25. Gia

"Tu sarai sicuru, soldatu," the man says in a low voice which only I can hear.

You will be safe, soldier is what he told me. I don't understand why he calls me soldatu, soldier, which is how the Sicilian Mafia calls their members or operatives who are not bosses.

But then I see he pulls up the sleeve of his shirt just enough for me to see the Marine Corps emblem tattooed on his arm.

Why is a Marine working as security for a member of the Sicilian Mafia?

"I have a guy on the inside and you're putting him in danger," Rodney's words echo in my mind.

With a sigh, I get in the car with Matteo. My gut is not sending off the red flags that they should be at this moment. That's a good sign.

The door closes and the Marine puts his hand out and gestures to my phone. I begrudgingly handed it to him. He shuts it off before he climbs in the passenger seat, and we drive off.

"I know who you are, and you know who I am, so no bullshit between us. Chloe and Ryder are in danger."

"I'm aware."

"I came here to protect them."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to," he hisses. "I targeted Mia after seeing you and Ryder together, thinking she was you. I learned through my contacts that Allison is looking for a payout and to get on my father's good side in exchange for protection from the CIA and even from Christoph Muller if needed . Originally, I believed that you and Allison had come up with this scheme to get in my father's good graces, but I now realize it's Mia and Allison who are working together."

"Go on."

"My father doesn't know Chloe exists. The soldatu he sent to murder my sister for her betrayal told him that the baby died too. He didn't know she'd already given birth and believed that by killing Sofia, he also killed her unborn child. I never told my father differently. If my father learns otherwise, he will kill Chloe."

"Kill Chloe?"

"Family is everything, but her mother was a traitor in his eyes and Chloe must pay for her sins. His orders were to kill Sofia and the baby, those orders won't change."

My stomach clenches and I want to vomit.

"And you believe that Allison and Mia have cooked up a plan to deliver Chloe to him?"

"I know for a fact they are. Mia has not let on that she knows who I am, but I'm not stupid. It's no coincidence that we ran into each other in that bar on either of our parts. She's been staying with me in my hotel room and believes that my guards don't speak English. They've overheard her plans, but I also have the room filled with tiny cameras."

"What is she planning?"

"She's going to make Chloe believe that she's you. She's going to kidnap her so that you go down for the abduction. Allison and Chloe will fly on a private plane, funded by the money she stole from Christoph."

"I'm not sure I understand why the heir to the throne is suddenly becoming friendly with a CIA agent."

"When I learned of my father's order to kill Sofia, I left the Family too. I, however, did it in a way that my father doesn't know I've left. I adored my sister and I will never forgive my father for taking her away from me. Also, I'm making certain that I protect myself from the same fate she had. I've been working with the CIA to protect Chloe and take my father down. It's been a long time in the making, but we're finally close to toppling it all. Mia and Allison are about to ruin everything."

"Do you know when they plan to kidnap?"

"Within the week. The idea is that Mia will take Chloe and Allison will nab you at the same time to make it look like you're to blame."

"Fuck," I breathe.

"I have people watching both of them. I believe they're going to act soon. I need you to be aware of your surroundings at all times."

"Do you have someone watching Chloe?"

"I do."

"Are you the one who placed cameras and wires in Ryder's house?"

"Excuse me?"

"There are wires and cameras all throughout Ryder's house. I found them the first night I was there. I don't believe that Ryder installed them, nor that he knows they're there."

"I did not," he hisses before he leans forward and touches the Marine in the front seat. "Ryder should still be at hockey practice. Ren and Chloe should be on their morning trip to the park. Have someone go there and remove the cameras and wires. I need to know who placed them there."

"On it," the man growls as he pulls out his phone and begins texting. "I can get into the stream and see who placed them, they should be in the view at the beginning."

"If it's your father then…"

"I'm not stupid," he chuckles. "I will make it look as though the CIA and FBI are involved, looking for something in Ryder's home. I will call in an anonymous tip that states Ryder was involved with my Family and that the caller has proof of Ryder being an active member."

"What?" I gasp as my stomach drops.

"He's not. It's a safety setup I came up with in case we need to get into Ryder's home for some reason. That anonymous call will allow us to go in as the CIA to investigate, capish?"

I nod. "Why trust me?"

"I've been watching you. I see you with my niece and her father, you can't fake the love and adoration you have for them both. Once I realized Mia was your identical twin, it was easy to understand what was happening."

"Did you know before we met on the boardwalk?"

"I originally thought that you were using a fake name with me. When Mia stayed with me the first night, I thought it was you. She went outside to take a phone call and Denver overheard her outside of his room. The person on the other end called her Mia, and then they talked about you and Ryder. I didn"t get it back then, but when I met you on the boardwalk, it all made sense.

