Page 35 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter Thirty

MARCO

Something is wrong.

The moment Andre and I pull up to the cabin, my blood turns cold, and a heavy weight settles in my stomach as I notice tire marks on the ground.

It seems whoever was here left in a hurry from how churned up the path is.

If that wasn’t enough to send me into a panic, I notice the broken door, and all the air leaves my lungs.

“Shit.” I throw open the door of the car and climb out, Andre following close behind.

We both draw our guns as we charge up the front steps of the cabin.

My heart slams against my ribs in a brutal rhythm as I brace myself for what I’m about to find.

Please don’t be dead.

The cabin is too quiet as I cross the threshold. Nothing seems different or out of place except for a blood stain in the middle of the floor.

That wasn’t there before .

I bend down and run my fingers through it, cursing under my breath when my fingers come away wet. “It’s fresh.”

“Fuck. How the hell did they get inside?”

“Looks to me like brute force. So much for this being a safe house.”

Andre looks around. “Lila?”

An answering sob has my brother almost stumbling.

I get to my feet and follow after him as he throws open a door to one of the bedrooms and almost collapses to his knees.

“Lila…”

Her arms are around his neck in an instant, her body trembling with the force of her sobs as she clings to her husband.

I can’t find it in myself to feel relieved at the sight of my sister-in-law, not when I’m yet to hold Clara’s warm body in my arms.

At any moment, I expect her to appear, to throw her arms around me and kiss me. But she doesn’t.

That’s when panic starts to build.

I push past my brother into the bedroom and quickly scan it for any signs of her.

All I find is Rosa and the babies huddled in the corner of the room, all of them crying.

“Where the hell is Clara?”

“Marco.”

I whirl around to find Marissa hiding behind the door, curled beside Alio. Her own face is stained with tears, and she’s clinging to Alio’s hand as if she’s afraid to let go.

“No,” I breathe as I spy his blood-stained shirt.

Alio is dead.

Marissa looks up at me, her eyes wide and glassy.

"They shot him.” Her lower lip trembles as she clings to Alio’s lifeless body. “I-I tried to save him, Marco, but he…he lost too much blood…"

As she starts to sob, a fresh wave of rage burns through me, threatening to snap the last thread of restraint I have left as I look down at Alio.

Despite every precaution, one of our own has ended up dead.

“They won’t fucking get away with this.” My finger flexes on the trigger of my gun. “I can promise you that, Marissa.”

“Marco.” She grabs my wrist. Her fingers are ice-cold, and her eyes are wild and desperate as she looks up at me. “They took Clara.”

My body stills.

Everything inside me turns cold.

Clara.

“No,” I choke as I whirl around, my eyes furiously scanning the rest of the room.

I had hoped she was hiding in one of the other bedrooms, but I was wrong.

She’s gone.

Rosa starts to cry as she clutches Holly and Zoe. Both of the babies’ faces are bright red and tear-stained as they try to fight against Rosa’s hold.

When Zoe looks at me, she starts crying even more, holding up her chubby hands to reach for me.

I round on Lila, who is clinging to Andre as she stares at me. “What the hell happened?”

Her lips are moving, but no sound is coming out. She’s completely frozen.

I need answers. I need to know what the fuck has happened to the mother of my child. The woman I love.

My gaze snaps back to Rosa. She’s pale and shaking but still holding herself together better than Lila .

She swallows hard, straightening slightly as she meets my eyes.

“S-she sacrificed herself,” she whispers, her voice cracking.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Rosa’s throat bobs as she blinks back tears. “She told them to take her. S-she made them leave us alone.”

I turn away, dragging a hand down my face, as I try to think, to breathe. But the rage is boiling over, searing through my veins like molten fucking lava.

“Goddamn it, Clara!” I send my fist into the wall.

My outburst causes Holly and Zoe to start wailing, but I don’t have the capacity right now to feel bad.

How could Clara do this? Did she really think that I wouldn’t come for her?

Andre looks at all the women. “Did you see who took her?”

Marissa shakes her head. “N-no. Alio…he told us to hide.”

Andre frowns. “But Clara didn’t?”

“She refused.”

I’m barely listening, not when my rage is being drowned out by something much worse.

Fear.

The kind that wraps around my throat and squeezes so hard that I can’t take a breath.

What if I don’t get to her in time? What if she ends up like Melanie?

The thought nearly destroys me.

I pocket my gun before crossing the room toward Rosa. I take Zoe from her arms and hold her close, needing a piece of Clara to hold on to while I try to think.

She clings to me, her tiny fingers pulling at my shirt as she whimpers.

I gently stroke her back, inhaling the soft familiar scent of her .

