Chapter 31

Aurelio~

As we were nearing my building, my phone rang, and when I saw that it was Constantine, I immediately answered. "Provenza."

"Mr. Provenza…uh, she's gone."

My blood immediately ran cold.

"What the fuck do you mean?" I felt Nero tense next to me, but all I cared about was what Constantine was telling me. "Who the fuck is gone?"

"Ms. Valentine," he answered, and I could feel my heart literally skip a beat. "She…she snuck out of the restroom."

I let out a deep breath before saying, "It's a fucking ten-story drop from-"

"She said that she needed feminine products from the store since you didn't have any for her, so Guillermo drove us to the store," he explained as he cut me off. "Then she said that she needed to use the restroom for…you know." I could hear him clear his throat. "When she didn't come out after about ten minutes, I broke the door down, and the window was opened, the box of feminine products left on the sink. We looked for her everywhere."

I closed my eyes, my hand tightening around my phone. "Why in the fuck didn't anyone call me before taking her to the store?"

"She…uhm, she said that you and Mr. Sartori were meeting with O'Brien and wouldn't appreciate an interruption for something that could easily be remedied," he answered, and while I wanted to put a bullet through his head, I could see how Savina had manipulated him.

"How long has she been gone?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"About an hour," he admitted. "We went looking for her first before calling you."

With nothing else to say, I hung up, then looked over at Nero. "Savina tricked Constantine into taking her to the store for some pads or tampons or whatever, then she snuck out of the store's restroom window."

"Fuck," he hissed.

Pulling up the information that I had on the burner phone that I'd given Savina, I prayed that she had her locations on. Knowing that she went back for revenge and not love, I could only hope that she'd been smart enough to take her phone with her. While I had no idea what Savina had planned, I had to remind myself that she wasn't a stupid woman.

"I don't need you for this," I said, glancing over at Nero. "Go home to Kasen, and I'll call you with the details as soon as I can find her."

"If you think that I'm going to let you go after Ashton Oliver alone, you're out of your fucking mind, Aurelio," he said, and while I appreciated his loyalty, we both knew that I didn't have time to be cautious.

"This isn't like family business, Nero," I pointed out. "We don't have time to plan anything, and the Sartori Boss can't be seen getting caught up in the murder of a congressman's son."

"Unless you're going to murder him in the street, that's not a problem," he fired back.

"Well, since I might, you can see the problem, no?"

"Aurelio-"

My phone rang, and both Nero and I stiffened as it was an unknown number. "If it's Ashton, I'm going to fucking hang his gutted corpse in front of his father's office," I growled before answering the number. "Provenza."

"Declan's trying to find out more, but in light of today's conversation, we thought you should know that there are police cars and an ambulance at your lass' house," Noah Murphy said in lieu of a greeting. "If it's a worst-case scenario situation, Declan wants you to know that we won't stand in your way."

My heart stopped beating, though adrenaline was coursing through every inch of my body. "Are you certain that it's her house?"

"After your first trip into our territory, we did a little research of our own," he informed me, not surprising me at all. "It's Ashton Oliver's brownstone, Provenza. We're sure of it."

"I'm coming in," I warned him.

"We figured as much," he replied evenly before adding, "We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything more."

I hung up, then looked over at Nero. "That was Noah," I told him. "There are cops and an ambulance already at the brownstone."

Nero regarded me carefully. "Is that all they know?"

I nodded. "The O'Brien is trying to find out more, but that's all they know at the moment."

"We have enough in the car already," he said, and I knew that there'd be no getting rid of Nero at this point.

"Let's go," I said.

"Dueno, take us to 1698 Collar Drive in O'Brien territory," Nero ordered, and Dueno had been with Nero long enough that we both trusted him with our lives. Dueno also wasn't afraid to get shot if the occasion called for it.

Flicking the lever underneath the seat, the hidden compartment in the middle of the backseat popped open, a small array of firepower becoming visible. I grabbed a Walther PDP 9mm and a Sig Sauer P365, and Nero grabbed a Staccato CS and a Glock 17. Most Sartori vehicles had this feature, but no car was more heavily stocked than the one that drove Kasen around. She also had two guards, Rafael Luciano being her primary guard and the best that we had.

"My money's on Savina," Nero said, trying his best to calm my racing heart. "Not expecting her to finally fight back, I can see her catching him off guard."

As I checked my weapons, I asked, "And what if it's the other way around?"

"Don't do that to yourself, Aurelio," he automatically replied while checking his own firearms. "I've been there, and…and it doesn't help anything to think like that."

Ignoring his advice, I concentrated on our biggest obstacle. "How are we going to get past the cops?" Blood was rushing through my ears as I slid one gun into my left sock. "Being who he is, there's bound to be more than the standard number of cops there."

"We can drive around the back and see what we're working with there first," he suggested.

Just then, my phone rang, and it was the same number that Noah had called from earlier, so I answered immediately. "Provenza."

"She killed him," Noah announced, and it was a good thing that I was already sitting down. "Declan had one of his men on the force call him with the details, and it looks like she killed him."

"Okay-"

"Provenza," he said interrupting me. "The ambulance is for her."

My hands started to shake, and how Nero managed to survive Kasen getting shot, I was never going to know. "What?"

"He did a pretty serious number on her," he replied. "It's a mess over there, so if I were you, I'd head to the hospital first. I'm not sure if the ambulance has left or not, but it got called for her, not him."

"And what's the price for all of this information, Murphy?"

"It's on the house," he smirked. "Declan doesn't take kindly to men that feel the need to abuse innocent women. They're taking her to Calgary Medical."

As much as the sentiment was appreciated, that wasn't how things worked. "Not good enough," I told him.

"I figured as much," Noah chuckled. "So, that's why I suggested we get our hundred-grand back."

"Done."

When I hung up, Nero asked, "What'd he have to say now?"

I looked over at him. "You were right," I said. "She killed him."

Nero visibly relaxed as he let out a heavy sigh. "Thank fuck."

"However, he did a number on her, so an ambulance was called," I went on. "Noah suggests that we head to the hospital, instead of the brownstone. He said it's a madhouse, so us getting in doesn't look good. He also said that they were taking her to Calgary Medical."

"It's your call," he said.

"I think we should head to the hospital," I told him. "I need to see her, Nero."

"You don't have to tell me twice," he huffed. "I know exactly how you fucking feel right now." He called out to Dueno again. "Change of plans, Dueno. Take us to Calgary Medical."

"Of course, sir," he automatically replied.

Though most people would view this as good news, I wasn't there yet. I had no idea how badly she was hurt, and because I had no idea of the condition that she was in, I had no guarantee that she was going to be okay; I could still lose her, depending on her injuries.

There was also the issue of all my rage, something that I could no longer exorcise now that Ashton was dead. Granted, now I understood how Savina had felt, but still.