Chapter Twenty-One

~ Anthony ~

I winced when I heard Vito cry out my name. I maybe should have talked to him about what I wanted to do before I did it.

He was going to strangle me.

I kept my body close to the cliff wall as I moved from foothold to foothold. It was easier to climb something like this with a rope, but I didn't currently have one.

This also wasn't like the brick buildings I was used to climbing so I was going a little slower than usual. The limestone had a lot of edges sticking out, but I was still scaling a rock cliff. If I fell, I wouldn't be getting back up again.

I hoped I didn't fall.

I really liked breathing, especially now that I had Vito in my life.

I paused halfway down when I heard voices. Looking down, I spotted two boats just as I had thought, although I hadn't expected two of them. The boats were actually a little ways off the beach floating in the water.

What really freaked me out was the larger boat moored out at sea. If they got back to that boat, there was a large chance we'd never see Nico again.

One man stood at the wheel of each boat. Two more men were wading through the water headed for the beach. A few more stood in a small crowd in the sand.

The sun was starting to set so the light wasn't optimal for searching, but I did it anyway. I needed to find Nico.

I searched the area below me again. With the low light, it was hard to spot him. When I finally saw a small figured lay on the beach near the edge of the limestone wall, I realized that hadn't helped either. Nico was practically hidden by shadows.

But that worked in my favor.

I made quick work climbing down the rest of the way. Once I reached the sandy bottom, I dropped down into a crouch and scooted close to the cliff wall. I stayed low to the ground as I made my way toward him, stopping every few feet to make sure no one was looking in my direction.

When I reached Nico I found him unconscious with his hands bound behind his back. I quickly pulled my knife and cut through the rope tied around his wrists, but there wasn't much I could do about him being unconscious.

I could move him out of harm's way however. I knew I had a better chance at escaping than Nico did. He wasn't a fighter. I was.

Sort of.

I glanced at the men standing on the beach, keeping a close eye on them. I slid my knife back into my pocket and then grabbed Nico's legs and started pulling him through the sand.

I was aiming for a small outcropping of rocks that I had passed on my way to him. If I could hide him there, hopefully Luca would find him or if he woke up, he could escape.

As soon as I reached the outcropping of rocks, I hid Nico behind them. I gently brushed the hair back from his face and then felt for a pulse. I was relieved when I found it to be strong and steady.

I tucked my gun under him by his hand. I didn't know if Nico knew anything about guns, but I had to leave him with some means of defense. Besides, I was better with a knife.

I peaked around the pile of rocks to see where everyone was. I was a little concerned when I found them all still standing there in a small group. I didn't understand why they hadn't moved yet.

If this was a kidnapping, they should have loaded Nico up in one of the boats and taken him away. Instead, they looked as if they were waiting for a nighttime beach party to start.

What the hell was going on here?

I inched my way back to where Nico had been laying, using my knees and feet to cover my tracks. Once I was in place, I grabbed the rope and wrapped it around my wrists and then laid my head down on the sand.

I watched from the shadows through half closed eyes as the men in the circle continued to talk. I couldn't hear what they were saying, just the low murmur of voices.

I wanted to move closer so I could hear what they were talking about, but that would be stupid and I tried not to be stupid too many times in one day.

Pretty sure I had reached my quota for today.

Basically, all I could do was lay there and wait for Vito and Luca to arrive. I almost glanced up toward the stone steps from the villa, wondering just what was keeping them. I hadn't gone down the cliff face that fast. They should have been here by now.

The sound of another boat engine caught my attention. It was steadily growing louder, which meant it was probably moving in my direction. I cast a quick glance at the morons just standing there and then lifted my head to search for the boat.

Yep, found it. It was coming in a straight line from the large boat moored out in the ocean. Not sure why more people were coming, but it couldn't mean anything good.

When one of the men looked in my direction, I snapped my eyes closed and lay as still as I could. Eventually they would figure out I wasn't Nico, but I wanted that realization to be far in the distant future.

When the boat landed, four people climbed off and then waded through the water to the beach. Surprisingly, I heard a woman's voice. If she hadn't been speaking in such a loud shrill tone, I probably would have missed it altogether.