“I’ll get her back, baby girl. We won’t lose her.”

Andre places a firm hand on my shoulder. “Marco. We need to act now.”

Before it’s too late.

“What do you suggest?” Having Zoe in my arms is helping to keep me from exploding, but I can’t hold her forever.

At some point, I am going to have to leave her behind and face the reality that I might not ever see her or her mother again if Tommaso has his way.

“I don’t like the idea of the girls staying here. Tommaso could decide to come back for a second look around.”

I sniff my baby’s hair to ground myself. “I agree.”

“We should take them back to the house and then go after Clara. Jax and Enzo have already prepped the rest of the guys to be ready for an ambush. They can meet us along the way.”

I turn to face my brother and note his grim expression.

He and I both know we could already be too late, but we have to at least try.

I attempt to take a deep breath, but my chest is too fucking tight.

I want to stay positive, not just for Zoe but for myself because god knows I’ll fall apart if I don’t. But I can’t help but think back to Melanie.

Losing her almost broke me beyond repair, and I never thought I was going to be capable of loving anyone again. Until Clara.

If I lose her…

I swallow hard as I hand Zoe back to Rosa.

My daughter immediately starts crying and I feel like my body is being torn apart by grief, but we can’t waste any more time.

“I can’t lose her, Andre,” I choke as I look at my daughter.

Despite the dark hair and eyes that are mirrors of my own, she has so much of Clara in her. It’s in the way her entire face lights up when she smiles and the slight dimple in her chin.

Zoe can survive without me in her life, but not Clara. She needs her mother, and I will do whatever it takes to bring her back.

“Marco.” Andre grips both of my shoulders and shakes me. “Look at me. You’re not going to lose her.”

“We played right into his fucking hand. I never should have left her here.”

“You didn’t know?—”

“I should have. I promised I would protect her, and I fucking failed.”

“Then you better make it right.”

It’s all I can do to nod, and Andre claps me on the shoulder, already moving into action.

“Lila, Rosa, Marissa, take the babies and get in the car. We’re leaving now.” His voice is calm but firm.

Rosa immediately gets to her feet, clutching both babies as they fight to break free from her hold.

Despite everything, I am proud of how well my sister is handling all of this. She is so much stronger than I give her credit for

Marissa hesitates. “What about Alio? We can’t leave him here.”

Andre looks down at the lifeless body of our cousin and grimaces.

“There’s nothing we can do for him right now, Marissa. Our priority is getting you somewhere safe. It’s what Alio would have wanted. We’ll come back for him, I promise.”

Tears continue to stream down Marissa’s cheeks, but she does as Andre asks. She takes Holly from Rosa, and the two of them carry the babies out into the living room.

Only Lila remains, completely frozen in place with her hands resting on her stomach as she stares at the floor in a daze.

“Lila?” I rest a hand on her arm, and she blinks. “It’s time to go, Lila.”

She slowly turns to look at me, her blue eyes red and swollen as she tries to fight back tears. “She saved us.”

I might be furious with Clara, but I can’t deny that I admire her courage.

Despite her own fears, she was willing to put herself in the line of fire in order to protect my family.

I didn’t think it was possible to love her even more than I already do and all I can hope for is that I get the chance to tell her that.

I squeeze her arm. “Clara did this for you. For the girls. So, you need to stay strong for her now. Can you do that?”

Her lips tremble, but she nods. “Get her back, Marco.”

“I intend to.” And god, do I intend to. So, I flash her a wink despite the sinking feeling in my gut.

Lila follows behind the others and once I’m sure she’s out of earshot, I turn to Andre, my mind is already made up about what our next move will be.

“You need to take them home.” My voice is sharp and unyielding.

Andre’s jaw tightens. “Marco?—”

“I don’t have time to argue.” My hands curl into fists at my sides, barely containing the storm that is brewing inside me.

I’m putting all of my faith in the fact that Tommaso plans on keeping Clara alive as bait to bring me to him. It’s not much to go on, considering the fact he’s a sadistic bastard, but it’s either that or give in to the reality that Clara might be gone for good.

“I’m going after Clara.”

Andre exhales heavily, rubbing a hand over his face .

It’s clear he doesn’t like my plan, not one fucking bit, but he knows better than to fight me on this.

If it was Lila in this situation, he wouldn’t ask for my permission.

After a second, he dips his chin, and I let out a breath.

“I’ll take them home. But then I’m joining you.”

It’s not a question, but I don’t push him. It’s likely I’ll need the backup, so I nod.

“Fine, but, Andre?”

“Yeah?”

“Whatever you do, make sure you keep my daughter safe.”