51. Zola

Chapter 51

Zola

I was sitting at the lake before one of the most beautiful views I had ever encountered, yet all I could think about was Dante and how everything was falling apart and closing up around us.

And there was not a thing I could do about it.

All I could do was sit around being pampered to death and feeling guilty as hell for pushing him out to fight my battles. I wanted to provide the same degree of comfort and assurance to him that he was giving me, but this seemed impossible.

I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Marie was coming with another platter of food.

“Thank you,” I said as she set the platter down before me. On it were an assortment of crackers, fruits, nuts, some sort of Mexican fried snacks and dipping sauce.

“I'm going to get so fat if you keep feeding me like this,” I said.

“It’s just to take your mind off things,” she said. “If your mouth is busy then perhaps your mind will give you a break as well.”

I doubted her method would work but I smiled and reached forward for a blackberry. When I lifted my gaze to hers, I noticed she didn’t appear to be at peace either.

“What is it?” I asked, searching her eyes desperately.

She forced a smile. “It’s nothing. Mr. Moretti’s lawyer just called.”

I shot to my feet. “Why? Did he want to speak to me?”

“Yes, but he’ll be coming over. He didn’t want to tell you over the phone. Maybe Dante told him to do so before he was-”

She caught herself in time, but there was no way I was going to miss what she almost let slip out.

“Before he was what?” I demanded.

She pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, but … he has never been arrested before.”

“He’s been arrested?” I croaked. My heart felt as if it had stopped in my chest.

She nodded gravely and I could see the sheen of moisture in her eyes.

I had to remind myself to stay calm. Dante had warned me about this. He had also insisted that he would be fine. There was no need for me to panic. But right now, I had to question if this was actually true, or if it was just another way he was protecting me.

I took a deep breath and impulsively hugged her. “He expected this, Marie. He said he’ll be fine.”

She nodded, but I could tell there was more she was withholding.

“What is it?”

“He was not arrested because of his case,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“He was arrested for kidnapping.”

My eyes widened. “What? Kidnapping?”

She nodded worriedly.

I took a deep breath. Once again, he had warned me this was coming. That they would play dirty. The organization would do anything to absolve themselves of blame for my disappearance. They had decided to pin it on him instead. This was exactly the kind of mess that had haunted me so far. I knew there was no way in hell Dante was going to admit to anyone he had me because doing so was sure to inform Ugo as well.

It was a checkmate for Dante.

Just then we heard a call. I looked up to see one of the staff with a man in a suit heading over. I assumed it was Dante’s lawyer and it brought me a deep sense of relief to see him. Marie took her leave while the lawyer introduced himself as Foster Fuentes and shook my hand. His palm was cool and soft and he seemed calm and professional. Unfortunately, that did very little to assure me. He did not care. He did not care the way my father did. He was an excellent lawyer being paid to defend his client. He was no more and no less.

He smiled smoothly at me. “Nice to finally meet you, Miss Leone.”

“I just heard Dante was arrested.”

A momentary look of surprise and annoyance crossed his face before he could hide it. “You saw it on the news?”

“No. Marie just informed me.”

“Oh! Good,” he said and smiled suavely. He was relieved I had not seen it on the news.

“How is he?” I asked anxiously. It was the only thing I wanted to know.

“He’s fine. I'm here because he told me to personally come over and speak to you. He said he had already warned you that things could get complicated, but he expected you to still worry, so he sent me to assure you there is nothing to be worried about.”

My eyebrows rose. “Nothing to worry about?”

“Absolutely,” he said with great assurance. “I would have gotten him out already, but one of Ugo’s men has turned informant, and as a result, I can’t get him out before twenty-four hours elapse. But rest assured I will get him out. There is absolutely nothing to worry about.”

His words should have comforted me, but something felt off. Wrong. I frowned. “So he’ll be fine …”

“Of course,” he confirmed instantly, assertively, but I knew. He was not telling me the whole story. It was not as simple as he was making out. Dante was in danger.

“Well, then.” He got to his feet. “I should be going. I’ll call you tomorrow and give you an update. Don’t worry you should be seeing him in no time.”

“Alright,” I said, and once again he gave me his hand. It was slightly sweaty. I watched him walk away until he disappeared out of sight.

One of Ugo’s men had turned! That didn’t sound like ‘nothing to worry about’. That was a game changer.

Now, I was 100% certain Dante had only given me one of two pieces of the whole picture. No doubt he was doing it to protect me. I was beginning to realize he truly would do anything to protect me.

But I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want him to take on more risk because of me. Already, his business was affected, and now his personal safety was. While he was being at the government’s pleasure, he didn’t have his own protection service. He could be in danger. What if Ugo had his men inside the force? They had corrupted Sarah, what if they were others in the police force? I loved Dante too much to put him in danger. I couldn’t lose him. Not him. Not now. I had to protect him with the same selfless dedication with which he protected me. I knew exactly what I must do. He won’t like it, but this was my decision. I had only met her once, but I memorized her number. She was the person who had stood in once for Sarah. She had been kind to me and I liked her. I dialed her number.

“Detective Mellor?” I asked when her phone was answered.

“Yes,” her voice was wary.

“It’s me, Zola.”

The line went completely silent for a few seconds. “Are you alright?” she asked urgently.

“Yeah,” I said.

I heard a deep sigh of relief. “Thank God,” she said. “They said Moretti had taken you, but I didn’t know what to think.”

“I’m very sorry about Matthew and Sarah,” I said.

“There's no need to be. It’s not your fault. We know the risk we take when we sign up. It was our job to protect you and we failed. Thank God for Moretti.”

“Yeah,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t sure how much I should tell her about Dante’s involvement.

“You are with him now, aren’t you?”

“I just wanted to ask a few questions,” I said, evading her question. “I really don’t know what’s going on but I want to know enough so I can make an informed decision.”

“What do you want to know?” she asked. “I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

“Okay. Is Dante in trouble?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Oh,” I said.

“On top of kidnapping, I’m pretty sure they’re planning to throw in tampering with witness testimony, obstruction of justice. The list could go on. You're meant to be testifying against his enemy so you’re not exactly supposed to be in his custody. It could make your testimony completely unusable. You need to bring yourself in, otherwise, things could get a lot uglier for Moretti.”

“I know.”

“We can help you and we can help Moretti. All you need to do is come in.”

I thought about this and had never felt more confused.

“I’ll consider my options,” I said. “And then I’ll let you know.”

“You only have a few hours at most, Zola,” she said. “The window’s closing up fast.”

“Sure,” I said and ended the call.