Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

I underestimated her. Fuck. I'm completely fucking stunned, staring at my bed. My empty fucking bed, where my little thief is supposed to be. The rustling of curtains has my head snapping up.

"She fucking didn't," I growl while stomping over to the open window. I peer over the ledge and can make out the path Kayleigh took, right down the goddamn fire escape. "I'm going to kill her," I hiss under my breath.

What the hell was she thinking? She could have broken her fucking neck.

"Lose something?" Pops asks, his tone full of humor.

"Didn't you have to chase Ma across the country after you married her?" I retort, having heard the story of my parents' elopement over and over again all my life. My parents aren't just in love with each other. They're obsessed, to the point they should probably seek counseling.

"Yeah, but she was still my wife. Didn't matter where she ran off to. She also wasn't trying to put me in a cell," he reminds me.

"I have to go find her, preferably before old Frank figures out who she is." I walk past my father, picking up my wallet and phone from my dresser.

"We don't even know who she is yet." Pops follows me. "Also, what are you going to do if you find her? She's a cop, Enzo."

"I don't care what she is. I'm not leaving her out there alone, for the wolves to descend on," I tell him. I know the reality of me keeping Kayleigh isn't great. That doesn't mean I don't plan to. I'll figure out a way to make it work, and while I'm doing that, I'll also find a way to convince her that she wants this too.

"Before you run out and play hero, check this out. Is this your wife?" Nonno asks, turning his phone around. There's a picture of a young girl on his screen.

I look at the photo closely. "It's her," I tell him.

"You sure?"

"She has the same little mole near her eyebrow." I've spent more time than I'll ever admit staring at Kayleigh's face.

"This is the girl the Feds saved when they arrested Frank. Her loyalty to the agency is more than just a job, Enzo." Nonno sighs.

"So what? You want me to just leave her out there alone? He'll kill her." The thought of anything happening to Kayleigh has my heart racing and my stomach turning.

Why the fuck did it have to be her? Why couldn't I go and fall for an ordinary girl? No, it had to be a goddamn cop with a crazy old bastard after her.

"That's not what I'm saying. If this girl really is the one you intend on keeping, then find a way to bring her in. The family isn't going to take well to her. It's not going to be easy," Nonno says.

"Nothing worth doing is easy, right?" I ask him. That's what he always used to tell us whenever we'd complain about something being hard as kids.

"Right." He nods.

"I'll go with him. Make sure he doesn't get himself fucking killed or arrested. Fill Theo in on what's happening. And talk to Livvy—we may need a good attorney," Pops says, clasping a hand over my shoulder. "Let's go."

It's not until I'm pulling out of the parking garage that I know where I'll find her. She's smart. There's no way she would have gone back to her dorm. She would have gone to her apartment. The address was in the file Dante gave me.

I hit the button on my steering wheel. "Call Dante," I tell the car.

"Yo, I'm sending you a truck-load of fucking clocks for Christmas. You need to learn how to read the time," Dante answers.

"I need Kayleigh's address—not the dorm, her actual apartment," I explain.

"Now?" my cousin groans, and then a soft female voice telling him to shut up comes through the speakers.

I look across to my dad as both of us shake our heads. "Does Zio Theo know you're waking up in bed with his daughter?" my dad asks Dante.

"Shit. Zio Matteo? What the hell, Enzo? You could have warned me you had one of the oldies with you," Dante grunts.

"I didn't know you'd be in bed with your cousin," I fire back.

"She's not my fucking cousin," Dante grits out. I know she's not, but it doesn't get any less funny the more I say it.

"Just send me the address. I need to find her," I tell him.

"Fine, I hope she fucking arrests your ass." Dante hangs up. And within a minute, my phone dings with the incoming text message.

Pulling in front of a shitty old apartment complex, I look up. She's on the fifth floor. "Come on, it's totally normal to meet the parents on the second date, right?" I ask my pops.

"If this is your idea of a date, it's no wonder she ran," he says.

"I don't have an issue getting girls, Pops," I reply while jumping out of the car.

We walk up the five flights of stairs in silence. By the time we get to the fifth floor, I'm wondering why the fuck people still live in buildings without elevators. Kayleigh's apartment door is ajar. Both my father and I reach for our guns at the same time. Shoving me aside, he enters first.

It's obvious she's not here. No one is fucking here. The first thing I see are the tiny splatters of blood on the floor. I walk through the space and stop in her bedroom. There's a bag on the bed full of clothes. She was planning on running. I don't blame her.

"Tell me again who's going to miss old Frank when I fucking kill the bastard?" I growl at my father. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who has my girl.

"As far as he knows, she's your wife. You'd be well within your rights to kill him if he took her," Pops says.

"Let's go." I storm out of the apartment.

There're only so many places a roach like Frank Esposito could be hiding, and I'm not going to stop until I find him. I was supposed to be the one to break my little thief. One night with her and all I want to do is lock her up in a goddamn tower to make sure she's safe.

What the hell is wrong with me?