Page 39 of The One Night Match (Mafia Matchmaker #1)

THIRTY-NINE

CRUZ

R iley is crushing it.

I’ve been to a bunch of these events, and the woman of the hour almost always cracks under the pressure. Hell, most of the men I know would crack being interrogated the way these vultures have been Riley, but she smiles and nods and answers every one of their ridiculous questions and scenarios.

A fresh glass of champagne appears in front of her, and she doesn’t hesitate to drain the contents before returning to the overcooked chicken on her plate, enjoying the peace and quiet while she can.

It won’t be long before our break is over and Riley will be thrown to the snakes once again, but I already have plans for how to reward her when we get home.

A long bath, a bunch of orgasms, and some gifts I’ve been hoarding until she realized she wouldn’t be going anywhere at the end of the ninety-day window should ease the pain in her feet.

Speaking of which.

“Do you want me to have Ben bring in your change of shoes?”

Her eyes flick up to meet mine with surprise. “How do you know about that?”

I chuckle. “You think this is the first time my driver has hoarded flat shoes for my sister? She does it every single time and thinks she’s sneaky about it.”

“I’m okay for now. I think I can make it a few more hours for the sake of the outfit.” She smirks. “Plus, if I admit defeat and change into flats, there’s no way Monica isn’t getting back in that line to prove how inadequate I am for this position.”

I scowl, the thought of that evil woman being near my wife again making my skin crawl, especially seeing as her stepbrother has been attached to her at the hip all night.

Colten appears in front of us, his eyes alert and worried, which puts me into boss mode like a switch flicking.

“What’s wrong?”

“We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“The kind where the safe house was hit, and our guests are missing.”

The calm I was feeling just moments ago is long gone as I shove myself to my feet. “Davis and the team?”

“Dead or MIA.”

I run a hand down my face and take a look around. Almost the whole family is here tonight, which means if this was an inside job, there are people outside the De Luca organization involved, which is a real fucking problem.

When your rats are internal, it’s only a matter of time before you weed them out.

But there are thousands of criminals in this country, and more abroad.

There are any number of people that Dennis could have aligned himself with.

It doesn’t matter how good Colten is. There’s a chance we won’t figure it out until it’s too late.

Riley squeezes my hand on her thigh. “Go. I’ll be fine here. Do what you have to do.”

My chest tightens at the idea of leaving her here with a bunch of people I’m not sure I can trust, but there’s security at every entrance. No one can hurt her with this many people around.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Absolutely,” she promises.

I only hesitate for another second before pushing to my feet and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “Don’t go anywhere alone. Don’t let Monica or Timothy corner you. If you get worried, go to Lexi or Mom.”

“I’m fine, Cruz. I’ve been living this life since the day I was born. I know the drill.”

I force myself to turn on my heel and follow Colten across the ballroom, not pausing despite how many people try to stop me for a chat.

It’s not until we’re on the street that he finally turns to me, the evidence of his worry clear in his eyes. He’s known for his lack of emotion, but right now his face is showing everything he would normally keep hidden.

“How the fuck did this happen?” he growls. “No one fucking knew where they were. We’re the only ones who know about that safe house.”

“Fuck.” I rub my hand over my face. This is the part of being the boss no one ever tells you about.

The part where you don’t know who you can trust. The part where you do everything right, you’re careful about everything, and yet it still blows up in your face.

The part where everything feels so fucking hopeless.

“What do you want to do?” he asks.

But I don’t have an answer.

It feels like everything we’ve done has been for nothing up to this point, but the moment Dennis and Vernon tell the rest of the family that we were holding them captive, we’re going to have a mutiny on our hands.

“Should have kept them in the cellars,” I mutter.

“Should have just killed them.”

I huff out a laugh, but there’s no humor in the sound. “Let’s head to the safe house to see what we can find out. We’ll be there and back in twenty minutes, and then we can regroup once we’re back home, where everyone is safe.”

T he place is trashed.

Actually, I don’t think that word is strong enough to describe the condition the safe house is in right now.

There isn’t a single surface that isn’t damaged. Blood coats the walls, bodies line the floor, and it’s nothing like it was when we left a few days ago.

“Fuck,” Colten says, his phone clenched in his hand as he checks traffic cameras in the area on the too-small screen.

Normally, he’d have his laptop on standby, but he didn’t think he was going to need it tonight.

Maybe Lexi should have included it with the shoes she had Ben hoard for her.

“Call the cleanup crew. I want this place spotless before the party ends tonight. Once we’re home, I need you to find who the fuck they’ve dragged into our business.

I’m going to start doing some damage control, collecting all the evidence we have that Dennis and Vernon are dirty as fuck to ensure we keep favor with the majority of the family. ”

He nods, tapping out a text on his phone without bothering to look up at me. We’ve been working together for well over a decade at this point, first as my father’s soldiers, and now as the leaders of the organization.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I quickly answer it when I see Davis’s name on the screen. “Davis? Are you okay?”

“Okay probably isn’t the right word,” he groans.

“Where are you?”

“A few blocks from the safe house. When shit went down, your guys made a break for it, and I followed, but whoever they were meeting at the pickup point got the jump on me,” he explains.

“Did you get a good look at them?”

“No,” he sighs. “But I did hear a name that has no place in Seattle.”

“What was it?”

“Jeremy Moretti.”

My chest tightens as dread slams into me so hard it takes my breath away.

That man has no place in this city, and if I catch up with him, he’s going to find himself missing both hands for ever daring to touch my wife in anger, even if it was long before I knew she existed.

“You need an evac?” I manage to ask.

“Negative. I’ve got one of my guys on his way. I’ll meet you back at your place.”

“Thanks, man.”

I hang up and meet Colten’s eye, and for the second time tonight, the panic staring back at me puts me on high alert.

“We have to go.”

“What’s going on?”

“Riley’s missing.”