46. Luxtyn

46

LUXTYN

" Y ou need to stop pacing," Izzy says as she sits on the couch and watches me walk back and forth against the far wall. "You're going to burn a hole into the hardwood floors if you keep going at the rate you are."

I turn toward her and cross my arms in front of my chest and bring one hand up and start biting my thumbnail. "I know. I'm just so anxious and I can't think about anything other than what's going on at the warehouse right now."

Izzy jumps up from the couch and marches over to me with determination. She actually looks like she's going to slap me. I'm about to brace myself when she yanks my thumb out of my mouth.

"Stop biting your nails. You're going to destroy them." Weaving her arm through mine, she leads me to the couch where she pushes me down before taking a seat beside me.

"They're going to get your mom. Trust me, Lux. My brothers have had to deal with kidnappings before and they've never lost one man from it. "

"Really? I guess that makes me feel a little better," I mumble.

"It should. Having grown up in this world, you get acclimated to the dark side very quickly. They're professionals."

"It's a quarter to ten," I say, glancing down at my phone. "Do you think it'll take long? What happens if thirty minutes goes by and they still haven't contacted us?" I throw my head back into the couch cushion. "Shit, I should've asked when was an appropriate amount of time to start panicking if I haven't heard back from him."

"I don't think whatever he would've told you would have helped. The panic is already full on."

My phone rings, causing my head to snap up, but I don't recognize the number. Matteo already entered the necessary numbers I need, so who could this be?

"Hello?" I answer.

"Luxtyn, it's me, Angelo."

Izzy eyes me warily. I mouth, Angelo , letting her know who I'm speaking to.

"Oh, hi," I say.

"I hope it's okay that your husband gave me your number."

"Oh, of course. Yes. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off cold, I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Understandably so. Matteo updated me on Char. I wanted to come over and make sure you have support."

"Izzy's here, so I have support." I wince at how abrasive that comes off, realizing he might think I'm rejecting him. I need to start working on things with him because he is my dad and I want us to have a relationship. It's not something I ever thought I'd have. It's not something I ever thought I'd need. But now that I've been given the opportunity to have it, I don't want to squander it .

"But if you're already on your way over, then I could definitely use another person," I add.

I swear I can hear the smile in his voice. "I'm almost there, actually. I'll be pulling up to the gates in a couple of minutes. If you could let the guards know I'm coming, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course. Yes. I'll do just that. Um, I guess we'll see you soon, then."

"You will. Talk to you in a bit, Luxtyn."

Izzy's brows are furrowed.

"Angelo's almost here," I say. "He wants to be here for support. That's okay, right?"

"Um, yeah. I guess."

"Are you sure? If you're uncomfortable with him being here, I can just tell him I'll see him tomorrow or something."

She shakes her head and puts on a smile. "No, no. Of course he can be here. He should be here. He's your dad."

I let out a sigh. "Okay, cool, thanks. How do I tell the guards?"

"I can do that for you," she says, and pulls her phone out from her hoodie pocket. Putting her phone on speaker, she calls down to the guard post and lets them know Angelo will be arriving soon.

"Ms. DiMaggio, your brother never informed us that Angelo Mancini would be coming tonight. He specifically ordered us not to let anyone in or out," the guard on the other end says.

"That's because he didn't know. But Angelo Mancini is the don's wife's dad. You'll let him through when he shows up, please." This isn't something I've ever realized before, but Izzy can be intimidating when she wants to be. The rigid tone in her voice as she told the guard to let Angelo through was the closest I've ever seen her act like Teo. I guess the similarities between them don't just lie in their looks .

The guard on the other end pauses for a moment before caving in with a sigh. "Of course, Ms. DiMaggio. We'll call once we've let him through the gates."

"Thank you," she says before hanging up. "Sometimes being a female in this world is hard. You have to be stern. Put your foot down. Make sure they know you're not one to fuck with, because if you don't, you'll never get the respect you deserve."

"Females aren't treated with the same amount of respect as the men are?"

"Not really." Izzy shrugs. "It depends. The women in our world are typically supposed to be more submissive and obedient. I don't know if you can tell, but that's not me," she says with a small laugh. "So while my brothers are used to it and allow me to be who I am, that doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else. Sometimes you have to be domineering to prove a point. Force them to respect you. Let them know that you're not one to fuck with."

