Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
I get to the bathroom and throw open the door. I kick in each stall, and they’re all empty. That’s when I see Emelia’s clutch on the floor alongside her phone.
“Fuck!” I pull out my phone and call Giulio.“ They have her. They fucking took her. Did they see you? Do you have eyes on them?”
“They saw us. But not before I could mark their car with a tracker. We’re following but keeping a far-enough distance. We didn’t want to let them know we’re onto them, sir. I had to change the plan. Emelia not being there put us back.”
“Fuck, Giulio, listen to me. They fucking have her. They got Emelia.”
“What?” he hisses.
“Yes. I need you to get to her. I’m tracking you now. I will get there as fast as I can. Do not let them hurt her. Do you understand me, Giulio?”
“Yes, sir.” He cuts the call, and I rush out. I see the nearest SUV and take it. I don’t give a fuck who it belongs to. The valet hollers after me, but I’m already gone. I weave in and out of traffic, following the tracker on Giulio's phone.
I can’t speed fast enough. I can’t get to her quickly enough. My phone pings then. It’s a message from an unknown number, and I almost don’t open it, but I see Emelia’s name in the body of the message.
Unknown
With Emelia gone, you have me and I have you. Love, Natalia.
Fucking bitch! Is it her? Did the Notellis not have a part? I hit the Call button, and Natalia answers.
“Baby,” she coos, and I cut her off.
“You fucking bitch. Where is my wife!”
I hear Emelia scream then.
“Emelia!” I yell into the phone, nearly sideswiping a car in my pursuit.
“Aw, so cute. You two like each other. That’s sweet. Anyway, with her gone, I can come back.” Natalia’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and I will not hesitate to put a bullet in her delusional skull.
“Where are you?”
“Nico, it’s my family! Don’t— Ah! Ow! Please, stop!” Emelia screams in the background.
“Oh, that looked like it hurt.”
“I will kill everyone in that fucking room, Natalia. You included. You just watch.”
“Good luck finding us. Your men couldn’t keep up. We will talk tomorrow, when the problem is solved. I will change your mind about us.”
I go to yell back at her, but the call ends, and I slam my hand down hard on the dashboard.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I call Giulio, still tracking him.“It’s Natalia. She was in on it. They used her to get to Emelia. How close are you?”
“No more than three minutes, sir. Where are you?”
I see Giulio on the tracker right in front of me, and I flash my lights. “Move faster.”
“Yes, sir, we have to take a sharp right in less than a mile. She’s in an underground parking lot in a new development that looks to be under construction still. We can’t drive in. They will hear us. We need to go by foot.”
“Fine. Just hurry.”
He ends the call, and I ride his ass all the way there. When the hard right comes, we almost take out a row of cars at a light. Abruptly, he begins to slow down, and I do too. I see the construction and know we’re almost there.
“I’m coming, baby. I will get to you.”
Rolling to a stop, we all leave the SUVs and draw our guns.
“Giulio, I want you to come in this entrance with me. Phillip, you three, go around the back and see if there’s another entrance. I want to come from both angles, so they aren’t prepared. Nodding, they head around the building, and I take the lead into the garage. Being as stealthy as we can, we stay against the walls, and that’s when I hear Emelia yell.
“He will kill you! What is your plan now? Kill me, and then what? You can’t fucking hide from him, you coward!” I hear a sharp slap, and she cries out, and my teeth grit. Careful now.
A lion doesn’t pounce until the opportune moment.
“Stay here. Wait until you hear gunshots before you come in. I don’t know what to expect down there, and if we storm in all at once, they may shoot her, and we can be outnumbered.”
Giulio nods and pulls out his phone to communicate that to the other men. I make it to the third level and peek around the corner to the fourth landing, and that’s when I see her. She’s tied to a chair, with her two brothers on each side of her. Sal has a knife to her neck, and Lorenzo has her hair in a tight grip. I clutch my gun and release a slow breath. Looking back, I see Natalia standing in the corner, enjoying the show. That fucking bitch has it coming. Giuseppe stands in front of his daughter, some type of knife in his hand beside his waist.