Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Anya

“ H ere,” Livy says, handing me a glass of water where I sit behind Saverio’s desk in his study. “Drink this.”

I shake my head. The sight of the water alone makes my stomach convulse. My empty belly protests even though there’s nothing left to expel.

My mouth is dry, but the water won’t help. Just as sitting in Saverio’s chair doesn’t help. I don’t feel closer to him. The familiar worn leather seat doesn’t give me a sense of comfort or safety.

Nicole took over my pacing. She walks to the fireplace and back to the desk. “Why aren’t they calling? Shouldn’t they be there by now?”

I check my phone again. No messages.

“They’ll call when they can,” Livy says.

She changed into her nondescript, unbranded gray tracksuit and pulled her long hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck. Both the hairdo and the attire mirror her state of mind, which says she’s utterly depressed. Hopeless. Which is how I feel despite doing my best to stay positive.

Nicole wears a pair of my leggings and one of my hoodies. I changed into jeans and a sweater.

“I better go check on the guests,” I say.

“They’re fine.” Nicole stops in front of me with her hands on her hips. “Logan is taking care of them. You better stay here in case Sav calls.”

“Remind me to thank your husband.” I scrub my hands over my face. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without him. I never knew he could be such a drill sergeant.”

Nicole’s smile softens. “Mr. Wade is great. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him myself.”

I jump when my ringtone cuts through the space.

Nicole rushes around the desk to look over my shoulder while Livy freezes where she’s been wearing the thread of the carpet thin in front of the gate-facing windows.

“It’s an unlisted number,” Nicole announces for Livy’s sake, her voice tense.

Maybe Saverio is using a burner phone.

I put the phone on speaker and swipe the button to answer with my heart beating in my throat.

Everything inside me turns to ice when the caller says, “Hello, Anya.”

Raphael.

I look up, catching Nicole’s confused and panicked gaze. Livy pads over, her sneakers quiet on the carpet. As always, she’s the level-headed one. She’s calm and self-assured as she motions for me to speak.

“What do you want, Raphael?”

“Now that you’re alone, we can talk.”

“I’m not alone.”

He laughs. “Your husband left forty minutes ago.”

“You’re having the house watched,” I say with unconcealed hatred.

“Just as you’re having mine watched. Call us even.”

Not by a long shot.

“What do you want?” I ask again, trembling inside.

My brain connected the dots, but I don’t want my suspicion to be true.

“It’s not a question of what I want,” he says. “I think you’re the one who wants something rather badly.”

It takes a moment before his words sink in even though the truth already hit me when he said hello. My heart swings like a pendulum between my ribs, every beat physically hurting. “You took Claire.”

Nicole’s lips part on a silent gasp. What grounds me is Livy’s lack of panic. I hold on to her emotionless expression, deriving strength from her serenity.

“Technically, your mother took her,” he says. “But I’m the one who has her now.”

My mouth is so dry it’s difficult to swallow. “ What do you want ?”

“I want the video Elena gave to your husband, and I want to know where he’s hiding my pregnant wife.”

“It was me.” It’s vital that he believes me. “Elena gave that video to me, and I’m the one who helped her get away. Saverio had nothing to do with it.”

“If you’re lying, you and your daughter are dead.”

“I’m telling the truth. I know what’s at stake.” My voice doesn’t betray how close I feel to fainting. “I want proof that you have Claire.”

“I anticipated that.”

A photo drops in my messages. I click on the notification with a shaky finger. The image that stares back at me will haunt my nightmares forever. Raphael Morelli sits in a chair, rocking Claire in his lap. I can’t make out the background except for a bare concrete wall and a sealed window. It’s mostly dark.

It takes everything I have to stop my voice from breaking. I want to ask how she is, if she’s crying for me. If he fed her. If her diaper is dry. But all I manage to get out is, “Is she all right?”

“For now,” he says, his tone smug.

“Tell me where to meet you. I’ll bring what you want.”

“Come alone or prepare to say goodbye to your girl.”

“I can’t come alone,” I say, thinking on my proverbial feet. “You’ll hand Claire over to a caretaker in exchange for the video, and when they’ve left safely, I’ll tell you where Elena is.”

Nicole shakes her head so vehemently her updo comes down. Livy only purses her lips.

