Chapter 50

50

Massimo

"No!" she screams.

"Via! Via!" I yell as I hear the sounds of a scuffle, the unmistakable sound of someone being hit.

"Via!" My heart leaps into my throat. I clutch at my phone with such force that my fingers hurt.

I hear her gasp of pain. A car door slams shut, then... Nothing. I lower the handset and glance at the two unmoving dots on the screen. Her car and her phone. " Goddammit , they have her." I squeeze my fingers around my phone so hard, the case cracks.

JJ, who's driving the car, shoots me a sideways glance. "Get a hold of yourself, ol' chap, we'll find her."

"I am going to kill the bastardo !" Anger twists my guts. My heart seems to have dropped to my stomach. My fingers are trembling as I lower them to my sides. "If he thinks he can antagonize us and get away with it, he's so fucking wrong."

"My guess is, he is not going to harm her. He's taken her, simply to make a point."

"Well, he's fucking with the wrong man." I slide my hand into my pocket and my fingers brush up against the pendant. Perhaps this idea of Michael's to legalize the Cosa Nostra businesses is all wrong. What's the point in doing that, if I'm not going to be able to take care of what's mine? I pull my hand out of my pocket and pat the trusty weight at the small of my back. As long as I have my gun, I'll be able to protect her, no matter what the future of the Cosa Nostra .

"We know where Alvaro is. We'll get to her in time, I promise," JJ says in a hard voice.

I drag my fingers through my hair and stare out the window. How had I not anticipated something like this happening? Why hadn't I been better prepared? I'm used to being on high alert at all times, but something about being with her has lowered my defenses. Making love to her last night—and it was that; it most definitely was not fucking—connecting me with her in a way I had with no one else, changed something inside me. I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, and wasn't aware of anything else. And I'm the one who put her in this spot. I should have killed him when I had the chance. But I didn't. And now he's taken her.

JJ's phone rings, and he puts it on speaker.

"We're at Alvaro's place; no movement here yet," one of his men says.

"Keep a lookout, and let me know when they bring her there," JJ orders them before he cuts the call.

"How long?" I glance at the blue dot on the screen.

"Fifty minutes—an hour, tops."

"Get us there in thirty," I growl.

He shoots me a sideways glance, then steps on the accelerator. The car leaps forward.

My phone rings again. I glance at the screen, and it says Unknown number .

Motherfucker! I answer the call and growl, "Where is she?"

A chuckle comes down the line. "You saw her only an hour ago. What's the hurry?" By the accent, it's clear it's Alvaro.

"I am going to kill you for this, you testa di cazzo !"

He merely laughs. Anger shoots up my spine and adrenaline laces my blood. I lean forward and dig my heels into the floor of the car. "Don't you fucking hurt her, you hear me?!"

"Two billion dollars," he murmurs, "or you'll never see her again. But first, maybe I'll shoot off her finger like you did mine."

"You carogna , you motherfucking figlio di puttana ?—"

The line goes dead. My heart slams into my ribcage. My stomach folds in on itself. I taste bile in my mouth and swallow down the taste of fear. She'll be fine; she has to be fine.

Drawing his own conclusions from the call, JJ steps on the accelerator so the car speeds up even more. The countryside whizzes by. I dial Michael's number.

" Pronto !" he answers on the first ring.

"He doubled the amount. I need to do whatever it takes to get that money," I say through gritted teeth.

"It's going to take a while to get this together," Michael says in an even tone.

"I don't have time." I roll my shoulders. "Do whatever it takes. Liquidate all of my assets, if necessary."

In the silence that follows, I sense him nod. Then, "I'm on it. Wait for my message." The line goes dead.

Twenty minutes later, we ease onto a side road and park next to the cars already there. Through the trees, the red-bricked Victorian building is visible. JJ busted all of the speed limits getting here. No doubt, we set off a lot of speed cameras on the way. And no doubt, he has enough clout with the cops to take care of it, too.

I get out of the vehicle and JJ follows. Peter walks over to join us. He's the one who called to let us know when Alvaro's men brought Via to the house.

"They still in there?" JJ asks.

The other man nods.

"We need to go in." I turn to head toward the house, but JJ steps in front of me.

"We need to think this through," he insists.

"That's the problem with you Brits, you think too much," I growl.

"And you Italians are so intent on shooting from the hip, you don't care if you end up hurting yourselves in the process," JJ retorts. "We need to figure out a plan to go in, or else we're putting ourselves at risk."

"She's at risk inside there. I can't stand around doing nothing while that bastard is doing god-knows-what to her."

"And if you end up getting hurt, you won't be able to help her at all."

I glance in the direction of the house, then back at him. He's right, of course. I jerk my chin. "You have two minutes."

"There are two exits, front and back, both guarded. Guards around the perimeter, snipers watching the approach. He's sewn down tight," Peter confirms.

"Are you saying there's no way in there without being noticed?"

He hesitates. "It doesn't seem likely, no," he finally says.

"Fuck." I turn away to glance at the house again. "I'm going in through the front door."

"That's suicide," Peter says flatly.

I slide my fingers inside my pocket and brush my fingers over the horseshoe pendant on her chain. "Better than hanging around here while he has her in his possession," I growl.

JJ glances between me and Peter. "Maybe we could use the situation to our advantage?"