Chapter 24

The low screamof a cellphone penetrated Angelo’s slumber. He blinked and glanced over at his side table, noting it was just after three in the morning.

Someone calling at this time of the night didn’t bode well.

Carefully, he rolled out of bed, attempting to not disturb Teresa. If the phone hadn’t woken her, he had no desire to.

Her disgruntled groan said he hadn’t succeeded.

“What’s going on?” she mumbled.

“Nothing, babe. I’ll be right back.” Angelo kissed her cheek and snagged a pair of sweats off the floor, pulling them as he exited his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

His phone had stopped while he’d been getting dressed but had started up almost immediately.

Fuck, this is not good.

He breathed out a sigh of relief. It was Ox. For a couple of heartbeats, Angelo had worried it could’ve been Steve.

The last thing he wanted to have to relay to Teresa was that something had happened to her mom.

Then again, his boss calling at this late or early hour—depending on how he looked at it—didn’t sit comfortably with him.

“Ox, what’s up?”

“Cass called. She’s confirmed that Ramirez’s men got Steff and Cynthia.”

“Fuck, I was hoping that wasn’t what happened to them.”

“You and me both, brother, but we knew this was the likely outcome.”

Angelo scraped a hand down his face. “Yeah. Has Cass got a lead on where they were taken?”

“After she called, like fifteen minutes ago, to tell me she’d found the footage of them being taken, I told her to go home and sleep. Also said she wasn’t allowed to set foot into the office until lunchtime tomorrow. She grumbled, saying she wanted to keep going, but I won out in the end.”

“She works too damn hard, but we’d be lost without her.”

“You got that right. Now that we have something to go on, I’ll get Eveline to help out tomorrow.”

“Did she find camera feeds for the accidents?” Angelo asked.

“She hasn’t yet, but she was close when I dragged her away from the computer and brought her home.”

“What is it about our women that just won’t do what’s right for them?” he grumbled.

“Our women? Got something to tell me?”

As much as Angelo was going to leave it until the morning, there seemed no time like the present to explain what he meant.

“Yeah, Teresa did something.” Angelo explained about the article and what Teresa was going to do.

“Damn, that’s ballsy, but dangerous.”

“You’re telling me. I think what happened to Steff and Cynthia, not to mention Tim and Richie, was what she needed to know to understand how far Ramirez’s reach is. Even with all that happened to her.”

“She’s got you. You won’t let anything happen to her.” Ox sounded so confident, and even though Angelo felt the same, even being extra careful, bad things happened.

Things that were out of their control.

“That’s the plan. Look, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yep. And I know I could’ve waited until the eight to tell you, I figured you’d be pissed if I’d done that.”

“Probably so.” He smirked. “I appreciate the call.”

“We’ll get her through this, Angel. You know we will.”

“I do. Later.”

Angelo disconnected the call and stood in the dark, holding his phone. The conversation he had to have with Teresa wasn’t going to be pleasant, but it was one he couldn’t put off. However, it could wait until later in the morning. He wasn’t going to wake her now.

He went to his desk and plugged his phone back in. Sleep would be elusive for him now, especially as he knew the next few hours would be difficult for Teresa, but he wasn’t going to let her go through it alone. He’d be there holding her hand. Giving her the support she needed.

“What’s happened? Who was on the phone?”

Her soft voice had him looking up.

Teresa stood in the doorway, her hair in disarray around her face. She’d pulled on one of his T-shirts, which skimmed mid-thighs.

His body hardened, and he cursed the fact there was no way he could hide his reaction, but as much as Angelo wanted to bury himself inside her softness, he couldn’t do that, not knowing what he did.

“It was Ox.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I was worried something happened to Mom.”

He strode to her and pulled her tight against him. He should’ve known her mind would’ve gone to her mom. His had. “I’m sure your mom’s fine, but I’ll text Steve and ask if you want.”

She nodded against his chest. “That would be good. Why did Ox call at this time? Did something happen?”

“Let me grab my phone so I can text Steve, and let’s go back to bed.”

Teresa pulled out of his hold and stepped back. “No. I don’t want our bedroom associated with anything bad. It’s our haven and needs to stay that way. Whatever you have to tell me, do it here, in your home office, where good and bad things always happen.”

Our room.

Was she even aware that she’d said that?

Now wasn’t the time to question her, but Angelo couldn’t deny the warmth and happiness and love…love, that mixed all together to make a wonderful cocktail in his soul.

“Okay, here’s where we’ll talk.”

He led her to the extra-large lounge chair that sat in the corner, grabbing his phone as he passed his desk.

Once they were settled, he quickly fired off a text to Steve and put the phone on the wide armrest. “Ox called to say that Cass found footage confirming Steff and Cynthia were taken by Ramirez’s men.”

“Oh my God, no! This is all my fault,” Teresa breathed.

Angelo held her close, wanting her to know that she wasn’t alone. That he was supporting her.

“It’s not your fault,” he said.

She tugged from his hold, and as much as he wanted to keep her close, he let her go. “It is. If I’d done what Monte wanted me to, none of this would’ve happened.”