A moment of silence follows. If Raphael plans on letting Claire go, he’ll accept the offer. He can do with me whatever he wants once he has me in his power. He can use me to lure out Saverio, or he can torture me until I give up Elena’s location. If, however, he has no intention of letting Claire live, he’ll have a problem with my terms. In that case, he won’t let her leave with a caretaker. But I’m bargaining on the fact that he wants to know where Elena is more than he wants anything else. The humiliation she caused him was too great. And he knows I’ll never tell him if he doesn’t let my daughter go. Claire is his biggest bargaining chip.

After another beat, he says, “Fine. Bring that old granny. What’s her name again? Libby.”

“Livy,” I say, blood gushing in my ears. “Livy is frail. It’s not a good idea. I’ll bring a guard.”

Livy steps up, mouthing, “I’ll go.”

“No can do,” Raphael singsongs. “No guards. No weapons. Just you and the old bird. You’ll both be searched. I’ll text you the location. If you send your husband with an army instead of bringing me what I want, you know what’ll happen to your sweet baby girl. I’ll cut her to pieces, starting with these cute little toes and fingers. I’ll have her delivered to you in a box. I’m sure you get the picture.”

I swallow down bile. “I also have a condition. If Livy and I come alone, you’ll be alone as well.”

He laughs. “You’re not in a position to make demands.”

Is that a baby crying in the background? I look at Nicole quickly. She nods. She must’ve heard it too.

“I’m not walking into a trap,” I say.

“You’ll just have to take your chances. Or you do want me to send you an incentive? What do you prefer? A finger or a toe?”

I clench my teeth hard to prevent myself from crying with rage. “I’ll come with Livy.”

“Good,” he croons. “I’m already looking forward to it.”

The line goes dead.

“You can’t go,” Nicole cries out. “We have to call Sav.”

“We can’t do that,” Livy says. “Raphael isn’t a fool. He’s a dangerous man backed into a corner. If he thinks he’s going down, he’ll rather take Claire with him than give her back to her mother.”

A shudder runs through my body. My breathing turns shallow. Raphael has my baby. He already tried to kill us once. This time, he’ll finish the job. I have to get Claire back. I have to save my daughter. It’s all I dare to focus on.

When I turn to my friends, a strange calmness comes over me. “Nicole is right. We have to call Sav, but not straight away.”

Nicole gives a start. “What are you getting at?”

“You’ll let him know where we are, but not a second before I say so.”

Her cheeks lose their color. “You can’t seriously consider going in alone with Livy.”

“This is what we’ve been preparing for,” I point out gently.

“No.” Nicole backs away, waving her finger from side to side. “Oh no-no-no-no. We prepared for stitching Sav up if he gets shot or nicked. We prepared for other scenarios, not for this.”

“You know that’s not true.”

Nicole looks at Livy. “Tell her. Tell her it’s crazy.”

Livy’s reply is calm. “If you were in Anya’s shoes, what would you do?”

“Don’t you start with that.” Nicole plasters a hand on her neck and walks to the window. “Don’t even think about playing that card. If anything happens to the two of you…” Her voice breaks. “I don’t give a damn that Sav will kill me. I’d rather he slit my throat than live with the guilt.”

“This isn’t about your guilt,” Livy says harshly. “This is about Claire, or did you forget?”

“Dammit,” Nicole exclaims, pinning her arms at her sides as she faces us. “Of course I haven’t. How can I?”

“Then help us,” I beg.

My phone pings with a notification.

“Shit,” Nicole says, tilting her face to the ceiling and pacing with her palm pressed on her forehead. “Shit, Anya.”

I look at my phone. “He sent the location.”

Livy and Nicole observe me with pale faces.

I swallow. “We have twenty minutes to get there.”

Livy marches over and yanks the phone from my hand. She studies the address pinned in my maps app. “It’ll take us fifteen minutes to get there if nothing slows us down on the way.”

“Fuck.” Nicole drops her hand to her side, looking defeated. “What do you need me to do?”

“You’ll let Saverio know where we are five minutes after we leave here and not a second earlier.”

“Do you have a tracker?” she asks. “He’ll confiscate or destroy your phone, and he may decide to change locations.”

“Of course I do.” I try to smile. “I don’t make half-assed preparations.”

“Where can we hide it?” Livy asks. “You heard him. He’s going to search us.”

Nicole rubs her eyes with the heels of her palms. “You better hide it in Anya’s vagina.”

“That’s such an ob-gyn way of thinking.” A crack of a smile breaks through Livy’s lips. “You can stuff it into a tampon. Just color it red with a little wine. That way, he won’t want to touch it.”

“Let’s hope so.” Nicole checks her watch. “You have three minutes.”

