Page 34 of Ravage God

That would be the smart thing to do.

I wasn’t feeling smart these past days. I didn’t really care that much. Not anymore.

I walked into the convenience store. The man working the cash register looked up from his book when the bell dinged, his eyes honing in on me and staying, as if he thought I was here to rob him.

I ignored that and headed straight to the back and took out a case of beer, then walked over to the register. I placed it down on the counter and looked up, smiling at the man.

“I would like to purchase this.”

8

ELIO

I tooka small sip of my beer and looked around the dim bar. It was late, and most of the crowd had dispersed from the place, even if there was still a good two hours before the bar would close for the night.

I didn’t want to go home to that big, empty house. At least, not tonight, anyway. And it seemed Matteo was feeling the same way. He sat beside me and took a huge gulp of his beer, his eyes moving around the room, stopping on some of the few women there. If his goal was to pick up someone for the night, he should have come in earlier.

He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.

“Remind me again why we’re here at nearly two in the morning?”

I shot him a look. “I’m here to enjoy my drink. And your nosy ass is here because you thought I was going somewhere much more exciting than this, and you didn’t want to be left out.”

He purposely widened his eyes and pouted a little. There was something truly shameful about seeing a grown man pouting at me. “Why would you want to leave me behind?” he asked.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered under my breath before turning to him. “Don’t ever look at me like that ever again.”

The fucker laughed and downed the rest of his beer before moving his eyes over to the waitress across the room. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was giving her one of his signature smiles that always seemed to get him laid. Although, I was sure the De Luca name helped some.

He needed to be careful, or one of these days, it was going to get him in trouble, and I was afraid the consequences weren't going to be something he would be willing to pay.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, drawing me away from my thoughts. I barely noticed Matteo getting out of his seat and heading over to the waitress. Valentino’s name popped up on the screen. I checked the time—five minutes away from being two. So there usually wasn't a good reason why Valentino would be calling at this time unless he was in trouble.

“Is everything okay?” I asked in greeting.

“She’s not here,” Valentino called out. I could hear him running, and I sat up in my seat. There was only one “she” he was referring to. “I can’t fucking find her anywhere. Where the hell did she go? Where thefuckdid she go?”

“Calm down and tell me where you’re at.”

“Back at my dad’s house. The fucker is passed out on the fucking couch, empty beer bottles everywhere, and Isa is not in her fucking room.”

My heart raced at his words. Matteo caught my eye, and he quickly came back without saying anything else to the waitress.

“What’s going on?” Matteo asked.

I didn’t answer him but spoke into the phone. “Are you sure she’s not somewhere in the house?”

“I’m fucking positive. I’ve searched everywhere, including the places she liked to hide in when we were kids. She’s not in this house. What if… Fuck. What if they took her?”

“Who?” I asked.

“The stupid fuckers from the Devil’s Wings MC!”

“Hold on. I need you to calm down and think rationally about this. Would those fuckers really be brave enough to kidnap her from your father’s house?”

He didn’t say anything. There was logic in my statement. I knew that.

And why would they take Isa in the first place? If they were going to target someone, it was more likely to be either Luna or Giulia. Except we had Luna and Giulia under lock and key. I closed my eyes, my fist clenching around the phone. If anything happened to Isa…