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CHAPTER 2

CRESSIDA

A drian and his guys were on their way. But that didn't stop me from calling Lake's phone. Then Joaquin's. Then Atlas', and finally Kim's.

I knew it wouldn't work. They wouldn't answer. Whatever happened to them, they were somewhere without their cellphones. I just needed to feel like I was doing something.

Restless energy built up in me until I paced.

Fuck. What if I'd alerted the Pescis that I knew they were taken? Would they be punished? Uncomfortable thoughts squeezed around my neck.

I forced myself to relax. As much as I could anyway. The Pescis knew they had dropped me off. They knew I was alive. I would absolutely try to call them. It would be weird if I didn't.

That was assuming the Pescis collected their phones and had them aligned on a table.

The roar of an engine came first. Then the sound of spinning gravel as a sleek red sports car turned the corner, heading straight toward the parking lot.

Some of the starch holding up my spine dissipated as I recognized Adrian in the driver's seat and Gio in the passenger’s side.

The tires squealed as they braked right next to me. Gio threw open the door and got out. Flipping the passenger seat forward, he climbed in the back. I was already climbing in the front when he pulled it back into place. The entire sequence took less than twenty seconds.

Inside the vehicle, Adrian glanced at me, his gaze working from the top of my head down to my knees. "You're unharmed? I see no evidence of anything more than a scratch, probably from where you were tossed out of the car."

Adrian's smarmy smirks were absent as he flipped the visor down to shield his eyes from the sun. He was serious in a way I hadn't witnessed before. This was the real him.

The danger emanating from these men turned my stomach. The guys had been right. I'd jumped from one frying pan into a bonfire by agreeing to work with these men.

I gripped my phone tight in one hand while I squeezed my other into a fist.

The guys were taken. They were being hurt, beaten, and who knew what else at the hands of some sick bastards. I would work with the devil to get them back.

I didn't go with Lake and let them pull me into their shit, just for them to leave me this way.

Sucking in a breath, I made my decision. That wasn't quite true. I made the decision as soon as I woke up.

All those truth bombs Lake landed on my chest in the kitchen? They stuck.

I would not let them be hurt. I would make an example of everything and everyone to get them back. And then...then we were going to set some things straight.

"You seem like you're working through some stuff," Adrian remarked. There was a hint of his personality in there, but it clashed with his expression.

"What's going on?" I twisted around in my seat to look at Gio. He was their leader, and he had the answers.

Typing furiously on his phone, Gio spared a glance my way. "I'm working with all my contacts to get eyes on the Pescis. Then you're going to draw them out."

I nodded. "You're sure they're the ones who took the guys?"

Gio jerked his chin down in confirmation. "We're almost positive they leaked the video footage. It only makes sense that they'd be the ones to do this." He finished his message and dropped his phone in his lap. When he gave me his full attention, his eyes were bright with furious anticipation.

The hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

I didn't like this. They had a vendetta against the Pescis that I didn't understand. It was clear even if they never said the words. How could I be sure they were actually helping me get my guys back?

Narrowing my eyes on Gio, then Adrian, I debated what to say next, if I said anything at all.

The ticking time clock pressed hard on my chest. Every second without knowing where they were was a second too long. That was unacceptable.

"Where are we going now?" I asked, facing forward again. I didn't recognize this area, but I read the street signs passing by. I tapped my phone open and checked the maps. We were two hours from home.

"We're heading back to our house. It's our command center for lack of a better word." Gio sighed.

Alarm shot through me. They were always around the guys. That meant they had to live close to them, right? "Where's that?"

"About twenty minutes from Snatched," Adrian answered.

"No!" Panic clawed at my chest. "They're most likely somewhere close by. We have to stay here! Search here!"

Adrian flicked me a pitying look as his lips turned down at the corners. "No, Cressida. They could be here, but it's just as easy that they're flying over Texas right now. People like the Pescis? They have more money than God and no brains on how to use it. You're not dealing with someone who doesn't have resources."

A weird squeak escaped my throat as I banged my phone against my thigh. I–shit. They were right, but leaving didn't feel right. Not when this was the last place I saw them.

"I don't want to go back. We need to stop somewhere close by. When we confirm they're somewhere else, then we can leave." Why would we drive almost two hours away only to drive two hours back if they were in a shack somewhere in the woods!

“We’re just over thirty minutes from D.C.,” Adrian said as if he were placating an idiot.