“Livy.” I take her hand. “We’ll go in two cars. Keep your gun in yours. The moment you have Claire, you drive out of there, do you hear me?”

Understanding washes into the midnight blue of her eyes. No matter what happens, whether I make it out or not, I want Claire to be safe. I’m telling her to leave me behind, to take my baby and to run. I trust her to honor that wish.

She consents with a terse nod.

“Okay.” I squeeze her hand. “Let’s get ready.”

“What if he kills both of you and Claire when you get there?” Nicole asks.

“He’s not going to kill us,” I say. “Elena dealt him the ultimate blow when she left. He wants to find her more than anything, especially as she’s pregnant with his baby and his heir.”

“Are you going to tell him where to find her?” Livy asks in a small voice.

“No.”

Nicole’s eyes flare. “He’ll torture you until you tell him.”

I say on my way to the door, “By then, Saverio will be there.” Hopefully.

Eighteen minutes later, we park on the outskirts of an abandoned factory. Livy gets out of her car and leaves her key under a nearby rock in case Raphael takes her bag, which I’m certain he will. I do the same. Then we walk to the gate.

The thick chain that held the gates together are broken. We squeeze through the narrow gap. A lock isn’t even necessary. The gates are stuck in the thick grass tussocks and mud. We trot over a fissured parking lot to the corrugated iron building in the distance. When we’re a few yards away, a man opens the door and steps outside.

It’s not Raphael.

My stomach bottoms out.

Livy and I share a look. He walks toward us with big strides, grabs my arm, and drags me over the parking lot before yanking me inside. Livy follows. The metal door slams shut behind us, basking us in light.

A battery-operated lamp flickers. I blink a couple of times for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

Shit.

Five men are posted around the open space with Raphael standing in the middle.

“Welcome, ladies,” he says, taking a wide stance.

He’s dressed in a white shirt and tailored black slacks, but the clothes look shabby on him. He lost weight. His stubble is days old, and his hair needs a cut.

He nods at the man who brought us in. “Get their bags.”

The man jerks the straps from our arms and throws the bags at another one who catches them in mid-air. While the man dumps our handbags on a trestle table and unzips them, I catalogue the weapons. Raphael has a gun in his waistband. The rest of the men have automatic rifles.

“Clear,” the man says, leaving our bags open on the table.

I’m surprised they don’t destroy our phones. It can only mean two things. Either they want Saverio to find us because they set a trap, or we’ll be dead before my husband can get here. Neither option is what I hoped for. It makes me break out in a cold sweat beneath my puffy jacket. Bile pushes up in my throat.

Not now.

Please don’t get sick now.

“Strip,” Raphael says.

Having expected it, I don’t flinch. I kick off my sneakers and remove my clothes until I’m standing in front of him in nothing but my black underwear set. It’s cold, but I hardly register the freezing temperature.

Raphael drags a leering gaze over me. “Pat her down.”

I glare at him. “It’s pretty damn obvious I’m not hiding any weapons. Where’s my daughter?”

He only smiles as two men come forward. Lifting my chin, I hold Raphael’s gaze as I raise my arms, allowing one of the men to search me. He goes as far as checking inside my bra and slipping a hand between my legs.

When he straightens with a smirk, I say, “You’re going to regret that.”

He only grins wider.

Livy suffers the same treatment. She strips down to gray winter undies and bears the prodding and patting. When that’s finally done and we reach for our clothes, Raphael shakes his head with a click of his tongue.

“Let her get dressed,” I say, shivering despite not feeling the cold. “I’m not sending her back outside in her underwear.”

He consents with a jut of his chin.

While Livy hurriedly pulls on her tracksuit and sneakers, I face Raphael squarely. “Where’s my daughter? I want to see her.”

“Where’s the video?”

“On a USB key in my bag, but you’ll only get the Cloud password where the backups are stored once Livy and Claire drive away from here.”

A slow smile curves his lips. “You have some brains in that pretty head of yours after all.” He turns to one of the men at his back with a wordless instruction.

The man disappears through a door on the side. I reach for my sweater again, but Raphael barks, “Leave it.”

Fine. I let the men get their fill, giving Raphael a cutting look.

A moment later, the man returns. At first, it appears as if he holds nothing but a scrunched-up blanket. My heart nearly tears from my chest as he carries the small pink bundle toward Livy.

I hold my breath, clenching my hands so hard my knuckles hurt. He unceremoniously dumps the bundle in Livy’s arms. I reach for it, the weight reassuring as my pulse continues to skyrocket. I nearly burst into tears of relief when I pull away the edges to reveal my baby’s face. Her eyes are closed in a deep sleep.