Izzy's phone rings, snapping our attentions to it. "Hello?" she answers.

"Ms. DiMaggio, Angelo Mancini has just been let through the gates. He should be arriving shortly," the guard says.

"Great, thank you so much!" she says in her bubbly voice before hanging up.

"C'mon," she says as she climbs off the couch, "let's go meet him at the door. He'll probably be there any second now."

We make our way to the front door, and just as she suspected, by the time we open it, Angelo's walking up the front steps with a smile on his face. He immediately gives me a hug, which I reciprocate before he greets Izzy with a hello.

"You really didn't have to come tonight, but I appreciate that you did," I say as we make our way into the living room .

"I wouldn't leave you to deal with this alone." He glances over to Izzy who's wearing a blank expression. I've never seen her be so. . . cold.

"Although, it seems I jumped the gun on that assumption. Looks like you already have company. You're a good friend, Isabella. I'm glad my daughter has someone like you in her life."

Izzy's gaze darts between Angelo and me. "I'm going to go grab something to drink from the kitchen. Give you two a moment alone to catch up. Do you guys want me to bring you anything back?"

"I'm okay, thank you. And I appreciate you giving Luxtyn and I a moment." He reaches out and places a hand on mine. I think it's supposed to be comforting, but something feels off about it. "I have a lot of time to make up for, so take your time in the kitchen."

The smallest twitch in Izzy's temple grabs my attention, but before I can think anymore of it, she gives Angelo a tight smile and turns on her heel to head for the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone.

The energy in the room feels strange. Unlike the other times I've been with Angelo, this is the first time I've been alone with him, and my mind blanks on what to say.

"Well, Luxtyn," Angelo says, and turns to face me. "Since I was unprepared for Isabella to be here with you, it looks like I'm going to have to take advantage of our time alone and speed up this process."

"What're you talking about?"

"You're going to have to come with me," he says, his tone unwavering and a smile still on his face.

"Come with you where?" Confusion laces my tone. "Teo asked me to stay here, so I can't just leave with you right now." I check the time on my phone and see it's a little after 10:00 p.m. "He should be calling me any minute to let me know he has my mom."

Angelo releases an amused scoff. " Teo ," he repeats. "That boy's lost all of his common sense since you came around. Who'd thought he'd be so easy to crack?"

I take a couple small steps back because that feeling in my gut telling me something is off is taking over.

"Stop backing away from me, Luxtyn. This can all be very easy for you. All you need to do is walk out of this house with me before your sister-in-law comes back." This time, his voice comes out harsh and the rigid lines in his face flatten as his smile thins out. Like he's changed the person he is.

I'm about to call out for Izzy but think otherwise. I don't know what Angelo wants with me, but the darkness in his tone tells me that Izzy shouldn't be here. If anything were to happen to her, I would never forgive myself.

"Don't do anything stupid, Luxtyn." Angelo holds his hand out towards me. "You're going to come with me, and you're going to keep quiet. Or else I'll kill Isabella with one shot to the head. You got it?"

His words confirm my suspicions. I slowly nod, and before I can move my hand into his, he grabs me and drags me toward the front door.

"What're you doing, Angelo?"

"Quiet," he hisses as he pulls me out the front door, down the steps, and to the trunk of his silver Bentley, popping it open. Zip ties and duct tape lie on the floorboard, and I freeze. "Now, are you going to cooperate, or do I need to use those things on you?" he asks, and nods to the trunk.

Shaking my head, I say, "No. I'll cooperate. Just, please. Don't hurt Izzy."

The frown on Angelo's face turns up into a cruel and twisted smile, and the wicked gleam in his eyes shines bright under the moonlight. "Give me your phone, and then get in the trunk, Luxtyn."

Doing as I'm told, I fumble to pull my phone from my sweatshirt pocket and hand it to him before getting into the trunk. I lie on my side and watch as he chucks my phone somewhere into the night.

"Now keep quiet. We're leaving and I can't have the guards questioning why you're coming with me. You make a sound, and I kill every single person who matters to you. Including your mother," he threatens before shutting the door, making everything go black.