Page 6 of Escaping the King (The Sovrano Crime Family #13)

Carlo

T he sun shined in through Giselle's shitty window. I really needed to invest in some better window coverings in here.

What was I talking about?

If I had anything to do about it, this would be the last night we'd spend in this postage stamp of a house.

I stretched and yawned loudly. I looked around and didn't see Giselle. I didn't hear her either. Or Dani, for that matter.

Hmm.

Odd.

I yawned again and sat up. My muscles felt a bit stiff today. Probably from all the extra use last night.

I chuckled to myself. Giselle was in a mood last night. Not that it bothered me.

She was almost always ready and willing whenever I was.

But last night she had a little more—desperation in her lovemaking.

Which again didn't bother me one bit.

My neck cracked as I moved it from side to side. I stood and looked at the bed. It was completely fucked up. Blankets on the floor and few pillows, too. We'd grabbed what was absolutely necessary after our last session, and then promptly fallen right to sleep.

I hadn't slept that well in days. Maybe weeks.

I felt fucking fantastic. Energized.

From the hard stirring in my boxer briefs, I was more than ready to find Giselle and start my morning off right.

But she was probably watching a show with Dani. Or doing a puzzle with her.

I'd have to wait until Dani's nap time to throw Giselle on the bed again.

First, I needed a shower.

I wandered a few steps down the hall and stepped into the bathroom. I didn't want to be noisy and get Dani's attention. I really needed a shower after my busy night with Giselle.

After I switched on the taps, I slipped under the hot water, letting it work on the muscles of my back. I washed my hair and soaped up a couple of times—and then I was ready to take on the day.

I pulled a large towel off the rack and dried off. I wrapped it around my waist and headed back to Giselle's room.

I tossed my suitcase onto her bed and yanked out what I needed.

A white T-shirt, boxer briefs, and a pair of jeans.

I wasn't going anywhere special today. Except for the meeting, we'd specifically come home for.

If Stefan hadn't been such a major fuck up and slept with the nanny—we would have had the meeting yesterday.

But as it stood, we'd had to cancel it.

Nick had made that call. And it was likely a good one.

If the three of us had been in a room together yesterday, I'm not sure all of us would have made it out alive.

I zipped up my suitcase and dropped it on the floor. Then I went in search of my fiancée and Dani.

The first thing I noticed was that the TV was off. I would have bet they'd be snuggling on the loveseat, watching cartoons.

My head twisted to the kitchen.

Nothing.

I turned around and walked to Dani's room. I hadn't heard a word when I'd past by it. But maybe Giselle was back at her cleaning frenzy.

Eve had pulled me aside yesterday and said, “I think she might be nesting.” From the look on Eve's face—this was a good thing.

“What's that?” I asked, fully in the dark about whatever the hell she was talking about.

Eve had just rolled her eyes and whispered. “I think she might be pregnant. Nesting is what women do to prepare for a new baby.”

That had certainly gotten my attention.

And I'd made sure we'd had more than enough sex for that to happen.

And Eve was right—Giselle had been acting off yesterday. At first, I attributed it to Stefan's shitty move. But it seemed like something more than that.

Although she was pretty angry with my brother.

We all were.

Well—I shouldn't say I was. I mean, I was pissed that he'd fucked the nanny on Giselle's couch. That was a fucking horrible decision.

But the fact that Stefan had fucked someone else actually helped my cause. Which was to get Stefan to fuck the hell off. So I could marry Giselle and have her all to myself.

Leave it to my brother to put the final nail in the coffin on that. Or more like in the nanny.

Sophia was a hot commodity. You'd have to be blind not to notice her pretty face and generous curves.

But she absolutely paled in comparison to Giselle.

My brother was a fucking idiot.

Thank God.

But at least now things would end up how they were supposed to.

With Giselle as my wife. And Dani as my daughter.

Dani's room was empty, too. I took a quick sweep with my eyes and noticed Dani's bunny was gone. That kid never went anywhere without it.

Something began coiling up in my gut. I didn't like this one bit.

I strode out of Dani's room and down the hall into the kitchen. I didn't see any signs of dirty dishes from breakfast. The sink was dry and so was the rag that hung over the faucet.

No empty sippy cups tossed in the sink or sitting on the counter, either.

Where the fuck were they?

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and walked to the front window. Her car was gone. I peered down at my phone. No new messages.

Not one.

