Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DARIO

“ D on’t start a war?” I roar down the phone at my father on speaker as I speed through the city, my hands tight on the steering wheel, blood boiling through my body like a call to violence. “Are you fucking joking? The Romanos attacked Mother and my fiancée. They took her , and you want me to be calm?”

“Your mother is safe. The men got her out.”

“And they left Elena!”

“They didn’t leave her,” my father says as I speed around the corner to the theater. The police are already here, a cordon out front, which means I’m too damn late to get any information. I’m unsure what I will find, but not Elena, the one thing I need . This can’t be happening. “They tried to rescue her, too, but the Romanos had already taken her by the time they arrived. They didn’t abandon her, son.”

“Do you think that makes any of this better?” I bellow, then hang up and call Allessio. “What’ve you got?”

“No activity at their safe house on the docks, Dario,” he says. “I’m going to check their warehouse in the industrial district now.”

“Good.”

I hang up again, then call Paolo. “Anything on the financial records? They had to plan where to take her to pull a stunt like this. Somewhere new, possibly. Somewhere they think we won’t know about.”

“I’m on it. I’ve narrowed it down to five possibilities already.”

“Keep narrowing,” I growl, then hang up and call Rocco.

“Boss,” he says.

“Four cars outside Elena’s aunt’s apartment at all times. If her friend goes anywhere, you follow. Let me make something clear, Rocco. If anything happens to either of those women, I will feed you every one of your teeth. Do you understand?”

“Yuh-yes,” he says, sounding terrified, which he should be.

“How did this happen?” I roar at him.

“They hit us out of nowhere. They just rolled up and executed a full assault in the street. We never expected them to do that. Flashbangs. Smoke grenades. By the time the mayhem was over, it was over.”

“It was over,” I repeat, shaking my head. “You should’ve murdered every. Single. One. Fucking amateurs.”

I end the call, then slam my hand on the steering wheel until my palm hurts. My cell phone rings a moment later. It’s Mother. She’s crying.

“Dario, oh, God, Dario.”

“Are you okay, Mother?”

“Physically … yes, but this isn’t about me. Have you made any progress finding Elena?”

“I shouldn’t have to find her,” I snarl. “Six cars filled with Morettis, two women needing protection. Why the fuck couldn’t one or two units have focused on Elena? Is that so much to ask? Or is it because she didn’t know which fucking fork to use ?”

When I hang up, Mother calls me back straightaway. I know I shouldn’t take my anger out on her, but I feel like I’m losing control. I run my hand through my hair, my head pulsing as it floods with twisted and depraved images of what Vincenzo and his men could do to her.

“Dario,” Mother sobs down the phone. “Please …”

“Please, what ?”

“Your father wants you to come home. He wants to strategize with you, he said.”

“I’ve got my men on it,” I tell her. “Men who will do the right thing. Men who would’ve taken a bullet to stop them from taking an innocent woman.”

“Dario—”

“Don’t act like Father cares,” I snap. “He doesn’t give a damn. I know how he feels about Elena. I wouldn’t be surprised if he arranged this himself.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Maybe I don’t, but I can’t stop thinking about Elena, our first kiss, our first everything, her sass, the last time I saw her.

“If your men are already looking into it,” Mother continues, “can’t you do more good by being here with your father? If you talk to him, he’ll be able to help. He said he needs the information you already have. You need to work together.”

I hit the steering wheel again. “Fuck!”

“Please, son,” Mother sobs.

“I’m on my way.”

Before driving, I text Paolo and Allessio with the same message. Do whatever it takes to find her. I don’t care who you have to hurt.

Father, for once, gives me his full attention as I pace up and down his office. It’s been thirty-seven minutes since I left the theater—one hour and twenty-two minutes since the attack. That’s a lot of time for a team of lowlife scumbags to do any twisted thing to a woman who doesn’t deserve it, who only ever wanted to help her aunt.

“You need to calm?—”

“If you tell me to calm down, Father, it’s the end of the Moretti Family.”

He swallows, looking unnerved by me for the first time I can remember. “Your men are looking into it, son. So are mine.”

