may have grown some balls, but I don’t think brains grow so quickly.” There’s some more rapid-fire typing as I rattle off a description of Victoria’s car. “I have her car at the hotel on their security footage.”

“Is she…” I swallow thickly, unable to finish the question.

“She is walking,” Enzo tells me flatly. “The surveillance cameras aren’t good, but I don’t see any obvious injuries.”

“Good. Can you get a tail on that car?” My fingers drum a restless rhythm on the wheel as I check my speed. As much as I want to fucking floor it, I can’t risk drawing the attention of highway patrol by speeding like a demon. The last thing Victoria needs is for me to be delayed by a traffic stop.

“You wound me, friend.”