“You don’t know that. Ramirez is a loose cannon. He could’ve still ordered those girls to be taken as a message to say that he was watching the paper. Or worse, he could’ve taken you.” He hated saying that, and nausea swirled in his belly just voicing the thought out loud.

“I would’ve deserved it because it was me investigating him, not Steff and Cynthia. They work the entertainment beat. They love going to award shows and reporting on the latest celebrity scandal. Their lives will never be the same now.” Her knees buckled, and he swooped her up before she collapsed to the ground. “They might already be dead,” she finished on sob.

Angelo carried her to the chair they’d been sitting in and held her as she cried.

He could spout platitudes that the girls would be fine, and nothing bad was going to happen to them, but he knew differently. Knew that the window of locating them was closing fast.

As it was, it had already been two weeks since they disappeared. The trail to finding them would be cold by now. Then again, they had Cass, and now that she had a sniff of a lead, she’d follow that tiny thread until it was a thick rope, leading them straight to where Steff and Cynthia were being held.

There was no other option other than to think they would get to them in time. Not if he didn’t want Teresa to spiral into the dark abyss of guilt.

Angelo pressed his lips to her forehead.

Her crying had slowed, and the shudders running through her body were minimal now.

“We’re going to do everything we can to locate those girls. Richie and Tim will be watched over while they’re in the hospital to make sure no more harm can come to them. We’ll even watch over their families. Whatever it takes, we’ll ensure that everyone returns to their homes safely.”

It was a big promise to make, but Angelo wouldn’t rest until he’d done whatever was needed to keep his woman, his love—yes, he loved her—completely with his whole heart, safe.

The thought of being in love with Teresa should’ve freaked him out, considering love hadn’t even been on his radar.

It’d been a thought that may happen in the future. Now that he had Teresa. Tasted her. Held her. Laughed with her. He couldn’t go on without her.

Didn’t want to. Angelo had no idea how Teresa felt about him. All he could hope for was that the crush she’d had on him in high school still lurked, and he could nurture it into full-blown love.

Teresa pushedthe earring back snugly against the back of her ear. The trackers she’d chosen were not flashy, just simple diamond studs. Of course, they probably weren’t real diamonds, but it didn’t matter. They couldn’t be removed unless she did it or someone cut off her earlobes.

A shiver of revulsion shimmered down her spine at the thought.

“What? What’s wrong Tre?” Angelo was beside her in a flash, his hand at the small of her back.

She leaned against him, loving the way he openly touched her. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about how someone would have to cut my ears if they wanted to take the tracker earrings out.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, not a pleasant thought, but only you and I and the people at Alliez know how important those earrings are. To the average person, they just look like pretty studs.”

That was reassuring, but now the horrible idea—and the picture in her mind of blood all over her neck and white-hot pain wouldn’t let her go.

Don’t borrow trouble.

It was easy for her inner voice to spout platitudes but not as easy to do. However, she would endeavor to completely forget the thought.

“You ready?” Angelo asked.

Their gazes met in the mirror.

He was standing tall and strong behind her. However, his brow was furrowed, and the usual arrogant twinkle in his eyes was missing.

Turning in his arms, Teresa curled her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the short strands at the back of his skull. “I am. Thank you for last night. The last few weeks. Everything”

As she’d hoped, the twinkle returned to Angelo’s lovely dark eyes, and that half smile of his that made her weak at the knees showed up as well. “My pleasure, babe.”

He dropped his head, and she went up on tiptoe to meet him halfway. Their lips collided, and she sighed into the kiss.

After her breakdown in the early hours of the morning, they’d gone back to bed. Angelo had tucked her close to his chest, and against what she thought would happen, she’d fallen asleep.

They were going to be late, but he’d said it wouldn’t be an issue.

Angelo’s hands roamed to her ass, and Teresa moaned when he pulled her closer so she could feel his erection.

What she wanted to do was drag him back to their bed and lose herself in his arms. Wanted to feel him possess her body and make her forget all the crap that was going on in her life.

That was selfish. Two women were living in hell currently, and it was all because of her. Regardless of the assurance from Angelo that it wasn’t her fault, Teresa was partly to blame.

Thinking about Steff and Cynthia was like a bucket of cold water tossed over her head. The desire consuming her a few moments ago dulled to a low ember.

She broke the kiss. “We should get to work.”

“We should, but I’d rather ta?—”

Teresa placed her fingers over his lips. “I would too, but we can’t. We need to get there and help Cass find Steff and Cynthia.”

“I know, babe, I know. And we will find them.”

She loved that he was so positive that the outcome would be a good one, but she had her doubts. Teresa wouldn’t say that out loud. “We will.”

His eyebrows rose up in query—yeah, he didn’t believe her, but that didn’t matter.

Giving him a pat on the chest, she slipped past him out of the bathroom. The day would be difficult to get through, but she would because now she had even more of a reason to try to bring down Ramirez, but she wouldn’t do it alone.

She would do it with Angelo and Alliez.