“They shouldn’t have to ,” I growl.

“You can’t blame them for prioritizing your mother, surely.”

“Can’t I?” I rage, pacing, slamming my fist into my hand. “It would’ve taken one or two men to think quickly, get into that theater, and ensure she was safe. Why did every single man need to focus on Mother? Or is that what you told them? Don’t worry about the girl who forgot to use the right fork at dinner ?”

“I didn’t tell them anything,” my father says. “I only learned about this after the fact. Please, son, sit. Try to slow down. Try to think. You can’t approach this how you need to if you’re in this state.”

I lay my fists on his desk, glaring at him. He flinches away. Now, it’s the second time he looks spooked by me. “I’m in the exact state I need to be. The right mood to tear this city to pieces to find Elena. The right state to destroy the Romanos.”

“We have to be intelli?—”

“Are you telling me to let them get away with this ?”

“No, of course not,” he says quickly. “When they find her, I know you’ll do what you must.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I don’t want you to do more than is necessary,” he says slowly. “Find her. Rescue her. Hurt anybody who gets in your way, but as it stands, there have been no deaths.”

“That we know of,” I say, then regret saying it. Putting it into words is like giving it a chance to be real. I slam my fists on his desk. “I don’t want to think about that. Elena doesn’t deserve this. She’s a good person.”

“She seems like a nice girl.”

“Don’t start with that crap now,” I scoff. “We both know what you think of her.”

“I wouldn’t wish harm on any woman, Dario. You know that.”

His phone vibrates. He glances at it.

“What is it? Any news?”

“A text about the land grab.”

“Fuck your land grab! It doesn’t matter anymore. I’d burn the entire deal to ashes if it meant getting Elena back.”

Father frowns but says nothing. I throw my hands up and go back to pacing. I knew I cared about Elena on some level. I knew I liked her sass, but this is something else. This is almost goddamn primal. A rival tribe has taken my woman, and now I’m ready to bleed every one of them dry and make necklaces out of their bones.

“I don’t like that look in your eye, Dario,” Father says.

“I don’t give a damn,” I snarl. “I need lots of men, and you need to tell them they report directly to me.”

“Of course, son.”

“Arrange that now. I should get the word about leads any minute now. I may need access to the chopper, too.”

My father narrows his eyes. “I understand you’re upset, but we can’t escalate this to aerial warfare .”

“I won’t mount a goddamn machinegun to the side, but if the Romanos think they’ve got the jump on us by taking her somewhere outside the city, they’re in for a huge surprise. I haven’t dedicated my entire life to this Family, even when I haven’t wanted to, to let some backwater motherfuckers think they can outmaneuver us.”

Father steeples his fingers, watching me closely.

“What?” I grunt.

“You genuinely love this girl, don’t you?”

“Does my answer make a difference to me getting the helicopter?” I snap.

“That wasn’t much of an answer …”

“I love her,” I snap, telling myself this is all part of the game.

“Then you’ll get what you need, son.”

About a minute later, I’m still pacing, when finally my cell phone rings. It’s Paolo. I quickly answer.

“Looks like Vincenzo has purchased a farm outside the city. Same day as your meet with him. If I were a betting man, I’d start there.”

“Good. We’re taking the heli.”

“Don Salvatore is okay with this?” Paolo asks uneasily. “I’m sorry, Dario. I know she’s important to you, but …”

“There’s no but,” I growl. “He’s okay with it, but I’d be taking it anyway, even if he wasn’t.” Father glances up from his phone call, lips flat, but says nothing. “The only thing I need from you is to tell me you’re ready to roll.”

“I’m always ready,” Paolo replies. “Should I meet you at the private pad?”

“Yeah,” I snarl. “Let’s see how clever Vincenzo is when we descend on him from the goddamn heavens.”

“I doubt he did this himself unless he’s a complete moron.”

“Whoever did this, his men or the two-bit Don himself, they’re about to realize why we’re the most powerful Family in the city. They’ve done us a favor, taking this away from prying eyes. They’ve signed themselves up for a goddamn slaughter.”