“Thirty minutes from the edge of D.C. But we were on the other side! With traffic, it’s well over an hour, almost two!” Why hadn't I started walking the perimeter of where I was? There could have been some kind of clue, something to–

"Cressida." Gio's stern voice was a crack through the car.

"What?" I yelled, twisting around to see him.

His brows pulled low over his eyes as he took a second to respond. "We're heading to our house. You can go willingly or we can put you in the trunk."

Red shot through my vision. "You assholes! You said you were going to help me get the boys back!" I screamed, punching my hand with my phone toward Adrian's head.

He cursed as he ducked. The car swerved and Gio dove forward, trapping my arms to my body. I panted, twisting to escape his hold. "Let go of me!"

"Stop!"

I didn't.

"I told you she was going to be a problem,” Gio grunted as he struggled to hold me. As soon as I had an arm free, I was going for his eyes. Bastard. I should never have gotten into the car with them.

"She's only a fucking problem because of your lacking people skills," Adrian snarled as he whipped the car over to the shoulder of the road.

This was my chance!

I screamed and bent forward. Gio's hold broke and I swiveled around, bringing my feet up. If I couldn't reach him with my hands, I could damn sure kick him in the eye socket.

"Cressida!" Hands grabbed my shoulders and pinned me to the dash. It was awkward and a twinge of pain radiated from the bottom of my spine. "Stop! I'll tell you what you want to know if you stop!"

He slammed me back hard enough to get my attention. I seethed, but I did stop. If he kept me pinned, I needed to reevaluate how I was going to get away from these fuckers.

My heart pounded in my ears as I caught my breath. I still gripped my phone, not willing to risk one of them tearing it out of my hands.

Adrian bent his head close. "We're going to get them back. We have a vested interest in them returning for a multitude of reasons. We're on your side."

He didn't blink as he stared at me. Was that supposed to show me how honest he was? I scoffed.

"I'm telling you the truth. We're going to get them back. But to do that, we need to be able to access all our electronics and have a place to spread out. The Pescis have eluded us for years. Otherwise, we'd have already taken care of them." He paused, giving me a chance to speak. I didn't. "It's going to take time."

"We don't have time." I sounded like I was speaking down a wind tunnel.

Adrian's face softened a hair as if he pitied me. "We have to take the time, or you'll never see them again."

Just that short sentence was all it took to crack the foundation under my feet. I would not accept a world without them in it. I would find them no matter what. I choked. No matter how, I would find them.

"Fine." The word was barely audible. More like strangled right out of me.

When Adrian was satisfied that I wouldn't fight him, he nodded and pulled back into his side of the car. Gio sat in the center of the backseat with his arms crossed, glaring at me.

Fuck him. I had a different set of priorities and I wouldn't compromise them for anyone.

The car started moving and I rearranged myself in the seat, planting my feet on the floorboard. The tension was so thick, I hoped Gio choked on it.

"I need information. I need to know what you're doing to find them. I can't not know."

Adrian opened his mouth, but Gio snapped, "Adrian!"

Sighing, Adrian flipped the blinker right before he took a turn. We were traveling way over the speed limit. Why even bother with the blinker? It was ridiculous. There weren't even any cars on the road. When I glanced in the side mirror, faded yellow lines were rushing away. The parking lot was already long gone.

My heart squeezed. This felt wrong.

Everything felt wrong.

"We have to tell her some information, Gio. You want her to cooperate or not?" Adrian asked Gio like I wasn't even in the car.

"We don't have to do shit. She helps us or she gets locked up."

I stiffened.

"Whatever. I'm making an executive decision. If she tries to make a break for it, you can lock her up. Deal?" Adrian raised a brow.

"Fine. You can explain to Parker how you're sharing our shit. I won't save your ass this time." Gio tossed his phone beside him.

"Anyway," Adrian settled back against the seat. "We believe the Pescis took them–"

"This whole thing still doesn't make any sense! Why would the Pescis care so much about Lake and Joaquin?" I tossed my hands up.

"We already explained how those men think. It's an ego thing at this point. They can't be seen to back down."

We merged onto a major highway and the car accelerated, leaving my stomach behind. "I really don't get it. This is the mafia you're talking about. You mean they're so bent out of shape because Lake sent a-a head to them–" my stomach rolled, "so they got them arrested," I ticked off on one finger. "Released footage to the news, and kidnapped them?” Two more fingers. “Surely they have bigger threats against them than some models who run a club." I huffed.