God, she was really loud.

Unfortunately, from the way the others jumped when she shouted, I suspected she was the one in charge. I did hear one of the guards say, "Yes, Mrs. Romano," which told me a lot more about who she was.

I about jumped out of my skin when a hand suddenly covered my mouth. I started to reach for my knife when a small that curled my toes and made me have really inappropriate naughty thoughts filled my nose.

"Vito?" I whispered, my voice muffled by the hand covering it.

"If you ever scare me like that again," Vito snarled into my ear in a quiet voice, "I'll beat you bloody."

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that.

Vito grabbed my arm and tugged. "Move."

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Nico—"

"Luca already has him," Vito replied. "Now move."

Pretty sure arguing wasn't in my best interest.

I started to scoot along the sand again when the woman's voice grew louder...and recognizable. I wasn't feeling terror, but the shock rolling through me was close.

I lifted my head and glanced toward the crowd just as the woman stepped into a shaft of moonlight.

"Mom?"

* * * *

~ Vittorio ~

When Tony had gone over that cliff edge, I'd almost followed him except my grief had frozen me in place.

It wasn't until Luca ran and looked over the edge and his shoulders slumped, the man bending over to rest his hands on his knees that I could move.

I ran.

"Tony," I whispered desperately as I dropped to my knees.

"He's fine, Vito," Luca said. "He's climbing down the cliff face."

I peeked over the edge, frantically searching for him. When I spotted a head of blond hair, my eyes narrowed. "I'm going to beat him."

"I'll get you a paddle, but we need to rescue him and Nico first."

Still going to beat him.

Tony had just taken ten years off my life. I knew he was adventurous and I was still learning everything he could do, but jumping off a cliff with no warning was not okay, not by a long shot.

"We need to hurry," Luca said.

I jumped to my feet and started following him to the stone steps leading down to the beach. Luckily, the steps were carved into the side of the cliff face and partially hidden from anyone down on the beach. As long as we moved quickly and kept our heads down, we wouldn't be seen.

I hoped.

By the time we reached the bottom, I was ready for someone to provide an elevator to get back up. If this was what it took to get to the beach, I'd rather use a pool.

I crouched down next to the cliff wall right beside Luca. I wasn't sure what the situation was on the beach, but I could see several men dressed in black standing around in a circle. I had no idea what they were doing and I didn't really care. My concern was finding Tony.

"Over there," Luca whispered as he started moving.

I wasn't sure what he'd seen so I just followed after him.

It wasn't until Luca stopped and dropped to his knees that I saw the small body lying in the sand in the shadows of an outcropping of rocks.

"Nico." Luca grabbed the man and pulled him into his arms. " Cuore mio. "

"Luca," Nico whispered back.

I thought Luca was going to hug the stuffing right out of Nico.

I scooted closer. "Nico, where's Tony?"

Nico shook his head. "I haven't seen him."

My gut twisted.

"Luca, get him out of here," I told him. "I'll find Tony."

Luca didn't even argue with me, but I didn't expect him to. Nico was his number one priority just as Tony was mine.

As soon as they moved past me heading back toward the steps, I continued my trek along the cliff wall. Tony had to be here somewhere and I wasn't leaving until I found him.

I spotted him a few feet in front of me. For a moment, my heart climbed into my throat, and then I saw him move. It was just a small movement of his head, but it was enough to let me know he was alive.

I quickly covered the distance between us, moving in behind Tony. I covered his mouth with my hand so he wouldn't cry out and alert the others that I was there.

"Vito?"

"If you ever scare me like that again," I snarled into his ear in a quiet voice, "I will beat you bloody."

I grabbed his arm and tugged. "Move."

Tony glanced over his shoulder at me. "Nico—"

"Luca already has him," I replied. "Now move."

We needed to get out of there before we were discovered.

I started to scoot along the sand again Tony suddenly froze and lifted his head, glancing toward the people gathered by the water.

"Mom?"

Mom?

I snapped my attention to Tony's face. "Tony, what—"

"That's my mom."

Holy shit!