This isn’t normal.

Claire doesn’t sleep like this.

Shooting Raphael another glare, I feel her pulse.

“Don’t worry,” he drawls. “She’s alive.”

Her pulse is strong. “What did you do to her?”

Livy cradles Claire against her chest.

“She wouldn’t stop crying.” Raphael shrugs. “I gave her a little something to calm her down. It’ll wear off in a couple of hours.”

“What the fuck did you give my baby?” I ask, my fingers poised like claws at my sides. Like a lioness driven by instinct to protect her cub, I want to pounce.

“I checked that it’s safe for her age. I guess I have to learn about these things. After all, I have one of my own on the way.”

“Let me get my bag so that I can give you the video,” I say. “Then I want you to let them go.”

He strolls to my bag and peers inside. “I’ve always found women’s handbags a good reflection of their minds. So messy.”

Biting back a retort, I say, “In the brown envelope. You’ll want a laptop to check the content.”

He pulls out the brown envelope and rips it open before letting the key glide onto his palm. A man runs up with a laptop, opening it on the table between our handbags. Like me, Raphael came prepared.

He inserts the key in the USB slot of the laptop. A few clicks of the built-in mouse tells him what he wants to know.

“Now let them go,” I say. “I’ll give you the rest of what you want.”

Smirking, he looks at Livy before motioning with his head toward the door. One of his men opens it. Livy doesn’t hesitate. She turns around and walks with a stiff back through the door frame, clutching Claire in the death grip of her arms. I have so much gratitude for this woman right now. Brave like only Livy can be, she doesn’t look back.

I go to the door, stopping just inside. The man who let them out stands next to it with a taunting expression on his face, daring me to make a run for it. Ignoring him, I watch Livy cross the open parking lot. Every step she takes echoes with a deafening thud of my heart in my ears. I don’t even care that I’m giving the men a good ogle at my pantie-clad ass. I don’t dare to breathe, praying that no one is going to jump out of the bushes and shoot them or drag them back here.

After what feels like forever instead of seconds, Livy makes it to the gates. The last few paces are the worst, my nerves drawing my stomach into a tight, painful ball, but everything goes according to plan.

Livy gets into the car, not bothering with the car seat. We agreed the priority was getting out of here. Once she’s a good distance away, and only if she’s not being followed, she’ll stop to strap Claire into her car seat. I don’t move until the headlights come on and the car pulls onto the road. A weight lifts off my shoulders when the taillights disappear around the bend.

I turn back to face my enemy. The blue light flickers on the USB key before turning to a solid green.

“See?” Raphael raises his hands. “I’m a man of my word. Seeing that I’ll be a father in six months myself, I understand how it must feel. Fatherhood gave me a new way of looking at the situation. It made me realize we shouldn’t drag innocent children into our war.”

“How noble of you,” I say with sarcasm.

“Now you’re going to give me that password.” His smile turns cold. Dangerous. “And then you’re going to tell me where you hid my wife.” He takes two steps toward me. “I heard they gave you a nickname, Lady Luck. You know what that means. You’re one of us now. You’re no longer an innocent pawn or collateral damage. You’re not an untouchable wife.”

I throw an accusation at him. “That didn’t stop you before.”

“Ah, you mean the attack in the church.” He flashes a row of unnaturally white teeth. “Back then, you fell into the collateral damage category. Now, the same rules that apply to us men apply to you. You took something from me, and you’ll pay the price. You’ll get the same punishment I reserve for men. Unlike a child, you’re not innocent. You knew exactly what you were doing when you took Elena and my unborn baby from me. Do you have any idea the hell I went through?”

“You should’ve thought about that before you left bruises on her body.”

“My relationship with my wife isn’t your business.” He smirks. “But don’t worry. When my men are through with you, you’ll have much worse bruises. If you give me what I want without playing games, I’ll end you quickly when they’re done. Or we can film the orgy and send it to Sav. What do you say?”

I want to spit in his face. “I told you I’d give it to you.”

“Such a courageous martyr. It’s amazing what women will do to protect their children. I hope my Elena will love our baby just as much.”

“Go to hell,” I bite out.

“Oh, and just in case you wondered, we’re not changing locations. I’m counting on Livy to tell your husband where we are. That’s the only reason I let her go.” He walks to a crate and kicks off the lid, revealing a dozen grenades sitting like eggs between the dividers. “And when he comes for you, I’ll be ready.”