Chapter 36

As soon as the car comes to a stop, I jump out and run. I can hear my name being called, along with several expletives and a string of Italian I don’t understand. But the sentiment is clear. No one is happy with me right now. I don’t care. All I care about is finding her. Getting to her.

I push past the pain tearing through my body as I kick in the door. To my surprise, it caves in on the first try.

“Stop!” Mr. Valentino tugs me back by the collar of my shirt. He has a gun in each hand as he pushes past me and into the house.

I follow him, my gaze flicking around the derelict building. The house is quickly stormed by the rest of the Valentino men, each room coming up empty.

“She’s not here. Where the fuck is she? She was supposed to be fucking here!” I throw a fist through the closest wall. I barely feel it when my knuckles embed in the drywall.

Enzo turns a corner and stalks my way with a phone in one hand and a gun in the other. “This is hers. Bastard planted it,” he says.

“Alessandro, street cams. Pull up the footage. He’s been in the area recently. I wanna know what he’s driving. I want license plates and registration information,” Mr. Valentino says.

I raise my fist and slam it into the wall for a second time. “Fuck.”

With each minute that passes, my soul is dying a little more. Thoughts of what he could be doing to her plague my mind. My fist clenches again, and I pull my arm back. But before I can make contact with the wall, my arm is grabbed. I turn to see Lili’s father.

“That’s not going to help. Let’s go,” he grunts, dropping my arm and walking out of the house.

It might not help. But, fuck… I need to do something. I need to fucking find her. And all I can fucking do is follow her family around while hoping like fuck they live up to their namesake.

Please let her be okay. Please let us find her before it’s too late. Please, God, do not take her from me. I can’t do this life without her.

“We’re going to find her,” Enzo says from where he’s positioned beside me in the car. I wish I could believe him. Take his words for gospel. But I can’t.

“What if…” I can’t even finish my sentence. What if… we’re too late?

“Don’t think about the what ifs. Liliana is strong. She’s been trained for situations like this her whole life. She will be okay. She’ll hold tight until we get there. Because she trusts that we will. She knows we will,” he says.

I know she’s strong. I know she’s more than capable. But that doesn’t mean she should be forced to prove it. To endure whatever he’s doing to her right now.

We head back to the Valentino’s rental property. I don’t want to be here. I need to be out there doing something. I need to find her.

But where the fuck do I even start?

I follow Lili’s father and brother into the office and pace back and forth as they pull up street cam footage on the large screens attached to the wall. My eyes scan every camera for any sign of her. I just need to get a glimpse. Anything that lets me know she’s still breathing. That her heart is still beating.

I would know if it wasn’t, though, wouldn’t I?

I would feel it. Surely I would feel when the other half of my soul is gone.

I run my hands through my hair. I can’t think like that. I’m going to find her. We’re going to find her. We have to.

“There.” Jacob Monroe points to one of the screens. “That’s him,” he says.

I close the distance and peer up at the footage. The image isn’t all that clear, but I see a man in a shitty old pickup truck.

“You sure?” Mr. Valentino asks.

“I know.” Jacob Monroe nods.

I look at him. If it is Lou, the man is handing over his own brother. Sending him to his death. Because there is no doubt in my mind that the Valentinos are already planning what they’re going to do to this fucker. They are not just going to let him walk away from this.

Then again, for all I know, Jacob could be sending them on a wild goose chase to give his brother more time to get away. My stomach drops. What if he’s not even in the country anymore? These people have the means to disappear for good.

“I’m tracking the license plates now,” Alessandro says while tapping away at a keyboard.

“I’ve got it,” Lili’s uncle—Romeo, I think—says as he points a remote to a different screen. “I’m following the car’s movements.”

I remain glued to the spot, watching each turn the car makes. There’s nothing I can do but stand and wait for it to fucking stop. When it finally does, Romeo calls out an address and everyone runs out the door. There are at least ten SUVs blocking the street. I jump into the one with her father and brother. None of us says a word as the car takes off.

“Do not run in blind, Travis. Stay the fuck behind us,” Mr. Valentino tells me when we hit the highway.

“I need to get her back,” I say instead of agreeing with him.

“And we will get her back, but I’m not watching her fucking heart break all over again because you decided to be reckless and get yourself killed. Stay behind us. She needs you alive.”

I nod, even though there’s no way I’m staying behind. If she’s in that house, I’m going to get to her and no one is going to fucking stop me from doing it.