71. Antonio

“Where the hell is my wife?” I roar at Tavares through the phone. “And where is Duarte?”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t fucking sorry me.” I want to choke him. “Who has her?”

“We don’t know. Lara was visiting, and she’s gone as well. They found Duarte unconscious in the pantry. It looks like contact poison.”

The Russians. This could have been something Nikitin set up to go down long before we grabbed him. He knew I was in Morocco.

No speculation. I need hard facts.

“How long has she been missing?”

“When Valentina returned home from school, she wasn’t there. Mia found Duarte’s body in the pantry.”

Jesus Christ.

“Is he alive?”

“Barely. They used a blistering agent. It’s touch and go.”

I can’t worry about Duarte right now. “Do we know how long she’s been gone?” I demand, again.

“No. Lara left the house at ten thirty. We assume Senhora Daniela has been gone since then.”

Six hours.

Fuck. Six hours is an eternity. She could be anywhere by now. In any condition. We need to find her.

“What about the camera feeds?”

“We’re working on it. The camera in the garage might have been hacked. But it’s just speculation right now.”

“Do you have any other information?”

“It’s too early—”

I end the call, before he finishes.

“Are the tracking devices on Daniela’s belongings activated?”

“As soon as Tavares called. Several of them are pinging,” he says, pointing to a screen on the wall. “It’s like she packed a bag.”

No. It’s like they wanted us to find her.

“Where is she?”

“I’m trying to figure that out. It looks like Abel’s. But that doesn’t make sense.”

Abel’s? “I sealed Tomas in a chemical bath myself. He did not come back to get his revenge.”

“Lucas is so much better at this,” Cristiano gripes, frustrated.

“Then get him on the fucking phone.”

“I’m already here,” Lucas replies. “The pings are coming from Abel’s. They’re not even being rerouted.”

They want me.“I’m going right now.”

“We’ll round up a team. It won’t take long.”

“Not waiting. Meet me there.” I grab my keys off the desk.

“It’s a trap, Antonio.”

“I don’t give a shit. My wife’s life is in danger. Round up your goddamn team and meet me at my uncle’s house. She’s not going to be alone for one second more.”

“She might not even be there. It could just be her belongings.”

“She’s somewhere.” I don’t let myself think about the horrible things that could have happened to her in six hours. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to function at the level I need to be functioning. If Daniela’s not at the house, there will be something there to help us. Even if it’s a trap.

“That’s our only clue to her. Get in touch with Rafael and get a layout of that house before you go charging in. I haven’t been inside in more than a decade. Rafael hasn’t either, but he might remember it better than I do. Do not, I repeat, do not go inside that house without a cogent plan. That’s how hostages get killed. She’s not dying because we were idiots.”

“Antonio,” he shouts. “You can’t go in without a plan either. They might have already killed her, and they’re waiting for you.”

I’ll take that risk.

“She’s not dead.” I would know if she was dead. But she needs me. “If they want me, they’re going to hold off killing her until they have me.”

“That’s even more reason to wait.”

I shake my head. “Once I’m there, I can bargain. I have lots of bargaining chips at my disposal.” She has nothing. “They want me. We all know it. But while they’re waiting for me to show up, they might be torturing her. I will not wait. If they kill her, it’s because it was always the plan. But at least she won’t die alone.” I can’t let that happen.

“What if they kill you?”

I stop and admit something that I’ve known for a long time but I’ve never said to anyone. But I want them to understand the stakes for me. “I have little reason to live without her.” The words, the truth—my truth—springs from my chest into the somber silence.

Lucas clears his throat. “You need to wear some kind of listening device.”

“They’ll find it and take it out on her. I can’t risk it.”

“Not this one,” Cristiano says, handing me a small device that’s about the size of a SIM card.

“It’s the one we’ve been trying out,” Lucas explains. “The battery life is too short to be effective as a plant, but it will serve us for a few hours. Put it under your belt buckle.”

Once it’s secure, I peer into Cristiano’s eyes.

“Instruct every man you take with you that Daniela’s life is worth a hundred of mine. Convey this order: They save her first. At any cost.”