I take a deep breath as I let all of the information from today sink in.

"What's the next step?" I ask.

Denver and Matteo's phones begin vibrating and ringing at the same time. Matteo silences his as Denver answers.

"Are you sure?" he asks before turning around to look at Matteo. "We're on our way."

"What is it now?" Matteo asks as Denver hangs up the phone.

"Chloe has been abducted by Mia."

"What?" I gasp.

"Raf has eyes on them. Chloe is safe and Mia is in your hotel room." Denver explains.

"What is she playing at?" Matteo breathes.

"She's not just trying to pin it on me, she's trying to pin it on both of us," I explain.

"People would notice her suddenly coming in with Chloe. Everyone in town knows who she is."

"Raf told me that Chloe was dressed in a Spiderman costume. They wouldn't have known if she was a boy or girl," Denver interjects.

"I need to go. I need to…"

Denver messes with his phone as the driver speeds back toward town. Denver turns around to show me his phone as he's got a police scanner pulled up.

"They've got an all point bulletin out for you, Gia."

"What? What would make them think that I would kidnap Chloe?"

Denver turns back around and is typing into his phone. Fear clutches me.

Will they still go through with their plan if they can't abduct me too?

What's going to happen to Chloe if they're able to get her on a plane?

"This," Denver growls as he shows me his phone again. "According to the security footage that I'm tapping into on the boardwalk, there's a video of you and Chloe getting into a dark sedan."

"According to my tap on Mia's phone Ryder will receive a text from your phone asking for a ransom for the safe return of Chloe," Matteo interjects as he looks down at his screen.

"But you have my phone," I hiss.

His eyes grow wide before he glances down at it in the console. He looks at Matteo.

"Did they clone her number?" Matteo asks.

"Do they have tracking on us?" the driver questions.

Denver grabs my phone and turns it on. He puts it next to his phone as he goes through a series of motions with our phones next to each other.

"Cloned and tracked."

"That's not possible."

Denver groans before he shows me both of our phones.

How the fuck didn't I know?

I'm obsessive about… I haven't been because I've been distracted by my relationship with Ryder.

Damn it.

Between Ryder learning I have a twin sister and realizing that Allison and Christoph were in town as well as Matteo I let my processes slip and it's costing me now.

"Raf will notify us if they move. We will go to the hotel and ensure Chloe's safety."

"I need to contact Rodney and let him know what's happening."

"He's aware," Denver says as he waves his cell phone in the air. "He knew this was going down, just not now."

"I've been bait this entire time?"

Denver nods his head as we continue driving. Matteo is busy typing away into his cell phone as panic continues to fill me.

I will not let Mia get away with this. I won't let them hurt Chloe. I may lose her and Ryder forever over this but I have to make sure that Chloe is safe.

I look out the window, trying to gauge how far we are from town, and I see another black SUV speeding toward us. Just as I'm about to tell the driver to stop, the car speeds up.

A deafening crash shatters the silence, the sound of metal against metal echoing in my ears. The world spins in a blur of motion as our car is violently struck from the side, sending us careening off the road and into an embankment.

The front driver's side took the full impact.

I think to myself as I try to focus on my surroundings and the safest way to get us all out of the car.

Be aware, I don't think this was an accident.

For a moment, everything goes black. When I come to, I"m disoriented, my head throbbing with pain. I blink away the darkness, trying to make sense of my surroundings.

"Matteo?" I call out, panic rising in my chest as I realize I can"t see him.

There"s no response.

The front windshield is shattered. The driver is no longer behind the steering wheel and Matteo is halfway out of the windshield, his head and torso is on the hood while the rest of him remains limp on the console inside between Denver and the driver. He is breathing but not moving. Denver is slumped over an airbag.

Who hit us?

I turn to look but I can't move much. I hear a noise, shoes scuffing against the gravel.

I have to get out of here.

I try to move the seat in front of me, try to unbuckle myself so I can climb out the opposite window.

I feel a pinch in my back, before I feel the burn of some sort of needle. I try to move again, but before I can react, I feel a searing pain shoot through my side and then numbness. My entire body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I cry out in agony as someone grabs me roughly by the hair.

I'm still stuck in the seatbelt. They stop tugging for a second before I hear a knife cut through the material and then I'm yanked out the shattered window. I twist, I turn, I drag my feet and try to latch on to the car, but it's as though I'm moving through mud.

The person pulling me cackles. I'd recognize that sound anywhere.

Allison.

I'm able to look up, get a good look at her once she stops to put me in her barely damaged SUV.

"Howdy, partner," she grins wickedly. "Have I got a fun day planned for you."

Before I can process what"s happening, darkness overtakes me once again, and I slip into unconsciousness.