Adrian snorted and the seat creaked under Gio.

"That pretty much sums it up. You're also forgetting that these are not smart men. They're testosterone-driven animals. Logic doesn't apply."

I was going to scream again. "Just tell me the plan. Please ." I stressed the last word.

"The plan is, Storm is already working to track down any sources who'll rat on Donnie or Danny. Once we have a location, you'll be placed as bait in a nearby location. When they come for you, we'll capture them, then torture the ever-loving shit out of them to get the location of the Fashion Boys."

"That's too simple." Not to mention, I didn't like it. At all.

Adrian blew out a breath like he was searching for patience. "It's the best we have. Maybe as more information comes in, we'll change course, but right now, we're trying to track down both Donnie and Danny."

I was shaking my head without realizing it. "That's not going to work. We need to be tracking the guys' phones, checking street cameras, there has to be some kind of trail."

Adrian and Gio exchanged glances in the rearview mirror. "What?" A sinking sensation settled in my stomach.

"Their phones are offline. We're doing the best we can. You can help, or you can be locked up," Adrian finished like that was supposed to be the end of the conversation.

Someone's phone rang through the speakers and Adrian hit the call button on the steering wheel. "What do you have?"

"We have eyes on Donnie. He's at a titty bar in Maryland. He's completely wasted, tossing dollar bills on his dick and asking the girls to grab them with their teeth." Disgust came through his tone loud and clear. "We're still looking for Danny. Wait–I'm getting a call from one of our PIs. I'll call you back." The line disconnected.

"If Donnie took the boys, or had someone else take them, he wouldn't be at a strip club." I focused on my knees and my chipped, dirty nails as I worked this out. "He either doesn't know, or he's not involved."

Silence blanketed the car. When I glanced at Adrian, he was staring in the rearview mirror at Gio.

"What?" I demanded, leaning slightly over the console, ready to start throwing punches again.

Gio cursed under his breath. "The brothers are at war right now. It's not public knowledge, and they're hiding it from almost everyone except their top men."

I furrowed my brow, shifting to get a better look at Gio. "Does that mean there's some secret turf war going on?"

Stress lines bracketed Gio’s mouth as nodded. "So if Donnie isn't the one who took them, it has to be Danny."

"How are they having a turf war without the entirety of the mafia knowing?" I hated this. I needed to be focused on getting my boys back. But it didn't seem like I could do that without working the rest of this shit out.

"Very discreetly and covertly."

"What Gio isn't saying is, Granddady died in a pinch and these two cunt lickers thought they could take it over together until they realized they didn't share so well. So they're now trying to take the other out."

"Wait..." Oh, damn. It was all making sense now. "Stevo found out about this, didn't he? He knew they were trying to get rid of each other." Maybe he was collecting documents and evidence too, but if he knew they were fighting, would that kind of thing crumble their organization or–I didn't know. Mafia politics made my head hurt.

"Ding ding ding," Adrian said, but without any of his usual smartassery. "And that's what they think you know, which," he glanced at me, "now you do."

I groaned.

The phone rang again and Adrian picked up the call. This time there was static at the start, and a white noise that sounded like whoever it was was driving.

"Storm?"

"Here. That was Gino. He found Danny, and he's fucking Donnie’s wife. They're at a hotel not that far from Snatched. I'm on my way there now."

Adrian whooped. "We can get at least one of these motherfuckers out of the way. We'll meet you there in," Adrian checked the time on the dash, "about an hour, maybe a little less. Don't start any shit without us."

"Danny isn't in D.C.?" I didn't even give him time to hang up before asking.

"Doesn't appear so." A gleam entered his eyes and his mouth tipped up in a slow smile.

"That means they didn't do it." Stars floated in my vision and my body flashed hot. I was going to pass out.

"They did it. We'll spend all the time it takes to get the location for you. Once you lure Danny out," Adrian promised like this was done and sealed.

"They didn't do it!" Gut instinct had driven me my entire childhood. Maybe I'd lost my way when I was a teenager, but my instincts had always been spot-on about danger. If Donnie was in a strip club in Maryland, and Danny was fucking some woman close to home, they didn't do it. "He'd want to see the guys if he had them. Torture them. Something! That he doesn't care or doesn't know means he didn't do it!"

"It's a celebration, Cressida,” Adrian rumbled.

No, It wasn't. As we raced down the highway, further and further away from my boys, I knew without a shadow of a doubt, the Pescis didn't take them.