Immediately, I started texting Giselle. “Where are you?” I sent it and waited for a reply.

The only time I took my eyes off the phone was to stare at the half-burned couch still sitting in her front yard. I'd have to deal with that today.

After Giselle texted me back.

A minute later and still no response. I texted again. “Where are you? Text me back so I know you're okay.”

Part of me felt like I was overreacting. And part of me felt like calling in a code red to the family.

I took a deep breath and waited.

They were likely fine. Maybe out on some errand or over at Nick and Eve's.

When ten minutes had passed, and Giselle hadn't responded—I called Nick.

He answered on the third ring. Before he said a word, I cut in, “Are Giselle and Dani over there?”

He breathed out a sigh. “Fuck if I know. I was asleep.” He yawned and I heard Eve's voice in the background ask, “Who is it?”

Nick answered her, “Carlo. He's wondering if Giselle and Dani are over here.”

A small pause and then Eve said, “Why would they be over here?”

I couldn't help the “Fuck!” that exited my mouth. That coiling in my stomach grew tighter.

“How long have they been gone?” Nick asked, and I heard what sounded like clothing rustling.

I breathed out and back in. “No clue. I was sleeping until twenty minutes ago.”

A door closed and Nick said, “You're worried.”

A forced laugh blew out from between my lips. “Obviously.”

I walked back to the kitchen and looked around again. Something felt—off.

“I'm assuming she took her car?”

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. “Yeah. It's gone.”

He exhaled. “Good. I'll check the tracker on it.”

I shut my eyes and thanked the Heavens above that Nick was as protective as he was.

And it made sense that he'd do that. After nearly losing Eve to a group of kidnappers, I could see why he took the extra precaution.

“Great fucking thinking. I forgot you insisted on installing those in all the cars.”

A minute later, I heard Eve's voice through the phone. “Hi, honey,” she said in a quiet, caring voice. “I checked the house and looked outside for her car. I didn't find her. And I've tried messaging and calling. No answer, yet.”

Yet.

Yet.

“Thanks, Eve. I appreciate you doing all that. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

All I heard was a sigh and then a long, “Hmm.” She was thinking hard about it. Eve loved Giselle. And she'd known her the longest out of any of us.

“Not that I can think of. Unless Dani was maybe having trouble with jetlag? The twins were up every half-hour last night. We hardly got any sleep. If Dani was up fussing, I could see Giselle taking her out for a ride to get her back to sleep again. Or to keep her quiet so you could sleep?”

Her words sparked a bit of hope in my brain. But it still didn't sound like something Giselle would do.

She knew I didn't mind if Dani was cranky or sick. I never complained about the noise.

“Yeah, you might be right,” I told Eve, even though I didn't think any of her suggestions were right.

“We'll find her, Carlo. Don't worry, okay?”

Next, I heard Nick's voice in the background. “Hand me the phone, my dear.”

A slight shuffling later, and Nick was back. “I can't find her car.”

My blood stopped circulating in my veins. “What the fuck do you mean you can't find her car?”

He cleared his throat. “I mean, there's no signal showing up from her tracker.”

My chin fell to my chest, and I asked, “Tell me exactly what that means.” I needed him to spell it out for me.

“I'm pretty fucking baffled by it, to tell you the truth. These are state of the art. Not built to screw up and quit. And it's not as though it's been on her car for that long. It shouldn't be malfunctioning. But anything's possible, I suppose.”

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

“I'm about to lose my shit,” I told my best friend the truth. I felt like punching a wall or two right now.

“Don't do that—” Nick said before he was interrupted by his wife.

“Could she have gone to see Stefan?”

That was good thinking—but I shook my head. “She was pretty fuckin' mad at that bastard.”

Nick agreed with me, “She was. But it's still worth a call over to Stefan and see if he's heard from her. He might have convinced her to come over and talk.”

That didn't sound like something Giselle would do. She'd more than sent Stefan on his way. Not to mention burned the couch that Stefan had fucked the nanny on.

“All right, I want you to hold tight for a bit. Let me work on a few things and make some calls,” Nick asked of me. I wasn't sure I could do that. Even for him.

“I can come over,” I suggested.

“No, don't. I want you to stay there in case she comes home. I'll call you back in the next half-hour.”

Then he hung up without waiting for a reply.

“Fuck!” I shouted into the empty house.

Where the hell was my fiancée?