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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Enzo

We fan out across the property, searching every single room and building from top to bottom. I call Uncle Joe as I’m running around the greenhouse, checking behind plants and under tables.

“I’m on it, Enzo,” he assures me. “We’ll have eyes across the city.”

“Get a hold of Jack and Rocco,” I grunt, stepping into the chilly air again. “Get a group up here to Rafael’s house. We need backup.”

“Got it,” he says, clicking off. I take a deep breath and try to still my insane heartbeat. I swear, if Alexandra’s behind this, I’m going to destroy her. But I already know the answer. I know we’re searching in vain.

I bump into Valentina near the house, and she collapses in my arms. She’s no longer crying, but I see the terror and anguish in her tear-streaked face.

“Nothing?” she whispers into my chest. I stroke her back, giving her a second of comfort amid the chaos.

“I have my guys keeping an eye on the city,” I tell her. “They’re tracking every car coming in from this direction. They’re also sending a group up here to help with the search.”

“She took her, didn’t she?” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “She told us she would, and we didn’t listen. She warned us.”

“We’ll get her back,” I try to soothe her, but underneath my bravado, I’m terrified.

“Enzo!” Rafael calls from inside the house. We duck inside and join the rest of our tiny crew in the living room.

Everyone looks hollow-eyed and tense. Even Rosie looks concerned despite the fact that she’s passed out in Lux’s arms.

“Let’s head to town and look around,” he instructs, his breathing coming in fast. I know he just sprinted around the entire property line, confirming that the security system had been disabled. “Valentina, stay here with Lux, would you?”

Valentina looks like she’s about to protest, but I pull her in close and place a kiss on her temple.

“He doesn’t want to leave Lux alone,” I whisper. “And you have the skills to destroy anyone who decides to pay an unwanted visit. Please stay with her?”

She sucks in a shallow breath and nods. I know it’s killing her to stay here instead of throwing herself into the search.

“When the Romano boys get here,” Rafael says apologetically, “you and Jack will meet us in town, okay?”

With Valentina’s blessing, the three of us head to the car. Rafael tosses me the keys, nominating me the driver.

“Just try not to kill us, okay?” He grimaces and climbs into the passenger seat.

Alfonso slips into the back, and I throw the car into drive, flying down the windy driveway. We make it to town in record time and slow to a stop in the main square.

It’s after midnight, and the sleepy town is dark and quiet. Every store window is shuttered, and every resident is long asleep.

“Ideas?” I ask, pulling up beside the little gazebo in the center. My fingers nervously tap on the steering wheel as I scan the dark, silent streets.

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Rafael growls, squinting into the starless night. “We get out and canvas the streets?”

Alfonso’s the first one out of the car. Rafael and I follow suit and convene in the gazebo, spinning around to get a better look at the town.

“Alfonso, take the main road,” Rafael finally decides, slipping into leadership mode. “Enzo, you search the south side—go into the small streets and alleys, too. I’ll take the north side. Meet back here in an hour.”

We nod and split up, determined to find a missing little girl in a dark, sleepy town. We don’t even know if she brought her here—she could be anywhere.

She could be halfway to the city by now. Or on a plane to another country, for all I know.

Despite my hesitations, I make my way through every street, alley, and backyard on the south side of town. After being chased by several dogs and accidentally breaking a mailbox, I end up popping out of the quiet neighborhood on the opposite end of Main Street.

By the time I reach the car, I’m exhausted and demoralized. I lean on the hood, waiting for the others, really wishing I had picked up smoking so I’d at least have some form of stress relief right now.

Rafael’s burner phone vibrates in my pocket, and I yank it out, answering immediately.

“Enzo,” Lenny’s stressed-out voice comes through. “Jack and I are on our way to town. Where are you?”

“Main square,” I say. “We searched the whole place, top to bottom. Nothing.”

“Fuck,” she breathes. “We’re coming anyway. Stay there.”

Alfonso emerges from an alley and spots me. He looks just as distraught and worn out as I feel.

“Nothing,” he says, slumping onto the car and pulling out a cigarette. I stare at it, tempted to ask him for one.

“Same,” I answer, after a long battle with my brain. Rafael’s the last to join us, crossing the street just as a big Cadillac pulls up and Lenny throws herself out of the passenger door.

“Jesus Christ, woman,” Jack screeches from the driver’s seat, slamming on the brakes. “Let me stop the car first!”

“We found nothing,” Alfonso tells her sadly. Jack joins us, and we stand under the streetlight, unsure of our next move.

“Then I guess we go to the city next?” Lenny says, rubbing her face.

“Our men are watching the city, and they’re much better equipped than we are,” Rafael gently reminds her. It once again hits me how much he’s changed since falling in love with Lux.

The big oaf actually learned how to talk to people, how to be empathetic and gentle. Wonders never cease.

“I can’t just sit at home and do nothing,” Valentina says, desperation creeping into her voice. I pull out Rafael’s phone again and dial the numbers ingrained in my brain.

This time there’s no creepy pre-recorded message, just endless rings.

I hang up and try again. Everyone watches me, holding their breath—even Jack, who’s probably the least invested in this, stares at me expectantly.

“She’s not picking up,” I scoff. “Not that I expected her to answer and tell us where she is, but still…”

“Can we track that number somehow?” Rafael asks.

“We tried.” I shake my head. “It’s not assigned to anyone, apparently. She’s done a number on the communication towers around here.”

“Let’s head back home and regroup,” Alfonso suggests. “Better than standing here in the cold. Anyway, I think the consensus is that she’s probably taken her to the city, right?”

Everyone agrees, and even though going home feels like giving up, I don’t have anything else to suggest. We pile back into our cars, driving slower this time, keeping an eye out for unmarked vehicles or anything else suspicious.

We troop inside the house, dejected, frozen to the core, and exhausted. Everyone finds a place to sit in the cozy, warm living room, but I still feel the bone-chilling terror of my daughter missing.

“Let me try a few things,” I mutter, pulling out my laptop.

As I try to hack into communication systems and traffic cameras, the others try to form a plan. I pull up a live feed of the interstate heading into the city from our direction and let it play on the wide-screen TV.

At least there’s that. At least it feels like I’m doing something.

“How did they even find us?” Lux wonders, looking exhausted.

“Maybe a tracker?” Jack suggests.

“Let me see,” I muse. My fingers fly across the keyboard, even as I hope I come up with nothing. If they managed to get a tracking device on us here, they’re more experienced than we thought.

I log into my tracker database, narrow down our location, and a serial number pops up.

“No way,” I breathe, as everyone gathers around me, jostling for space. “There’s a device in this house.”

“Inside?” Rafael clarifies. “Not outside on the car or something?”

“No, it’s in here,” I confirm, looking around. I enter the number into the system, programming my phone to track it, and follow it straight to Valentina.

Confused, I stare at her, and she stares back, open-mouthed and in shock.

“Me?” she squeaks. “It’s on me ?”

I crouch down, inspecting every part of her, and then I see it—a tiny tracking device caught in the broken zipper of her jacket. I pry it out from between the metal teeth and hold it up. The room is silent, no one knowing how to react.

Suddenly, the silence is broken by a strange sound. Classical music? What the hell?

Everyone flies into motion, spreading out to find the source of the sound. But I only see Valentina.

Her face pales, and her hands rise to her mouth, open in horror.